Putrajaya

Putrajaya, officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, is a planned city and the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, because of overcrowding and congestion in the former. Kuala Lumpur remains Malaysia's national capital, and is the seat of the King and Parliament as well as the home of 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 territory is entirely enclaved within the Sepang District of the state of Selangor. Putrajaya is also a part of MSC Malaysia, a special economic zone that covers Klang Valley. In Sanskrit, "putra" means "prince" or "male child", and "jaya" means "success" or "victory". The development of Putrajaya started in early 1990s, and today major landmarks have been completed and the population is expected to grow in the near future.

History and design


Putrajaya used to be Prang Besar ('ڤراڠ بسر), and was founded in 1918 as Air Hitam by the British. Its land area of 800 acre d expanded to 8000 acre, and it was merged with surrounding estates, including 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 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Two areas were proposed: Prang Besar and Janda Baik of Pahang.

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 11320 acre 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 rail link called KLIA Transit was opened, linking Putrajaya to KLIA 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 April 2013 the Putrajaya government signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the government of Sejong City in South Korea to mark co-operation between the two cities.

Government and infrastructure
almost all of Malaysia's governmental ministries had relocated to Putrajaya. The only ministries remaining in Kuala Lumpur are the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Works.

Population
In 2007, the population of Putrajaya was estimated to be over 30,000, which comprised mainly government servants. Government servants have been encouraged to relocate to the city through a variety of government subsidy and loan programs. The population had increased to 88,300 by 2015.

Religion
, the population of Putrajaya is 92.8% Muslim, 1.0% Hindu, 7.8% Christian, 2.1% Buddhist, and 0.3% other or non-religious.

Public buildings and monuments

 * 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
 * Ministry of Finance
 * Wisma Putra – Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 * Melawati National Palace
 * Istana Darul Ehsan
 * Putrajaya International 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
 * Putrajaya Landmark
 * Millennium Monument
 * National Heroes Square

Open space

 * Putrajaya Lake
 * Putra Square
 * Putrajaya Wetlands Park
 * Taman Selatan
 * Putrajaya Botanical Gardens – The biggest botanical garden in Malaysia, covering an area over 92 hectares

Education
Kindergarten and Pre-School
 * Brainy Bunch International Montessori (Presint 14)
 * Government Pre-School (Pra-Sekolah) located in Primary School.

Primary & Secondary Education in Putrajaya is provided by a few schools such as:
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 8 (1)
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 9.
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 16(1).
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 11(1).
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 9(2).
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 14(1).
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 11(2).
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 18(1).
 * SMK Putrajaya Presint 5(1).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 9(1).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 8(1).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 16(1).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 11(1).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 8(2).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 9(2).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 16(2).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 11(3).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 14(1).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 11(2).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 18(1).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 18(2).
 * SK Putrajaya Presint 5(1).

There is also an elite fully residential school in Putrajaya
 * Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah

Perdana University has established an 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.
 * Johns Hopkins University in Malaysia.
 * Perdana University Royal College of Surgeon in Ireland.

Universities
 * Heriot-Watt University (Heriot-Watt University Malaysia) has a campus in precinct 5

Transport
Putrajaya is home to the world's largest roundabout, the Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah with a perimeter of 3.5 km. (2.7 miles)

Major highways
Putrajaya is surrounded by federal highways 29 on the western side and 30 on the eastern side. The South Klang Valley Expressway E26, connecting Pulau Indah to Kajang, runs through the northern end of Putrajaya. ELITE E6 exit 607 serves Putrajaya and Cyberjaya next door. Highway 29 interchanges with Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) E11 in the northwestern corner of Putrajaya, linking the city with Puchong, Subang Jaya, Kelana Jaya and all the way to Kepong.

Within Putrajaya, the following roads serve as the main thoroughfares of the city.
 * Persiaran Persekutuan
 * Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (The world's largest roundabout with a diameter of 3.5 km (2.2 miles))
 * Persiaran Utara
 * Lebuh Sentosa
 * Persiaran Barat
 * Persiaran Selatan
 * Persiaran Timur
 * Persiaran Perdana (Boulevard)

List of bridges



 * Seri Perdana Bridge
 * Putra Bridge
 * Seri Wawasan Bridge
 * Seri Bakti Bridge
 * Seri Saujana Bridge
 * Seri Bestari Bridge
 * Seri Setia Bridge
 * Seri Gemilang Bridge
 * Monorail Suspension Bridge

Rail
Being a new planned city, Putrajaya is not served by state railway company KTMB. The nearest KTM stations will be in Serdang, Kajang, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia or Bangi. RapidKL buses link Putrajaya to the Serdang KTM station.

The only rail line serving Putrajaya is the KLIA Express/ERL, with a station serving both Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.

Buses
RapidKL buses are available in Putrajaya. The Putrajaya Corporation also provides its own stage bus services through its subsidiary Nadi Putra using natural gas-powered buses.

Politics
Putrajaya is represented in the Dewan Rakyat of the Malaysian Parliament by Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor of UMNO, part of the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition. Tengku Adnan is also the Minister of Federal Territories.

Being a Federal Territory, Putrajaya does not have a state assembly, and the constituency is not divided into any state seats.