Wangsa Maju is a township in Kuala Lumpur, formed in 1984 during the city's 10th anniversary.[1] The area was previously occupied by Setapak rubber estates named as "Hawthornden" from the 1900s until the 1980s. The township is the second to be developed by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), with the first being Bandar Baru Tun Razak initiated in 1975. Subsequently, other new townships were developed in Sentul and Bukit Jalil. The new township project in Wangsa Maju is a joint venture between DBKL and a local company named Paremba Berhad.[2][3]
Most residents of Wangsa Maju are from the low to middle-income group, and many flat units in the area were built and rented out at a lower monthly rental rate than the private sector's housing in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. This provides opportunities for as many families as possible in the country to own their homes. Through this joint venture project, most of the houses to be built will be sold directly to the public. The council may keep a small number of these houses for renting to low-income groups who are forced to relocate due to government development projects.[2]
Wangsa Maju's commercial centre is known as the Kuala Lumpur Suburban Centre (KLSC). Initially, "Bandar Baru Titiwangsa Maju" was proposed as the name for the township. Wangsa Maju now only contains Sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 10, with no Sections 3,7,8 or 9 in between. Early charts indicated different sections of Wangsa Maju as "R", most likely referring to regions or residential areas.[4]
In May 2021, DBKL announced plans to transform Wangsa Maju's Section 1 into Kuala Lumpur's first zero-carbon township, focusing on green technologies. The project's goal is to provide the neighbourhood, which is mostly made up of low-cost flats, shophouses, and makeshift retail stores, with eco-conscious neighbourhoods that emphasise pedestrian walkways, jogging tracks and bicycle paths, as well as the replacement of ageing railings along residential areas. DBKL also intends to transform vacant lots into landscaped gardens or urban farms.[4]
Facilities
Wangsa Link, one of the commercial areas in Wangsa Maju.
Sections 1 through 10
Various housing area such as Wangsa Melawati, Desa Setapak, Taman Sri Rampai, Taman Bunga Raya
Parliamentary boundaries can be confusing at times, particularly when it comes to the Wangsa Maju township. The Wangsa Maju Parliementary seat (P116) includes not only Sections 1, 2, and 4, but also Gombak, Danau Kota, and Taman Melati towards the Karak Highway. Before 2004, the Wangsa Maju constituency was part of the Setiawangsa constituency (P115). Nonetheless, some parts of Wangsa Maju are still administered by Setiawangsa, which causes some confusion among residents who live in Wangsa Maju yet vote for Setiawangsa. Also, the DBKL branch office at Wangsa Maju is called Setiawangsa, although another DBKL branch office called Wangsa Maju can be found on Jalan Gombak, possibly due to parliamentary boundaries. The area was first represented by Datuk Yew Teong Loke (MCA) in 2004.[7] In 2008 he lost to Wee Choo Keong (PKR) by merely 151 votes, subsequently this seat was win by the PKR for two terms[8]
The incumbent MP is Zahir Hassan of Pakatan Harapan-PKR, who won the 15th general election with a majority of 20,696 votes under the Pakatan Harapan flag.[9] The Setiawangsa constituency includes a portion of Wangsa Maju located south of Jalan Genting Klang, and the incumbent MP is Nik Nazmi, also of the PH-PKR.
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