By Niza Shimi
When he was newly recruited into the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim (now the 10th Prime Minister) successfully pursued the return of the magnificent Carcosa mansion by the British Government.
According to a report in the NST dated May 13, 1984 that the call for the return of Carcosa was made in 1982 by UMNO and UMNO Youth general assemblies. But the issue was revived by Anwar (who joined UMNO in 1982) in 1984.
It was a triumphant achievement for the young firebrand. Since then, the fate of the colonial mansion has been as tumultuous as Anwar’s own. Now that he is PM10, will he recapture the glory of Carcosa?
According to the Carcosa Seri Negara website, the construction of the mansion was ordered by Sir Frank Swettenham as a home for him as the Resident General of Straits Settlements. Carcosa was designed by English architect soldier Arthur Benison Hubback.
The construction works began under the instruction of Selangor Public Works Department Charles Edwin Spooner and Arthur Charles Norman. Carcosa was built at the cost of £25,000 then and featured Tudor and British colonial building styles.
Commissioned in the year of 1898, Carcosa is located at hills of Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens and situated on 16 hectares of manicured lawns. Carcosa is derived from Italian words “cara cosa” which means “dear place”. Seri Negara, the guest house that is also known as King House, was built in 1913.
From 1941 to 1945, Carcosa Seri Negara became the headquarters of Imperial Japanese Army during the invasion of Malaya.
The Malayan Federal Constitution was drafted at Carcosa Seri Negara. It was at Seri Negara that the Malaysian Federation agreement was signed by all nine Sultans of Malaya 1948.
The first PM Tunku Abdul Rahman gave Carcosa Seri Negara to the British Government as goodwill gesture for independence of Malaya. The property was returned to the Malaysian government in 1987.
Since then, Carcosa has been a government guest house, a luxury hotel that was famous for its very English afternoon high tea experience, a heritage museum and the location site for the blockbuster Hollywood movie, "Crazy Rich Asians".
The property is now a national heritage site and is under the care of the land and management division of the Prime Minister’s Department and in 2019 was put under the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture. However, the Carcosa website says, “There are no more high tea in Carcosa Seri Negara as this place is permanently closed.”
After all the trouble of getting the British Government to return the property, it should not be left to ruin. Not much news is available that I could find online.
According to The Borneo Post report on July 27, 2018 when Carcosa was returned, the deputy chairman of the Democratic Action Party, the late Karpal Singh was quoted as saying: “The decision of the British Government to return Carcosa to Malaysia after a sustained and relentless campaign by UMNO and UMNO Youth in the face of public support otherwise, speaks well of the British gesture and spirit of goodwill.
“However, the campaign by UMNO, which was endorsed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad demonstrates very succinctly the immaturity of our government … it would appear that UMNO is the government and the government is UMNO,” he added.
Well, we have a Unity Government now under PM10. Surely, it means more to him now.
“The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.”― Susanna Clarke, Piranesi
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