List of roads in Kuala Lumpur

Jalan Semantan looking eastward towards Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (Jalan Duta) during rush hour, with the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower in the background.

Street sign showing Jalan Stadium with the National Stadium (Stadium Negara) in the background.

Jalan Maarof looking east towards from the Damansara Link.

Jalan Kepong, looking east-ward towards Bulatan Kepong with the elevated tracks of the MRT Putrajaya Line on the left.

Jalan Kuching road leading towards the Sentul and Segambut districts.

Jalan Alor during daytime.

Jalan Pudu at the intersection with Jalan Pasar (Market Road) and Jalan Sungai Besi (Sungai Besi Road)

Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Foch Avenue)

An old street sign showing Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman with its old name, Batu Road.

The Ampang–Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway in Ampang

Ampang Road at night

Tuanku Abdul Rahman Road, facing towards Merdeka Square.

The bazaar strip along Tuanku Abdul Rahman Road in Kuala Lumpur.

Street sign showing Maharajalela Road with its old name Birch Road.

Raja Laut Avenue.

Jalan Tun Razak (formerly Jalan Pekeliling), near the American Embassy.

Persiaran Raja Chulan.

Like all other historical urban centres, the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 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 were originally formed during British rule in Selangor, and as such, were in English and named after British figures of various fields, a handful of local dignitaries or royalties, districts, local populations, landmarks or geographical features. Other surrounding locales, such as Kampung Baru, Pudu, and Sentul have had roads known primarily in Malay since colonial rule.

Following Malaya's independence in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963, street names in Kuala Lumpur 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 pushed by the then newly elected Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad. 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 as late as 2007 on streets in Pudu and in the fringe towns of Sungai Besi and Jinjang, where English and British-named street names were still in use. Minor roads, 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 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 road 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 Agongs on 26 November 2014 had notably drawn backlash from the public as well as Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng,^[1] leading to a rebuttal by UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin;^[2] the name change proceeded in spite of the controversy.

Standard translations[]

A guideline was formulated for the translation of English signage of roads. The Kuala Lumpur City Hall 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[]

English name	Malay name, official	Chinese name	Image	Note
Ampang Road（暗邦律）	Jalan Ampang	安邦路		Named after the district of Ampang, several shopping malls such as the Ampang Park, City Square and Suria KLCC are located along the road.
Bangsar Road	Jalan Bangsar	孟沙路		Formerly named Jalan Bangsa during the time when , the founder of Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum at Bangsar opened a trail between a forest and the nearby Bukit Angkasapuri. The road name means that it was built jointly by the Malays, Chinese and Indians, the three main races of Malaysia.[3] The long stretch is now named after the suburb of Bangsar.
Bintang Walk	Jalan Bukit Bintang	武吉免登路 （pinyin: wǔ jí miǎn dēng lù）		The road runs through most of Bukit Bintang, the entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur.
Cheras Main Road	Jalan Cheras	蕉赖路		Named after the district of Cheras. It is a long stretch that runs through the Cheras district and most of its residential areas, and ends at the border of Selangor which connects with the Cheras–Kajang Expressway.
Chow Kit Road	Jalan Chow Kit	秋杰路		Named after the revenue farmer, tin miner, shipping agent, municipal councillor and public official, , who was the first local owner of a department store – Chow Kit & Co. – the largest in KL at that time. Chow Kit is also a sub-district in central Kuala Lumpur and features the Chow Kit monorail station, Bazaar Baru Chow Kit (a wet market)and Pasar Malam Chow Kit (a night market).
Cochrane Road	Jalan Cochrane	葛京路		Named after the British General Advisor of Johor, Charles Walter Hamilton Cochrane, 17th British Resident of Perak (1929–1930), Chief Secretary to the Government.
Damansara Road	Jalan Damansara	白沙罗路		Named after the suburb of Bukit Damansara. The road leads to Damansara Heights connecting with Jalan Jelutong and is also a highway as well.
Campbell Road	Jalan Dang Wangi	金马律		Formerly named after Douglas Campbell (1867–1918), resident of Negri Sembilan, Johor's first British advisor. Change the road name after wife of Hang Jebat.Notable as the location of the Campbell Shopping Complex fire in 1976.
Old Airport Road	Jalan Dewan Bahasa	旧机场路[4]		Erected in 1997. Near the road is the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka main headquarters, a landmark and the symbol of Bahasa Melayu, the national language of Malaysia. "Old Airport Road" was given due to its connection to the Sungai Besi Airport, one of the earliest airports to serve Kuala Lumpur. Previously also known as Bellamy Road and Jalan Lapangan Terbang Lama.
Straits Road	Jalan Esfahan	伊斯法罕路		Erected in 1993, the road is currently named after the city of Isfahan, Iran. Originally named after the Straits of Malacca or the Straits Settlements. This is one of the shortest roads in Kuala Lumpur; it is more of a linking alley than a proper road. Jalan Esfahan connects Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman with Jalan Raja Laut. Previously, Jalan Selat.
Genting Klang-Pahang Highway	Jalan Genting Klang	云顶吉冷路		Part of the Genting Klang–Pahang Highway
Davidson Road	Jalan Hang Jebat	汉惹拔路（德威伸路）		Currently named after Hang Jebat. Formerly named after (J.G. Davidson), the first British Resident in Selangor in 1875. The Merdeka 118 tower and its precinct are located along this road.
Rodger Street (羅爷街）	Jalan Hang Kasturi	汉卡斯杜丽路		Formerly named after Sir John Pickersgill Rodger (1851–1910), Chief Magistrate, Selangor (1882); Acting British Resident, Selangor (1884–1888); first British Resident, Pahang (1888–1896); British Resident, Selangor (1896–1901); British Resident, Perak (1901–1904); Governor Gold Coast (1904–1910).
Cecil Street	Jalan Hang Lekir	思时街		Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, (1840–1916), Governor of Straits Settlements from 1887 to 1893. Often confused with his nephew, Sir Cecil Clementi (1875–1947) who was Governor of Hong Kong (1925–30), Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Malay States (1930 to 1934). Sir Cecil Clementi Smith approved the building of The Anglican Church of St. Mary the Virgin in 1887 and approved the building of the Victoria Institution in 1893.
Klyne Street	Jalan Hang Lekiu	吉粦街/吉灵街/吉寜街
Shaw Road (1938–1981)[5] Jail Road (<1938)	Jalan Hang Tuah	汉都亚路		Part of the Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road.
Imbi Road	Jalan Imbi	燕美路		Named after the district of , located in Bukit Bintang. The road runs through Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), Berjaya Time Square, Jalan Sultan Ismail junction, The Ritz-Carlton KL and ends with the Jalan Bukit Bintang junction.
Ipoh Road Batu Road (formerly)	Jalan Ipoh	怡保路		A long stretch of road from the Kepong Roundabout to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (Jalan Duta). The road previously stretched from the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman junction to the Kepong Roundabout before the separation with Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah which was formed in 2014. The road obtained its name as the only road towards Ipoh from the city centre back then, and is part of the country's Federal Route 1. Formerly known as Batu Road.
Kepong Main Road	Jalan Kepong	甲洞路		Named after the Kepong district. A long stretch that runs from the Kepong Roundabout to the Kepong–Selayang Highway (part of MRR2). Part of the Federal Route 54.
Old River Road	Jalan Kinabalu	京那峇鲁路		Formerly known as Jalan Raja (north and southeast stretches) (1960). Part of the Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road. The Jalan Kinabalu Flyover is located on this road, the first overpass built in Malaysia after independence. The road connects with Jalan Kuching and Jalan Maharajalela at each end.
Kuching Road	Jalan Kuching	古晋路		Part of the Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road and Kuala Lumpur–Rawang Highway.
Loke Yew Road (陆佑律）	Jalan Loke Yew	陆佑路 （pinyin:Lùyòu lu）		The road is part of the Cheras Highway. Named after Loke Yew, the leader of the Chinese community, one of the richest Chinese businessmen in early Kuala Lumpur. He has constructed the Sungai Besi Road.
Maarof Road	Jalan Maarof	马洛夫路		The road is located within the suburb of Bangsar and is the main thoroughfare of the suburb. The road is named after the village back then in 1959. It is also possibly named after , who was an employee at the Bungsar Electric Power Station and presumably the headman of that village.
Birch Road (1960)	Jalan Maharajalela	马哈拉惹里拉路		In the mistaken presumption that it was named after the first Resident of Perak, James Wheeler Woodford Birch, this road was renamed after Dato' Maharajalela, a local Malay chief who was partially responsible for Birch's assassination in 1875. In fact it was actually named in honour of the much more popular Sir Ernest Woodford Birch, the eldest son of the former and a one-time acting Resident of Selangor, the Eighth Resident of Perak (1905–1910).
Broadrick Road	Jalan MARA	玛拉路		Named after MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) headquarters along this road and was previously known as Jalan Semarang. Broadrick Road is named after Lt Col (b. 1864 – d. 1929), President of the Singapore Municipality from 1904 to 1910 and British Resident of Selangor from 1911 to 1919. Mentioned in Batu Road Boys' School documents in the 1960s and 1970s which also include the old postcode (02-05).
Dickson Street	Jalan Masjid India	印度清真寺路		Currently named after a local mosque, . The southern end of the road was recently converted into a pedestrian street.
Market Street	Lebuh Pasar Besar	马吉街		Named after the Old Market Square (Medan Pasar Besar), crossing the Klang River from Medan Pasar Besar to Dataran Merdeka. Terminates at Jalan Raja Laut in the west and Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in the east.
Old Market Square	Medan Pasar Besar	老巴塞/老巴殺		A large public space that consisted of two roads, Macao Street and Hokkien Street (circa 1880s and 1890s), divided by a traffic island. The area was formerly the location of Kuala Lumpur's main market, before the British government completed what would become the Central Market in 1888 and 1889. The Old Market Square became and open area commonly used as a recreation area and commercial center in early Kuala Lumpur, but diminished in importance as the city grew outwards. The area is now used primarily as a bus hub.
Pahang Road	Jalan Pahang	彭亨路		Named after the state of Pahang. Part of the Genting Klang–Pahang Highway
Parliament Road	Jalan Parlimen	国会路		Previously known as Club Road. The road leads up to the Houses of Parliament building from the Dato' Onn Roundabout.
Pantai Baharu Avenue	Jalan Pantai Baharu	班底峇鲁路
Petaling Street	Jalan Petaling	茨厂街 （pinyin: Cíchǎng Jiē）		The historical Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur located in the Old City Centre, see Petaling Street.
Pinang Street	Jalan Pinang	槟榔街		Named after Pulau Pinang (Penang), a state in Malaysia. The KL Convention Centre of KLCC is located along this road.
Pudu Road, Pudoh Street (1960)	Jalan Pudu	半山芭路		Currently named after the district of Pudu. The Pudu Prison, the Puduraya bus station and the Plaza Rakyat construction site are located along Jalan Pudu.
Parry Road （巴里律）	Jalan P. Ramlee	比南利路		Erected in 1982 and named after actor P. Ramlee, this street contains many pubs and nightclubs.
Raja Road (west stretch) (1960) Gombak Road (formerly) (circa 1880s and 1890s)	Jalan Raja	夜蘭拉爺街 / 羅芝街		Notably passes the historic Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Merdeka Square and other similar structures in the vicinity. As of 1960, the road initially terminated at a T junction with Mountbatten Road and Batu Road in the north and the Jalan Raja-Market Street-Victory Avenue crossroad in the south. The road was subsequently extended north, stretching along the Gombak River.
Weld Road (1960) (威路律）	Jalan Raja Chulan	拉惹朱兰路		Currently (since 1982) named after Raja Chulan, Raja di Hilir Perak, the first Malay unofficial member of the Federal Council (1924–1933); formerly named after Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (1823–1891), Governor of the Straits Settlements.
	Jalan Raja Laut	拉惹劳勿路		Named after Raja Laut, son of Sultan Muhammad, the Penghulu of Kuala Lumpur.
Segambut Road	Jalan Segambut	泗岩沫路		Located within the district of Segambut. It is a long stretch within the said district, connecting Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim and Jalan Lang Emas at each end.
Semantan Road	Jalan Semantan	士曼丹路		Named after the Semantan suburb, located in Damansara Heights. Part of the Damansara Link of SPRINT.
Sentul Road	Jalan Sentul	冼都鲁		Located within the district of Sentul. A long stretch connecting Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah and Jalan Sentul Pasar at each end. Notable landmark along this road is the (IPD Sentul).
Treacher Road （地理者律）	Jalan Sultan Ismail	苏丹依斯迈路		Currently named after Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, the fourth Yang Di Pertuan Agong and is part of the Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road. Formerly named after William Hood Treacher. Sir William Hood Treacher (1849–1919), the first Governor of North Borneo (1881–1887), the sixth Resident of Selangor (1892–1896), the sixth British Resident of Perak (1896–1902), and the second Resident-General of Federated Malay States [1902–1904]. Sir William Hood Treacher supported the establishment of Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur and founded the Anglo Chinese School in Klang.
Sungai Besi Road	Jalan Sungai Besi	新街场路	is	Named after the district of Sungai Besi. It once housed the biggest open tin mine in the world in Sungai Besi.
Lornie Road	Jalan Syed Putra	赛布特拉路		Currently named after Tuanku Syed Putra, the third Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Batu Road (1960)	Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman	东姑阿都拉曼路（華都律/峇都律）		Said to be the first road made of "batu" (stone), but actually named as the road goes to Batu from the old town centre. Currently named after Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
High Street (1960) （谐街）	Jalan Tun H S Lee	敦李孝式路		Currently named after Henry H.S. Lee, Malaysia's first finance minister (1957–1959). Originally named after the fact that the road was a "High Street" stretching across old Kuala Lumpur. Known as Jalan Bandar post-independence before taking its current name.
Java Street (爪哇街）, Mountbatten Road （蒙巴登律）(1960).	Jalan Tun Perak	敦霹雳路		Currently named after Tun Perak. Formerly named after Louis Mountbatten, and earlier, Java.
Circular Road	Jalan Tun Razak	敦拉萨路		Formerly known as Jalan Pekeliling. Currently named after the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak. The Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) was named after this road and the second prime minister. It was originally named for its beltway-like layout. Part of Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1.
Brickfields Road (1960)	Jalan Tun Sambanthan	敦善班丹路		Currently named after V. T. Sambanthan, previously named after the district of Brickfields. The early Kuala Lumpur brick's plant owned by the Government was located here.
Foch Avenue (火治街，即指天街）	Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock	敦陈祯禄路 （pinyin: Chénzhénglù lù）		Currently named after Tan Cheng Lock, the first president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA).
Cross Street （哥洛士街）	Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin	敦陈修信路		Renamed in 2003 after Malaysian Minister of Finance Tan Siew Sin, previously Jalan Silang or Cross Street.
Yap Ah Loy Road	Jalan Yap Ah Loy	叶亚来路 （pinyin: Yèyàlái lù）		Located near Jalan Tun Perak and named after Yap Ah Loy (1837–1885), the third and the longest term Capitan China (1869–1885).
Yap Kwan Seng Road	Jalan Yap Kwan Seng	叶观盛路（pinyin: Yèguānshèng lù）		Named after Yap Kwan Seng, the first Chinese to serve on the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board, a member of the State Legislative Assembly of Selangor, the fifth and the last Capitan China (1889–1902). He has founded Pooi Shin Thong (renamed Tung Shin Hospital), co-founded the Tai Wah Ward of the Pauper's Hospital (the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital) and co-founded Victoria Institution. He gave $10,000 to the Transvaal War Fund and also donation to St. Mary's Church building fund. He assisted the governor Sir W.E. Maxwell in introducing the Chinese system of mining in West Africa. His residence was located on High Street.

Other notable roads[]

See also[]

• Street names of George Town, Penang
• List of roads in Ipoh
• 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