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 majority of older roads in and around Kuala Lumpur were originally named during British rule in Selangor, and as such, were in English and named after British figures, a handful of local dignitaries or royalties, districts, local populations, landmarks or geographical features. Other surrounding locales, such as Kampung Baru, Pudu, Imbi 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. Old NameNew Name01. Jalan AlexanderJalan Hulubalang02. Jalan BagotJalan Johor03. Jalan BirchJalan Maharajalela04. Jalan BluffJalan Bukit Aman05. Jalan BroadrickJalan Sultan Ismail & Jalan MARA06. Jalan BrockmanJalan Dato Onn07. Jalan CampbellJalen Dang Wangi08. Jalan CecilJalan Hang Lekir09. Lorong CecilLorong Hang Lekir10. Jalan ClarkeJalan Belanda Satu11. Jalan CliffordJalan Taming Sari12. Jalan DavidsonJalan Hang Jebat13. Lorong DavidsonLorong Hang Jebat14. Jalan DouglasJalan Pahang15. Jalan DruryJalan Sang Guna16. Jalan FochJalan Cheng Lock17. Jalan FreemanJalan U Thant18. Lorong Freeman SatuLorong U Thant Satu19. Lorong Freeman DuaLorong U Thant Dua20. Jalan Taman FreemanJalan Taman U Thant21. Taman Freeman DuaTaman U Thant Dua22. Taman Freeman TigaTaman U Thant Tiga23. Taman Freeman EmpatTaman U Thant Empat24. Jalan GrayJalan Semenanjung, Jalan Sabah & Jalan Kinabalu25. Jalan GuillemardJalan Ledang26. Jalan Lembah GuillemardJalan Lembah Ledang27. Bukit GuillemardBukit Ledang28. Pesiaran GuillemardPesiaran Ledang29. Jalan GurneyJalan Semarak30. Jalan HaleJalan Raja Abdullah31. Jalan HanniganJalan Selangor32. Jalan HicksChangkat Bukit Bintang & Changkat Raja Chulan33. Lorong HicksLorong Raja Chulan34. Jalan HoseSplit into Jalan Wisma Putra and Jalan Hose.35. Jalan HusseyJalan Perak36. Jalan John HandsJalan Abdul Manan Nordin37. Jalan KennyJalan Tunku38. Jalan Kenny TimorLanggak Tunku39. Jalan Kenny TepiTepian Tunku40. Jalan Kenny GentingSimpangan Tunku41. Jalan Kenny SelekohSelekoh Tunku42. Jalan Kenny UtaraDataran Tunku43. Jalan Kenny RendahLurah Tunku44. Jalan Kenny TinggiTinggian Tunku45. Jalan Kenny SelatanTaman Tunku46. Jalan Kenny KiriLaman Tunku47. Jalan Kenny PertamaJalan Lembah Tunku48. Jalan Kenny KananCerunan Tunku49. Jalan Kenny DalamDalaman Tunku50. Jalan Kenny SentosaChangkat Tunku51. Changkat KennyChangkat Tunku52. Pesiaran Bukit KennyPesiaran Bukit Tunku53. Lorong Kenny BahagiaLiku Tunku54. Kenny HillBukit Tunku55. Jalan Kenny TengahPinggiran Tunku56. Jalan KlyneJalan Hang Lekiu57. Lorong KlyneLorong Hang Lekiu58. Jalan LangworthyJalan Melaka59. Jalan LornieJalan Syed Putra60. Lorong Lornie KiriLorong Syed Putra Kiri61. Bulatan LornieBulatan Syed Putra62. Pesiaran LorniePesiaran Syed Putra63. Jalan MacnamaraJalan Terengganu64. Jalan MarshJalan Tun Sambanthan 465. Jalan MaxwellJalan Tun Ismail66. Lorong MaxwellLorong Tun Ismail67. Maxwell DrivePesiaran Tun Ismail68. Jalan McArthurJalan Hang Nadim69. Jalan MountbattenJalan Tun Perak70. O'Connell ParkJalan Sarawak71. Jalan ParryJalan P. Ramlee72. Jalan PekelilingJalan Tun Razak73. Jalan PerkinsJalan Raja Alang74. Queen's TerraceLorong Beliong75. Jalan RodgerJalan Hang Kasturi76. Jalan SeavoyJalan Titiwangsa77. Jalan ShawJalan Hang Tuah78. Jalan SpoonerJalan Cenderawasih79. Jalan StoneyJalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman80. Jalan SwettenhamJalan Mahameru & Jalan Sultan Salahuddin81. Persiaran SwettenhamPersiaran Mahameru82. Jalan TraversSplit into Jalan Rakyat and Jalan Travers.83. Jalan TreacherJalan Sultan Ismail84. Jalan VenningJalan Perdana, Jalan Ria & Jalan Tembusu85. Jalan WatkinsJalan Bentara86. Jalan WatsonJalan Haji Yahya Sheikh Ahmad87. Jalan WeldJalan Raja Chulan88. Pesiaran WeldJalan Cenderasari89. Jalan WynneJalan Kelantan90. Jalan YoungJalan Cenderasari
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 roads 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 2 November 2014 had notably drawn backlash from the public as well as Member of Parliament Lim Lip Eng, leading to a rebuttal by UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin; the name change proceeded in spite of the controversy.
Standard translations
A guideline was formulated for the translation of English signage on 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)
Avenue/Highway -Lebuhraya (e.g. Mahameru Highway/Lebuhraya Mahameru) Circular - Pekeliling Circus - Bulatan Close - Pinggir/Pinggiran/Solok (e.g. Ridley Close/Pinggir Ridley) Crescent - Lengkok (e.g. Bellamy Crescent/Lengkok Bellamy) Drive – Persiaran (e.g. Hampshire Drive/Persiaran Hampshire) Gardens – Taman (e.g. Maxwell Garden/Taman Maxwell; Happy Garden/Taman Gembira) Grove - Gerbang (e.g. Lower Ampang Grove/Gerbang Ampang Hilir) Hill - Langgak (e.g. Tunku Hill/Langgak Tunku) Lane – Lorong (e.g. Horse Lane/Lorong Kuda) Lower - Hilir Mount - Puncak Place - Laman (e.g. Seputeh Place/Laman Seputeh) Rise - Changkat/Cangkat (e.g. Bukit Bintang Rise/Changkat Bukit Bintang) 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) Terrace - Tingkat Upper - Ulu/Hulu Walk - Pintas
Major roads English nameMalay name, officialChinese nameImageNoteAmpang RoadJalan 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.Bungsar Road Later, Bangsar RoadJalan Bangsar孟沙路Formerly named Jalan Bangsa during the time when Abdullah Hukum, 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. The long stretch is now named after the suburb of Bangsar.Bukit Bintang RoadJalan Bukit BintangThe road runs through most of Bukit Bintang, the entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur.Cheras RoadJalan 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 RoadJalan Chow Kit秋杰路Named after the revenue farmer, tin miner, shipping agent, municipal councillor and public official, Loke Chow Kit, who was the first local owner of a department store – Chow Kit & Co. – the largest in KL at that time.