Bangsar is a residential suburb on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, lying about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south-west of the city centre. It is part of the Lembah Pantai parliamentary constituency. Bangsar is administered by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), unlike other townships in the Klang Valley such as Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya which have their municipal councils. Neighbourhood residents' associations and business councils play a part in communicating with the local authority, but they exercise no legal or administrative power. Malays make up most of the population at 61%, followed by the Chinese at 24%, Indians at 15%.
In the year 1906, Malaya was still under British administration. The London-based Kuala Lumpur Rubber Co. Ltd. (KLR) was incorporated on 19 May 1906. It set out to plant rubber trees around Kuala Lumpur to capitalise on the booming rubber price brought about by the introduction of the modern motor-car which require pneumatic rubber tyres as a replacement for horse-drawn carriages in the United States. Among KLR's first board members were a Mr Edouard Bunge and Alfred Grisar, a Belgian.[1] The two men's names were contracted to create the name Bunge-Grisar rubber estate or Bangsar Estate.
The Bangsar Estate was owned by its plantation firm Société Financière des Caoutchoucs (Socfin), before it was developed into a residential area.Bangsar Park was the first area to be developed for housing in Kuala Lumpur in 1969. From there Socfin began selling its land to private buyers and from then on, Bangsar began experiencing rapid development.
During the 1950s, several companies housed their staff and families in Bangsar due to its convenient location. The Malayan Railway (now Keretapi Tanah Melayu) used the Off Jalan Bangsar area because the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and depot is less than three kilometres away in Brickfields. The National Electricity Board (now Tenaga Nasional Berhad) housed their staff in Bukit Bangsar since its headquarters is in Pantai Hills. Staff quarters are still found and used in Bangsar today.
Among the earliest government building here is Bangsar Hospital (European Hospital), built in the early 1900s.Towards the end of 1965, an eight-floor building for the Public Health College costing a million ringgit was built in Bukit Bangsar. In 1966, the Health Inspectors Training School and the Nurses Training School was shifted to the new premise in Bangsar. In 1967, the Institute for Public Health was officially inaugurated and eventually expanded to its present form.
During the 13 May Riots in 1969 many shops owned by local Chinese in Bangsar were burnt. Unsuspecting road users passing Bangsar on their way to Petaling Jaya were ambushed leaving Jalan Bangsar littered with burnt-out cars and motorcycles.
Eng Lian Enterprise Sdn Bhd developed the Bangsar Baru neighbourhood, comprising 1,125 houses and a thriving business community in 1974.The 1970s saw Bangsar recover into a housing suburb catering to the baby boomers settling in Kuala Lumpur. As their children grew up and formed a large part of the city's youth, Bangsar became a sought-after place for the trendy during the 1980s. Among companies that contributed to the demographic development of Bangsar include Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad and Lever Brothers.
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