Damansara, Selangor
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Damansara is a suburb in
Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...
, a
mukim A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English language, English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay language, Malay from the Arabic word ...
in
Petaling District The Petaling District is a district located in the heart of Selangor in Malaysia. Petaling is not to be confused with the city of Petaling Jaya located in it, nor the ''mukim'' of Petaling under Subang Jaya City. The district office is located i ...
, as well as a parliamentary constituency in
Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. It is named after the Damansara River which flows nearby. It is one of the most densely populated areas in Malaysia. According to the 2000 Census of Malaysia, it was the second-largest district subdivision in Malaysia in terms of population with 453,420 residents.


Definition

The area defined as ''Damansara'' has changed over time. During colonial era, and until 1974, the ''mukim'' (commune/sub-district) of Damansara, being part of Klang before 1974, covered the state capital
Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...
,
Subang Jaya Subang Jaya is a city in Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. It comprises the southern third district of Petaling. It consists of the neighbourhoods from SS12 to SS19, UEP Subang Jaya (USJ), Putra Heights, Batu Tiga as well as PJS7, PJ ...
, Bandar Sunway,
Kelana Jaya Kelana Jaya is a suburb of Petaling Jaya city, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, comprising sections SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, and SS7. The Damansara–Puchong Expressway cuts through this neighbourhood. The shopping mall Paradigm Mall is located here ...
, Kota Kemuning and parts of Putra Heights. It was named after the Damansara River which flows through the commune. The ''mukim'' of Damansara, transferred to the new
Petaling District The Petaling District is a district located in the heart of Selangor in Malaysia. Petaling is not to be confused with the city of Petaling Jaya located in it, nor the ''mukim'' of Petaling under Subang Jaya City. The district office is located i ...
in February 1974, roughly corresponds to the parliamentary constituencies of
Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...
, Subang and Kota Raja. Later, the definition of what constituted Damansara shifted north. Now Damansara mostly refers to the areas in the northern part of
Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...
's city area, bordered by
Kelana Jaya Kelana Jaya is a suburb of Petaling Jaya city, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, comprising sections SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, and SS7. The Damansara–Puchong Expressway cuts through this neighbourhood. The shopping mall Paradigm Mall is located here ...
in the south,
Kepong Kepong is a town in northern Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of Stat ...
and Segambut in the east,
Sungai Buloh Sungai Buloh, or Sungei Buloh, is a town, a mukim (commune) and a Dewan Rakyat, parliamentary constituency in the northern part of Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. The name itself means ''bamboo river'' in the Malay language. It is located ...
in the north and west, covering the constituencies of Damansara,
Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...
and
Sungai Buloh Sungai Buloh, or Sungei Buloh, is a town, a mukim (commune) and a Dewan Rakyat, parliamentary constituency in the northern part of Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. The name itself means ''bamboo river'' in the Malay language. It is located ...
. Some townships such as Kota Damansara, Bandar Sri Damansara and Damansara Damai, though carrying the ''Damansara'' name, partially lie in the
Sungai Buloh Sungai Buloh, or Sungei Buloh, is a town, a mukim (commune) and a Dewan Rakyat, parliamentary constituency in the northern part of Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. The name itself means ''bamboo river'' in the Malay language. It is located ...
constituency.


Origins

Damansara was originally a small harbour-like settlement that was located near the mouth of the Damansara River along the Klang River. In the mid-1870s, it was the final destination for
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
s used by the British to travel to Kuala Lumpur from Klang as the steam boats used cannot go as far as the center of Kuala Lumpur near the junction of Gombak River and Klang River. Travellers would then go from Damansara to Kuala Lumpur via the Damansara Road which finished at Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur. One popular theory suggests that the name is fossilized as a result of spelling mistake, and the place was originally named Damar Sara, as marked in a map of 1882. 'Damar' means resin obtained from any of a number of tropical, chiefly Indo-Malaysian trees, used to make varnish, while 'Sara' means precious or important in Sanskrit. It has been speculated that the then British Resident and land registrar, Sir William Maxwell, had accidentally mistook the ‘r’ for an ‘n’ and merged the words ‘Damar Sara’ into ‘Damansara' when he implements Selangor Registration of Titles Regulation on 1891. Damansara was originally a small river port, and the harbour was known as Labuhan Sara – ''Labuhan'' means a place for ships to anchor, while ''sara'' can be taken to mean "departure" or "embarkation" (related to the word ''bersara'' meaning retirement). However, this theory is unlikely to be true since there exists written and cartographic records which suggest that the Damansara was already in use earlier. The spelling was used by the second Resident of Selangor, William Douglas in his diary entry (July 21, 1867) when he traveled to Kuala Lumpur for the first time; and it can also be found a map sent to Edward Maxwell by Frank Swettenham in March 1883.


Townships

The Damansara area is home to several townships, but most of the subdivision falls under the administration of
Petaling Jaya City Council The Petaling Jaya City Council (, abbreviated MBPJ) is the city council which administers the city of Petaling Jaya in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. This council was established after the city was officially granted city status on 20 June 200 ...
. It includes the following townships: *Damansara Impian (SS 20) *Damansara Kim (SS 20) * Damansara Utama (SS 21) * Damansara Jaya (SS 22) * Ara Damansara (previously known as Ladang Pilmoor, or Pilmoor Estate in English) (PJU 1A) *Aman Suria Damansara (PJU 1A) *Damansara Idaman (PJU 1A) *Damansara Lagenda (PJU 1A) *Pelangi Damansara (PJU 3) *Tropicana Golf & Country Resort (PJU 3) *Tropicana Indah (previously known as Damansara Indah) (PJU 3) *Sunway Damansara (PJU 5) * Kota Damansara (PJU 5) *Damansara Emas (PJU 5) * Bandar Utama Damansara (PJU 6) * Mutiara Damansara (PJU 7) * Damansara Perdana (PJU 8) * Bukit Lanjan/Central Park Damansara (PJU 8) *Flora Damansara (PJU 8) * ForestHill Damansara (PJU 8) * Bandar Sri Damansara (PJU 9) *Damansara Damai (PJU 10) *Sutera Damansara (PJU 10) *Saujana Damansara (PJU 10) * Casa Hezri De Mevlana


Commercial prospects

Damansara has been dubbed the "Golden Triangle" of Petaling Jaya. Commercially, it is positioned to do well, boasting a
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
outlet, IPC Shopping Centre, One Utama, the largest
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outlet in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, as well as The Curve shopping complex, all of them located within a stone's throw of each other. Besides that, the Uptown commercial area, which houses the Malaysian branch of several multi-national companies, is located in Damansara Utama.


Political representation

Due to electoral purposes, Damansara was redelineated into two voting districts for Parliamentary representation. One is the constituency of
Sungai Buloh Sungai Buloh, or Sungei Buloh, is a town, a mukim (commune) and a Dewan Rakyat, parliamentary constituency in the northern part of Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. The name itself means ''bamboo river'' in the Malay language. It is located ...
, held by Sivarasa Rasiah, a member of the People's Justice Party while the other is the eponymous constituency of Damansara, held by Tony Pua of the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
. Both parties are part of the opposition alliance, Pakatan Rakyat. In the Selangor State Assembly, the communities are represented by Jamaliah Jamaluddin from the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
for the constituency of Bandar Utama, Lim Yi Wei, also from the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
for the constituency of Kampung Tunku, and Wong Keat Ping from the People's Justice Party for the constituency of Bukit Lanjan. The state seat of Kota Damansara was transferred to Sungai Buloh constituency in 2016 and is currently held by Shatiri Mansor from PKR.


References

{{Coord, 3.052008, 101.558223, display=title Subdivisions of Petaling, Selangor