The archway of the field at Jalan Bukit Jawa will soon read Dataran Klang@Padang Chetty. — Filepic
A sign showing the Dataran Klang@Padang Chetty name will be put up in the next few weeks.
Klang Municipal Council (MPK) president Noraini Roslan said this follows an agreement with Selangor State Executive Council (MMKN) and discussions with Klang MP V. Ganabatirau.
An archway with the new name will be installed in a few weeks.
Ganabatirau told StarMetro he hoped that there would be no further delay in installing the sign.
He said he had objected to the “Dataran Majlis Perbandaran Klang” name at the entrance to the field that was taken down more than two years ago.
“I was promised at that time the field would be named Dataran Chetty because that was the instruction from MMKN,” he said after a community event at the Klang District and Land Office in Jalan Kota.
On June 4, 2021, MPK had dismantled the sign at the 1.34ha refurbished field because of objections.
Klang stakeholders had wanted the original moniker retained.
Padang Chetty, which was a training ground for many local athletes, received its name from Chettiar merchants of India’s Tamil Nadu who sold salt in bullock carts at the field in the 1940s.
They also conducted moneylending across the field in Jalan Raya Barat in Klang.
Additionally, the 150-year-old Sri Nagara Thandayuthapani Hindu Temple and the Nattukotai Chettiar townhouse on one side of the field are managed by the Chettiar community.
