S2E64: Putrajaya 30 years on: The capital that never quite replaced Kuala Lumpur

Find out why it has become a paradox decades after its founding. 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: Read Li Xueying's articles: Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: Sign up for ST's weekly Asian Insider newsletter: Host: Li Xueying ( xueying@sph.com.sg ) Edited by: Fa'izah Sani Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider on Fridays here: Channel: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: Get more updates: The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: Google Play: ---

You can listen to S2E64: Putrajaya 30 years on: The capital that never quite replaced Kuala Lumpur online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

S2E64: Putrajaya 30 years on: The capital that never quite replaced Kuala Lumpur is an episode from Asian Insider by ST Podcast Team.

This episode is 21:51 long.

This episode was published on Mar 5, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Asian Insider when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.