History

History of Shah Alam

Before 1963, Shah Alam was known as Sungai Renggam and was an oil palm plantation located between Petaling Jaya and the Royal City of Klang and connected via the only Highway at that time, the Federal Highway.

Shah Alam was opened in 1963 to serve as the administrative centre of Selangor after Kuala Lumpur was made a Federal Territory on 1 February 1974. On 7 December 1978 with the consent of the 8th Sultan of Selangor, Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al – Haj, Shah Alam was declared the capital of Selangor with an area of 41.69 sq km. Since then Shah Alam has continued to experience several processes of expansion of the area and the last was on January 1, 1997. Through Gazette plan 1190, Shah Alam was expanded to 290.3 sq km.

The rapid development of Shah Alam and its growing importance has led to its upgrade with its declaration as a city on 10 October 2000. This declaration was executed by YAB Dato’ Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo, the 13th Menteri Besar of Selangor. Shah Alam which is administered by the Shah Alam Municipal Council local authority since 1978 automatically gets the status of Shah Alam City Council. The population density is predicted to reach 450,000 people by 2010 as a result of the migration of people across the country who are looking for employment opportunities in addition to the increase in the number of births.