Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur (/ˈkwɑːləˈlʊmpʊər/ or /-pər/; Malaysian pronunciation: [ˈkwalə ˈlumpʊr]) is the national capital and most populous global city in Malaysia. The city covers an area of 243 km² (94 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 1.6 million as of 2010.Greater Kuala Lumpur, covering similar area as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.5 million people as of 2012. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in South-East Asia, in terms of population and economy.

Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia. The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they were moved to Putrajaya in early 1999. Some sections of the judiciary still remain in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is also situated in Kuala Lumpur. Rated as an alpha world city, Kuala Lumpur is the cultural, financial and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a key city. Kuala Lumpur is defined within the borders of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and is one of three Malaysian Federal Territories. It is an enclave within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Since the 1990s, the city has played host to many international sporting, political and cultural events including the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the Formula One Grand Prix. In addition, Kuala Lumpur is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, which have become an iconic symbol of Malaysia's futuristic development.

Kuala

Kuala is a town and subdistrict of Langkat Regency. It borders Selesai to the north, Salapian to the west, and Sei Bingai to the south and east. Most people in Kuala are Javanese people, with a significant Karo population. Although most Karo are Christian, many are also Muslim, and as the Javanese are nearly 100% Muslim, Kuala subdistrict is 80% Muslim.

Kuala town itself had a population of 12,459, making it by far the largest settlement in the district. Kuala town is on the main road between Binjai and Bukit Lawang.

Agriculture

Agriculture in Kuala subdistrict is relatively homogenous, with 6,425 hectares of oil palm, 4,243 hectares of sawah (wet rice), 880 hectares of maize and 3,466 hectares of natural rubber, with little land devoted to other crops. There are five factories in the subdistrict.

References

Kuala Lumpur Tower

The Kuala Lumpur Tower (Malay: Menara Kuala Lumpur; Chinese: 吉隆坡塔;abbreviated as KL Tower) is a tall tower located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its construction was completed on 1 March 1995. It is used for communication purposes and features an antenna that reaches 421 metres (1,381 feet) and is the 7th tallest freestanding tower in the world. The roof of the pod is at 335 metres (1,099 feet). The rest of the tower below has a stairwell and an elevator to reach the upper area, which also contains a revolving restaurant, providing diners with a panoramic view of the city.

Races are held annually, where participants race up the stairs to the top. The tower also acts as the Islamic falak observatory to observe the crescent moon which marks the beginning of Muslim month of Ramadhan, Syawal, and Zulhijjah, to celebrate fasting month of Ramadhan, Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Aidiladha. The tower is the highest viewpoint in Kuala Lumpur that is open to the public.

History

The official groundbreaking for the Kuala Lumpur Tower was overseen by the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad on 1 October 1991. Construction of the tower was a three-phase process.

Tower

A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.

Towers are specifically distinguished from "buildings" in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions. The principal function is the use of their height to enable various functions to be achieved including: visibility of other features attached to the tower such clock towers; as part of a larger structure or device to increase the visibility of the surroundings as in a fortified building such as a castle; or as a structural feature as an integral part of a bridge.

Towers can be stand alone structures or be supported by adjacent buildings or can be a feature on top of a large structure or building.

History

Towers have been used by mankind since prehistoric times. The oldest known may be the circular stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho (8000 BC). Some of the earliest towers were ziggurats, which existed in Sumerian architecture since the 4th millennium BC. The most famous ziggurats include the Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur, built the 3rd millennium BC, and the Etemenanki, one of the most famous examples of Babylonian architecture. The latter was built in Babylon during the 2nd millennium BC and was considered the tallest tower of the ancient world.

Tower International

Tower International LLC is a global designer and producer of structural components and assemblies used by most major automotive vehicle manufacturers. The company's main products include body structural stampings and assemblies, chassis structural stampings and assemblies, including full frames and cradles, suspension components, modules and systems and exposed sheet metal Class A surfaces.

Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company generated revenues of $2.08 billion in 2012. The company currently has 39 facilities in 13 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia. In the Automotive News global supplier ranking for 2006, the company ranked 55th.

History

Tower International was founded in 1993 as R.J. Tower Corporation, and later renamed Tower Automotive. During the 1990s Tower Automotive grew fast with multiple acquisitions in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. In February 2005, Tower Automotive, Inc. and its operating subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. In July 2007 Tower Automotive successfully emerged from Chapter 11 as an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P, which purchased the company for $1 billion.