by Lee Kwok Thye
Photos courtesy of Arkib Negara Malaysia.
The Origin & Team
The outdoor Stadium Merdeka was initiated by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. Several sites were considered, but he finally chose Coronation Park. Tunku directed the stadium to be designed, constructed and completed in time for the declaration of independence on 31 August 1957. He hoped it would be a permanent memorial to commemorate "Merdeka"!
In July 1956, PWD Federal Headquarters at Maxwell Road was asked to undertake it before 31 August 1957 - a very tight time schedule by any standard! Mr Stanley Edward Jewkes, Deputy Director of Federal Headquarters, was commissioned to undertake and be responsible for the whole project, including the development of the area around the stadium into a public park to be named Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.
- Mr S E Jewkes PMN, OBE: Responsible for overall design, construction and completion
- Mr E A Green: Interior architectural designer
- Mr Chan Sai Soo (deceased): Chief civil, structural and project engineer
- Mr J L McDermott: Assistant project engineer
- Mr I J Marshall: Quantity surveyor
- Mr Peter Loh Teh Kong (deceased): Engineering assistant and structural designer
- Mr Lee Kwok Thye: Structural designer and site supervisor
- Mr Low Chin Hon: Clerk of Works
Site surveys and soil explorations commenced early August 1956 while Mr Jewkes, in addition to his normal heavy official duties, prepared and completed the preliminary architectural design and a scaled model for public exhibition in September 1956. The football pitch had a fall of six feet from one goalpost to the other at the Southern end! The whole stadium was designed by Mr Jewkes after office hours in his home! Several elements were designed piece-meal as work progressed. Working drawings and provisional bills of quantities were prepared for competitive tenders. Tenders were invited in sequence to ensure sections would dovetail into each other.
Physical construction commenced mid-September 1956. Messrs Chan and Lee supervised the site works. Detailed construction schedules, including ancillary services, were prepared and followed meticulously. All works were carried out round the clock, 7 days a week. At any one time, hundreds of workers at the stadium site! Every day Mr Jewkes would personally go to the site immediately after office hours to assess progress. His charming wife, Ella, would meet him at the site every evening, bringing with her his afternoon tea of home-baked cakes, sandwiches, curry puffs, pickled onions, etc., to be shared with the project team!
Earthworks, Contractors & The Women
All earthworks by PWD staff using departmental heavy earthmoving plants during monsoon season. A challenge excavating the earth to form a 10-foot-deep stadium bowl during monsoon. Only made possible by early completion of a 42-inch-diameter main underground discharge pipe culvert to drain all water from the stadium towards the roadside drain along Birch Road (now Jalan Maharajalela). All excavated earth was stockpiled. Earthworks were interrupted frequently with inclement weather. When it started to rain, operators were instructed to lower and drag the heavy bulldozers' blades on the ground and back track, thus levelling the newly excavated grounds and minimising formation of pools. Loose excavated earth was initially heaped into small mounds to minimise rainwater saturating. These were moved to form a huge mountain. The stock-piled earth was subsequently used to form the periphery bund for terrace seats around the stadium pitch. The periphery earth bund was only formed, compacted and completed after the access tunnels leading to the lower terrace seats and the "winged" staircases to the upper terrace seats were completed. Heavy bulldozers were used to form and compact the earth bund.
The nominated PWD Class A contractors who tendered for the main works:
- Mr Lim Chong Hin of Messrs Lim Quee & Sons - stadium building and covered terraced seats
- Mr Boon and Mr Cheah of Messrs K C Boon & Cheah - reinforced concrete tunnels and winged reinforced concrete staircases, walkways and intermediate retaining wall around the stadium pitch; the uncovered terraced seats; public toilets and other ancillary works.
Uncovered terrace seats were precast reinforced concrete slabs, resting on transverse reinforced concrete beams that form the riser of each step. These transverse beams rest freely in notches formed on radial sleeper reinforced concrete beams sunk into the earth bund. Three continuous reinforced concrete ring beams were constructed at the toe, at the rear of the intermediate retaining wall between the lower and upper terraces, and at the top. To compensate for future earth settlements, the lower end of each sleeper beam rested on the ring beams, while the remainder rested on the earth slope.
Commercial ready-mixed concrete was not available then, and all concrete was volumetrically batched and mechanically mixed at the site! High-yield deformed reinforcing bars were also not available in the fifties, and only round mild steel bars were used. Tower cranes and concrete pumps were also not used in the country, and conveyance of all in-situ concrete was by means of a large team of Chinese women, each labouriously carrying two small pails of concrete on a "kanda" stick over their shoulders, walking precariously on narrow gangways and sloping ramps in continuous convoys!
Many of these Chinese women were not used to such heavy manual construction work, and it was pathetic to witness some newly recruited young Chinese girls grimacing in severe pain on their shoulders and blisters on their fingers as the long, labourious hours dragged on daily, only to return the following day to endure more sufferings merely to earn a few ringgits each day! All other heavy building materials within the stadium site were moved by manual labour either by human hands or on wheelbarrows!
Lee gives a description: They go to work early in the morning on old bicycles with simple, home-cooked, packed lunches and some home-brewed Chinese tea. Normally dressed in black-coloured "sam foo" (Chinese blouse and long pants) with thick detachable long sleeves, extending beyond their fingers to be used as "gloves". They wrap their heads completely in a large red-coloured cotton scarf to form a truncated cone with a small opening in front of their faces for them to see. They then wear a large "coolie" hat and a pair of black socks (most with holes at the toes!) and cheap canvas shoes! Safety boots and hard hats were not available or essential items at construction sites then! I believe their dress mode was purely to preserve their fair complexion, but it must be terribly hot and uncomfortable in that attire performing heavy manual work under the hot tropical sun!
Engineering highlights:
Each 60-foot cantilevered reinforced concrete shell roof beam was counterbalanced by a single mild steel tie rod at the other 40-foot end of the roof beams. To minimise anticipated deflections when formworks were removed, each balancing tie rod was tensioned by means of a specially machined large mild steel turnbuckle near the bottom of each balancing tie rod. Pre-determined stresses on each balancing tie rod were accurately calculated and set by means of the turnbuckle and a strain gauge clipped onto the rod.
The four pre-stressed concrete lighting towers were ingeniously designed by Mr Jewkes and meticulously fabricated and erected departmentally under his personal close supervision. Initial operation involved construction of a large reinforced concrete socket buttress with one side left open for each lighting tower. Lighting tower shafts were made up of a series of Hume-reinforced concrete spun pipes but with special pre-stressing ducts incorporated into the pipe walls. The reinforced concrete spun pipes were assembled on a specially prepared pre-stressing bed, adjacent to each tower socket buttress, on top of the earth bund. The series of individual Hume pipes was pre-stressed horizontally on the pre-stressing bed (using 0.276-inch-diameter high-tensile pre-stressing wires) to form a long tubular concrete shaft. The prestressing ducts were subsequently pressure grouted with cement mortar.
The Tower Lifting & Turf
A flood lighting galvanised steel frame was then firmly bolted onto the top of the concrete shaft. The long tubular concrete shaft and flood lighting frame were rotated on the pre-stressing bed to ensure the lighting frame was orientated correctly to face the stadium pitch when erected. A steel-framed lifting saddle, with two trunnion stub axles, was then clamped approximately under the mid-section of the pre-stressed concrete tower shaft. The lifting saddle, complete with tower shaft and frame, was then slowly raised, inch by inch, by means of hydraulic jacks and finally moved horizontally to rest directly on top of the concrete tower socket buttress.
While fabricating and pre-stressing the lighting tower shaft, one of the two lifting trestles was erected and securely bolted on the concrete socket buttress. After the steel trestle was completed, the pre-stressed concrete tower shaft, resting directly on top of the tower socket buttress, was manually rotated horizontally on a turntable to rest beside the erected lifting trestle, followed immediately by the erection of the second lifting trestle.
The lifting saddle, together with the concrete tower shaft and flood lighting frame, was then very slowly hoisted horizontally between the two lifting trestles to the top by means of a system of heavy-duty pulleys and a steel cable attached to a "Caterpillar" tracked bulldozer! It was a very exciting and tense moment when the lifting cable took up the strain and the long and heavy tower shaft became airborne while the two lifting trestles creaked and squeaked in protest! However, this well-engineered operation of lifting and erecting the lighting tower proceeded like clockwork without any delays or mishaps. This spectacular and dangerous operation attracted a large crowd of unsolicited spectators, and the crowd grew progressively bigger with each subsequent lighting tower operation!
The suspended concrete lighting shaft together with the saddle was then carefully lowered onto two bearings at the top of the lifting trestles. The lifting cable was removed, and the horizontal concrete tower shaft was slowly rotated 90° to a vertical position with the bottom end locked inside the socket buttress by means of steel wedges. The shaft and socket were bonded together with concrete after ensuring the shaft was truly vertical. On completion, the steel saddle and two lifting trestles were dismantled and removed. A door was constructed to the tower socket for access to the top via step ladders inside. Fabrication and erection of each flood lighting tower took approximately three weeks.
The turf pitch was also constructed departmentally. To cope with frequent and sudden torrential tropical downpours, a carefully designed herringbone subsoil drainage system was constructed to ensure all surface rainwater would not remain on turf pitch for more than a few minutes. Sub-soil drainage pipes discharge into sumps around the pitch connected to a 24" diameter periphery underground reinforced concrete drainage pipe and finally drain into the 42" main underground drainage pipe culvert. A relatively large 24" periphery underground drainage pipe was deliberately specified for easy future manual removal of accumulated sand and silt in the pipe when necessary. The surface of the field was accurately pegged out at close intervals and contoured carefully to a parabolic profile with the crown only six inches higher than the periphery. Cow grass was planted, watered and rolled regularly, fertilised and mowed frequently to ensure the field was level and green, ready for use for the big occasion it was constructed for!
All roadworks and hard standings around stadium premises were carried out by PWD staff using departmental machinery and labour. Some ancillary minor works, such as roadside drains, street lighting, sign postings, flood lighting, etc., were contracted to several small contractors or nominated suppliers.
In February 1957, Tunku was invited to lay a foundation stone on a brick wall of the stadium building in the presence of many VIPs and government officials. Subsequently, a bronze plaque was specially made to commemorate this occasion. When the stadium building was completed, a plaque was mounted on the external wall located below the window on the left-hand side of the main entrance. A cavity was created directly behind the plaque within the external wall to house a time capsule containing complete sets of stadium architectural plans, engineering details and other relevant documents, intended hopefully for the benefit of future generations! During construction, Tunku frequently visited the site to assess progress.
Towards the end of the project, Mr Jewkes commenced to design a public park, using whatever surplus building materials were available at the site to construct Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, which included a beautiful rock garden on vacant land at the northern end of the stadium. He used a few surplus Hume pipes (especially ordered a few extra of custom-made pipes for the lighting tower shaft) as a column to construct a unique concrete parasol for visitors to take shelter and rest in the park whenever it rained.
He also designed and constructed an ingenious large sundial or solar clock in the park using a few surplus boxes of mosaic tiles to pave and mark hours of day on a concrete concave crescent-shaped sundial face. A pointer in the shape of a star was installed directly above the concave crescent clock face. A crescent-shaped clock face with a star above it cleverly represented the new Malaysian flag! The TAR Park was very popular, especially with residents living near the park, and light refreshment kiosks and public toilets were also constructed within the park to cater to large crowds.
Likewise, Stadium Merdeka stood as a tourist's landmark in the country's tourism industry for many years, where local and foreign tourists came from near and far to see and savour the venue where "Merdeka" was declared in 1957! Regretfully, Stadium Merdeka is no longer a tourist's landmark today, and TAR Park, including the rock garden and sundial, had been demolished several years ago. Fortunately, Head of Planetarium Science Centre, Prof. Dr Mazlan Othman, who appreciated the history, beauty and uniqueness of this sundial, salvaged it from a heap of debris and had it restored and reinstalled within the premises of the Planetarium Science Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Stadium Merdeka was finally completed and fully functional around mid-August 1957 and immediately handed over to the Stadium Committee. On the eventful morning of 31 August 1957, the late Tunku proudly pronounced the country's independence in the stadium with the raising of the new national flag to loud cheers and joy of all present. The stadium was filled to full capacity, and all present were very excited to witness the historical and memorable event of the birth of (a) a new sovereign nation and (b) the first new modern stadium in the country. Shortly after, Tunku raised his arm and exclaimed "MERDEKA" three times; loud booms of repeated cannon fire echoed across the whole stadium, causing long overhanging cantilevered roof beams to vibrate and oscillate precariously over heads of all VIPs, including a member of the British Royal Family, seated comfortably under the shell roof of the stadium building that morning!!
Tribute to Jewkes
After celebrations had abated, late Tunku again commissioned Mr Jewkes, in addition to his very heavy official duties, to design and build an indoor stadium for the nation. The indoor stadium was named "Stadium Negara", and the venue chosen was adjacent to the newly completed Stadium Merdeka.
Mr S E JEWKES P.M.N., O.B.E.
It is only appropriate that I pay my highest tribute to Mr Jewkes for his dedication to his work far beyond call of duty; he is very ably and lovingly supported by his charming wife, Ella. He was subsequently rightfully and deservingly awarded the "Tan Sri Dato'ship" by the Malaysian Government. He is not only an ingenious designer and brilliant engineer but also a very imaginative and talented artist, as demonstrated by his artistic interior wall murals and beautiful designs of unique external featured walls in Stadium Negara.
To keep total construction costs of two stadiums within tight financial budgets allocated by the government, all building materials for projects were sourced domestically without imports of special building materials. Stadiums were also specially designed to reduce regular maintenance and running costs in order to keep rental costs of stadiums within reach of many user organisations.
Whenever work schedules permitted, Mr and Mrs Jewkes would invite project teams (including wives and even fianc̩es!) to their home for home-cooked Sunday curry "tiffin" luncheons Рa delicious curry lunch enjoyed leisurely on Sundays by large "Mat Salleh" community in Malaya and Singapore. He is truly a simple and modest gentleman who treated everyone equally irrespective of race and religion and was highly regarded and respected by all, especially Asians.
After completing indoor Negara Stadium, Tan Sri Dato' Jewkes retired from PWD HQ as Head of Department under political "Malaysianisation Plan". Shortly after leaving the Malaysian civil service, he was appointed Senior Vice President of a large international consultancy group in the United States, working in some 70 countries and directing studies for the United States, the United Nations, the World Bank, several foreign countries and many other international agencies. Over some thirty years in the private sector, he has been in many of the world's trouble spots, including Sudan, Somalia, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Kashmir, Indonesia and Mindanao.
He is now completely retired after a long, outstanding and distinguished professional career in Malaya and in the United States. He turns 94 years old this year and now lives in Florida with his devoted and loving wife. During his retirement, he authored and published an intriguing book titled "HUMANKIND? Planet Earth's Most Enigmatic Species", covering such diverse topics as evolution, science, theology, government and economics – all associated with humankind's mysterious behaviour of self-interest and brutality vs human compassion. He successfully published a book in 2002, and it is available online, in hardcover or paperback, from
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/9478.
Dated: February 25, 2007.
Note: Phase 1 of the restoration of Stadium Merdeka started in early February 2007 and is expected to be completed by August 2007. This phase involves dismantling upper tiers on north, east and south stands, which were later-day accretions, to revert the stadium back to its most significant 1957 form. Phase 2 will involve restoration and reconstruction of grandstand and terrace seating areas, while Phase 3 includes construction of a museum and interpretation centre and other new facilities to better present future use requirements. The schedule for Phases 2 and 3 has yet to be confirmed. Badan Warisan Malaysia (BWM) has been appointed as a conservation consultant for the project. Consultancy will be undertaken by Badan Warisan Heritage Services Sdn Bhd, which has been established by BWM's Council to provide such services on behalf of BWM and to promote and implement objects of BWM.
Quick 1-page summary:
- 11 months only: Sept 1956 to 21 Aug 1957, designed after hours at home by Jewkes.
- Bowl design: 10 ft deep bowl excavated in monsoon, earth reused for terrace bunds, drained via 42" culvert to Birch Road.
- No modern equipment: no ready-mix, no crane, no pump, only mild steel bars. Concrete carried by Chinese women with kanda sticks - Lee's most emotional memory.
- Engineering firsts: 60 ft cantilever shell roof balanced by tensioned tie rods with turnbuckles; 4x 120 ft pre-stressed lighting towers made from Hume drain pipes, pre-stressed horizontally on the ground and then lifted vertically by bulldozers + trestles – 3 weeks per tower.
- Turf: Herringbone subsoil drainage, parabolic 6-inch crown, cow grass.
- Merdeka Day: Cannons made cantilever roofs vibrate over VIPs, including the British Royal Family.
- Lost heritage: the time capsule behind the bronze plaque vanished; TAR Park with the rock garden and flag-inspired sundial was demolished, later salvaged for the planetarium.
C&P
23 September 2026: 5:57 p.m.
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