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/