The National Monument in Kuala Lumpur is a 48,562 sq meter space with 5 major components, namely the monument, the pavilion, the surrounding gardens, the fountains and the war memorial. The monument depicts the victory of the forces of democracy, peace and freedom over that of communism. It was designed by American architect named Felix de Weldon who also designed the famous Iwo Jima Memorial. Each of the bronze figures symbolises leadership, suffering, unity, vigilance, strength, courage and sacrifice.
The war memorial is a colonial era cenotaph that commemorates the Great War (1914–1918) and honour those from the British Malayan colonies who were killed in the war. The cenotaph's inscription would later include fallen British Malayan soldiers of World War II (1939–1945) after the conclusion of World War II and resumption of British rule. Names of the fallen are engraved on the plaques of the cenotaph as a token of tribute to their sacrifices.
In 1964, the cenotaph was moved from its original location near the National Mosque to the site of the National Monument in Lake Gardens. Transfer of the cenotaph was made possible by dismantling the structure into catalogued parts, allowing the structure to be transported in pieces and reassembled in its original form at the National Monument. Following its move, inscriptions were added to include fallen soldiers from the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and an archaic Malay translation of "To Our Glorious Dead", "Untok Mengingati Jasa Pahlawan-pahlawan Yang Gugor" ("To Remember the Service of Warriors Who Have Fallen").
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