Be shocked and awed - that is your mandated response when confronted with the colossi that is Putrajaya (1). Translated literally, the name could be taken to mean 'success' (jaya) of the Malay princes (putera) (2) or the bumiputera.

Putrajaya is the Malaysian administrative capital raised from formerly oil palm estate land quicker than you can say 'Petronas'. With dinars liberally poured into it by the chiefest bankroller of mega-projects, Putrajaya arose like a shimmery mirage landscape from a crony's err genie's bottle.

As with a piece of magic from the Arabian Nights, Putrajaya has materialised to stand in splendid isolation, 25km from Kuala Lumpur in the north and 20km from the white elephant (3) at Sepang in the south. It is true though that nowadays all the new highways lead to Putrajaya. The road signs to the place are aplenty but the same can't be said about signs to lead motorists out, which are lacking. This is typical of Malaysian big business (like Proton) where there is poor 'after-sales service'.

If you go to the official website , it says that Putrajaya - a Mahathir brainchild claimed by the former prime minister and now Petronas advisor to 'characterise the spirit' of our country 'in the fullest sense' for the 21st century and 'symbolise the nation's aspirations' (quoted in The Star ) - is spread over exactly 4,931 hectares of land divided into precincts.