Jalan Sultan Yusuf, looking north towards the HSBC building. (3 May, 2016)
Jalan Sultan Yusuf (GPS: 4.59338, 101.07633), (British: Belfield Street; Chinese: 微路菲街, Cantonese (Jyutping romanisation): Mei4 Lou6 Fei1 Gaai1; Pinyin: Wēi Lù Fēi Jiē;/ Chinese: 墨露菲街; Cantonese (Jyutping romanisation): Mak6 lau6 Fei1 Gaai1; Pinyin: Mò Lù Fēi Jiē/ Chinese: 錫米街; Cantonese (Jyutping romanisation): Sek3 Mai5 Gaai1; Pinyin: Xī Mǐ Jiē) is one of the main commercial streets in Ipoh.
Jalan Sultan Yusuf runs roughly north south between Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam in the north and Jalan Leong Boon Swee in the south. Traffic flow is one way, heading in opposite directions from the junctions of Jalan Lahat and Persiaran Bijih Timah, from which the traffic forks to move north or south. Jalan Sultan Yusuf can possibly be divided into two parts. The northern end is where most of the European commercial establishments were concentrated.
Jalan Sultan Yusuf was originally called Belfield Street, after Sir Henry Conway Belfield, who was the 9th Resident of Perak. Being one of the main streets in downtown Ipoh, it forms junctions and intersections with many other streets including Jalan Silang, Jalan Koo Chong Kong, Jalan Sultan Iskandar, Jalan Shala, Jalan Dato Sagor, Jalan Market, Jalan Maharaja Lela, Jalan Panglima, Lorong Hale, Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Sultan Idris Shah.
Also found here were European emporiums (or should I write, emporia) such as Whiteways & Laidlaws and Pritchards. These are the stores that cater to the British upper crust, to the officers, as well as to the wealthy tin mining tycoons trying to keep up with the Joneses.
One of the most interesting aspects of Jalan Sultan Yusuff are the frontage of the shophouses here, particularly the pediments. On 128-136 Jalan Sultan Yusuff is a row of handsome shophouses with elaborate classical pediments. No 128 belongs to Jan Sahib, the prominent Indian Muslim, son of Sheikh Adam, who founded the Indian Muslim Mosque.
Sadly however, many of these lovely buildings are in a rather run-down state. As I write this, I hope a great awareness of conservation will be generated, and these heritage structures can be rejuvenated.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.