Putrajaya : The Administrative Centre of Malaysia Part I

Perdana Putra Complex (Prime Minister's Office) The Putra Mosque

Information on Putrajaya

Why Putrajaya?

In the 80’s during the administration of the former Prime Minister Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, he announced that the Vision of Malaysia to be a fully developed nation by the year 2020.

He felt that as a develop nation, we should have our very own administration centre and capital. A good example is the America where they have the Washington as the administrative centre and New York as the capital and the commercial Centre. So, he hoped that we should have our own administration centre that is Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur as the commercial and capital of Malaysia.

He also reasoned out that most of the government offices in Malaysia are too far away from each other and in fact some of them are still using the old colonial buildings. Since Kuala Lumpur has developed into a big city, the traffic situation worsened. This will cause precious time wasted when one government department wanted to communicate and cooperate with another government department.

So, Dr Mahathir said if all the government departments are concentrated in a city itself, then a lot of precious time will be saved and all the government departments will have a better communication system. This will work towards the development of the Vision 2020.

Location of Putrajaya

Malaysia began casting around for a new Federal Administrative Centre away from Kuala Lumpur two decades ago. Various sites were identified and five were short-listed. After toying with setting up shop in the neighboring state of Pahang, Mahathir settled on the southern Prang Besar district of Selangor state in June 1993 and launched the project in 1995, naming it after and in memory of Malaysia's first prime minister, YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj. This site was chose in view of its strategic location between Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). A champion of billion-dollar construction projects, he tagged the capital's name with the suffix "jaya," which means "success." Putrajaya is conceived and planned for and by Malaysians and is one of two "intelligent" cities under the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project, a 15-by-50 km (9-by-31 mi) technology zone. Malaysia has high hopes for its new federal capital interlinked with fiber optic cable and dotted with minarets.
Putrajaya is located about 30km south of Kuala Lumpur and about 30km north of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is also located about 45km away from the biggest port of Malaysia, Port Kelang.

This means that no matter where one is located, it is very convenient for one to travel to Putrajaya.

Formerly the whole Putrajaya is a very big oil palm plantation and rubber estates.

Development of Putrajaya

Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd is the master developer of Malaysia's administrative capital of Putrajaya, the largest urban development project in the country. The company was incorporated on 19 October 1995, with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), the national oil company, and Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the federal government investment arm, as majority shareholders. The ownership structure has since changed and as at 3rd May 2007, PETRONAS via KLCC (Holdings) Sdn. Bhd. is the majority shareholders with 64.41%, while CIMB Group Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn. Bhd. (for and on behalf of Kumpulan Wang Amanah Negara -KWAN) has 20% stake and Khazanah Nasional Berhad ("Khazanah") has a 15.59%.
As master developer, Putrajaya Holdings works hand in hand with the city's local authority, Perbadanan Putrajaya, to implement the masterplan that envisages Putrajaya as A Garden City, An Intelligent City. To realise this, Putrajaya Holdings appointed as its project manager, KLCC Projeks Berhad, whose credentials include the Petronas Twin Towers. The company also entered joint venture partnerships with developers who have impressive track records to build a world-class city on a fast track basis.

Today, more than half of the 4,931-hectare development has been completed. They are mainly government buildings, housing, infrastructure, public utilities and aminities. The focus has now shifted to commercial development. Putrajaya Holdings has initiated a series of seed developments that have proven the commercial potential of the city, The returns from these investments have already started to roll in.

Master Plan

Putrajaya sits on a magnificent 4,581 hectare spread. Its Master Plan is designed along an axial tangent which runs from the northeast to southeast taking full advantage of the natural surroundings. Its undulating terrain treats visitors and residents to commanding vistas of the environment. About 40% of Putrajaya is natural. Lush greenery, botanical gardens are spread across the landscape enhanced by large bodies of water and wetlands. Five confluences meet at the north forming a main waterway which flows across the city area.

Putrajaya is divided into two major areas - Core Area and the Peripheral Area, where the separation is via a large lake.

CORE AREA - The Core Area of Putrajaya, which covers a total area of 1069 hectares, is divided into five precincts (namely the Government Precinct, Commercial Precinct, Civic & Cultural Precinct, Mixed Development Precinct, and Sports & Recreational Precinct) linked by a distinctive 4.2km long boulevard. The boulevard will form the spine of the Core Area and will stretch across the central island linking it with the rest of the city. The boulevard will be the main venue for national celebrations, festive and cultural events. The precincts are identified by their predominant economic activities.

PERIPHERAL AREA - Putrajaya's peripheral area comprises 15 precincts of various sizes. 12 of the 15 precincts make up the residential neighborhoods. The planning and design of Putrajaya's residential areas is intended to foster a sense of identity through the neighborhood focal points, landscaping and the treatment of the public realm. A total of 67,000 homes of varying ranges, sizes, types and densities have been planned for all income sectors. Residential living in Putrajaya will offer a new experience where nature and technology will work in harmony for the benefit of the community. Most precincts will have community and neighborhood centres, parks, places of worship and many other state-of-the-art public amenities. Among the facilities provided in the residential areas are schools, hospitals, shopping centres, mosques, multipurpose halls, learning centres and neighborhood parks.

Concept

Putrajaya was planned to embrace two major themes i.e. 'Garden City' and 'Intelligent City'. Reflecting the 'Garden City' concept, Putrajaya is sought to reflect the very best in city planning and landscape architectural ideas to realize a new vibrant city of tomorrow. Its strategic location in the middle of the Multimedia Super Corridor would bring the new frontier of computer technology and the Information Age into Putrajaya.

The planning of Putrajaya emphasizes the preservation of its eco-system while promoting an active, lively and caring society. The city is designed to provide opportunity for retreat from the pressures and stress of modern living.

Putrajaya is a planned city being built according to a series of comprehensive policies and guidelines for land use, transportation system, utilities, infrastructure, housing, public amenities, information technology, parks and gardens.

The Garden City concept incorporates the following features:

Layout

a formal axis punctuated with nodal features;
structuring of the Core Area into identifiable precincts;
a variety of informal and formal activity areas.

Landscaping

38 percent of the land earmarked as green areas
reforestation and enhancement of the natural landscape;
promoting local flora as a Malaysian landscape identity;
creating a network of open spaces.

Urban Form

designed to suit topography, local climate and cultural norms;
creation of interesting cityscape;
optimization of scenic panoramic views and spatial experiences;
incorporation of intelligent buildings and infrastructural features.

Vision and Philisophy

Putrajaya was created with the guidance of three simple ideologies:
Man and his Creator
Man and man
Man and nature

The concept is simple. Putrajaya is a city within a luscious garden, hinging on a balance of ideal qualities of living, working environment. Architecturally, Putrajaya will be an indigenous city with a modern look. Planned to the most minute detail, this intelligent garden city will enhance the goal of the nation in nurturing a caring and progressive society.

Construction Progress

Construction began in August of 1995 and it was touted as Malaysia's biggest real-estate project and one of South-East Asia's largest. Built during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and opened in 1999, Putrajaya has been criticized by the Malaysian opposition as an example of Mahathir's extravagant ways and an obsession with grandeur. It is expected to be completed in 2010. As the clock ticks, construction workers are pressing feverishly to complete the first phase of Malaysia's new capital by the first week of June 1999, when Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his government will uproot itself and move into the "garden city" utopia starting a gradual exodus of hundreds of thousands of civil servants. Only 10 percent of the building material will be imported and the entire project had been designed and constructed by Malaysian companies. Government departments, including Mahathir's office, have moved into Putrajaya under a plan to have all government employees working from and perhaps living there by mid-2002. Putrajaya will take another 15 years to complete. Most of the government is expected to move in by 2005.

Tour Guiding Experience

Most of the China tour groups will only visit to the Putrajaya on the second day of their itinerary.
Most of the Chinese tourists will be amazed, shocked and full with praises for this beautiful garden city. In fact, through my experience of guiding, quite a lot of them started to ask me on how to migrate to Malaysia after visiting this city. I will tell them that unfortunately that Malaysia has no migration policy. But its fortunate that we have the Malaysia My Second Home Program for those who are interested to stay in Malaysia for a long long time.

Most of the tourists will also tell me very frankly that by visiting this city, it has changed their perception towards this country, Malaysia. They will tell me very frankly that before they come to Malaysia, they tend to think that Malaysia belongs to poor nations just like any other South East Asia countries.

The View of The Putra Mosque And The Perdana Putra Complex From The Vision Bridge

Usually, I will take my group of tourists to the Vision Bridge for a photo stop. ( Even though in their itinerary they do not have such a spot ) I always believe that we as a tour guide, we should let the tourists see and understand as much as possible about our country Malaysia. From this bridge itself, the tourists will be able to have better photography session of the whole scenic Putrajaya. Here, one can have a very good photography of the Putrajaya residential area, the Selangor Sultan’s Palace, the Putra Mosque, the Prime Minister’s Department Office, the Monument ( in the shape of a rocket ) and various government departmental offices.

Then, usually I will proceed my journey to the Putrajaya Square and let my tourists to have about 45min of free and leisure time to walk around at the square. At the Square itself, the tourists can have a good view of the Prime Minister’s office, the Putra Mosque and the Square itself.

I suggest that it should be made compulsory that all travel agents list this spectacular and unique tourist spot in their itinerary of Kuala Lumpur tour package. It is very unfortunate that till today there are still a lot of travel agents neglected this very important touristic spot.

As for fellow tourists, please make sure that this is a must visit tourist spot for you because this place will definitely made your tour worth while and it will also portray the rich diverse culture and history of Malaysia.

Sources :

1) http://www.ppj.gov.my/

2) http://www.pjh.com.my/

3) http://www.kiat.net/putra/

Petronas Twin Tower ( KLCC )

The Petronas Twin Tower or better known as the KLCC among the locals is definately one of the most popular land mark in Kuala Lumpur.



Why Malaysia wanted to build such a magnificent building? This idea was first mooted by the previous Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad. Tun Dr Mahathir felt that a lot of foreigners still do not know much or understand about Malaysia. So, he was hoping that by building this magnificent building, it will enhance the popularity of this country Malaysia.



Tun Dr Mahathir also felt that previous logo for Malaysia which is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building is not suitable. This is because the building has foreign elements to it. So, he wanted to have a unique building which can portray Malaysia is a modern Islamic country.


As such, in the year 1990, Tun Dr Mahathir organised a competition to choose who can design the most unique building for Malaysia.

In this competition, the world famous Cesar Pelli & Associates was chosen and designed this unique building.

At the initial stage of the planning and building, it was not planned that this building is to be the tallest in the world.

In fact, construction was already well underway when one afternoon in 1994, in a meeting over tea, a question was casually put to Pelli by Dr Mahathir.

At the meeting, suddenly out of jovial mood the Prime Minister asked how many more metres would it take for the Petronas Twin Towers to get the "tallest building in the world" tag.

It was back to the drawing boards, and after some frantic mathematical recalculation, it was deemed doable.

Not by increasing the number of floors, however, but by raising the height of the pinnacles which were originally designed to be much flatter.

To test the viability, another wind tunnel study was carried out to ensure the building could withstand the added height and accompanying stress.


A bidding of was organised to choose who will be responsible to build the building. Finally, the Korean Samsung Engineering & Construction and Kukdong Engineering & Construction and the Japanese Hazama Corporation were chosen to build the building.

Both the construction companies are in charge of building each of the tower.

The Korean construction company Kukdong Engineering & Construction was chosen to build the skybridge.

The skybridge is located on the 41st and 42nd floor of the building.

The main purpose of the skybridge is a device during emergency where the tenants can use it to cross over during the evacuation purposes.

The skybridge is also open to the tourists on the 41st floor. However, only 1300 free tickets are available on first come first serve basis.

Visitors are only allowed for the 41st floor as the 42nd floor is only for the tenants of the building.

Most tourists are curious that how come this tallest building in the world can be built by using so many glass panels. This is because Malaysia is a very safe country. We do not have any natural disaster like earthquake, volcano, huricane in Malaysia. So, thats the reason why glass panels can be used.

During the construction process, a world record was broken as the cement was poured without stopping for 58 hours.

The Korean successfully completed its building in 1996 and the Japanese in the year 1997.

This was followed by Tun Dr Mahathir opened ceremony of this building in the year 1999 and he declared that this building is the world tallest building in the 20th century.

The twin tower is 451.9m height and it has 88 storeys.

Both towers are of equal height and dimension as this is one of the Islamic design element whereby it has to be simetry.

The twin tower consists of:

1) Tower One is mainly occupied by Petronas and its subsidiaries.
2) A number of companies have offices in Tower Two, including Accenture, Al Jazeera English, Carigali Hess Bloomberg, Boeing, IBM, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, McKinsey & Co, TCS, Krawler Networks, Microsoft, and Reuters.
3) KLCC Park :Spanning 17 acres below the building is the KLCC park with jogging and walking paths, a fountain with incorporated light show, wading pools, and a children's playground.
4) Suria KLCC is one of the largest shopping malls in Malaysia.
5) The Philharmonic Concert.

Within the vicinity of KLCC:

1) The Maxis building
2) The Esso building
3) The Aquaria
4) The Mandarin Oriental hotel
5) The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Tour Guides Attention Please...

Dear Fellow Tour Guides,

There have been reports that tour guides and drivers lost their money at the toilets at the R & R Gelang Patah and the Gelang Patah Immigration Centre.

Most of the male tour guides will hang the trousers on to the hanger. The thief will reach to the trousers because the hanger is too low.

Another incident happened is that the tour guide will leave the trousers on the flushing pot. The thief can reach through behind the wall.

There are also some female tour guides lost their money while in the toilet.

So becareful please...

Please Take Note...

Dear Readers...

I have just decided to make some changes to my blogs.

I find it very time consuming in order for me to post a new blog on the tourism topics as I want to give as much information as posible about the topic. This is because a lot of time wasted on the research.

As such, as from now onwards, I will try to finish up the topics which I used to give my commentary to my tourists first.

So, it is very important for the readers to take note that the readers have to make his/her own judgement on the information.

Of course, much care is taken in order to make sure that the information here is as accurate as posible.

I am very sure most tour guides will agree that there are a lot of mistakes and clashing facts in most of the tourists information books or in the net as well.

So, readers please read the information here by using own judgement.

Thank You.

Nine Emperor in Penang

Sources : The Star, Thursday October 9, 2008
A festival steeped in tradition
By LOOI SUE-CHERN wIth pix by EDDIE CHUAH & KT GOH


SOME traditions fade away when the younger generations have no interest in continuing the practices.

But when it comes to celebrating the Nine Emperor Gods (Kew Ong Yeah) Festival in Penang, traditions cannot be more alive.

This annual Taoist festival once again drew thousands of devotees from all over the state to pay homage to the deities at various temples and shrines as the nine-day celebration came to an end on Tuesday night.


A ceremonial sail boat, used during the Nine Emperor Gods (Kew Ong Yeah) festival in Penang, was set ablaze in the middle of the sea to send the deities back to heaven.
The weather throughout the celebration was also in keeping with tradition.

Penang, at least George Town, was drenched from day one of the festival on Sept 29 until it ended with the sending-off ceremony nine days later.

Tuesday’s showers began at about 6.30pm but ended some two hours later just as the procession was about to begin.

The floats and deities’ sedan chairs rolled out one by one into the streets as the mediums fell into a trance.


Mediums with cheeks skewered, taking part in a procession along Carnarvon Street.

At the Hong Kong Street Tow Boh Keong Temple, young people played a major role in the festivities as many were helping out with the rituals, carrying the wooden sedan chairs, steering the floats and managing the crowd.

Devotees not only brought their parents to the temple, but also their young children to teach them about the festival and the religious practices.

Hundreds of devotees, mostly dressed in white or yellow shirts, holding joss sticks and stalks of chrysanthemum, followed the processions of colourful neon lit decorated floats.


Tourists joining the locals to pay homage to the Nine Emperor Gods.

It was the same scenario at the other temples and shrines dedicated to the nine deities which organised their own processions.

Most of the floats were pulled along by devotees. Some devotees opted for a less tiring journey. They hopped into cars with rolled down window where they stuck out their joss sticks, the vehicles trailing behind devotees on foot.

Joining in the festivities were tourists who found the celebration fascinating and the dramatic scenes wonderful for their photo albums.

The processions were led by mediums ‘acting on behalf’ of the deities. Some of them were skewered in the cheeks while others cracked whips as they led the processions towards the Weld Quay seafront.

At the quay, ceremonial boat-shaped floats from the various temples were taken out to sea by sampan where the floats were later set on fire to symbolise the deities’ return to heaven.

According to Chinese mythology, the Nine Emperor Gods are believed to have the ability to cure ailments and confer luck, riches and long life.

Nine Emperor

Nine Emperor Gods fest celebrated with much fanfare
By LIM CHIA YING


The 146-year-old Nine Em­peror God Temple in Pekan Ampang was bustling with activities as celebrations for the final day of the annual Nine Emperor Gods fest went under way on Tuesday.

The Taoist temple is bright and vivid with the swirl of colours conjured up by lights and the many different activities inside.

Tens of thousands of devotees came from near and afar to do their prayers and to send off the Nine Emperor Gods on the final day. Naturally, the area was congested as cars had to negotiate their way between pedestrians, while the many food and drinks stalls set up outside the temple grounds were making brisk business.


No sweat: The devotees walking on burning charcoal.

As usual, there were the illegal jockeys hoping to make some money as they guide cars to park in the empty lots.

One of the most popular stalls must be that selling stinky tofu (beancurd), as a line of visitors queued up patiently to have a taste of the delicacy. Making one’s way into the crowded temple, one of the main attractions was the section where male devotees walked on burning charcoal, a rite believed to “burn away” bad luck and start anew.

Devotees who believe they have adhered to precepts of strict vegetarian diet and decency say the coal does not hurt at all, and that they will feel no pain as long as they are “pure in their heart.”


Vivid: There was a hive of activity at the Nine Emperor Gods temple in Pekan Ampang.

Following that, the temple committee, dressed in all white ensemble and white headgears, formed a long line inside the temple passing around items like bowls of rice, flower stalks, pagodas, fruits, and vegetarian foodstuff from one person to another, to signify praying to the Nine Emperor Gods.

After all items had been passed around, the temple was then opened to the devotees who now have their turn to do their prayers.

At another section, a Chinese opera show was conducted live.

After fences were removed from the charcoal section, more booths were put up by people offering services like writing for good luck and selling religious paraphernalia to be burned as offering to the Nine Emperor Gods for blessing.

The crowd continued streaming in towards the later hours of the night, as the buzz continues with another procession to send the deities off on their journey back to the sea at about 3am on Wed­nesday.

Sources : The Star 10th Oct 2008
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For your information:

You can't see this kind of important ceremony in China. The nine emperor god festival originates from Phuket island, Thailand.

There was once that there is a disease wide spread in Phuket.

The people prayed to the nine emperor and they are cured.

And in return as a vow to the nine emperor god, the festival is celebrated yearly on the ninth month first day till ninth day of the lunar calendar.

In China, due to the cultural revolution, lots of the culture and tradition of the Chinese have been lost. So if one really want to understand the culture and tradition of the Chinese, you have to visit to country like Malaysia where we still practice a lot of traditional and Chinese believes.

A Cocounut Leaf's Tale

THE young leaves of coconut trees are highly sought after a week before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.


FOR THOSE SHORT ON TIME: Suryana Abdul Rahim says some customers have no time to weave coconut leaves and so they prefer to buy ready-made ketupat leaves.

WHERE IT ALL BEGINS: Siti Arifah sorting out coconut leaves before tying them into bundles.


MAKE YOUR OWN: A customer choosing coconut leaves for making ketupat.


A COMPLETE MEAL: Some traders sell ketupat together with rendang and satay sauce.
It is used for making ketupat, that delicacy synonymous with Malay Muslim festivals.

Ketupat is steamed rice in woven coconut leaves, usually eaten with rendang and satay. To enhance its taste, it is sometimes served with serunding kelapa (stir-fried grated coconut with spices) or peanut sauce.

Sourcing the young leaves these days is no easy task. Each tree has only one bunch of young leaves, which springs up vertically at the top of the plant.


Not only is it laborious to chop down the bunch, suppliers of the leaves are finding it tough to find enough of them to meet the season’s demand.

In recent years, some of the leaves were brought in from Sumatra to supplement local supply. Due to its scarcity, the leaves are highly-priced. This year, a bundle of 100 leaves is sold at about RM10 and the price varies from place to place.

Those who prefer to make their own ketupat but are too lazy to weave the leaves, can find ready-woven ketupat leaves that are sold at between 30 to 40 sen each.

Of course, the easy way out is to buy ready-to-serve ketupat, which you can find anywhere as the celebration draws near.

Siti Arifah Tindek, 35, has been selling the leaves for many years, especially a week before Hari Raya, at her stall at Kampung Usaha Jaya in Skudai, Johor Baru.

“The leaves come in a huge bundle. We have to sort it out as some are damaged during delivery.

“My customers buy from one to several bundles, depending on the number of ketupat they want to make,” she said.

It takes about 30 seconds for an experienced person to weave a ketupat casing by rolling a leaf into a coil before threading one end of the leaf through the body of the coil.

A ready-weaved ketupat casing has a small opening to insert rice before it is boiled in hot water.

Besides coconut leaves, Siti Arifah also sells daun palas (a type of palm leaf).

This leaf is used for making ketupat palas, a version of ketupat that is a mixture of glutinous rice and black-eyed peas, popular in the northern states of the peninsula.

But the weaving of palas leaves is more simple as the shape is triangular.

“These leaves are less common here. I sell each small bundle at RM2,” she added.

Sources : NST 1st October 2008