Petaling Jaya

Petaling Jaya is a satellite town of the federal territory Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is located in the Petaling district. Petaling Jaya has an area of approximately 97.2 km², arguably the state of Selangor's largest town. The municipality has applied for city status in August 2005. The Menteri Besar of Selangor announced on 30 September 2005 that Petaling Jaya will be granted city status in March 2006.

The municipal council consists of populated appointed operatives of the federal government whereas originally, the municipality was composed of directly elected representatives.

History

It was first developed by the British 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 centered around the area currently known as “Old Town” today. The first road built in Petaling Jaya was simply called "Jalan 1" or Road 1, and is now called Jalan Templer (named after the then British High Commissioner to Malaya, Lieutenant-General Sir Gerald Templer).

Until the end of 1954, the town was administered by the Kuala Lumpur District Officer and the Petaling Jaya Town Authority. 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 new 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, Sunway, Puchong and USJ were placed under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Subang Jaya Municipal Council or MPSJ.

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

Demographics

As of 2000, Petaling Jaya claimed 355,530 inhabitants within the area of 51.4 sq.km but has not gained official status as a city due to its close proximity to Kuala Lumpur. 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 comprised of 55% Chinese, 30% Malays, 13% Indians, whereas the remainder consists of other races. Petaling Jaya residents are served by two Barisan Nasional Member of Parliaments (MP), Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun - PJ North MP and Dato Donald Lim - PJ South MP.

Landmarks

Malaysia's oldest university, University of Malaya is situated in Petaling Jaya. In 1983, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIU) was set up in the same city. IIU has since relocated its main campus to Gombak.

Another 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.

Transport

Transportation facilities and infrastructure are well developed in Petaling Jaya. Public transporation is provided by various bus companies as well as the Kuala Lumpur Putra Light Rail Transit system, which extends slightly into Petaling Jaya. Petaling Jaya has one access point to the national highway system North-South Expressway. Internally, highways such as the Damansara-Puchong Expressway and the Federal Highway also exist.

Education

There are more than 23 colleges and universities in Petaling Jaya including the International Islamic University Malaysia campus in Section 17, MARA University of Technology (UiTM) campus branch in Section 1, Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR) campus branch in Section 13, Tun Abdul Razak University (UNITAR) main campus in SS6 Kelana Jaya and Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) main campus in SS7.

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