Description of the attraction
The National Monument, the most patriotic monument in Kuala Lumpur, is located in the northern part of Lake Park. The fifteen-meter high bronze sculpture, one of the tallest in the world, is surrounded by a water channel with fountains and decorative tin lilies.
The author of the project is the famous Felix de Weldon, an Austrian sculptor, whose works are located on all continents of the earth, even in Antarctica. In America, he created one of the country's pretentious military monuments - the Marine Corps Memorial near Washington. The Malaysian monument has something in common with this monument to the Marines in its plot, but looks more solemn due to its location - in a picturesque park, with fountains, not far from the garden of Asian sculptures.
The group composition consists of seven bronze sculptures of soldiers, one of them holding the flag of Malaysia. The figures symbolize courage, self-sacrifice, leadership, unity, suffering, vigilance and strength. The monument is dedicated to the soldiers who died for the country in the resistance to the Japanese invaders during World War II and during the struggle for the independence of Malaysia. The second period is called differently: the civil war, the Malay state of emergency, the military conflict between the colonial forces and the radical wing of the Malay communists. In any case, this memorial is dedicated to those who died during that difficult time.
The monument itself also has its own history. In 1975, nine years after its official opening, terrorists from the country's banned Communist Party set off an explosion that caused significant damage to the monument. It was restored to its original form by 1977. Since then, the complex has been guarded at night, and this procedure has been turned into a ritual. Every morning at dawn, a guard soldier raises the national flag, and every evening lowers it. Every year on the Day of Warriors, July 31, the leaders of the country lay garlands at the monument to the fallen soldiers.
