THE historical Lebuh Ampang area in Kuala Lumpur could soon regain its old identity as Chetty Street if a proposal by MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan gains traction.
Speaking at a Deepavali celebration organised by the Lebuh Ampang Traders Association, the Tapah MP urged the government to officially rename the street in recognition of the Chettiar community’s contribution to Malaya’s early economy.
According to him, Lebuh Ampang, once known as Chetty Theru or Lorong Ceti, was the financial hub of the South Indian Chettiar community, moneylenders and financiers who played a crucial role in the nation’s pre-independence commercial growth.
“They were not just lenders; they were enablers of dreams, builders of industries, and quiet architects of Malaya’s economic rise,” Saravanan said.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa, who attended the event, acknowledged the cultural and historical weight behind the proposal.
From the early 1800s, Chettiar financiers operated from modest shophouses along Lebuh Ampang, offering credit to tin miners, rubber planters, and small traders at a time when colonial banks turned away local entrepreneurs.
Saravanan added that their pioneering use of double-entry bookkeeping, land-backed loans, and trust-based lending made them early innovators in Asian finance.
Saravanan said renaming the street would not merely be symbolic, but an act of restoring historical truth and celebrating Malaysia’s multicultural economic heritage.
“Let the name Chetty Street rise, not just on signboards, but in the hearts of every Malaysian who walks that road,” he said, calling for the preservation of the area’s identity as a financial hub and a lesson in diaspora entrepreneurship for future generations.
If approved, the renaming would mark a significant gesture of recognition for the Chettiar community, whose legacy remains embedded in Malaysia’s economic foundations. —Oct 12, 2025
