Sri Petaling

The Sri Petaling LRT station (Sri Petaling Line), Sri Petaling, Malaysia. Photograph taken in February 2007.

Sri Petaling (also known as Bandar Baru Sri Petaling) is a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia. It is located to the south of the city, in the constituency of Seputeh, and is located near Happy Garden, Kuchai Lama and Bukit Jalil.

Distance

Sri Petaling has easy access to the Government departments in Putrajaya, which is the administrative capital of Malaysia, to Cyberjaya and to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Sepang International Circuit (venue for the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix) is only twenty-five minutes away, Kuala Lumpur city centre, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Damansara and Puchong, is 15 minutes away whereas the Shah Alam is 20 minutes away by modern transport, and the royal town of Klang is 45 minutes away.

History

Bandar Baru Sri Petaling was first launched in 1977 and developed in 1981.

This suburb was first developed in 1981; before this, they were rubber plantation estates. From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s it was widely known as the 'rubbish area' as it was the location of a landfill site. Garbage disposal was discontinued and the land it had occupied turned into a playground and car park area for the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

The three areas of Sri Petaling that were first developed for residential use were the area of Jalan Puteri Senggang near the main road, Jalan Wan Empok 1 and Jalan Wan Empok 2. In the 1980s, these districts were the main areas of population in Sri Petaling and the houses were sold for between RM40,000 and RM60,000. By 2010, the value of the houses had increased to RM500,000–RM1,000,000 although the area mostly consists of leasehold titles.

The population in Sri Petaling was not high in the early 1980s as it was relatively distant from the city of Kuala Lumpur and a little isolated. The population grew in the late 1980s when two routes of access were opened to neighbouring suburbs; one to Salak Selatan, also known as Salak South, and another to Taman Gembira, or Happy Garden. Over the course of the next decade, development continued and the population grew. In 1997, the Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS) was opened, allowing people to travel to Subang Jaya in as little as 10 minutes. The opening of the Shah Alam Expressway was one of the reasons for the rapid growth in Sri Petaling. In 2007, Maju Expressway (MEX), a dedicated highway connecting Kuala Lumpur City Center to Putrajaya (national administration city) was opened for commute.

Transport

Bandar Baru Sri Petaling is a vibrant, self-contained suburban township with excellent infrastructure. The 620 acres (250 hectares) township is located just 15 km south of Kuala Lumpur and is easily accessible from major highways such as the KL-Seremban Highway, Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS), New Pantai Expressway (NPE), Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR 2) and the KL-Putrajaya Highway (MEX).

The nearest LRT stations are at Bukit Jalil and Sri Petaling.

Shopping

By 2009, Sri Petaling had its own Carrefour hypermarket located in the Endah Parade Shopping Complex,^[1] the largest shopping complex in the area. Although Carrefour declared its intention to move from Sri Petaling in 2010, the hypermarket was bought over by the AEON Co. Ltd. in 2012 for RM990million.^[2] AEON Big is currently operating their hypermarket in the Endah Parade Shopping Complex.^[3] As of 2014 Endah Parade has grown to accommodate two gyms, a large spa & beauty centre, badminton courts, indoor soccer, car beauty studio, post office and a National Registration Department of Malaysia branch (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara).

For more convenience neighbourhood shopping for residents of Zone G, J and H of Bandar Bahru Sri Petaling, 'The Store' Hypermarket is also an excellent choice of shopping, ranging from groceries, household goods, toys and fashion apparel.

In early 2013 the first phase of new shops (zone J) were completed by I&P Group^[4] the sole developer of the area along Jalan Radin Bagus. As of March 2014, the final phase of shops surrounding The Store hypermarket^[5] was completed.

Presently, many mini markets and a multitude of new cafes have popped up in the district, making it very lively, safe and family friendly.

Internet and Bills Payment

• TMPoint Sri Petaling (UniFi, Streamyx, etc)

Food

There is a lot of F&B and Pastry outlets in Sri Petaling, notable ones are as follows (in random orders);

Accommodation

Sri Petaling has its own hotel, the Hotel Sri Petaling.^[6] It is a 3-star business/tourist class hotel with 168 guestrooms. The hotel is well known among the locals to host monthly warehouse sales in their hall adjacent to their main entrance. Notable sales includes brands from Crocs, FitFlop, Levis, Adidas, Puma, Nike, Guardian pharmacy, Anakku and many more.

Medical

The nearest hospital is the IMU Healthcare (International Medical University),^[7] approximately 7 minutes from the farthest corner of the township. It is one of the few hospitals in Malaysia to offer traditional Chinese medicine along with Western medicine, chiropractic and dentistry.

There is a 24-hour clinic along Jalan Radin Anum, located along the same row of shops with Pizza Hut, and two more clinics. On the same row of shops there is a very well stocked pharmacy.

Safety

This area is the home of the Brickfields Police Headquarters (Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah brickfields) which was built in 2009, therefore it is very common to see roadblocks and speed traps. However, theft does not rest and occasionally there are break-ins. Home owners in Zone N started to cordon off their housing area with private security guards and fences in the early 2004, and this has created a ripple effect to neighbouring housing zone P & L.

Housing

Sri Petaling has more than 5,900 units of homes, hence it has received overwhelming response. In 2009, its commercial three and four-story office blocks with a built-up area of 5,096 sq. ft. to 14,701 sq. ft. were priced from RM1.5-3million. As of 2014, They are priced between RM4-8 million. Residential properties benefited from such a boom as well, houses in 2009 priced between RM300k-1.6m, priced in 2014 between RM700k-4.8m.

Large apartment buildings of the condominium type have been built; these include ones named Endah Villa, Endah Regal, Endah Puri and Endah Ria.

Education

Sri Petaling has many kindergartens, primary schools and two secondary schools. In addition, Sri Petaling has a music school, an art centre, a dance school, a yoga centre and a language centre. Primary schools include Sekolah Sri Petaling. The two secondary schools are SMK Bandar Baru Sri Petaling and SMK Sri Saujana.

Amenities and nightlife

A large mosque is located near the centre of Sri Petaling. There is also a Masjid Jamek located near SMK Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, which is always packed with Muslim worshippers on Fridays and in the month of Ramadhan.

The Sri Petaling Community Centre is often used by Sri Petaling residents to play badminton, and it has a football field, basketball court and a playground for children.

For lovers of night life, there are two Night Markets on separate nights; one is located at the front of The Store hypermarket and it is open every Tuesday. The other opens every Friday and is located further along the street next to the BHP Petrol Station. There is a nightclub in the Endah Parade which is open from 10 pm to 6 am.

References

Coordinates: 3°04′09″N 101°41′25″E / 3.069135°N 101.6903216°E / 3.069135; 101.6903216