Hospital Bangsar / Bangsar Hospital / European Hospital

The European Hospital in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur was also known as the Bangsar Hospital by the locals. The buildings have been demolished to make way for the Public Health Institute (PHI).

Since two people have asked for photos of "Bangsar Hospital" so far, I have created this post to cater to those needs and for many more who will need the same photos.

I had obtained information about Hospital Bangsar from Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail, the second Director-General of Health Malaysia when I interviewed him at his office in May 2007. 

The photos of Hospital Bangsar in this post are from Mr Arasu who obtained them recently from Arkib Negara Malaysia (Malaysian National Archives) in Kuala Lumpur. More photos are in his Facebook account. Link to Arasu in Facebook. You may want to get more photos from Arkib Negara. Arasu is planning on a reunion for everyone who had been involved with Hospital Bangsar.

For captions to these photos, please join Arasu's Facebook as he has described them all. He has lived on the grounds of this hospital as his father was once a gardener there.

EUROPEAN HOSPITAL / BANGSAR HOSPITAL in KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

These photos of the hospital are from the Malaysian National Archives.

I got them from Arasu in Facebook, who obtained them from the Archives.

Photos courtesy of Arkib Negara Malaysia.

Jungle Trails and Jungle People

Why do the West think we lived on trees? Do they still think so?

The early Western people who came to study Malaya and other countries of southeast Asia were animal hunters - they were zoo keepers and circus owners. In their search of animals, they had come here, to Malaya (now Malaysia). We had tigers (harimau), elephants (gajah), monkeys (monyet), chimpanzees (beruk), snakes (ular), orang utan and gorillas. Some of these animals are arboreal (living in trees). 

Humans were also known to be living up on trees in Malaya but these were jungle tribes, not us. These jungle tribes had to live up high on the trees to avoid being attacked by wild elephants and tigers. Elephants are known to suddenly run amok. Tigers are known to attack humans even in the dark. Living up on trees was a means for safety. Robinson Crusoe also lived in a tree-top house while his Black slave, Man Friday lived below.

Source: http://www.erbzine.com/mag20/2006.html

In the early days where roads and cars were limited to big towns, on the west coast of Malaya, foot trails and elephants trails dominated most parts between these big towns and the hinterland of Malaya. One great elephant trail was the one from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu (KL-KB elephant trail). This elephant trail is difficult to find nowadays since nobody knows of the exact GPS coordinates of that trail.

One account that was related to the author was by Matron Chong Nyet Lin @ Mariah, circa 1965. She had narrated about the KL-KB elephant trail. According to Matron Chong, she had travelled with a Malay doctor (Dr Che Lah bin Mohd Joonos) on elephant backs, carrying medicine for the hospital in Kota Bharu (I gather this would have been the Rumah Sakit Besar Kota Bharu; hospital is 'rumah sakit' in Malay). In retrospect, her story would be after the Japanese occupation, 1948 onward, where she had worked at the Bangsar Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

Gajah (elephants). Photo from Penang Museum.

Bangsar Hospital was meant for the Europeans according to Coco (Tan Sri Abdul Majid, second Director-General of Health Malaysia). But later, Malay mothers also delivered their babies at Bangsar Hospital. Arasu's father was a gardener at Bangsar Hospital. I will  need more stories about Bangsar Hospital and life that surrounded that hospital before it was demolished. According to (click) Arasu (in his Facebook), only a few buildings of Bangsar Hospital complex remain today. Please contact Arasu in Facebook for pictures of Bangsar Hospital.

Looking for photos of Bangsar Hospital

I received an e-mail from Arasu via Boxbe at this blog on Sunday, 9 January 2011 at 11:39 am. It was a request by Arasu for photos of Bangsar Hospital.

Arasu was born at Bangsar Hospital in 1952. He is looking for photographs of Bangsar Hospital from early 1900's till 1965.

Please share photos of Bangsar Hospital if you have any in your albums.

Thank you.

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Update 3 March 2011

Mr Arasu has found photos of Bangsar Hospital at the National Archives in Kuala Lumpur (Arkib Negara Malaysia).

Here is the link to Mr Arasu in Facebook and photos of Bangsar Hospital with captions/narratives:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1890278056093&set=a.1890260255648&type=3&theater

Keep your comments coming about birth/life at Bangsar Hospital.

Thank you