Petaling Jaya

Official name	Petaling Jaya
Nickname	PJ, Bandar Raya Inai Merah
Motto	Mesra, Cepat, Tepat ()
Website	http://www.mbpj.gov.my
Image seal	Petaling Jaya City Council Emblem.png
Map caption	Location within Petaling District and the state of Selangor
Pushpin map	Malaysia peninsula
Pushpin label position	right
Pushpin map caption	Location in the Peninsula Malaysia
Pushpin map1	Malaysia
Pushpin label position1	right
Pushpin map caption1	Location in Malaysia
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name	Malaysia
Subdivision name1	Selangor
Established title	Establishment
Established date	1954
Established title2	Granted city status
Established date2	2006, June 20
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Mohamad Roslan Sakiman
Area total km2	97.2
Population as of	2004
Population total	480000
Timezone	MST
Utc offset	+8
Timezone dst	Not observed
Latns	N
Coordinates	3°05′″N101°39′″N
Longew	E

Petaling Jaya (commonly called "PJ" by locals) is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a city status. Since then, Petaling Jaya has been commonly known as the most developed non-capital city in Malaysia.

History

It was first developed by the British on the former 486 hectares Effingham Estate, as an answer to the problem of overpopulation in Kuala Lumpur in 1952 and has since witnessed a dramatic growth in terms of population size and geographical importance. The development of Petaling Jaya commenced in 1952 with the construction of 800 houses centered around the area currently known as “Old Town” today.

Lieutenant-General Sir Gerald Templer (then the British High Commissioner of Malaya and Petaling District council chairman) planned for Petaling Jaya to be a satellite town to prevent people from assisting the communists and the earlier housing areas were fenced off from the surrounding area . The first two main roads built in Petaling Jaya were simply called "Jalan 1" or Road 1 and "Jalan 2" or Road 2. Road 1 was later named Jalan Templer while Road 2 was named Jalan Othman.

Until the end of 1953, the town was administered by the Kuala Lumpur District Officer. The Petaling Jaya Town Authority headed by Mr. N.A.J. Kennedy commenced administrating Petaling Jaya in 1954. On 24 August 1959, Encik Abdul Aziz bin Haji Mohd Ali became the first Malayan to head the PJ Authority. Administratively and historically, it was considered part of Kuala Lumpur. However, Petaling Jaya ceased to be part of Kuala Lumpur when the latter became a Federal Territory on February 1, 1972. It then became a township in its own right within the state of Selangor.

PJ South (also known as PJS), from Section 8 to PJ Old Town, had the first settlements, which were established around 1953. As development progressed, PJ North, located on the other side of the Federal Highway, was developed.

The first shopping complex in Petaling Jaya – Jaya Shopping Centre (better known as Jaya Supermarket) – was built in 1974 in Section 14.

On 1 January 1977, the Petaling Jaya Town Authority was upgraded to become Petaling Jaya Municipal Council or Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya (MPPJ). Petaling Jaya progressed rapidly due to the massive rural-urban migration. As more people from rural areas immigrated, Sungai Way and Subang districts along with areas such as Subang Jaya, Seksyen 52 (New Town or colloquially known as State; the name of the first, former cinema in the area) developed in areas under the jurisdiction of the municipality.

Eventually, in a boundary realignment exercise in early 1997, parts of Petaling Jaya such as Subang Jaya, UEP Subang Jaya, Putra Heights, and Bandar Sunway were placed under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Subang Jaya Municipal Council or MPSJ.

Petaling Jaya also acts as one of the centre hubs of Klang Valley (comprising parts of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and other surrounding areas) for industry. True to its name "Jaya" (Malay for success), Petaling Jaya quickly became the most prosperous city in Selangor.

City status

On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a city status and Dato' Ahmad Termizi Puteh, a former Yang di-Pertua MPPJ, automatically became the first mayor (Datuk Bandar) of Petaling Jaya. Petaling Jaya's local authority changed its name to Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) or Petaling Jaya City Council following the granting of city status. On 15 August, Dato' Ahmad Termizi Puteh retired from the post of mayor and he was later replaced by Tuan Hj. Mohamad Roslan Sakiman.

City sections

Petaling Jaya is divided into several sections. Some sections themselves are subdivided into smaller neighborhood (kejiranan), for example SS5D. Some sections have their own names (SS1 as Kampung Tunku), while other sections are grouped together (SS5, SS6 as part of Kelana Jaya).

These sections names are used in the addressing format for locations in Petaling Jaya.

No. xx,
Jalan SS3/5,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.

This system would point to house number xx, 5th street, section SS3, Petaling Jaya. This would remove the need to have an additional address line for the housing estate name like most addresses used for the rest of the country.

The city sections are numbered as such that the older sections have no prefixes to their section number (Seksyen 1, Seksyen 9) while later sections have prefixes such as SS (short for sub-section), PJS (Petaling Jaya Selatan) and PJU (Petaling Jaya Utara).

Demographics

As of 2000, Petaling Jaya claimed 355,530 inhabitants within the area of 51.4 km². The actual population by 2003 would have been a little over 450,000 inhabitants without taking into account the total population of the Kuala Lumpur-Petaling Jaya conurbation which would have resulted in a total population of 1.5 million. Its population is made up of 55% Chinese, 30% Malays, and 13% Indians, whereas the remainder consists of other races. Petaling Jaya residents are served by four Members of Parliament, DAP's Tony Pua in PJ Utara, PKR's Hee Loy Sian in PJ Selatan, PKR's R. Sivarasa in Subang and PKR's Loh Gwo-Burne in Kelana Jaya....

Landmarks

, as seen from the Kuala Lumpur side.]]

A prominent landmark is the Kota Darul Ehsan arch which symbolically marks the boundary between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. This arch straddled the Federal Highway (Lebuhraya Persekutuan) which was originally the only highway link between Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur. However, many links now exist as alternatives to the congested Federal Highway.

Close to the Kelana Jaya Line's Taman Jaya Station is the Thai Wat Chetawan temple. This ornate building is probably the only authentic-design Thai temple in the Klang Valley and is very popular amongst the Buddhist community. A short drive ahead is PJ State, the nickname for the Central Business District of Petaling Jaya with the landmark Menara MBPJ as a focal point. PJ State is more formally referred to as PJ New Town.

Mutiara Damansara is the shopping heaven in Petaling Jaya. Some of the well known shopping malls are The Curve, Ikea, e@Curve and One Utama.

Economy

Residents of Petaling Jaya have a wide selection of traditional shops as well as a choice of several medium to large shopping complexes. The shops are situated at various strategic locations such as SS2, Damansara Utama, Kelana Jaya, Damansara Jaya, Taman Megah, SS3, Section 14, SEA Park, PJ New Town and PJ Old Town. During Petaling Jaya's early days, local shopping mostly meant patronizing the shops at either PJ Old Town, New Town or Section 14. PJ New Town is also commonly referred to as PJ State or simply State.

The first institution that resembled a shopping centre in Petaling Jaya was the Thrifty Supermarket that used to operate along Jalan Barat. However, the very first supermarket to operate in Petaling Jaya is perhaps either Ben's Mini Market or Pok Brothers Mini Market, both of which operated in PJ New Town. Not too long afterwards, Fitzpatrick's Supermarket commenced operations at the Asia Jaya Complex.

The late 1950s saw a growth in manufacturing industries with foreign companies like Singapore's Fraser and Neave (F&N;), and Colgate-Palmolive (Malaysia) setting up factories at Seksyen 13.

A while later, during the mid-seventies, Jaya Supermarket commenced operations at Section 14. It was closed down and demolished in 2008. Most of the shops in the supermarket are being relocated to the nearby Jaya 33 supermarket on Jalan Semangat. The Fitzpatrick Supermarket did not survive the 1980s recession. The Asia Jaya Complex itself was transformed to become the Armada Hotel during the mid-1990s. Thrifty Supermarket did not survive the 1990s economic recession.

Today Court's is operating at this Jalan Barat location, housed in the building known as Wisma Thrifty. In SEA Park, the Emporium Supermarket operated during the 1970s in the premises located above the SEA Park wet market. The Emporium too did not survive the 1980s economic downturn.

By the 1980s, the Daya and Fajar Supermarkets had commenced operations at SS2 and Damansara Utama respectively. Daya did not survive the 1997 economic crisis whereas Fajar relocated to Banting in 2006. Fajar's former Damansara Utama location was extensively renovated and by early 2007 became Uptown 37. This location is today occupied by upmarket tenants such as HSBC and Starbucks. In SS2, the Savemart Supermarket has been a popular choice for groceries since the 1980s.

The Amcorp Mall is a mall opened in December 1997 and situated in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, located opposite the Taman Jaya LRT station which is served by the Kelana Jaya Line, operated by Rapid KL. It is also located in the proximity of the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel, the Armada Hotel and a major A&W; outlet. The mall also houses the headquarters of Amcorp Berhad, a local bank. Adjoined to this mall are 2 18-storey office towers called Amcorp Tower and PJ Tower, and a 27-storey commercial-cum-serviced apartment block which was completed and opened for occupation in 2005.

Current developments

The 1980s saw the establishment of the Atria in Damansara Jaya and Subang Parade in Subang Jaya. The Atria provided the opportunity for residents to patronise either the Japanese Kimisawa or the French Printemps department stores. Both of them did not survive the 1980s economic recession. In 1995, 1 Utama commenced operations at Bandar Utama. Jaya Jusco, a Japanese Department Store which had operated since 1984 at Taman Tun Dr Ismail later relocated as one of the anchor tenants of 1 Utama.

During the 1990s, Bandar Sunway was being developed by the Sunway Group. It was later recognized as a tourism destination with recreations such as Sunway Lagoon, Sunway Pyramid and etc.

Tesco Supermarket commenced operations in Mutiara Damansara in 2003. This was quickly followed by the Ikano Power Centre in 2004 and the Curve in 2005. The Ikano Power Centre houses South East Asia's largest IKEA Swedish furniture store. IKEA had previously operated at the nearby 1 Utama. At about the same time, the 1-Utama new wing had commenced operations. By 2006, these establishments had synergised to make Bandar Utama and adjacent Mutiara Damansara to become very popular shopping destinations in the Klang Valley.

In 2004, a Giant Hypermarket commenced operations in Kelana Jaya. This complex houses the Giant Hypermarket which is off the Damansara-Puchong Expressway. And the new mall called SStwo Mall that have just recently open at end of December 2010.

Transport

Transportation facilities and infrastructure are well developed in Petaling Jaya. Bus services since Petaling Jaya's early days until the early 1990s were provided by Sri Jaya. Some SEA Park residents may recall the old Sri Jaya Leyland Albion buses on the No.241 service struggling to climb the relatively steep Jalan 21/1. The mid-eighties saw the introduction of mini-buses. For the first time then, Petaling Jaya residents had a quick means to travel to Kuala Lumpur. Waiting time for a mini-bus to arrive was often less than 10 minutes. The introduction of the IntraKota bus system by DRB-Hicom saw the replacement of Sri Jaya and the mini-buses by the early 1990s. At the same time, some of the Petaling Jaya-Kuala Lumpur bus routes were also serviced by Metrobus. The demise of the mini-buses meant that the waiting time for buses was back to the 30 to 60 minutes regime.

The introduction of the Putra LRT service in 1998 saw the addition of the Putraline feeder bus services. The combination of Putraline and Putra LRT brought a relief to many Petaling Jaya residents especially those who had had to rely on public transportation. In 2005, the Triton buses briefly supplemented the Putraline feeder services.

In 2006 RapidKL took over the operations of IntraKota as well as both Star and Putra LRT. Today, public transportation is provided by RapidKL in the form of buses as well as the KL Light Rail Transit System - Kelana Jaya Line, which extends slightly into Petaling Jaya.There are five Kelana Jaya Line stations in Petaling Jaya. Petaling Jaya has three access points to the national highway system North-South Expressway via Kota Damansara, Damansara, and Subang. Internally, highways such as the Damansara-Puchong Expressway, Sprint Expressway and the Federal Highway also exist.

There are plans for extensions to the existing Klang Valley light rail transit network with a new 30 km line from Kota Damansara in the northern part of Petaling Jaya to Cheras (southern Kuala Lumpur) with stops in Mutiara Damansara and Taman Tun Dr Ismail, to name a few.

The extension line which would connect to Subang Jaya, the Kelana Jaya Line, will start operation on April 2011 and expected to be completed in 2013.

Education

There are more than 23 colleges and universities in Petaling Jaya including the International Islamic University Malaysia matriculation campus in Section 17, MARA University of Technology (UiTM) campus branch on Jalan Othman in Section 1, Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR) campus branch in Section 13, Tun Abdul Razak University (UNITAR) main campus in SS6 Kelana Jaya, Food Institute of Malaysia (FIM) in SS6 Kelana Jaya, Malaysia University of Science, Technology (MUST) main campus in SS7, Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU) in Damansara Jaya, Kolej Bandar Utama (KBU) in Bandar Utama and IACT at Damansara Utama. International University College Of Technology Twintech a private college at Bandar Sri Damansara.

The UiTM facility in Section 1 commenced life as the Dewan Latehan RIDA in November 1956. It was later renamed as the Dewan Latihan MARA. This was a training centre under the auspices of RIDA or the Rural and Industrial Development Authority. Essentially it was also the inspiration of Dato' Onn Jaafar, the founder and former president of UMNO or the United Malays National Organization. This UiTM facility can be regarded as Petaling Jaya's oldest college.

There are many secondary schools in Petaling Jaya including SMK Taman SEA, SMK Damansara Utama, Bukit Bintang Boys School, SMK Assunta, Sri Aman Girls School, Catholic High School, La Salle PJ, SMK Damansara Jaya, SMK Sultan Abdul Samad, SMK Taman Medan, SMK Sri Permata, SMK (P) Taman Petaling and SMK Kelana Jaya. The oldest school in Petaling Jaya is likely the Road 10 Primary School in Old Town. The foundation stone of the school was placed by Almarhum Sultan Sir Hisamuddin Alam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah in 1952.

Malaysia's first private nursing college is located at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya. The Tun Tan Cheng Lock College of Nursing was founded in 1961 by the Catholic Sisters of the Missionaries of Mary.

The Deutsche Schule of Kuala Lumpur is an International School that is located on Lorong Utara B near the Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital. The syllabus at this school is based on the German Education Curriculum.

The Bible College of Malaysia, a Christian theological institution, is located on Jalan Gasing.

Places of worship

Residents of Petaling Jaya can fulfil their religious obligations at various places of worship.

The Muslim community can pray at mosques such as those located at Jalan Templer, Section 17, Section 14, Section SS1 and Damansara Utama. A new mosque, Masjid Kelana Jaya Putera was recently completed in Kelana Jaya. Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah at Jalan Templer is likely the oldest mosque in Petaling Jaya. This mosque was declared open by HRH the Sultan of Selangor on 23 October 1964. Later in 2008, the mosque was modernised and rebuilt.

The Roman Catholic Christian community can attend mass at churches such as St Francis Xavier (est. 1961) located at Jalan Gasing, Assumption on Jalan Templer as well as at St Ignatius in Taman Mayang. The Assumption church is the oldest and dates from 15 August 1959. The Trinity Methodist church dates from 2 August 1959 and is located at Jalan 5/37. An Anglican as well as a Lutheran church is located at Jalan Utara. Glad Tidings Assembly of God church is located at Jalan Bersatu 13/4. Several shophouse-based churches exist across Petaling Jaya. In 2005, the former Ruby Cinema in SEA Park temporarily became the Damansara Utama Methodist Church. In 2008, DUMC shifted to its permanent location at Jalan 13/1. The Grace Assembly of God Church is located on Jalan SS23/6E in Taman Megah. by rishi

The Buddhist community can fulfil their religious obligations at the Thai Chetawan Temple along Jalan Gasing and at the Cempaka Buddhist Lodge in SS23 Taman SEA. Chinese temples such as Poh Lum Fatt Yuen along Jalan Gasing fulfil the needs of the Taoist community. Taoist temples can also be found in PJ Old Town and in Section 11.

The Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple (Sanskrit:श्री सिद्धि) located at Section 4 along Jalan Selangor serves as the main religious facility for Petaling Jaya's Hindu community. The main God worshipped here is Ganesh, (Sanskrit: गणेश). Vinayaga is a common name for Ganesh. There is a Mariamman Temple in Jalan 17/47, and the Geeta Ashram is a north-Indian style Hindu Temple dedicated to Krishna. The Geeta Ashram can be found in Lorong Utara B in Section 52.

There is also a Sikh Gurdwara located in Lorong Utara B, beside the Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital and the Geeta Ashram. China Temple

Sister cities

Tangerang, Indonesia

References

PJ set to undergo major redevelopment, The Star, May 4, 2007.

One of PJ’s earliest supermarkets, The Star, May 7, 2007.

External links

SS2, Petaling Jaya :: Your local business directory

Petaling Jaya

Category:Populated places in Selangor Category:Populated places established in the 1950s Category:Petaling Jaya