Damansara Jaya
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The Damansara Jaya township consists of Sections SS22 and SS22A of the town of Petaling Jaya in Selangor, Malaysia.
The township consists of almost 2000 residential dwellings consisting of 1538 units of link houses, 179 semi-detached housing units and 42 bungalows along with a single commercial area (around 3° 7'38.35"N 101°36'58.87"E). It is also home to KDU College (previously known as Kolej Damansara Utama) (3° 7'39.40"N 101°37'21.95"E). It has a population of over 11,678 residents.
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[edit] History
Damansara Jaya which was developed by Paramount Garden, then part of the See Hoy Chan group in the mid-seventies originally encompassed just Section SS22 of Petaling Jaya. Section SS22A which mainly consists of bungalows and semi-detached homes was later added to Damansara Jaya. Construction commenced in 1975 and the early residents of Damansara Jaya first occupied their newly completed double-storey terraced homes in 1978. They had purchased these houses from See Hoy Chan at prices just below 60,000 Ringgit. By 2006, these homes could fetch a market value in excess of 400,000 Ringgit.
The latest addition to Damansara Jaya is some 14 units of semi-detached three-storey houses. This development was originally known as Aman Residency but after completion was renamed as the Damansara Residensi. These are relatively large homes with some 6000 square feet built up area and up to 6 bedrooms. They were constructed on leasehold land during 2005 and 2006 by Genting Citra on a piece of land which was formerly secondary jungle behind the Jalan SS22/37 cul-de-sac. This new development is a gated community and is located on the Jalan SS22/47A cul-de-sac which joins the original Jalan SS22/47 behind the Damansara Jaya Primary School. It is understood that these homes were priced between 1.2 and 1.6 million Ringgit. As of October 2007, it is observed that many of these new semi-dees continue to remain unoccupied. Some units are being offered for sale at prices of up to 1.7 million Ringgit.
[edit] Commerce
The main commercial development in Damansara Jaya, now known as the Atria consists of freehold land measuring 22,161.02 square meters in area together with a 4 levels shopping complex annexed with 2 carpark buildings of 3 levels. Atria commenced life in the mid-eighties as the Kimisawa and Printemps departmental stores. During their prime days (mainly 1984-85) traffic jams were not uncommon in Damansara Jaya, mostly during weekends when these Japanese and French stores had sales promotions. They were then seen as the "must visit" shopping complexes in Petaling jaya, the "less attractive" alternatives being the likes of Asia Jaya, Thrifty Supermarket or Jaya Shopping Complex. The economic recession of the late eighties saw the eventual closing down of these two establishments.
The Lion Group took over ownership whereupon Kimisawa became Parkson Grand and Printemps became the Atria Shopping Centre. In the first few years of the 21st century Atria was taken over by Lien Hoe Corporation and the Parkson supermarket was taken over, first by Tops and later, in 2005, by Giant. It was also during 2005 that the Parkson Grand here ceased operations. At about the same time, Parkson commenced operations at 1-Utama. The decision by the new owners that more space is required for redevelopment meant that many long established tenants of mini-shoplots (such as Sweet Florist) on the ground floor near the supermarket had to re-locate. In September 2007 Sweet Florist re-opened on the Ground Floor of Atria, near the information counter.
By 2005, it was very evident that the Atria was very far from the league of the newer and larger complexes nearby such as 1 Utama, Ikano Power Centre and The Curve. The main anchor tenant on Level 3, the Popular Bookstore decided to terminate its presence at the Atria. In its place is now the Big Bookshop. Popular Bookstore had by then established its flagship store at the newly opened Ikano Power Centre and in addition a smaller branch at 1-Utama. Nevertheless, the Atria continues to be a popular destination amongst the residents of Damansara Jaya; the main attractions probably being the convenience in access and the general ease in obtaining a parking space. During most weekends, the Atria thus remains an attractive choice in comparison to having to endure the traffic jams and parking inconveniences of the larger complexes. The Big Bookshop frequently holds book warehouse sales at the 1st Floor space formerly occupied by the Parkson Grand department store.
In March 2007, Lien Hoe sold the Atria at RM75,000,000 to OSK Property Holdings Berhad. Nevertheless, ground floor stores are still open for business, with the bustling ground floor centre courtyard are still occupied by traders selling items such as books and clothes.
As for shoplots, Damansara Jaya residents can choose amongst the 4-storey shops surrounding The Atria or amongst the older 2-storey Mewah shops, i.e. those behind the KDU. More upmarket establishments such as banks (Maybank, RHB Bank and Public Bank), restaurants, pharmacies and clubs are found at the former whereas more traditional businesses such as coffee shops, sundry shops and hardware shops are located at the latter.
Haircare services are provided by various saloons located at the external Atria or Mewah shops or within the Atria Complex. Tyre shops are located at Jalan SS22/23 and Jalan SS22/21. Car repair and car air-conditioning shops are mainly found at the Mewah shops area. Popular betting shops such as Toto, Magnum and Damacai also operate at Damansara Jaya.
[edit] Healthcare
Residents of Damansara Jaya can easily access to general practitioners (Dr Lim at Toh & Lim), child specialist (Dr Kwan) and dental care (Lim Dental) within this township. Not too far away is the Damansara Specialist Hospital, located in adjacent Damansara Utama, and the Megah Medical Specialist Group in the adjacent Taman SEA. MMSG is a medical and surgical day centre and is owned by the Subang Jaya Medical Centre.
The ALLin and Sibu pharmacies are located at the Atria shops whereas Guardian and Smart Care pharmacies are located within the Atria Complex.
Foh Peng serves as the sole Chinese medical shop for Damansara Jaya. It is located adjacent to the Public Bank on Jalan SS22/23. Just like most other modern medical shops, Foh Peng also carries a fair selection of sundry goods.
Pet healthcare is available from Veterinary Clinics located at the Atria as well as Mewah shops.
[edit] Education
A variety of educational establishments are located in Damansara Jaya, including kindergartens, primary and secondary public schools, tuition centres, art and music schools and the KDU college.
SMK Damansara Jaya, or Damansara Jaya Secondary School, is very popular among residents of Damansara Jaya and its surrounding areas, such as Bandar Utama, Taman Megah, and Taman SEA. Not only does it excel academically, it has also built a strong name for itself in co-curricular activities. A very prominent product of SMK Damansara Jaya is its debate team which, to date, has won nine national inter-school debating titles in the last nine years. These tournaments include the prestigious national Tan Sri Datuk Wira Abdul Rahman Arshad Cup (2001 and 2003), Taylor’s College Annual Inter-School Debate competition (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006) and HELP University College’s Tan Sri Paduka Dr Saleha Debate Cup (2004, 2006 and 2008).
In early 2007, the Itqan Integrated Islamic School commenced operations at Lorong SS22/32A, to provide tuition and Islamic education. At Itqan, the English language is used as the medium of instruction. Some years ago, this bungalow housed the Aladdin Kindergarten. It had since become dilapidated and remained so until being renovated to house the current Islamic school.
[edit] Transportation
Damansara Jaya has excellent access to expressways such as the LDP, Sprint and the NKVE. Public bus services are provided by RapidKL. This includes the feeder bus for connection to the Taman Bahagia LRT train station.
[edit] Other Amenities
Damansara Jaya motorists are served by a BHP as well as two Petronas petrol stations, one located along the LDP, the other adjacent to the Mewah shops. The former, previously operated by Nobamech Enterprise, is also a main supplier of gas for NGV taxis. As an added convenience, a Maybank ATM was added to this Petronas station in early 2007.
The BHP petrol station commenced operations in 2006 when Boustead Holdings took over the operations of stations from British Petroleum. BP's once familiar green based colours were replaced by BHP's orange-yellow. Alternatively residents may choose to patronise the nearby Shell station which just took over Projet in August 2007. In the same month, the Petronas petrol station along the LDP underwent a 3-week renovation and re-opened under new management.
Petaling Jaya's only Indian cemetery is situated in Damansara Jaya, next to KDU College.
[edit] Resident Association
DJROA or The Damansara Jaya Residents and Owners Association which was formed in 1994 represents the interest of residents in this township. DJROA's community centre is located on a piece of land on Jalan SS22/30. This community centre was officially opened on 15 December 2005 by Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting. Activities such as line dancing and Wai Dan Gong are regularly conducted at the DJROA community centre.
DJROA has participated in the UN sponsored Local Agenda 21 programme under the auspices of MBPJ (Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya) or in English, the Petaling Jaya City Council.
[edit] Places of Worship
A Sword of the Spirit Charismatic Church is located on the Third Floor of 63 Jalan SS22/23. This location is essentially above the former Sweet Florist shop. An Evangel Bible Presbyterian Church is located at 26 Jalan SS22/21. The church is located on the Ground Floor of a shoplot, near to Esquire Kitchen of the Atria Shopping Complex and behind the Damansara Jaya post office
[edit] Prominent Business Offices
Gamuda Berhad, a KLSE First Board listed company has its corporate office located on Jalan SS22/21 in Damansara Jaya. Gamuda is principally involved in engineering and construction, infrastructure and township developments. The LDP or Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong was constructed by Gamuda. More recently Gamuda also constructed the SMART Tunnel, a project undertaken to help alleviate potential flood situations at Kuala Lumpur.
[edit] Political Representatives
- Tony Pua Kiam Wee - Member of Parliament, Petaling Jaya Utara
- Dr Cheah Wing Yin - Selangor State Assembyman, Damansara Utama
[edit] Famous residents
- Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting (Chinese: 黃家定; pinyin: Huáng Jiādìng) - former Malaysian Housing and Local Government Minister, current MCA president
- Datuk Seri Bakri Omar - former Malaysian Inspector-General of Police
