PETALING JAYA: It was developed by the British as an answer to solve the overpopulation problem of Kuala Lumpur, and has since witnessed dramatic growth in terms of population and significance. Petaling Jaya was initially developed as a satellite town for Kuala Lumpur, comprising mostly residential and some industrial units with well-developed transportation facilities and infrastructure. Since then, PJ, as it is affectionately known, has been generally agreed to be one of the most developed non-capital cities in the country.
Development of PJ
PJ Old Town has an important place in the miraculous growth of Petaling Jaya.
Residential plots measuring 50x90 ft in Petaling Jaya only cost about RM200 some 50 years ago. Even the houses developed much later cost just around RM2,000 each, almost one-hundredth of what a house there would fetch today.
The "Small Kuala Lumpur" Plan
Petaling Jaya was first developed by the British on the former 639-acre Effingham Estate in 1951 to address the increasingly serious overpopulation and illegal squatter problems in and around Kuala Lumpur. The implementation of the "Small Kuala Lumpur" plan was to ensure that the overall development of the capital city would not be affected.
In 1952, the plan was successfully put into implementation.
According to an elderly local resident Mr Kiu, the British government decided to liberalise the land policy, opening up lands to people staying outside Petaling Jaya and not just those forced to move out of their old premises. This new policy gave rise to the rapid development of the township.
The area earmarked for residential development was further expanded to 900 acres and the number of housing units increased from 800 to 3,200 in 1957. The development of Petaling Jaya picked up further momentum with the opening of Federal Highway linking the national capital, Petaling Jaya and Klang. The availability of electricity and water allowed the local people to start setting up their own businesses there.
Lost glamour
Petaling Jaya was officially gazetted as a satellite town in only two years' time, and continued to play a lead role in providing the public with excellent entertainment, food and shopping facilities in 1954.
The status of Old Town was unaffected by the development of the PJ New Town around SS52 in 1957. In 1977, Petaling Jaya was given the status of a municipality.
The municipality council of Petaling Jaya tried to revitalise the Old Town but unfortunately the effort was not paid off and the glamour of Old Town was lost forever.
Petaling Jaya was named after a kind of tree that abounded in the area, and the word "Jaya" was later added after the successful implementation of the "Small Kuala Lumpur" plan.
After the British government took over the Effingham Estate and levelled all the rubber trees there, the land was divided into plots of 50x90 ft and sold to the people forced to give way to development at the price of RM200 back in 1952.
65-year-old Kiu set up his own business in the Old Town in 1962 at a time when the Old Town began to show signs of rapid development. At the same time, more and more people were moving into Petaling Jaya from elsewhere in the country.
Major concerns
The resident of PJ Old Town were encountering three major problems back then: land title expiration, conversion of residential houses for commercial use and deteriorating security.
Most residents in PJ Old Town were holding temporary land titles from the 1960s to 90s which would expire in a few years' time. At the same time, these residents also faced the problem of getting approval from the local authorities to get their residential units legally converted into business premises although they had already been conducting their businesses there for more than ten years.
In addition, the escalating crime rate had dissuaded them from carrying out their businesses after dark, and local residents began to worry about their own safety.
Fight for rebates
According to a BN coordinator in PJ South, the state government offered special rebates for those paying land taxes for extended land titles some four years ago. The land tax for a 4,500 sq ft plot was about RM45,000 at that time, but as the land titles of most residents had yet to expire, they ignored the offer, and now they have to come up with amounts between RM80,000 and RM100,000 for the same thing.
Anyway, the residents of PJ Old Town hope that the current state assemblyman would help them fight for the rebates and convert their residential units for business use as soon as possible.
The first hawkers in PJ Old town appeared in 1973 at SS12 and SS19. During those years, there were not many shops around and these hawkers could fulfil the rising demands of the residents of PJ Old Town. That said, the emergence of hawkers also caused traffic jams, poor hygiene and a string of other problems.
Consequently, the government decided to set up mobile markets to meet the local needs. (Guang Ming Daily)
MySinchew 2011.01.26