More than any other spot in the country, Kuala Lumpur, or "KL"
as it is commonly known, is the focal point of new Malaysia.
While the city's past is still present in the evocative
British colonial buildings of the Dataran Merdeka and the
midnight lamps of the Petaling Street night market, that
past is everywhere met with insistent reminders of KL's
present and future. It is indeed not the loss of ancient
cultural traditions, but in many ways KL marks the
continuation rather than the loss of Malaysia's rich past.