Jalan Tun Perak

Jalan Tun Perak, formerly Jalan Mountbatten (1961–1981) Mountbatten Road (1946–1961) and Java Street (1889–1946), is a major road located in the historic centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

History

Jalan Tun Perak is one of the oldest roads in Kuala Lumpur. It was originally named Java Street, and was initially settled by Malays and other people from Java and Sumatra, hence the naming of this street and the nearby Malay Street (Jalan Melayu). A Boyanese community centre was once located on the street and a Kampung Rawa was locate to its north.^[1] Indian Chettiars and Indian Muslims also settled here. A Malay cemetery was located close by and on which Masjid Jamek, one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur, was then built in 1909. Java Street was later renamed Mountbatten Road, and later still Jalan Tun Perak.^[1]

It became a popular place for shopping during the colonial era – there was a row of shops that included well-known stores of the time such as Robinson's, John Little, and Whiteaways.^[2] The street however declined in popularity as a shopping area and many stores closed by the 1970s to be replaced by financial institutions; the Robinson's department store which opened in 1928 was acquired by United Asian Bank in 1976 and demolished to make way for its bank headquarters (now called Menara UAB) completed in 1984.^[3] A number of major bank buildings are now found along the road. The most prominent building on Jalan Tun Perak is the Maybank Tower located at the end of the street where it meets Jalan Pudu. The tower was built in 1987 on the location of the colonial era Subordinate Courts building at Bukit Mahkamah which was demolished in 1982.^[4]

Opposite Menara UAB is a Mughal-style building constructed in 1910 that once housed the Federated Malay States Survey Office, and was later used as the Sessions & Magistrates Courts, then occupied by the Department of Information (Jabatan Penerangan) Malaysia.^[5] Another surviving building from the early period is the Gian Singh Building at the corner of Lebuh Ampang built in 1909.^[6] At the junction with Malacca Street (Jalan Melaka) is a five-storey Art Deco-style Oriental Building built in 1932, which at that time was the tallest building in Kuala Lumpur, and it once housed Radio Malaya.^[7]

In 1996, the elevated track of the Ampang line of the light rapid transit (LRT) system was constructed along the entire stretch of Jalan Tun Perak. A station was also constructed with an elevated platform over the bridge at Klang River beside Masjid Jamek after which the station is named – Masjid Jamek LRT Station.^[8]

Gallery

• 

  Menara UAB - Former Bumiputra-Commerce Bank headquarter

• 

  Maybank Tower

• 

  Masjid Jamek LRT Station entrance on Jalan Tun Perak

• 

  Masjid Jamek, side view from Jalan Benteng across the Klang River

• 

  Oriental Building

• 

  The former Federated Malay States Survey Office

List of junctions

km	Exit	Junctions	To	Remarks
			West Jalan Parlimen (Club Road) Malaysia Houses of Parliament Perdana Lake Gardens Tugu Negara Jalan Duta Damansara Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road Jalan Kuching Ipoh Jalan Kinabalu Seremban
Jalan Parlimen
Jalan Tun Perak
		Jalan Raja Laut	North Only Jalan Raja Laut Jalan Sultan Ismail KLCC Jalan Ipoh Jalan Pahang	Junctions
			South Only Jalan Raja Dataran Merdeka Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad Muzium Sejarah Nasional Dayabumi Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin	Junctions Note: Closed for traffic from 7:00 pm until 5:00 am on weekends Closed for traffic due to special events
		Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman	North Only Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Jalan Raja to the south)
		Bangunan CIMB
		Menara OCBC
		Wisma Kraftangan
		Jalan Melayu	Jalan Melayu
		Masjid Jamek
		Masjid Jamek LRT station Sungai Klang Bridge	Ampang Line Sri Petaling Line Kelana Jaya Line
		Jalan Melaka	Jalan Melaka Jalan Ampang
		Jalan Benteng	Jalan Benteng
		Leboh Ampang	Northeast Leboh Ampang (Ampang Street) Jalan Ampang Jalan Dang Wangi KLCC	Junctions
		Jalan Tun HS Lee	South Jalan Tun Hs Lee Petaling Street Jalan Cheng Lock	Junctions
		Jalan Raja Chulan	Northeast Jalan Raja Chulan (Weld Road) Jalan P Ramlee Jalan Bukit Bintang Muzium Telekom Kuala Lumpur Tower
		Leboh Pudu	Leboh Pudu
		Sinar Kota
		Menara Maybank
Jalan Tun Perak
		Pudu Sentral Roundabout	East Jalan Pudu Pudu Sentral Jalan Hang Tuah (IRR) Cheras Seremban Southwest Jalan Cheng Lock (Foch Avenue) Petaling Street Jalan Tun Sambanthan	Junctions

References