KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s best-known destination for street food might not be renamed after all.
Jalan Alor, which comes alive at night with more than 100 stalls selling everything from chicken satay to frog porridge, was set to be renamed Jalan Kejora by city authorities.
In the Malay language, jalan means “street” and alor means “stream”.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Abdul Hakim Borhan said the plan to change the name to Kejora — Malay for the planet Venus — was made three years ago as part of a re-branding exercise for Bukit Bintang, which translates as “Star Hill”.
Many of the traders have named their stalls after the street, which has existed for more than half a century, and yields more than a million results on the Yahoo! Internet search engine.
Protests from hawkers appear to have been successful.
The mayor was called for discussions with central government authorities and soon after conceded the name change is unlikely to take place.
