From Wikipedia & Malaysiana1.
Malaysia’s Federal Territories are three - Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
They are jointly run by the Federal Territories Ministry of the federal government.
On a day-to-day basis, they are governed by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Labuan Corporation and Putrajaya Corporation, respectively.
Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya became federal territories on February 1 of 1972, 1984 and 2001, respectively.
Kuala Lumpur was formerly in Selangor, and so was Putrajaya.
Labuan was initially in Brunei, but became part of Sabah in 1890, after being acquired by the British in 1846.
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and largest city of Malaysia.
It is an enclave within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Malaysians commonly refer to the city as KL.
Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia, making it the country's legislative capital.
The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they have since moved to Putrajaya.
Kuala Lumpur was the original site of Klang town and was a major trading centre of the ancient Johor empire.
However, it slowly became a backwater over the centuries, and the empire's capital shifted south to Melaka, Muar, Johor Baru, Singapore, Kota Tinggi, and Palembang in Sumatra.
In 1857, Sultan Muhammad Shah of Selangor had his son-in-law Raja Abdullah Raja Jaafar develop Kuala Lumpur into a tin-mining centre.
Raja Abdullah was the lord of Klang. Klang had by then shifted its town centre to its modern-day location at the estuary of the Klang River.
Raja Abdullah brought in many Chinese migrants, who entered Selangor from Penang and Singapore, to work in the tin mines.
One of them was Datuk Yap Ah Loy, who became the third headman of the town.
Yap developed and modernised Kuala Lumpur and is today known as the Man Who Built KL.
In 1880, Kuala Lumpur replaced Klang as the capital of Selangor. In 1896 it became British Malaysia's capital.
In 1974, Kuala Lumpur was made a federal territory of Malaysia. Selangor's capital reverted to Klang. In 1978, the new town of Shah Alam between Klang and Kuala Lumpur became the capital of Selangor.
Kuala Lumpur is located inland, at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak Rivers. Its name means Muddy River Estuary. The Muddy River is the Gombak River which was also called the Lumpur (Muddy) River.
Kuala Lumpur is a hub for cultural activities.
The National Museum in Damansara Road showcases artefacts from all over the country.
The Kuala Lumpur Philharmonic Hall in the Petronas Twin Towers, Ampang Road, is a concert venue for world class musicians and orchestras.
The National Art Gallery and National Theatre in Tun Razak Road are also popular venues for patrons of the arts. Both buildings incorporate indigenous Malaysian as well as British design.
There is also the Petronas Art Gallery in the Petronas Twin Towers, and the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre in Sentul Park, Ipoh Road.
Several national newspapers operate from Kuala Lumpur and they include The New Straits Times and Berita Harian (Daily News).
Kuala Lumpur is also the headquarters of national television station Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) which broadcasts programmes in Malaysian, English, Chinese and Tamil.
The city is also home to the country's satellite TV station Astro TV.
Kuala Lumpur has an efficient road network linked to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia.
Motorists pay toll at strategic locations along all major expressways in and around the city. The government has just built the Smart Tunnel, an underground tunnel, to ease traffic congestion.
Kuala Lumpur is connected to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, Selangor via the KLIA Express high-speed train service.
Malaysia Airlines and all major international airlines land at KLIA. Malaysia's second major airline, AirAsia makes use of its own Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang.
Public transport in Kuala Lumpur includes buses, taxis and LRT trains. The city's railway station is KL Sentral in Tun Sambanthan Road.
The Golden Triangle, surrounded by Tun Perak Road, Pudu Road, Tun Razak Road, and the Ampang Elevated Highway, is the commercial hub of the city.
It contains the Petronas Twin Towers, most major hotels, restaurants and shopping centres.
The Petronas Twin Towers are the world's tallest twin towers, and second and third tallest singular towers. They are adjacent to the Suria KLCC shopping centre.
The KL Tower, the world's fifth tallest telecommunication tower in Pineapple Hill (Bukit Nanas), Raja Chulan Road, has an observation deck which provides great views of the city.
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre is the city's leading exhibition centre, and houses Aquaria KLCC, the country's largest aquarium with more than 5,000 varieties of tropical fish.
The Lake Gardens, a 920,000 square metre manicured garden near the Malaysian Parliament building and National Museum includes a Butterfly Park, Deer Park, Orchid Garden, Hibiscus Garden and Southeast Asia's largest Bird Park.
The Merdeka Stadium (Independence Stadium) in Hang Tuah Road was erected for the country's declaration of independence on August 31, 1957.
Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) in Raja Road was the site of the lowering of the Union Jack flag and the hoisting of the Malaysian flag on the start of August 31, 1957.
The square itself is outside the colonial-era Royal Selangor Club, the National History Museum and the Arab-Indian-style Sultan Abdul Samad Building which houses the main courts.
The old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, an Indian-Arab-style building in Sultan Hishamuddin Road, was completed in 1911.
Opposite the old railway station is the Masjid Negara (National Mosque), a post-modernist mosque, completed in 1965. Within the mosque is the Makam Pahlawan (Heroes Mausoleum), the mausoleum of Malaysian leaders.
The Parliament House in Parliament Road was completed in 1963.
The Tugu Kebangsaan (National Monument), also in Parliament Road, commemorates the country's war heroes who fought against colonialism. It was constructed by Felix De Weldon, the American sculptor of Iwo Jima fame.
The Istana Negara (National Palace) in Istana Road is the official residence of the King of Malaysia.
The National Science Centre in Mount Kiara Road uses state-of-the-art museum technology.
The Bukit Nanas (Pineapple Hill) Forest Reserve is a small, gazetted tropical forest located on the hill which also houses the KL Tower.
The leading Chinese temple in Kuala Lumpur is the Thean Hou Temple in Seputeh Hill.
Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown is the area around Petaling Street while its Little Indias are the areas around Tun Sambanthan Road and India Mosque Road.
Kuala Lumpur's second largest shopping centre is the Mid Valley Megamall in Bangsar Road. The city's largest is the Berjaya Times Square in Imbi Road in the Golden Triangle.
The Kuala Lumpur Central Market in Tan Cheng Lock Road is a centre of handicrafts. It also houses a theatre.
The country's sports centre is the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil (Jalil Hill). The 1998 Commonwealth Games was held at the National Stadium here.
Kuala Lumpur's sister cities are Ankara in Turkey, Isfahan in Iran and Mashhad in Iran.
Putrajaya
Putrajaya is Malaysia’s administrative centre and is named after the country’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra (1903-1990). It literally means Putra Town.
It is entirely surrounded by the district and municipality of Sepang in Selangor.
Putrajaya was formerly a rubber estate called Perang Besar.
In 1995, fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the late Sultan of Selangor Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah planned to construct a modern township in the estate which would serve as Malaysia’s answer to The Hague in Holland.
The government planned to have a separate seat of government as Kuala Lumpur had become too congested.
Putrajaya is connected to Kuala Lumpur and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang by the Express Rail Link electrical railway.
Labuan
Labuan is the second Federal Territory of Malaysia. An island in Brunei Bay, Sabah, it was made a Federal Territory on February 1, 1984.
Labuan gets its name from the Bahasa Malaysia word Labuhan meaning Port. It was once a port of the Sultanate of Brunei.
Labuan became a British colony in 1846 and was transferred to Sabah in 1890.
In 1990, Labuan was made an International Offshore Financial Centre by the Malaysian government.
Labuan Island is surrounded by six small islands namely Burung, Daat, Kuraman, Papan, Rusukan Kecil and Rusukan Besar.
The territory is 8 km off the coast of Borneo and is connected via ferry to the village of Menumbok in Kuala Penyu, Sabah.
The island is relatively flat and has its highest point at 85 metres.
The population is mostly Kedayan (Bruneian) (78pc), Chinese (16pc), Indian (1pc) and Kadazan-Dusun (the biggest tribe in Sabah) (5pc).
Tourist attractions in Labuan include the British and Australian War Memorial, the Japanese Peace Park and Surrender Point, the mysterious Labuan Chimney and the Labuan Maritime Museum.
