Wooden Malay house
A family's life last century.
Dua Lifa — Public domain · Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marufish from Alor Setar, Malaysia — CC BY-SA 2.0
The simple wooden house where Mahathir Mohamad was born in 1925, in the Seberang Perak quarter of Alor Setar; he served as Malaysia's prime minister for longer than anyone else, from 1981 to 2003, and returned to the post from 2018 to 2020. The house has been kept as it was, a wooden Malay house raised on stilts, with the family's furniture, photographs and everyday objects inside, and an old bicycle and a rickshaw in the yard. The National Archives of Malaysia runs it as a museum, and two galleries have been added on his career as a doctor and then a politician, with documents and certificates from his school days. The house offers a picture of the daily life of a middle-class Malay family in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as its owner's biography. Entry is free, and it usually opens from nine to five with a break on Fridays; times can vary, so check before going. It stands in a quiet residential area a few minutes' drive from the royal square, so pair it with a tour of central Alor Setar.
A family's life last century.
Doctor, then prime minister.
Near the centre.
Lorong Kilang Ais, Seberang Perak, about a kilometre from central Alor Setar
Kedah State Art GalleryAn art gallery in a handsome historic building on the royal square in central Al9 minutes walk
Zahir MosqueKedah's state mosque and one of the oldest and most beautiful mosques in Malaysi10 minutes walk
Kedah Royal MuseumAn old royal palace known as Istana Pelamin, the wedding palace, completed in 1710 minutes walk
Balai BesarThe royal audience hall of the sultans of Kedah, at the heart of the historic sq10 minutes walk
Balai NobatAn elegant three-storey octagonal tower in yellow and white, crowned by a golden12 minutes walkYes, entry is free, and the house and its two galleries are small, needing half an hour to an hour.