Arun Politic: Putrajaya. The Federal Administrative Center Of Malaysia

Putrajaya is a planned city, located 25 km south of Kuala Lumpur, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, due to the overcrowding and congestion in the Kuala Lumpur areas. Nevertheless, Kuala Lumpur remains Malaysia's national capital, being the seat of the King and Parliament, as well as the country's commercial and financial centre. Putrajaya was the brainchild of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad.
In 2001, Putrajaya became Malaysia's third Federal Territory after Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.
Named after the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, the city is situated within the Multimedia Super Corridor, beside the also newly developed Cyberjaya. In Malay/Sanskrit, the words "putra" or "putera" means "prince" or "male child" ("girl child" is called "Putri" in Sanskrit), and "jaya" means "success" or "victory". The development of Putrajaya started in early 1990s, and today major landmarks are completed and the population is expected to grow bigger.

Putrajaya, which was originally Prang Besar ڤراڠ بسر, was opened in 1918 as Air Hitam by the British. Its original land space was 800 acres (3.2 km²), which was later expanded to 8,000 acres (32 km²). Prang Besar later expanded and merged with its surrounding estates such as Estet Raja Alang, Estet Galloway and Estet Bukit Prang.

The vision to have a new Federal Government Administrative Centre to replace Kuala Lumpur as the administrative capital emerged in the late 1980s, during the tenure of Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad. The new city was proposed to be located between Kuala Lumpur and the new KL International Airport (KLIA).

The Federal government negotiated with the state of Selangor on the prospect of another Federal Territory and in the mid-1990s, the Federal government paid a substantial amount of money to Selangor for approximately 11,320 acres (45.8 km²) of land in Prang Besar, Selangor. As a result of this land purchase, the state of Selangor now completely surrounds two Federal Territories within its borders, namely Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

Planned as a garden and intelligent city, 38% of the area is reserved for green spaces by emphasising the enhancement of natural landscape. A network of open spaces and wide boulevards were incorporated to the plan. Construction began in August 1995 and it was Malaysia's biggest project and one of Southeast Asia's largest with estimated final cost of US$ 8.1 billion. The entire project was designed and constructed by Malaysian companies with only 10% of the materials imported.
The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997/1998 had somewhat slowed the development of Putrajaya. In 1999, 300 staff members of the Prime Minister's office moved to Putrajaya and the remaining government servants moved in 2005. On 1 February 2001 Tun Dr. Mahathir declared Putrajaya as a Federal Territory with the ceremony of handing over Putrajaya township from the Selangor state authorities.

In 2002, a high speed rail link called KLIA Transit was opened, linking Putrajaya to both Kuala Lumpur and KL International Airport in Sepang. However, construction of the Putrajaya Monorail which was intended to be the city's metro system, was suspended due to costs. One of the monorail suspension bridges in Putrajaya remains unused.
In 2007, the population of Putrajaya was estimated to be over 30,000, which comprised mainly government servants.

Religion

As of 2010 Census the population of Putrajaya is 97.4% Muslim, 1.0% Hindu, 0.9% Christian, 0.4% Buddhist, and 0.3% other or non-religious.

Public buildings and monuments

Istana Melawati

Perdana Putra – office of the Prime Minister
Seri Perdana – official residence of the Prime Minister
Sri Satria - official residence of the Deputy Prime Minister
Palace of Justice
Putrajaya Ministry of Finance
Wisma Putra – Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Melawati National Palace
Istana Darul Ehsan
Putrajaya Convention Centre
Perdana Leadership Foundation
Heritage Square
Selera Putra
Souq Putrajaya
Pusat Kejiranan Presint 9
Pusat Kejiranan Presint 16
Putra Mosque
Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque (Iron Mosque (Masjid Besi))

Monuments

Open space

Education

Education in Putrajaya is provided by a few schools such as:

There is also an elite fully residential school in Putrajaya

Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah

Perdana University have established a interim campus in Putrajaya which hosts the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (PUGSOM) and the Perdana University-Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (PU-RCSI) medical schools.

Transport

Putrajaya is home to the world's largest roundabout with a diameter of 3.5 km. (2.7 miles)

Bridges

Seri Wawasan Bridge

This is a list of bridges in Putrajaya.

Major highways in Putrajaya

Establishment	19 October 1995
Made into Federal Territory	1 February 2001
Government
• Administered by	Perbadanan Putrajaya Putrajaya Corporation
• Chairman	Aseh Che Mat
Area
• Total	49 km² (19 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	67,964
• Density	1,400/km² (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC)
Mean solar time	UTC+06:46:40
Website	http://www.putrajaya.gov.my/

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Putrajaya. The Federal Administrative Center Of Malaysia