Jalan Tun Perak

The Origin

Jalan Tun Perak was first named as Java Street, as there are a large number of Javanese traders and settlers along the street. The street is also a boundary between the Malay and Chinese quarters in the 1800s.

It was one of the busiest road since the early 1900s and became a shopping haven with the opening of Robinsons, Whiteaway Laidlaw and Gian Singh.

Around 1945, Java street was renamed as Mountbatten Road after Lord Admiral Lord Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten; the great-grandson of Queen Victoria. During the Second World War, he served as the Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia.

Artist’s depiction of Tun Perak
Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum

Subsequently, the road was renamed again in 1981 as Jalan Tun Perak. Bendahara Paduka Raja Tun Perak is the fifth Bendahara of the Malacca Sultanate who was appointed by Sultan Muzaffar. Bendahara at that time has a role similar to the Prime Minister of today. After Sultan Muzaffar’s demise, Tun Perak continue to serve as the Bendahara for Sultan Mansur Shah, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah and Sultan Mahmud Shah.