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Like all other historical urban centres, the capital city of Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
, contains a number of current and old roads and streets across the city. This article contains an alphabetical list of notable roads within Kuala Lumpur.


Overview

The names of the majority of older roads in and around
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
were originally formed during
British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
in Selangor, and as such, were in English and named after British figures, a handful of local dignitaries or royalties, districts, local populations, landmarks or geographical features. Other surrounding locales, such as Kampung Baru,
Pudu The pudus (Mapudungun ''püdü'' or ''püdu'', es, pudú, ) are two species of South American deer from the genus ''Pudu'', and are the world's smallest deer. The chevrotains (mouse-deer; Tragulidae) are smaller, but they are not true deer. The ...
, Imbi and Sentul have had roads known primarily in
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
since colonial rule. Following Malaya's independence in 1957 and the formation of
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
in 1963, street names in
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
were translated into the Malay language, some of which were given more simplified descriptions (i.e. "Old Market Square" as "''Medan Pasar Besar''" and "Foch Avenue" as "''Jalan Foch''"), as Malay was officially adopted as the official language of Malaysia in 1967. The vast majority of the street names was further renamed ''en masse'' in 1981, as part of post-independence
decolonisation Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
pushed by the then newly elected
Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fede ...
Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
. Street names which previously featured semblances of English origins were replaced by those commemorating local Malay figures, Malay culture and key politicians in Malaya/Malaysia. The renaming included roads in the core of old Kuala Lumpur, as well as major thoroughfares in the city. Further renaming of old street names persists to date, with the rounds of revision conducted by the
Kuala Lumpur City Hall The Kuala Lumpur City Hall ( ms, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, abbreviated DBKL) is the city council which administers the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This council was established after the city was officially granted city status on 1 Feb ...
as late as 2007 on streets in Pudu and in the fringe towns of
Sungai Besi Sungai Besi (formerly known as ''Sungei Besi'') (English: Steel River) is a town and suburb within the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. It was also a federal constituency in Kuala Lumpur from 1974 to 1995. Sungai Besi was a historical mining ...
and Jinjang, where English and British-named street names were still in use.
Minor road A side road is a minor highway typically leading off a main road.Main road — definition

s, however, are typically spared from this form of renaming. The accelerated development of the city after the country's independence also contributed to the widening of existing artery routes, creation of highways and new roadways, and extensive
grade separation In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...
of roadways. This resulted in significant alterations of roadways in the city, with several roads merged, split, or modified, forming new roads or retiring old ones.


Criticism

While earlier street name changes post-independence have been generally accepted, the persistent renaming campaign of existing roads and growing public awareness of the history of Kuala Lumpur's streets has increasingly drawn ire from local communities, particularly road users, postal users, and historians, due to inconvenience borne from memorising longer, more convoluted names of roads which were formerly shorter and easier to memorise, the increased cost of replacing and maintaining documents and signages, and the revisionist undertones of the renaming policy. One renaming campaign of eight major roads in honour of former ''
Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
s'' on 2 November'' 2014 had notably drawn backlash from the public as well as Member of Parliament Lim Lip Eng, leading to a rebuttal by
UMNO Youth The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
chief
Khairy Jamaluddin Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar ( Jawi: ; born 10 January 1976) is a Malaysian politician. He most recently served as Minister of Health in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 t ...
; the name change proceeded in spite of the controversy.


Standard translations

A guideline was formulated for the translation of English signage on roads. The
Kuala Lumpur City Hall The Kuala Lumpur City Hall ( ms, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, abbreviated DBKL) is the city council which administers the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This council was established after the city was officially granted city status on 1 Feb ...
is pursuing a process of standardisation for road signage. (e.g. Tengkat ''Tong Shin'' has been renamed as ''Jalan Tong Shin'') *Circular - ''Pekeliling'' *Drive – ''Persiaran'' (e.g. Hampshire Drive/''Persiaran Hampshire'') *Gardens – ''Taman'' (e.g. Maxwell Garden/''Taman Maxwell''; Happy Garden/"Taman Bahagia") *Lane – ''Lorong'' (e.g. Horse Lane/''Lorong Kuda'') *Road – ''Jalan'' (e.g. Perak Road/''Jalan Perak'') *Ring Road - ''Lingkaran'' (e.g. ''Lingkaran Syed Putra'') *Square – ''Medan'' (e.g. Old Market Square/''Medan Pasar Lama'') *Street – ''Lebuh'' (e.g. Menjalara Street/''Lebuh Menjalara'')


Major roads


Other notable roads


See also

*
Street names of George Town, Penang The street names of George Town reflect the multicultural heritage of the city, the capital of the former British settlement of Penang, now part of Malaysia. Most streets in the city were built and named during the colonial era, and the histo ...
*
List of roads in Ipoh This is a list of main roads and streets in Ipoh — the capital of the Perak state of Malaysia. Like many city streets in Malaysia and Singapore, these were named after British colonial officers or adjacent landmarks in English. Following the h ...
* List of old and new road names in Taiping


References


Larry Lam's Guide Note: Old Names of Roads in KL

Kuala Lumpur road map, circa 1960
* Mariana Isa & Maganjeet Kaur (2015), Kuala Lumpur Street Names, Marshall Cavendish: Singapore. {{ISBN, 978-981-4561-54-9
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...