Seeing PJ grow to cityhood

 

UNLIKE the pioneer residents of Petaling Jaya, inhabitants of the country’s latest city are spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a place to shop or hang out. 

Shopping complexes abound with outlets to suit the tastes of the old, young and in-betweens. 

The shopping triangle formed by Bandar Utama and Mutiara Damansara is a major shopping-cum-entertainment area for Petaling Jaya folk.  

The district not only offers shops selling a diverse range of the latest in consumer goods but also fancy restaurants, recreational facilities and state-of-the-art cineplexes dedicated to moviegoers.  

Dr Lim (third from left) flipping through an old newspaper on Petaling Jayatogether with some pioneer residents.

Lim Kok Tin ... was around when thebucket system was still in use

The older parts of Petaling Jaya like PJ Old Town, PJ State, Section 14, Section 17, Kelana Jaya and Petaling Jaya South also have their share of favourite shopping and eating haunts, parks and sports centres.  

All types of public transport are also easily available in Petaling Jaya, be it buses, taxis and LRT service, making access to schools, universities and hospitals easy.  

But this was not the case back in the early 1960s when pioneer resident Othman Saad moved into what is now PJ Old Town.  

“There was plenty of greenery and open spaces back then but not shops. My only hangout was a place called Taman Selera on Jalan Othman.  

“Petaling Jaya was then a small town with inadequate amenities, the roads were narrow and one could count the number of cars on the road,” said Othman who came to Petaling Jaya from Kampar, Perak, to look for a job.  

Another pioneer resident Lim Kok Tin recalled that Petaling Jaya was made up of rubber and oil palm estates with minimal public amenities.  

Valerie Carrol ... houses back then didnot have fences

“There was only one public bus providing internal services four sessions a day. And the bucket system was used for the whole town.  

Lim recalled that the first school to open in Petaling Jaya was SJK Jing Wu while the first hospital, the Assunta Hospital, was then a clinic run by nuns. “It was almost free of charge,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Valerie Carrol and her family came to live in Petaling Jaya in 1955 when she was just eight years old.  

“There were already two Eurasian families here then - the Pintos and Massangs. We lived at Road 21 while the Massangs were at Road 25. They still live there today,” she said. 

She remembers playing “police and thief” without any boundaries to hamper their games as houses then had no fences. “The whole neighbourhood was our playground.” 

She is said there are not enough playgrounds or well-maintained play equipment in Petaling Jaya now.  

“Now that I am a grandmother I wish there are more recreational parks in Petaling Jaya,” said Carrol.  

Perhaps that is the price of development.  

An undated photograph of house No 51 in Jalan 1/10, PJ Old Town in the earlydays of Petaling Jaya.

Today Petaling Jaya becomes Malaysia’s 10th city, joining Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Kuching, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Malacca, Shah Alam, Alor Star and Miri,  

The once small town has fulfilled all criteria to acquire the status.  

Petaling Jaya is the state's centre of administration with an annual financial revenue of more than RM80mil.  

The former Majestic Theatre in Jalan Othman, PJ Old Town.

It is also a business, financial and higher educational centre with stable institutions.  

With a population of 500,000 people, Petaling Jaya undeniably possesses a unique historical background. 

Petaling Jaya is also the first new town development in the country as development began in 1953 

Besides that, areas in Petaling Jaya are continuously under development.  

There are more than 23 colleges and universities in Petaling Jaya including Universiti Antarabangsa Islam campus branch at Section 17, Universiti Institute Technology Mara campus branch at Section 1, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) campus branch at Section 13, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar) main campus at SS6 Kelana Jaya and Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) main campus at SS7.  

1Utama shopping centre in Bandar Utama is oneof Petaling Jaya’s popular hangouts.

There is the Petaling Jaya Community Library in Jalan Selangor. 

State exco for tourism, health and consumer affairs, Datuk Dr Lim Thuang Seng, who is also Bukit Gasing assemblyman, said a city may not have myriads of skyscrapers crowding the sky like Los Angeles.  

“But Petaling Jaya was a city enough to cater for the needs of the local by fulfilling all their needs in every aspect, he said.  

“The emphasis will be on the quality of living,” said Lim.