THE Penang government has agreed to rename Jalan Jiran 1 in Butterworth to Jalan M. Kuppan.
Penang Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the executive council (exco) has approved the proposal by Bagan Dalam assemblyman M. Satees to rename the road.
“It is a fairly new road,” he said.
Zairil said the late national footballer and coach Datuk M. Kuppan had contributed a lot for the state and country.
“We expect the process of renaming the road to take about two months.
“Kuppan was best remembered for his agility in attacking, which earned him the nicknames ‘Black Panther of Penang’ and ‘Jetboots’.
“He was a member of the national squad that won the gold at the 1961 SEAP Games.
“Kuppan, who was born in Butterworth, was a clerk with the Penang Port Commission (PPC) in 1958 and was drafted into the Penang state team the same year. He worked with PPC for 31 years.
“Kuppan helped the Penang football team win the HMS Malaya Cup in 1958 and he was in the national team which won the Merdeka tournament that year,” he told a media conference at the State Legislative Assembly building today.
Zairil said Kuppan represented the country for eight years up to 1965.
“He also played 10 seasons for Penang, retiring in 1967.
“Kuppan was bestowed the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP), which carries the title Datuk, in 2005; and the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN), which carries the title Dato’, from the Penang Governor in 2013,” Zairil said.
Satees thanked the state government and Zairil for approving his proposal to rename Jalan Jiran 1 to Jalan M. Kuppan.
He said Kuppan used to train at a field located next to the proposed Jalan M. Kuppan.
Kuppan passed away on Dec 30 last year at the age of 85.
He leaves behind his wife and three sons.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud