MALAYSIA is no short of architectural wonders. From the Petronas Twin Tower to the KL Tower, all we have to do is raise our eyes to the sky and find the many monuments to our greatness.
And now, surpassing them all is the Merdeka Maybank Tower, which is noted as the tallest in South East Asia, and the second-tallest building in the world, surpassed only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
This is no easy feat. Strangely, for quite a number of Malaysians, pride was the last thought on their mind when they looked up to it.
In fact, quite a lot of them hated it, as seen in the comment section on a post on threads.
“My dislike of this building was solidified when while jogging along the Brickfields River of Life. I got blasted by sunlight of the actual sun from behind and the reflection from this tower in front of me. Double the heat,” said netizen nabilersyad.
Apparently he was not the only one. Several others also complained about the glare emitted by the building.
“Is that the spirit of Maybank coming out the body of 118,” said a cheeky hearthly_hny. Another netizen claims this was the reason why KL is hot.
“It feel like being burned,” added mhmmdn4z.
Fans of The Lord Of The Rings will have little trouble relating to this reference too:
When asked about the location where the photo was taken, thread starter deannashamsh said it was near Jalan Bukit Petaling.
The post has since prompted others to share their own photo of the very glaring Menara Maybank:
On another note, the striking, intense glare from the Menara Merdeka Maybank is primarily caused by its faceted geometric design combined with its massive glass exterior.
The building is covered in 18,144 diamond-shaped glass panels engineered to mimic the intricate, shimmering patterns of the traditional songket textile.
When sunlight hits the building at specific angles, it transforms into what locals and viral videos describe as a massive mirror in the sky.
Because these diamond angles are highly polished and flat, they act like real mirrors.
This, among other reasons, is why the Menara Merdeka Maybank is seen as less of a global icon, and more like a giant shard of reflective glass that blinds the poor Malaysians during their morning commute.
In other words, it is a RM5bil tower for the rich, and a glittering reminder of the gap between the haves and those who can only squint at it from afar.—Nov 6, 2026
