Shah Alam (population 356,066) is a city in Malaysia, about 25 km west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. In 1978, it replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor due to Kuala Lumpur's incorporation into a Federal Territory.
Long ago, Shah Alam was known as Sungai Renggam and is known only as an oil palm estate. Later, the same area was identified as Batu Tiga prior to Malaysian independence, and has been a centre of palm oil trade for centuries. Its current name was chosen by the then state Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, after his late father Sultan Alam Shah. Many other monuments, buildings and even a street are named after the late Sultan.Today, Shah Alam is most famous for its mosque, the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque. |