PETALING JAYA, Nov 29 — Historians are hailing Kuala Lumpur City Hall's move to commemorate royalty by renaming major roads after past and present kings.
Malaysian history expert Prof Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam said renaming the roads was the perfect way to educate the present and future generations.
“It is a positive method to accord recognition to the nation's royal institution and open doors for a greater appreciation of history,” she said.
“Questions are bound to arise and soon enough, parents will have to do some explaining to their children.
“These are important queries that youths should find out more about.”
The Universiti Malaysia Perlis' centre of Malaysian royalty institution studies director said it was obvious the public needed to find out more about the rulers from the way many expressed confusion over the move.
“I heard some went to the extent of making fun of our rulers' long names on social media,” she said.
“This is happening because they don't know enough about the legacy and significance of royalty in our country.”
She pointed out complaining about the length of the names was a poor excuse when youngsters could remember all the names of their favourite pop idols.
“After all, the former names of roads like Jalan Duta and Jalan Semarak did not hold any specific significance,” she said.
She said more buildings across the country could also benefit from bearing the name of royalty to instill familiarity about the kings and their sovereign states.
Author Adib Vincent Tung Abdullah praised the move, saying people would get used to the new names and be accustomed with Malaysian royalty the more they used the roads.
“Some might become curious about certain names and take their own initiative to learn more,” he said.
The expert on Perak royalty, royal customs and titles also felt the renaming was timely, especially after the passing of Perak ruler Sultan Azlan Shah in May last year.
“Sultan Azlan was a special individual who was not only Perak ruler and the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, but also the country's youngest appointed lord president of the Federal Court circa the 1980s,” he said.
