Kuala Lumpur Street Names: A Guide to Their Meanings and Histories

Street names are a many-layered thing – crystallisingvarious eras of history and celebrating multiple generations of people. As thefederal capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur’s street names reflect its rich mixof cultures and its journey from colonial past to nationhood.This encyclopedic A-to-Z guide explains the meaningsand origins of KL’s street names – those named after notable persons, afterprominent landmarks, after local flora and fauna, etc. Themed street nameswithin a particular area are also identified, e.g. the cluster of streets inTaman Sri Bahtera named after traditional Malay boats.Of particular interest is the renaming of streetsover the years, ranging from literal translations (e.g. “Church Road” becoming”Jalan Gereja”), to completely new names (“Parry Road” to “Jalan P Ramlee”).Drawing on extensive research into the NationalArchives, the authors present their wealth of findings in a concise andeasy-to-read way that will engage readers of all levels.