Sri Petaling

Sri Petaling has easy access to the Government departments in Putrajaya, which is the administrative capital of Malaysia, to Cyberjaya and to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Sepang International Circuit (former 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 are 15 minutes away, Shah Alam is 20 minutes away, and the royal town of Klang is 45 minutes away.

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

The area that was developed into the town consisted of former 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.[1]

The three areas of Sri Petaling that were first developed for residential use were the areas of Jalan Puteri Senggang near the main road, Jalan Wan Empok 1 and Jalan Wan Empok 2. These were the main residential areas of Sri Petaling in the 1980s 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 within as little as 10 minutes, and further towards Shah Alam and Klang. The opening of the Shah Alam Expressway was one of the reasons for the rapid growth in Sri Petaling. In 2007, the Maju Expressway (MEX) opened, a dedicated highway connecting the Kuala Lumpur city centre to Putrajaya with Sri Petaling as one of its exits. The expressway connects residents to the city centre, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

In 2020, Sri Petaling has been associated with being Southeast Asia's COVID-19 hotspot during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The virus was spread at a tabligh event held at the Sri Petaling mosque. There were 16,000 attendees, including 1,500 foreigners. Multiple Covid-19 cases related to this event had popped up across Southeast Asia. It is uncertain who the virus originated from at the event. Majority of Malaysian COVID-19 cases during the pandemic are linked to this event. [2] [3]

Sri Petaling is a vibrant, self-contained suburban township with excellent infrastructure. The township is located just 15 km south of Kuala Lumpur city centre and is easily accessible from major highways such as the Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway, Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS), New Pantai Expressway (NPE), Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) and the Maju Expressway (MEX).

Sri Petaling is served by two light rapid transit (LRT) stations,  SP17  Bukit Jalil and  SP18  Sri Petaling, on the 4 Sri Petaling Line.

By 2009, Sri Petaling had its own Carrefour hypermarket located in the Endah Parade Shopping Complex,[4] 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.[5] AEON Big is currently operating their hypermarket in the Endah Parade Shopping Complex.[6] As of 2014 Endah Parade has grown to accommodate two gyms, a large spa & beauty centre, badminton courts, indoor futsal courts, car beauty studio, post office and a branch of the National Registration Department of Malaysia (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara).

Another shopping complex, The Store Hypermarket, is located near the town centre, serving Zones G, J and H of Sri Petaling.

In early 2013 the first phase of new shops (Zone J) were completed by I&P Group[7] the sole developer of the area along Jalan Radin Bagus. As of March 2014, the final phase of shops surrounding The Store Hypermarket[8] was completed.

Sri Petaling has its own hotel, the Hotel Sri Petaling.[9] 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 include brands from Crocs, FitFlop, Levis, Adidas, Puma, Nike, Guardian Pharmacy, Anakku and many more.

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. The International Medical University (IMU) is located in the neighbouring town of Bukit Jalil, 5 minutes from the town.