Templer (named after the then
British High Commissioner to Malaya, Lieutenant-General Sir
Gerald Templer).
Until the end of 1954, the town was administered
by the Kuala Lumpur District Officer and the Petaling Jaya
Town Authority. Administratively and historically, it was
considered part of Kuala Lumpur. However, Petaling Jaya ceased
to be part of Kuala Lumpur when the latter became a Federal
Territory on February 1, 1972. It then became a township in
its own right within the state of Selangor.
On 1 January 1977, the Petaling Jaya Town
Authority was upgraded to become Petaling Jaya Municipal Council
or Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya (MPPJ). Petaling Jaya
progressed rapidly due to the massive rural-urban migration.
As more people from rural areas immigrated, Sungai Way and
Subang districts along with new areas such as Subang Jaya,
Seksyen 52 (New Town or colloquially known as State; the name
of the first, former cinema in the area) developed in areas
under the jurisdiction of the municipality. Eventually, in
a boundary realignment exercise in early 1997, parts of Petaling
Jaya such as Subang Jaya, Sunway, Puchong and USJ were placed
under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Subang Jaya Municipal
Council or MPSJ.
Fondly known as PJ among the locals, it also
acts as one of the centre hubs of Klang Valley (comprising
of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and
surrounding areas) for industry. True to its name "Jaya"
(Malay for success), Petaling Jaya quickly became the most
prosperous municipality in Selangor.
On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted
its city status and Dato' Ahmad Termizi Puteh, a former Yang
di-Pertua MPPJ, automatically became the first mayor (Datuk
Bandar) of Petaling Jaya. Petaling Jaya's local authority
changed its name to Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ)
or Petaling Jaya City Council following the granting of city
status. On 15 August, Dato' Ahmad Termizi Puteh retired from
the post of mayor [1] and he was later replaced by Tuan Hj.
Mohamad Roslan Sikaman. |
