Okay....to kick-start this thread on our Parliament House...here's some pictures of the newly renovated Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives):


http://ftp.maxis.net.my/szehoong/pix/kuala lumpur/Parliament/dewan rakyat 1mod.jpg

A new giant screen above the House speaker......

http://ftp.maxis.net.my/szehoong/pix/kuala lumpur/Parliament/dewan rakyat 3sm.jpg

http://ftp.maxis.net.my/szehoong/pix/kuala lumpur/Parliament/dewan rakyat 2sm.jpg

http://ftp.maxis.net.my/szehoong/pix/kuala lumpur/Parliament/dewan rakyat 4sm.jpg

http://ftp.maxis.net.my/szehoong/pix/kuala lumpur/Parliament/dewan rakyat 6sm.jpg

History of the Parliament Building



In December 1959, an area near the Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens was chosen as the site on which to build the Parliament Building Complex, a building that symbolizes the democratic principles that are practised. These principles are the rights and responsibilities of the citizens to rule their own country, the freedom of each citizen to voice his or her own opinions, the freedom to practise his or her own religion, equal rights before the law and the right to own properties.

Thus in September 1962, a hill 61 metre above the sea level was flattened to build this glorious building. The RM18 million-complex was the idea of Yang Teramat Mulia Tuanku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysia's first Prime Minister.

The placement of the building's foundation stone was done by the third Paramount Ruler, Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, the Malay Federation, Tuanku Syed Putra Al-Haj Ibni Al-Marhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail D.S.M, S.M.N. DK (BRUNEI) on 31 August 1962, which marked the beginning of the construction of the building. On 21 November 1963, His Highness was again given the honour to officiate the opening of the building.

The complex consists of two parts:-

a. The Main Building (three storey)
b. The Tower (17 storey)



http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/bang-ibu.jpg

The Main Building




This three-storey building is also called the Main Building. The building houses two national assembly halls that are the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara.

On the first floor is a canteen next to a room for journalists and a banquet room to be used by members of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, as well as by the officers, reporters and guests.






http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/dn-dalam.jpg http://www.parlimen.gov.my/new-parlimen/dn-new.jpg

Dewan Negara (Senate)








http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/dr-dalam.jpg http://www.parlimen.gov.my/new-parlimen/dr-dalamtetamu.jpg

Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)







The designs of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat are the same, with the former being slightly smaller in size. Nevertheless, the Dewan Negara has its own speciality - stained glass windows with traditional Islamic blue and red patterns.




http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/surau.jpg




On the ground floor lies the royal resting room, a round prayer room that accommodates 100 devotees, and a main dining hall for 500 - the same size as Dewan Negara above it.

On the second floor are two separate wings. On the left wing are two large committee rooms. Each room can accommodate 30 people. Apart from the two large rooms, there are four smaller rooms that can accommodate 12 people. There are also offices and rest areas for the government officials as well as for the Association of Commonwealth Parliaments.

On the right wing, there are two dining halls. One is for members of Parliament and the other for guests and government officials. A kitchen area separates these two rooms. The kitchen can cater up to 1000 people at a time.

The middle area of the second floor is dominated by the roof of the Dewan Rakyat. It has been made into Taman Sari, which is an area for members of the Parliament to take a rest in between proceedings.

The Tower





http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/menara.jpg







The 17-storey building is located adjacent to the main building. It is connected to the main building by a bridge in which lie the offices of the ministers and members of Parliament, and these are well equipped with a range of facilities such as tables and chairs and loud speakers while a proceeding is in progress.

On the second floor of the tower, there is a sitting area facing a field on which a march past is conducted during any official parliamentary ceremonial event. On the 16th floor, there is an open area with a view of the beautiful surroundings of the Parliament building. It is on this tower that non-official events are held.

The Uniqueness of the Parliament Building





http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/parlim1.jpg





The entire Parliament Building is covered by heat and light-absorbing glass. The amount of sunlight entering the building is controlled by enveloping the building with carved ornamental patterns or 'kerawang' made from local concrete which had been installed piece by piece. The beehive-shaped 'kerawang' adds to the splendour of this building.






http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/parlim-belakang.jpg





Altogether, more than a million bricks, 2000 tons of steel, 54,000 tons of concrete, 200,000 bags of cement and 3000 tons of glass were used to construct the Parliament complex.

The water distribution system the pool and fountain is another special feature of the Parliament Building in that water flows through two connected systems. It starts at the roof area and continues throughout the whole complex. The water is dyed blue to ward off moss and mud.






http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/rusa1.jpg http://www.parlimen.gov.my/pics/rusa2.jpg





Apart from these special features, the Parliament complex is also beautified by various plants and animals. Rare species of trees, such as berlian, mata kuching, berangan, nam-nam, selarat and tamar, were specially imported from Saudi Arabia to be planted in the surrounding area of the building.



Next to the area of the Parliament complex is an open area in which lies a Taman Rusa or Deer Park that houses dozens of Tootal deer. This species of deer is indeed rare in Asia. The deer are free to roam in the park bordering the Parliament complex.

http://ftp.maxis.net.my/szehoong/pix/kuala lumpur/Parliament/dewan rakyat 2sm.jpg

I *love* the pewter carvings now adorning the tables of the MP's...what a great way to stamp our Malaysian'ness on the Parliment.
The LCD screen is a unfortunately, fails to stand out tho, mostly due to the white background. I think they should've used teak or something darker to grame the screen. Perhaps stone, which would also have symbolised 'permanence'.
I notice the transparent plaques on each desk, I wonder whether those are just name plaques or can they do something more interesting, like mini projection screens which project text etc. That would be cool....

interesting facts of the parliament house.;)

I *love* the pewter carvings now adorning the tables of the MP's...what a great way to stamp our Malaysian'ness on the Parliment.
The LCD screen is a unfortunately, fails to stand out tho, mostly due to the white background. I think they should've used teak or something darker to grame the screen. Perhaps stone, which would also have symbolised 'permanence'.
I notice the transparent plaques on each desk, I wonder whether those are just name plaques or can they do something more interesting, like mini projection screens which project text etc. That would be cool....


hmmmm......I dun think they're pewters as it would simply blew the budget off this planet if its pewter :D Anyway I think those are either wood sprayed in silver (they loved doing this in most govt interiors) or metal cast (they used this a lot in Putrajaya ;)

Wah.......your 'vision' for he little plagues on the tables are kinda visionary :D .....hmm......yet to know what it does but your idea is interesting :okay:

Viewed from Menara KL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/baqthier/kualaparli1.jpg

hey im a new member. with the new capital at putrajaya wouldnt the next logical step be to move the parliment to a new complex in putrajaya. perhaps the current parliment hse can be converted into a museum or something

hey im a new member. with the new capital at putrajaya wouldnt the next logical step be to move the parliment to a new complex in putrajaya. perhaps the current parliment hse can be converted into a museum or something

HIIII Darshan! Welcome to the forum!

Logically, the idea seems very convenient. But for historical (and economical) reasons at least, the building remains in KL. The symbolism of the structure is just too much to let go. ;)

Besides, the building has a grand location with commanding views to compliment it. Traffic congestion at the present setting is not much of an issue either. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t moved to Putrajaya. :)

i would agree with darshan to move the parliment to putrajaya, it looks more organised in that way.

if that happens, it would be like in Australia, the old parliament house in Canberra has now become a museum since Australian government move to the Capital Hill (New paliament house of course). and besides putrajaya will replace KL as malaysia's capital. :) :)

ohh.. okay, so if the parliment move to putrajaya means the capital of malaysia will become putrajaya?

yeah i guess. that is the long term goal afterall. my god i cant wait to checkout putrajaya again. i didnt see it last year cause i didnt think it had changed much. how wrong i was..

Welcome to the forums Darshan! :cheers:


Putrajaya isn't gonna be the capital of Malaysia. And even if the parliament move to Putrajaya it wouldn't be because there are many other symbolisms to consider. ;) ....and moving the Parliament to Putrajaya isn't gonna organised things but actually complicates things a lot :D

Firstly, the main symbolism is actually the King's Palace as the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong is the supreme ruler of the land. Then the Parliament. We've also got others like the National Mosque, MINDEF (Ministry of Defense), Bukit Aman (Police HQ), National Museum, National Art Gallery, National Sports Complex.......and hosts of other 'national' stuffs which still calls KL home. :)

We all must understand that Putrajaya is created not to mimic Brasillia, Washington or Canberra but to easen the congestion at KL and to streamlined our govt's machinery. Apart from that, it is also a protocol city and a showcase to the world. We all still remember the congestion during NAM's meeting in KL and OIC's lesser congestion in the same year when OIC's delegations are all based around Putrajaya. Oh and the meeting itself is at the Putrajaya Convention Centre is the main factor. That shows how much Putrajaya contributes to loosening up of the already-choked-up KL. ;)

nice parliament :)

szehoong , you should be a MP in House of Representatives ;) :) :D

Welcome to the forums Darshan! :cheers:


Putrajaya isn't gonna be the capital of Malaysia. And even if the parliament move to Putrajaya it wouldn't be because there are many other symbolisms to consider. ;) ....and moving the Parliament to Putrajaya isn't gonna organised things but actually complicates things a lot :D

Firstly, the main symbolism is actually the King's Palace as the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong is the supreme ruler of the land. Then the Parliament. We've also got others like the National Mosque, MINDEF (Ministry of Defense), Bukit Aman (Police HQ), National Museum, National Art Gallery, National Sports Complex.......and hosts of other 'national' stuffs which still calls KL home. :)

We all must understand that Putrajaya is created not to mimic Brasillia, Washington or Canberra but to easen the congestion at KL and to streamlined our govt's machinery. Apart from that, it is also a protocol city and a showcase to the world. We all still remember the congestion during NAM's meeting in KL and OIC's lesser congestion in the same year when OIC's delegations are all based around Putrajaya. Oh and the meeting itself is at the Putrajaya Convention Centre is the main factor. That shows how much Putrajaya contributes to loosening up of the already-choked-up KL. ;)
thanks sze, now i understand :)

City Hall's intentions good, but at a hefty price

Story and photo by BAVANI M

http://metro.thestar.com.my/news/2005/1/p3Teresa.jpg

SEVERAL projects undertaken by Kuala Lumpur City Hall have raised concerns over whether taxpayers’ money has been well spent. BAVANI M speaks to a few contractors and engineers to check the practicality of these projects and see if they warrant the hefty price tags that come with them.



THE elderly couple whose house faces the traffic light junction of Jalan Leong Yew Koh in Taman Tun Dr Ismail is pleased. They have good reason to be.

It’s been more than a month and the road divider in front of their house is still intact. “It's been standing strong, unlike the previous one which broke three times in four months,'' said the husband.

The kerb looks good and is made of granite, not concrete like others in the city.

However, unlike concrete kerbs, the ones made from granite are 20 times more expensive. According to a contractor, one metre of concrete costs about RM27, while the granite version was RM542 a metre.

While some, like the elderly couple, may find the granite kerb beneficial, there are others who think it is a waste of money.


Kok is puzzled as to why DBKL has to put up expensive railings just to protect a small drain in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
According to a senior contractor, who wished to be identified as Chan, granite road kerbs were unusual.

“It's expensive,'' he said. “This is the first time I see granite kerbs,'' Chan, who has 10 years' experience in the field, said.

M. Indran, an engineer with a private firm, agreed. “For private clients, it is viable, but not for government projects,'' he said.

Contractor Ee Ching Wah, who has been in the business for over 20 years, is surprised, too. “I have never heard of granite road kerbs before.''

Steven Tan, a civil engineer with City Hall's urban transport department, said DBKL was planning on building granite kerbs at busy traffic light junctions in the city. “They do not damage as easily as concrete ones,'' he said, adding that the move was a long-term measure.

“It is true that granite kerbs are expensive,'' said Tan. “But, for anything that is of good quality, the costs are higher.''

Ee agreed that granite kerbs lasted longer. “But it is an expensive alternative,'' he said, adding that ready-made concrete ones were equally du-rable, but cheaper.

“With proper workmanship and quality control, they last just as long as granite kerbs, too,'' said Ee, citing road kerbs in USJ and Subang Jaya.

“It is all about a question of balancing costs.''

Money hasn't just gone into granite kerbs. City Hall has also installed railings that are made from Fibre Reinforce Plastic (FRP) for a drain at Jalan Datuk Sulaiman in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

“FRP railings are five times more expensive than ordinary steel,'' said Seputeh MP Terese Kok. “Why do we need to use something so costly?''

Kok has a point. One metre of steel costs RM98. FRP comes with a RM486 price tag.

To City Hall, FRP is economical in the long run.

“There is a market value for scrap iron,'' said Tan. “This is the reason why thieves go for the railings,'' he said, adding that steel railings rusted and required painting often.

“FRPs are tough, light and require less maintenance and could last hundreds of years,'' said Indran. “But, do we need a technology commonly used for boats on city drains and walkways?''

Some quarters are also questioning City Hall's use of rubberised tactile blocks in place of concrete ones.

Tactile blocks are yellow guide blocks for the blind. They are especially common in Brickfields and Jalan Parlimen.

A Malaysian Association for the Blind spokesman was grateful to City Hall for making city life easier for the blind. “But I am surprised at the staggering price difference,'' he said. The rubber versions cost RM100 a piece as opposed to RM6 for a concrete block.

“It would be sensible to use cheaper blocks and spread it out to other areas instead of in only a few areas.''

Tan said it was City Hall's policy to ensure quality living for the disabled community.

“We want to make their lives in the city easy and comfortable as possible,'' he said. “The rubberised blocks are of better quality,'' he said, denying reports that they tore easily.

“The few reported cases in Brick-fields are because of construction works nearby.''

Deer add colour to Parliament


By CHOW HOW BAN


UNKNOWN to many, the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur has a deer park that is inhabited by more than 100 deer.

Confined in a one hectare area at a corner of the premises of Parliament House, the animals roam about freely and add to a serene touch for those visiting the park.

The first herd made Parliament grounds their home in 1983 when the Indonesian Government presented two deer and four does of the Tootal species as a gift to its Malaysian counterpart with the consent of President Suharto.

In 1996, the Parliament House administration collaborated with the then Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now Universiti Putra Malaysia) to build a botanical park that boasts nice surroundings and landscape.





http://metro.thestar.com.my/news/2005/3/m_pg08deer.jpg

The deer at the park at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur.







“At that time, UPM provided us with a Samba deer and three Samba does as well as four Fallow does and a Fallow deer to be reared in the park,” Parliament public relations officer Ishak Momin said in an interview recently.

He said since then the deer population had grown and they had become a part of the Parliament House.

There are 117 deer of the Tootal, Samba and Fallow breed at the park.

However, Ishak said due to rapid development around the area, it would no longer be suitable for the animals as they needed a tranquil environment to live in.

The park has never been opened to the public since it was built almost 10 years ago.

“The deer are allowed to roam in the park. The public can spot them easily when they pass by the area.

“Sometimes we would also show the park to visitors, especially students, who are on an educational tour of the Parliament house,” he said.

Besides deer, the park houses some ducks and birds. It is maintained by the park management division of Parliament, which has 12 workers. About RM5,000 is being spent on food and maintenance of the park.

Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw, who has been a regular “visitor” to Parliament for the parliamentary sessions for the last 23 years, said the deer park was secondary as the main attraction of Parliament was still its symbol of democracy.

“Parliament is not really an animal camp. It is a place to promote friendship and camaraderie.

“However, if people appreciate the environment, they can look at the birds, deer and other animals in the park,” he said.

As the Parliament House is undergoing renovations and possible expansion, there are plans to relocate the deer to other places or have them taken care of by other authorities to resolve problems like lack of car park space, especially during the Budget and other major events.

wow!! that's a big crowd of deers:D

oooh...can touch them is it?

oooh...can touch them is it?

can cuddle ???:D:D

oooh...can touch them is it?

can cuddle ???:D:D



Wah..........you think these animals are toys ar? :D

If I am an animal activist, I would try to barred you two from going near the deers :D

Wah..........you think these animals are toys ar? :D

If I am an animal activist, I would try to barred you two from going near the deers :D

no...we think they are pets. nice cuddly pets:D:D

hmmm.... can deers gore a person?? if they do, i'll stay away:D

no...we think they are pets. nice cuddly pets:D:D

hmmm.... can deers gore a person?? if they do, i'll stay away:D




ohno....poor deers.......I think if you hug em too much they might bite :D .......and I'll call the SPCA :D

hey im a new member. with the new capital at putrajaya wouldnt the next logical step be to move the parliment to a new complex in putrajaya. perhaps the current parliment hse can be converted into a museum or something

i would agree with darshan to move the parliment to putrajaya, it looks more organised in that way.

if that happens, it would be like in Australia, the old parliament house in Canberra has now become a museum since Australian government move to the Capital Hill (New paliament house of course). :) :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2554540913_200fcdab6e_o.jpg

I AGREE!

:)

^^
Tulsa, you're right (sort of)! THE ROYAL MOSQUE is now officially "TUANKU MIZAN ZAINAL ABIDIN MOSQUE"
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/3953684684_4b89f2fce1_b.jpg

So when will PICC be converted into parliament building?

Once the houses of parliament are transfered to PICC in Putrajaya, the existing parliament building should then be remodeled into a premier Kuala Lumpur landmark hotel called PARLIMEN SERI NEGARA. Not unlike the Shilla Hotel Seoul, Savoy London, Fullerton Singapore, Burj Alarab Dubai and Waldorf Astoria New York, it shall be the preferred lodging for visiting royalties, heads of state, dignitaries, celebrities, corporate tycoons, etc.