Istana Ampang Tinggi (Ampang Tinggi Palace) is now seated in its permanent location in the Negeri Sembilan State Museum compound. This palace is surprisingly small unlike the opulent palace of our modern kings. Perhaps houses belonging to commoners at that time were even much smaller. This palace was made of timber with attap roof. Something special about this building is it was constructed without using even a piece of nail! All the timber parts were jointed together using the technique similar to dovetail technique. Its architecture is of course based on the Minangkabau architecture.
The plaque in front of the palace provides its brief description and its history until it ended up in the museum compound as part of the Negeri Sembilan’s priceless state heritage.
I quote the literature on the plaque here verbatim:
This timber palace contains an unusual number of finely carved panels and a pair of heavy sliding doors which cannot now be found anywhere else in Peninsular Malaysia.
The palace was built by the fifth Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan named Yam Tuan Ulin who ruled from 1861 to 1869 on a ridge overlooking a wide expanse of ricefields and when it was completed the Yam Tuan gave it to his daughter Tunku Chindai when she married Tengku Muda Chik the son of the fourth Yam Tuan, Yam Tuan Radin. The palace stood about six miles from Sri Menanti. Tengku Muda Chik added some more carved panels and he and his wife lived there. The palace was later given to their daughter Tunku Hajjah who married Yam Tuan Muhammed. the seventh Yam Tuan, as his second wife. When Tunku Halijah died in 1921 it was occupied from time to time by other members of the family. But from about 1930 it ceased to be in regular use and gradually fell into disrepair.
In 1953 the eighth Yam Tuan, Tunku Abdul Rahman, gave permission for the old building which by then had no roof to be dismantled and transported to Seremban. This could be done because no nail had been used when the palace was first constructed. The central portion of the building was re-erected on a site close to the State Secretariat and was converted to a mini museum containing weapons and other historic artifacts made or used in Negeri Sembilan. The building has since been moved to a new site about three miles from the town centre of Seremban.
Last but not least here are several pictures of this awesome palace for your viewing pleasure.
The front view of the Istana Ampang Tinggi
Side elevation of the timber palace
The palace's windows
The palace's windows
The interior of the palace - its right wing
The interior of the palace - its left wing where the subjects sought audience with the king
The bedroom
