City (pop., 2000 prelim.: 1,297,526), capital of Malaysia .
Founded as a tin-mining camp in 1857, it was made capital of the Federated Malay States in 1895, of the independent Federation of Malaya in 1957, and of Malaysia in 1963. It was designated a municipality in 1972. The most important Malay city on the Malay Peninsula , it is a commercial centre. It is the site of the Petronas Twin Towers , the world's tallest buildings when they were completed in 1998. Its educational institutions include the University of Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan.