Highlights of week-long celebration include free parking and tree saplings, parade
FREE parking, a grand community parade and week-long festival will mark Petaling Jaya’s (PJ) 20th anniversary of attaining city status this month.
Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is organising the 20th Petaling Jaya City Anniversary Festival from June 16 to 21 to celebrate the historic June 20, 2006 city status declaration.
Spanning 97.2sq km with a population of over 807,000, Petaling Jaya has evolved from a quiet satellite town into a primary economic, educational and healthcare engine for the Klang Valley.
As a token of appreciation for the community, MBPJ is offering several free services during the festival week.
Residents can enjoy free parking at city council bays on June 19, free membership to the Petaling Jaya Community Library on June 20 and 21, and complimentary distributions of tree saplings, organic compost and Abate (dengue prevention powder).
The six-day celebration will feature 11 key programmes focused heavily on community and environmental sustainability.
Under green initiatives, eco-conscious residents can participate in the PJ Eco Recycling Plaza Open Day, recycling workshops and a Trash to Cash programme.
There will also be dedicated collection drives for used cooking oil and electronic waste.
The celebration will culminate on June 20 at Plaza MBPJ in Jalan Yong Shook Lin.
The highlights include a colourful community parade featuring schools, universities, healthcare institutions, hotel hospitality teams and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
At a pre-launch ceremony at the MBPJ Civic Hall on June 5, PJ mayor Datuk Mohamad Zahri Samingon also unveiled the Petaling Jaya Sustainable Community Awards 2026.
First introduced under Local Agenda 21 in 2000, the updated awards programme returns this year with revamped, impact-based criteria.
It expands participation categories to civil society organisations, residential associations and schools on a biennial basis.
“These two decades have witnessed the transformation of Petaling Jaya thanks to close collaboration between the local authorities, community and private sector,” said Mohamad Zahri.
“This year’s theme, ‘Petaling Jaya, the Happiest and Most Sustainable City’, reflects our shared aspiration to develop a city that balances economic growth with social and environmental well-being.”
The mayor also reminded city council staff to abandon working in silos, urging civil servants to leverage digital intelligence to eliminate administrative leakages and improve customer experience.
