Petaling Jaya

Petaling Jaya, which was initially planned as a township to support Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, has seen massive progress and development, and today contributes significantly to Selangor's economy.

Petaling Jaya Old Town is fondly known as the place for coffee at old style coffeeshops, as well as the place to buy essential items from sundry shops that sell kitchen stoves and school uniforms under the same roof.

Its buildings may not have been the most stylish for its time, but to the locals, Petaling Jaya Old Town is a functional town centre with a distinct character, one that has outlasted the massive developments taking place around it.

Where it all started

Petaling Jaya or its abbreviation, PJ, as it is commonly called, was first developed by the British in 1950s to cope with the population boom due to the tin rush in Kuala Lumpur and Klang.

Located in the Petaling District, it became known as Jaya, which means success in Bahasa Malaysia, a name which has, with the benefit of hindsight, proven to be rather apt.

Petaling Jaya's development began in 1952, when it was carved out of a jungle which was part of the Effingham Estate.  Up till Malaysia's independence in 1957, the town grew to cover areas of up to 500ha.

The town's first settlement consisted of over 800 houses in Petaling Jaya South, areas covering what is known as Section 1 to Section 8 in and around Petaling Jaya Old Town today.  The first two main roads were called Jalan 1 and Jalan 2, which were renamed Jalan Templer and Jalan Othman respectively.

British High Commissioner of Malaya and Petaling District council chairman Lieutenant-General Sir Gerald Templer had planned for Petaling Jaya to be a satellite town to prevent the communists from getting help from locals; fences were built around housing areas.

As it was a new town, Petaling Jaya's administration was managed by the Kuala Lumpur District Officer up till the end of 1953, after which the Petaling Jaya Town Authority was formed to take over jurisdiction. In 1959, Abdul Aziz Haji Mohd Ali was appointed as head of the administrative body, making him the first Malayan citizen to take up the role.

When Kuala Lumpur became a Federal Territory in 1972, Petaling Jaya ceased to be part of the capital city, and instead was placed under the jurisdiction of the state of Selangor.

When Malaysia gained its independence from the British in 1957, the first phase of Federal Highway was opened to link Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang.  Federal Highway was the country's first highway, helping to boost the growth and development of three historic towns in Selangor and the Federal Territory.  The new link also opened up development for Petaling Jaya North.

Petaling Jaya by that time had seen the construction of over 3,000 houses, 100 shops and close to 30 factories in its expanding township.  In the late 1960s, a Petaling Jaya Municipal Board was formed, which was eventually upgraded - due to the township’s rapid growth - to become Petaling Jaya Municipal Council in 1977.

Migration to massive expansion

Petaling Jaya New Town was amongst the many new areas being developed as more and more people migrated from rural areas to the urban centres.

The new town was also popularly known as State PJ named after its landmark cinema, a popular place for Petaling Jaya residents to spend their weekends.

State PJ is located in Section 52 and remains, till today, a popular destination for customers in need of financial and commercial services.  Having housed Petaling Jaya’s first international hotel, the PJ Hilton, New Town was kept busy as a business destination due to its close proximity to the then international airport in Subang, situated a few kilometres away.  Subang Jaya and Sungei Way also saw an influx of people moving close to the city in search of better livelihoods.

Petaling Jaya's economy grew, with consumer companies like Colgate Palmolive and Fraser and Neave setting up shop in the late 1950s.  Petaling Jaya continued to attract major electronics and consumer manufacturers such as Motorola, Panasonic and Matsushita during the 1980s, in its large industrial sections.

Consumers were fast demanding goods and services, hence developers saw the advantage in building supermarkets and commercial areas such as the Asia Jaya complex.  The opening of Thrifty supermarket and the 1974 birth of Jaya Supermarket in Section 14 marked an explosion of shopping malls, as retail development continues significantly today all over Petaling Jaya.

Petaling Jaya's boundaries were realigned in the 1990s, resulting in Subang Jaya being governed under the new Subang Jaya Municipal council.  Other areas such as UEP Subang Jaya, Putra Heights and now Bandar Sunway are being administered by the same council.

Petaling Jaya was awarded city status in 2006, and now is home to close to two million people.  The satellite town has not stopped growing since, with new townships such as Damansara Utama, Damansara Jaya, Damansara Perdana, Kelana Jaya and the expansive Bandar Utama offering new housing and commercial areas to cope with economic and population growth.

Shopping complexes like Tropicana City Mall and the SS2 mall sit on the fringes of Damansara Jaya, SS2 and Section 17.  Also, Petaling Jaya New Town has not been spared from continuous development, as evidenced by the PJ Exchange tower, a 33-storey office building which began advertising for office leases in 2007.

Petaling Jaya's boom is supported by public transport, with the Putra LRT Kelana Jaya line servicing the thousands of commuters into and out of Kuala Lumpur for business and leisure.  The new Mass Rapid Transit project has also planned for key stations to be built in Petaling Jaya and in major commercial areas such as Bandar Utama and Damansara Perdana.