Jalan Raja Laut 1 Renamed As Jalan Palestin, Annuar Musa Demands Why English Roads Name Not Replaced

27 September was dubbed as a historic moment as Kuala Lumpur Mayor, Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan, and Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia, Walid Abu Ali, officiated a name change of Jalan Raja Laut 1 to Jalan Palestin.

The motivation behind the name change is to assure a bilateral relation between the two nations and to show the support that Malaysia has for Palestine. However, Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa didn’t exactly favour the idea of changing the name of Jalan Raja Laut 1.

According to Harian Metro, Annuar Musa has demanded an explanation from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) as to why they chose Jalan Raja Laut 1 to change it.  He spoke out on Twitter yesterday regarding this matter.

Saya tiada halangan nak makan jln Di KL Jalan Palestine,tanda sokongan KL kpd perjuangan pembebasan AL QUDS.Namun sy maukan penjelasan kenapa pilih tukar nama JLN RAJA LAUT,nama besar Sejarah Melayu Dan KL.Kenapa tak tukar nama Inggeris spt JLN STONOR,JLN CONLAY,COCHRANE ROAD DLL https://t.co/8obBy4COcM

— Annuar Musa (@AnnuarMusa) September 27, 2020

Essentially, he explained that he had no qualms in wanting to change road names in Kuala Lumpur as a support for the liberation struggle of AL-QUDS.

However, he wanted a further explanation as to why Jalan Raja Laut was chosen for renaming purposes, as the name is an important one in Malay and Kuala Lumpur history. Annuar Musa questioned why DBKL didn’t choose any English road names such as Jalan Stonor, Jalan Conlay, Cochrane Road, amongst many others.

It was reported that Nor Hisham had stated that during the World Quds Day Assembly held at Dataran DBKL on May 26 to 31 last year, the motion for the name change was initiated. He added that the Ministry of Federal Territories requested DBKL to name a street in Kuala Lumpur as Jalan Palestin.

“Naming the Palestinian Road as a symbol of Malaysia’s support for the struggle of the Palestinian people in opposing oppression and subsequently establishing a Palestinian state,”

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