Understand
Putrajaya covers a vast sprawl of 4,931 hectares, which were mostly palm plantations before the federal government purchased the lot from the surrounding state of Selangor. The city's masterplan is designed along an axial tangent which runs from the northeast to southeast, with gently undulating terrain. About 40% of Putrajaya is natural, but the landscape has been extensively reworked by man: lush greenery and botanical gardens are spread across the landscape, crisscrossed by large bodies of water and wetlands. Five confluences meet at the north forming a main waterway, the Putrajaya Lake, which flows across the city area.
History
The vision to have a new Federal Government Administrative Centre to replace Kuala Lumpur emerged in the late 1980s, during the tenure of Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad. The relocation was to reduce the congestion in the city and to ensure that Kuala Lumpur will continue to develop as Malaysia's principal business and financial centre.
Putrajaya was founded on October 19, 1995 and is located in the middle of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). Putrajaya is the third Federal Territory of Malaysia; the other two being Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.
The land on which Putrajaya now stands was formerly known as Prang Besar, part of the state of Selangor. Prang Besar ("Great War" in Bahasa Melayu) Estate had been the showpiece estate of the Harrisons & Crosfield plantation group of companies and was the birthplace of the classic "PB86" rubber tree, clones of which were grown more prolifically than any other throughout South East Asia during the mid 20th century. Later, the estate contained oil palms and some of the trees can still be seen in the new city.
The Federal government negotiated with the state 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 (46 km²) of land. As a result of this land purchase, Selangor now completely surrounds two Federal Territories within its borders, namely Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
In 2002, a high speed rail link called KLIA Transit was opened, linking Kuala Lumpur and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor to Putrajaya. Construction of the Putrajaya Monorail system is also underway.
Most foreign embassies and high commissions continue to be located in Kuala Lumpur. A new area within Putrajaya was developed to cater towards the foreign missions. It remains to be seen what efforts the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will make to persuade them to relocate to Putrajaya. MFA itself is located in the new Wisma Putra Complex at No. 1 Jalan Wisma Putra in Putrajaya. However most major foreign missions like the American Embassy and the Indian High Commission have expressed reservations in moving to Putrajaya, citing the costs in moving and the fact that they have already spent lots of money in their current headquarters on security.
Kementerian Asas Tani.
Kementerian Belia Dan Sukan.
Perbadanan Putrajaya dan Masjid Besi yang sedang dalam pembinaan.
Disini terdapat perkhidmatan Maybank, MAS dan Pejabat Pos .
Architecture
The Palace of Justice's design incorporates influences of Islamic culture like Taj Mahal in India, Moorish culture, like the Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala Lumpur and Western culture, like Palladian.
Kementerian Kewangan.
Jabatan Kastam dan Eksais Diraja.
Istana Darul Ehsan, the official residences of the Sultan of Selangor respectively. Not open to the public.
Putra Mosque (Masjid Putra), Presint 1. Pretty in pink, this mosque has a capacity of 15,000 worshippers and its 116-meter minaret is the tallest in Southeast Asia. Free entry, open every day from 9 AM to 5 PM. Non-Muslims may not enter the mosque building itself during prayer hours.
Jabatan Perdana Menteri.
Pusat Kovensyen Antarabangsa Putrajaya.
Architecture
The design idea of this unique and impressive building is based on the shape of the eye of 'pending perak' (a silver Malay royal belt buckle). However, the structure of the roof was designed similar to a folded origami to alleviate the plain roundness of the structure. From the frontview, the building's eaves or wings are lifted at the sides, creating broad overhangings over the raking wall. Most of the walls are made of glass, so natural sunlight can easily illuminate the auditorium through the raked and shaded windows.
