HOI Setapak, Kuala Lumpur

The earliest inhabitants of Setapak were the aborigines (orang asli), and the Minangkabaus. On 12 April 1884 Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor pleaded for the re-appointment of Batu Tapak as the headman of the aborigines living in that area, and hence the name Setapak, in honour of the headman.

The mukim (commune/subdistrict) of Setapak is situated north-east of Kuala Lumpur in the constituency of Gombak and has an area of 62 square miles (160 km2). The northern limit of Setapak is Gunung Bunga Buah; its north-eastern limit is Genting Sempah on the Pahang border; to the east is Bukit Dinding and to the south-east is the Rifle range. The state constituency of Gombak Setia roughly corresponds to the boundaries of the mukim of Setapak; before 1974 it also includes what is today the parliamentary constituencies of Wangsa Maju and Setiawangsa.