Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Istana Negara, the official residence of Malaysia's Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is not one building but two. The current palace, on a 97.65 hectare hilltop site off Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (formerly Jalan Duta), was built between November 2007 and September 2011 by Kumpulan Seni Reka Sdn Bhd with the Public Works Department, at a cost the government put at RM650 million for the palace itself, rising toward RM812 million to RM1 billion once land, roads and staff quarters are included. Its Islamic and Malay influenced design carries 22 domes, the two largest tiered in a layered leaf motif. The Royal Standard was raised there on 15 November 2011, replacing an older palace on Jalan Istana that had served since 1957. That earlier building started life in 1928 as a private mansion for tin mining millionaire Chan Wing before the government bought it and converted it for the newly created monarchy. It reopened in 2013 as the Royal Museum, which as of 2026 still operates daily under the Department of Museums Malaysia.
The Big House
1928-1957 (private mansion of Chan Wing, then rented by the Selangor state government from 1950)
Istana Negara (Jalan Istana)
1957-2011 (official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong)
Istana Negara Lama / Muzium Diraja (Royal Museum)
2013-present (former palace converted to a public museum)
Istana Negara (Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim)
2011-present (current official residence)
1928
Chinese tin mining millionaire Chan Wing, who had made his fortune from the Hong Fatt mine near Sungai Besi, commissioned Singapore architectural firm Swan and Maclaren to build a Palladian style mansion on 13 acres of land, known locally as The Big House. The family moved in the following year.
1942-1945
During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, the mansion was requisitioned as the residence of the Japanese military governor of the region.
1945-1950
After the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945, the British Military Administration took over the house as an officers' mess for personnel of brigadier rank and above.
1950
With the formation of the Federation of Malaya, the Selangor state government began renting the mansion from the Chan family for 5,000 Straits dollars a month, using it as the Sultan of Selangor's palace.
1957
Ahead of independence, the Federal Government purchased the 13 acre property from its owners for an agreed 1.4 million Straits dollars and converted it into Istana Negara, the official residence of the newly created Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
1957-2011
The Jalan Istana palace served as the King's official residence for 54 years. Works Minister Samy Vellu later cited its space constraints, including a Balairong Seri (throne hall) that also had to double as dining and meeting space, as the reason a purpose-built replacement was needed.
5 November 2007
Construction began on a new national palace on a 97.65 hectare hilltop site off Jalan Duta, designed by Kumpulan Seni Reka Sdn Bhd with Malaysia's Public Works Department and built by Maya Maju Sdn Bhd. The government's original RM400 million budget for the palace building was later revised to RM650 million.
16 September 2011
Construction of the new palace complex, comprising Formal, Royal and Administration components across roughly 28 built up hectares, was completed.
15 November 2011
The Royal Standard was formally raised at the new Istana Negara on what is now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, marking its official designation as the National Palace and the end of the Jalan Istana palace's role as the King's residence.
February 2013
The former Jalan Istana palace reopened to the public as the Royal Museum (Muzium Diraja), operated by the Department of Museums Malaysia to showcase the constitutional monarchy.
2026
The Royal Museum continues to operate daily from 9am to 5pm under the Department of Museums Malaysia, while the working Istana Negara remains at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim.
The 22 domes
The current palace's roofline carries 22 domes, the two largest built up in layered, leaf shaped tiers rather than a single smooth curve. Coloured lighting on the domes is changed to mark different palace functions and can be seen from a distance at night.
Three functional components
The complex is organised into a Formal Component (lobby, banquet and throne halls, prayer hall, audience and conference chambers), a Royal Component (the royal family's private living quarters, offices, library and medical facilities) and an Administration Component (staff offices, security post, multipurpose hall and helipad), a separation the older single mansion could not provide.
Balairong Seri (Throne Hall)
Both the old and new palaces have carried a Balairong Seri, the ceremonial throne hall used for the installation of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and state functions. At the Jalan Istana palace this room also had to serve as a dining and meeting space, a constraint cited as one reason for building the new palace.
Palladian architecture of the old palace
The former Istana Negara at Jalan Istana was designed by the Singapore firm Swan and Maclaren, known for colonial era landmarks including Raffles Hotel, in a Palladian style rather than the Islamic Malay idiom of the current palace, reflecting its origins as a private colonial era mansion rather than a state building.
Site scale
The move took the monarchy from a 13 acre (about 5.3 hectare) mansion compound at Jalan Istana to a hilltop site of 97.65 hectares off Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, roughly eighteen times the land area, with about 28 hectares built up for the palace complex itself.
Construction of the present national palace off Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim began on 5 November 2007 and finished on 16 September 2011. The Royal Standard was formally raised there on 15 November 2011, marking its official use as the National Palace.
The current palace was designed by Malaysian firm Kumpulan Seni Reka Sdn Bhd working with the Public Works Department (JKR), and built by contractor Maya Maju Sdn Bhd. The design blends Islamic and Malay architectural elements across its 22 domed roofline.
The original Istana Negara at Jalan Istana began in 1928 as a private mansion known as The Big House, built for Chinese tin mining millionaire Chan Wing by Singapore firm Swan and Maclaren. It only became the King's official residence in 1957, three decades after it was built.
Chan Wing (1873-1947) was a Chinese businessman in colonial Malaya who made his fortune from the Hong Fatt tin mine near Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. He commissioned his 13 acre Jalan Istana mansion to house his extended family before it was later rented, then sold, to the government.
Officials, including then Works Minister Samy Vellu, pointed to space constraints at the Jalan Istana palace, where the Balairong Seri throne hall also had to double as a dining and meeting room. A larger, purpose built palace off Jalan Duta was approved by Cabinet in July 2006.
The Jalan Istana palace stopped being the official residence when the Royal Standard was raised at the new palace on 15 November 2011. It was converted into the Royal Museum (Muzium Diraja) under the Department of Museums Malaysia and reopened to the public in February 2013.
The current palace has 22 domes in total. The two largest are built in layered, leaf shaped tiers rather than a plain curve, and their lighting colour is changed to mark different ceremonial functions held at the palace.
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