KUALA LUMPUR : NEW DAYS OLD WAYS : A day in the life of Malaysia’s capital reveals how the city mixes Western business with Asian customs without turning its back on traditions that are its soul.

It is still dark. The moon, partially obscured by clouds, offers little light. Stars flicker vaguely in the sky. Street lights cast long, thin shadows on the streets. Swallows flit by, seeking food.

Kuala Lumpur has begun to stir.

Like other Asian cities, “K.L.,” as it is known to residents, is lurching into the 21th Century, grabbing for the tail of a speeding global economy. But the capital of Malaysia, unlike a booming Oriental metropolis such as Singapore, has not turned its back on the traditions that are its soul. Rather, it has tried to fuse modern industry with history, Western business with Asian custom.

In the process, K.L. has become a place where luxurious high-rise hotels are equipped with French pastry shops, closed-circuit color TV broadcasts in several languages and painted arrows point toward Mecca so that the religious can pray.

It is a place where Islam is the state religion, yet where government-employed Muslim women wearing the purdah are not allowed to veil their faces because it could hinder communication.

It’s a place where one can dine on intensely spicy Malaysian noodles chased with German beer, followed by a night of steamy dancing at a darkened disco.

Since 1857, when rich tin deposits were found here, this Southeast Asian city has progressed from a primitive boom town--not unlike California’s gold rush settlements--to a British colony, to capital of the independent nation of Malaysia.

But rubber, palm oil, rice, timber, tin and, increasingly, manufactured goods, have not been enough to fuel the country’s desire to be a Pacific Rim economic contender.

Malaysia needs tourism, and to that end it has scheduled a series of festivals during 1990 as part of Visit Malaysia Year, a promotional campaign the country hopes will attract more foreign spenders. It’s a good time to visit this flower-drenched city, which is rich with Asian culture and easy to explore.

6 a.m.

A solitary Indian-Muslim vendor, cool in his T-shirt and white cotton loincloth called a dhoti , walks briskly to his tea stall--the faster the tea starts brewing, the better his business.

It is nearly two hours before school begins, but already two female students are waiting for a bus. They are dressed in government-school turquoise-and-white uniforms; their veils identify them as Muslim. An early morning jogger stops for a breather on the bridge overlooking the Klang River. And those asleep in the tranquillity of the Jamek Mosque awaken and cleanse themselves in preparation for morning prayers.

“Allahu Akbar . . . Allahu Akbar.” The clear, resonant call of the muezzin--”Allah is the mightiest of all”--reverberates through the surrounding high-rises and the squat prewar structures circling this historic neighborhood . . . a place revered by the tourist and religious natives alike.

Jamek Mosque was built in 1909, 52 years after Kuala Lumpur was founded where the Gombak and the Klang rivers meet. Like an Arabian Nights fantasy set against an oasis of swaying palms, it is a replica of a graceful northern Indian mosque--walled courtyard, three domes, two minarets and a breezy, open prayer hall.

Surrounding the mosque are modern financial institutions, their architectural forms reflecting the countries they represent: an American bank in a glitzy skyscraper; a British bank in a traditional Georgian structure and a Malaysian bank building blending Asian architectural styles, capped by a distinctive Sumatran-influenced pointed roof.

7 a.m.

The narrow roads in this old section of Kuala Lumpur already are filling with traffic. Mini-vans crammed with commuters appear. A shopkeeper removes the planks covering his tiny, hole-in-the-wall space and opens for business.

About a mile away from Jamek Mosque, passengers gather at the main railway station--a grandiose, Moorish-style “palace” topped with domes and minarets, to meet trains filled with commuters or perhaps to board a train northbound for the island beach resort city of Penang, or to begin the journey 200 miles south to Singapore.

By 7 a.m. the overnight train from Singapore has arrived. Passengers spill from the station to be immediately swallowed by waiting taxis. This pandemonium is known as the “government-servant” jam--commuters who live in surrounding suburbs arriving for their jobs in Malaysian government offices.

It is all a far cry from the 1920s scene reported in “A Journal in the Federal Capital,” written by journalist George L. Peet: “So little traffic was there in the quiet and drowsy thoroughfare that Java Street (now Jalan Tun Perak) was in 1929 that I could park my car outside my office all day and it was not until 1934 that the police imposed a one-hour parking limit with a $2 fine for infringement.”

Kuala Lumpur did not emerge from its thatched-roof-village status until 1896, when it was declared administrative capital of the British-managed Federated Malay States.

In 1957 it became the Federation of Malaya. In 1963 Malaysia was formed, bringing together Malaya with several other nearby states. In 1931 K.L.’s population was 112,000; today, it is more than a million.

Like other urban areas of the world, the city has attracted migration from rural areas short on employment. Malays, Chinese and Indians interweave their cultures here.

In 1974 K.L. became a federal district like Washington, D.C. But only in the 1980s did K.L. blossom into a metropolis. Gleaming office structures began to multiply, adding a sophisticated sleekness. The number of luxury hotels and good restaurants increased, and the choice of night-time entertainment widened. Yet some things remain the same.

At 10 a.m. the city starts to steam. The temperature rises to 80 degrees; the humidity is 80%. The old market at Chow Kit Road is in full bustle. Starting from the covered fresh-food section where you find meat, seafood and vegetables, the Chow Kit market spills out onto the street in a splendid, colorful bazaar of treasures from all over Malaysia.

You can buy strange herbs and roots that promise virility, aromatic seasonings that will blend into fragrant curry powders, exotic trinkets from faraway villages and everyday household goods such as pots and pans.

“Mesti hujan hari ini . . .,” says a trader, predicting rain today as he wipes the sweat from his brow and rearranges the songkoks --traditional Malaysian pillbox hats--he is selling.

12:30 p.m.

Office workers all over the city scurry to outdoor food stands that pepper the city. The open-air food stalls serve a dizzying variety of Asian foods. Diners walk away with paper plates loaded with fresh fruit or seasoned rice or complex curries.

Meals take place wherever space allows: in parks, on benches, on wobbly picnic tables on the street. Despite the cloying heat, lunch time in Kuala Lumpur is a noteworthy event (food is always a preoccupation for Malaysians). In the perfectly balanced stalls, one can get fresh-cooked meals at prices that astound most Westerners. For example, nasi campur, which is vegetables, chicken, gravy and condiments served with rice, costs just $1.05.

All over K.L., Chinese coffee shops--small restaurants similar to our coffee shops--are famed for their variety of Malaysian-Chinese specialties. One is prawn mee soup, a subtly flavored prawn broth filled with boiled noodles, shrimp, and egg and chicken slices, and topped with crispy fried onions.

There is also fried kway teau --a greasy but delicious thick rice-noodle dish seasoned with shellfish, shrimp, egg and sometimes chives. Or try wan tan mee , chicken rice, curry laksa , lobak (a sort of stuffed fried turnip) or popiah (a non-fried spring roll).

For those who prefer Indian food, there are three kinds of restaurants. Indian-Muslim coffee shops are favorite breakfast haunts. They serve roti canai , a scrumptious, crispy white-flour pancake eaten with a thick lentil curry sauce. There is also murtaba , a pancake stuffed with minced chicken or mutton and cooked over a hot griddle.

Indian “banana leaf” restaurants offer top value and are a must-stop. Mounds of rice, vegetables, meats and curries are piled on huge banana leaves, rather than plates. Then there are restaurants serving classic northern Indian cuisine: chicken tandoori, rice pilau, minced lamb, cauliflower and potatoes. The best place for sampling Indian dishes is in the “Little India” neighborhood on Masjid India Street, about a block away from Jamek Mosque.

One of the two locations of an excellent Indian vegetarian restaurant, Devi Annapporna, is in the shopping area called Medan Tuanku, about eight blocks east of Little India.

Quite a few Malaysians go to great lengths to satisfy their discriminating palates. Yong Tau Foo, for instance, is fish-stuffed tofu cakes and vegetables available at most Chinese coffee shops.

But the best, the Orchard View Yong Tau Food at Ampang Village, is about six miles from the city center--never too far for the food lover, even if lunch is only an hour. It is always packed.

By 2 p.m., sated and happy, workers have returned to their offices. To get there, hail a cab and say: “Ampang Village Yong Tau Foo, off Jalan Ampang.” It’s open every day except Monday for lunch only.

3 p.m.

Dark, dramatic clouds have gathered. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in K.L., so this comes as no surprise. Yet the tropical storm is always wondrous to watch and hear. Crashing thunder echoes through the Klang Valley, lightning cracks through a black sky and the wind whistles around the city, singing strange musical tones as it whips against high-rise window panes.

Pedestrians run for cover from the sudden torrential rain. Motorcyclists take shelter beneath covered overpasses, and traffic slows to a crawl. Just when everyone is resigned to the rain, it stops as suddenly as it started, and Kuala Lumpur is beautifully cleansed. Frangipani flowers and hibiscus, the national flower, stand out in fresh splendor. The city sparkles.

The afternoon rush hour has begun by 4:30, but not everyone heads for home. At the public tennis courts in Jalan Duta, an exclusive suburb north of town, groups of Malaysian yuppies--many of whom were educated in England and the United States--warm up for a couple of sets. Gyms and fitness centers start to fill.

Others--foreign expatriates and Malays alike--head for drinking places such as the private Royal Selangor Club’s pub, “The Spotted Dog.” The nickname is thought to have originated in colonial days when a British officer’s wife who frequented the club left her two Dalmatians tied up outside.

After work, many Kuala Lumpurians also head for Lake Gardens, a lush park surrounding a lake just outside town, about 15 minutes by taxi from the city center. It has a well-maintained jogging track and exercise course with workout stations around the grounds.

At an open-air auditorium in the park, a group of dancers practices modern choreographed steps to music from a large cassette player. Against the rhythm of this pop music, athletes repeatedly scale the theater steps outside.

In the evenings, Lake Gardens is a great place to people-watch: families, children in the playground, lovers strolling and, always, young men and women hoping to meet each other.

7 p.m.

Dusk comes and the sky darkens. Throughout the city, at empty parking lots or unused roads, food stalls are set up and opened for the evening--their picnic tables brightened by colored plastic tablecloths.

Lately the most popular spot for all-night alfresco dining is in Bangsar, about three miles from the city center in a thriving residential area between the city and suburban Petaling Jaya. Stalls, carefully regulated by the city, are clean and safe for tourists.

The stalls can easily be reached by simply telling a taxi driver: “Bangsar Park McDonald’s.” The American fast-food outlets--McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut, among others--are all contained in a row of shops.

After the sun sets, Bangsar’s food stalls--in parking lots adjacent to the fast-food restaurants--become one of the city’s best places to savor Malay and Indian dishes.

For excellent Indian vegetarian food, try a stall called Devi Annapporna. Among the more unusual choices is nasi kerabu , a rice dish from the state of Kelantan that’s flavored with grated coconut and mint. Another is ayam percik , barbecued chicken spiced with tangy nut-flavored sauce, also from Kelantan, which is close to Thailand.

For those who prefer a more elegant and expensive dining experience, Kuala Lumpur’s five-star hotels have everything from Caesar salad (try it at the Continental restaurant at the Pan Pacific Hotel) and New Zealand rock oysters to sirloin steak and fillet of sole.

As in most big cities, nightclubs and discotheques are expensive, but traditional Malaysian entertainment is free nightly at the Central Market, an enclosed, air-conditioned mall filled with shoppers searching for clothing or handicraft items and sampling snacks.

11:30 p.m.

There still is activity in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown a few blocks from the Central Market in the area believed to be among the oldest sections of the city. The first tin miners settled here in 1857, and at one time the area was full of brothels and gambling dens. Today it’s an enormous night market and a haven for the imitation designer-label traders.

Wander around the Chinese herbalist medicine stalls, where you can remed any yin or yang imbalance with a cup of bitter-tasting broth.

At midnight, Jamek Mosque is as quiet as the early morning. The bright moon casts a romantic soft hue over its domes and minarets. The Klang River ripples on, joining the Gombak and flowing out to the Strait of Malacca.

It has been another day of old traditions and new ways in Kuala Lumpur.

A sampling of hotels:

Shangri-La: 722 rooms, No. 11 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50520 Kuala Lumpur; $115 to $1,154 U.S. per night.

Equatorial: 300 rooms, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 52500 Kuala Lumpur; $81 to $462.

Pan Pacific: 533 rooms, Jalan Putra, P.O. Box 11468, 50746 Kuala Lumpur; $115 to $1,154.

Regent: 469 rooms, No. 160, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur; $102 to $1,154.

Hotel Grand Continental: 328 rooms, 2 Jln Belia, Off Jln Raja Laut, 50350 Kuala Lumpur; $42 to $73.

The Plaza Hotel: 160 rooms, Jln Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur; $31 to $135.

YMCA of Kuala Lumpur: 60 rooms, Jln Padang Belia, 50470 Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur; $4 to $19.

Here are some of Kuala Lumpur’s attractions worth a visit:

--The National Museum has displays relating to Malaysian history, arts and crafts, weapons, wildlife and economics.

--The Sultan Abdul Samad building, a famous Moorish structure formerly home to government offices, is being transformed into a tourist and handicraft center.

--Malayan Railway Administration Headquarters, with its splendid Moorish architecture, houses administrative offices of the Railway Authorities.

--The Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Malaysia’s largest and most ornate Hindu temple, was built in 1873. Opposite the Hindu temple, the Taoist temple also is worth seeing.

Getting around:

Despite its spaghetti-like street layout, Kuala Lumpur is easy to explore because many of its residents speak English. Taxis are inexpensive and their drivers are well versed in the city’s tourist destinations. Addresses are not necessary for major sites and most restaurants and hotels. Metered taxis start at 70 cents (20% more for air conditioning); add $1 for a radio cab. Mini-buses are cheap, about 20 cents for a short trip, but there are no printed schedules. Ask at bus stops but avoid public transport between 7 and 9 a.m. and 4 and 6 p.m.

When to go:

The rainy season begins in November and continues through the middle of January, so the best time to visit is after that, especially from the beginning of March through June. Special promotional prices are being offered this year in honor of Visit Malaysia Year. For example, a special railway pass is about $35 for 10 days, $75 for 30 days, first-class, good for unlimited use in Malaysia and Singapore.

Rental car companies are offering discounts, as is Malaysia Airlines, for travel within the country. Travelers with U.S. passports require no visa for visits of up to three months.

For more information about Kuala Lumpur or Visit Malaysia Year, contact the Malaysian Tourist Information Center, 818 West 7th St., Suite 804, Los Angeles 90017, toll-free (800) 336-6842 or (213) 689-9702.