Putrajaya, a planned city located just south of Kuala Lumpur, is the new federal administrative centre of Malaysia. Several Government offices have relocated there to gain relief from the overcrowding and congestion of Kuala Lumpur, which is Malaysia's largest city. However, Kuala Lumpur still serves as Malaysia's national and legislative capital for now. Putrajaya is a Federal Territory just like the city of Kuala Lumpur and the island of Labuan.
The city is named after the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. In Bahasa Melayu, the Sanskrit-derived words "Putra" means son while "Jaya" means excel or success.
The city has only been established recently and it is still undergoing massive development: its development was hampered by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The city is built on a scale completely disproportionate to its current population, with a number of bridges spanning an artificial lake, Putrajaya Lake.
Although Malaysia is multi-ethnic with Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian groups, the architecture in Putrajaya is predominantly (some would say excessively) modern Arabic in style. There have been calls for more traditional or even modern Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western architectural elements in some sectors of the city to make it less like a modern Persian Gulf capital. Some people have suggested it might have its own "Chinatown" and "Little India" for added flavour.
To the west is Cyberjaya, a cybercity, also located within the Multimedia Super Corridor, which is situated between Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur International Airport. |
