Sunday, January 20, 2008

Putra Jaya, Malaysia

January 17, 2008

Today’s activities centered around the new capital district of Putra Jaya, just outside of Kuala Lumpur. Before writing about our day, I wanted to provide some context for our destination, especially for those history and political junkies out there. Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy, consisting of thirteen states, but its royal system is rather unique in the world. Rather than having one royal family over the entire country, ten of Malaysia’s states have their own royal families, each led by a sultan. However, every five years, the ten sultans meet and choose from among themselves a king to rule the entire country. This creates a system of stable monarchical transition at the national level and is inclusive of the states that do not have their own royal families. Interestingly, the current king was chosen last year and his home state is now technically ruled by his eight-year old son, who was elevated to the position of sultan in his father’s stead.

About a decade ago, a new capital district was created to house the national government and ministry buildings in one centralized location. This location, Putra Jaya, is where we toured today. We began our day at Putra Jaya Botanic Garden. Just like the rest of the new capital district, the garden is relatively new, but well-built and beautiful. Indicative of the garden’s age, the collections still convey the sense of being newly planted, but they are immaculately cared for, clearly labeled, and will no doubt only increase in beauty as they mature. We were impressed by the number of workers we saw tending the garden in the few hours we visited. In the afternoon, we toured Putra Jaya, viewing many buildings, including a large mosque, the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister’s Residence, Deputy Prime Minister’s Residence, and new King’s Palace, among others. Each building was beautiful and many were perched atop hills with commanding views.

Our final destination for the day was a visit to the Putra Jaya Wetland Reserve, which is the largest, constructed, freshwater wetland in the tropics. Our guides, Wadi and Zaza explained that the wetlands were a catchment basin for storm water and served as a biological filter to purify the water before it drained into the large lake at the center of the district.Below are some pictures of the day. Until next posting ~Barnabas

The Fellows and Chaperones at Putra Jaya BG














The Prime Minister's Office (L) & Large Mosque (R) from Putra Jaya Botanic Garden












The New King's Palace














Flamingos at the Putra Jaya Wetlands













Barnabas, Dan, Jackie, Lorrie, Matt E., Matt Q., Yoko

2 comments:

Simone Amalfi said...

Oi querido do meu coracao, que saudades! Suas fotos estao muito boas e eu gosto muito de ler sobre o dia de voces. Diga a todos que espero que estejam se divertindo. Eu amo vc. Si

Dr. REL said...

Great to hear from you.....looks like the adventure continues....safe travels. As I close this post it is 1 PM and only 20F outside! Bob