The question that has been playing in my head recently – and it is a resounding, reverberating question – is whether or not I can change the name of the road in front of my house to my name. And if yes, how do I do so?
I know some of you might contest the fact that I don’t really have a “commercial” ring to my name, and what more, it sounds like the word ‘pizza’ which is admittedly, nothing special. So I digress, together with my intention to be known in the Malaysian history and to be recognized by Waze.
But of course, a little nobody like myself don’t even deserve to have a door named after me, no matter if I pay tax on time, or if I clean the road every single day for free.
So basically the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) announced that several roads in Kuala Lumpur will be renamed after Rulers who have been coronated as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and will be in effect from November 26.
For your convenience, here is the list of the roads that will be renamed, together with their new names:
1. Jalan Duta to Jalan Tunku Abdul Halim
2. Jalan Khidmat Usaha to Jalan Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah
3. Jalan Ipoh (between Jalan Segambut and Jalan Pahang intersections) to Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah
4. Persiaran Duta to Persiaran Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin
5. Jalan Khidmat Setia and Jalan Ibadah to Jalan Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
6. Lebuhraya Mahameru to Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar
7. Persiaran Mahameru to Persiaran Tuanku Ja'afar
8. Jalan Semarak to Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra
Fancy huh? Well, the truth is that none of us are going to refer to any of these roads by their new names anyway. Let us think about the hassle that not just road-users have to go through having to memorise the new names, but the trouble of having to change all the signboards with the names involved, and then the hassle of business owners and residents having to change their addresses.
According to Kuala Lumpur city mayor, Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal in a statement, the decision to change the name was made by the federal government after a thorough discussion.
And in the same statement published in Sinar Harian, he mentioned that the old names would be retained on the signboards in brackets, next to the new names to avoid confusion. Now, why would you..? I don’t even have words. If this is foreseen to create confusion, on top of being redundant (change names, but then retain the old names on the same signboards), why even bother in the first place?
Not to mention, each signboards that will be changed, will cost about RM3,000 to RM5,000 according to its size. Let’s not delve deeper into the question of whose money will be used.
Honestly, I don’t really usually feel so strongly about signboards (never gave two hoots), but if it involves my money, I would be.
Let’s not forget those who are naturally bad with names; or those who are bad with roads. It might have taken them ages to memorise the names and the roads, and then to have them changed (read: the new names are mouthful!). God bless our souls.
But of course, there are always two sides of the coins. And on the bright side, this change will highlight the Rulers who have contributed to our country and also as a deserving tribute to them. It's just that there are plenty of are things in need of a name - new roads, halls, libraries etc. Why do we need to rename something with an existing one. And these are famous roads with names that have been embedded in our minds for a long time.
Finally if it’s any consolation, someone smart once said: Nothing is permanent, but change. So like it or not, we have to embrace this change.
Izza Izelan
Thu Nov 27 2014
"Nothing is permanent but change." - this expression applies to road names too.
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