Asian Insider Podcast

Putrajaya 30 years on: The capital that never quite replaced Kuala Lumpur

In this episode, we talk about why Malaysia’s administrative capital, Putrajaya, has failed to live up to its vision - and what that says about how the country designs and plans its cities.

ST GRAPHIC: FA'IZAH SANI

Li Xueying

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they’re based in.

Putrajaya, founded in 1995, turned 30 in 2025. As Malaysia’s administrative capital and inspired by Paris, it was supposed to replace the former tin-mining colony that is Kuala Lumpur.

Failure of urban planning that prioritised government offices and grandiosity over organic city life are some of the perceptions cited as to why the city has not lived up to its original promise.

The Straits Times’ Malaysia correspondent Hadi Azmi, who recently moved next door to Putrajaya, tells host and foreign editor Li Xueying, about the disconnect between the ambitious vision for Putrajaya and the ground reality.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:47 The vision and reality of Putrajaya

8:13 The “unfinished bridge” and Putrajaya’s shelved monorail system

10:31 Lack of political will leads to urban planning issues

13:28 Lessons from Putrajaya’s township designs

19:22 Hadi’s personal insights and experience in Putrajaya

Read Hadi Azmi’s article here: https://str.sg/CF3t

Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR

Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x

Host: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg)

Edited by: Fa’izah Sani

Executive producer: Ernest Luis