Description of the attraction
The Sultan or Royal Museum was built in 1736 by the nineteenth Sultan of Kedah, who is known as the founder of the city of Alor Setar. The original building was wooden and had no chance of surviving in those turbulent times. In the 1770s, the city was attacked by warlike Bugis from neighboring Indonesia. In the twenties of the XIX century, other neighbors attacked Alor Setar - from Siam (modern Thailand).
In the middle of the 19th century, on the site of the destroyed wooden palace, a stone one was erected - at the behest of the then Sultan. He rebuilt the palace for his wife Mac Van Besar. Until now, old-timers sometimes call the Sultan Museum the Van Besar Palace.
At the beginning of the last century, Sultan Abdul-Hamid Halim Shah arranged a grand wedding for his five children in the palace. The space of the palace was extended with a pavilion, and additional living quarters for guests were added. The magnificent wedding party lasted three months. After that, the building received another name - "Pelamin Palace".
Later, the palace housed a school, then it was used as the office of several departments, including a charitable medical organization and a representative of the scout movement.
The Sultan Museum has been located in the palace since 1983. His collection includes antique furniture, household items of the ruling family, regalia donated by members of the Kedakh sultan's family. A large number of documents and photographs are on display.
Part of the museum is dedicated to the first prime minister of independent Malaysia, who was born in this palace, in the family of Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah.
A large collection of ancient cannons is exhibited in the garden of the Sultan Museum.
