April 6, 1956
An arch bridge in what was then known as the Federation of Malaya was officially opened. At the time, this country in Southeast Asia was a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom. The steadily gathering momentum for a fully independent Federation of Malaya was reflected in the name of the new bridge. The structure was called Merdeka Bridge. The word “merdeka” means “independence” in the Malay language. The word is derived from the Sanskrit term “maharddhika,” which means “rich, prosperous, and powerful.”
In August 1957 — sixteen months after Merdeka Bridge made its debut — the Federation of Malaya achieved complete sovereignty. This country remained intact until 1963, when it merged with what had been the British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form present-day Malaysia. (Singapore, which achieved self-governance in 1959, separated from Malaysia in 1965 to establish its own independent country.)
Tunku Abdul Rahman (1903-1990), who had become chief minister of the Federation of Malaysia in 1955, presided at the opening of Merdeka Bridge. He served as the prime minister of the fully independent Federation of Malaya starting in 1957 and, with the creation of Malaysia in 1963, became that country’s first prime minister. Tunku is widely regarded as Malaysia’s founding father.
Merdeka Bridge, which is part of Malaysia Federal Route 1, carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic across the Muda River. This structure serves as a link between the Malaysian states of Kedah and Penang.
Photo Credit: LEE 003 (licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
Additional information on Malaysia Federal Route 1 is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Federal_Route_1
Transportation History 