Bandar Raja

Bandar Raja, officially Bandar Raja Capital Region or also know as BR for short (Samuderan: ꧋ꦧꦤ꧀ꦝꦂꦫꦗ; Samuderan: Daerah Ibu Negara Bandar Raja) is a planned capital city that serves as the administrative capital of Samudera Darussalam. Growing regional sentiments to have a federal capital on neutral ground, as well as the massive population growth of the previous capital, Palembang, a major economic center that also serves the capital of Samudranagara, were often cited as the reasons of the creation of a new seat for the federal government. Despite the move of most of federal government's branches, compromises during the process have led to a status quo where Palembang remains as the country's national capital per constitution, the seat of the head of state (the monarch), as well as the judiciary branch of the government.

The establishment of Bandar Raja was the idea of the then-Mangkubumi Hakim Irawan. Studies conducted in order to look for a suitable place for the new federal capital took a few years, with the result being an underdeveloped royal estate in the central-western part of the peninsula, which had been previously offered by the Samuderan royal family as a probable location for the project. The development of the new capital started at August 1974 and finished at May 1996, although it would take another 5 years before the transfer of the capital would be completed, in part caused by the then-ongoing fiscal crisis. On January 3 2002, Bandar Raja became Samudera's second federal territory after West Saka. Its proximity to the city of Indrapura has caused several academicians to consider it as a part of the Indrapura metropolitan area.

With a mostly steady population of 170,000 (according to the 2021 census), Bandar Raja is the twenty-third largest city in the Crowned Federation. The city is divided into several zones, including administrative, residential, commercial, diplomatic enclave, and educational areas.

Etymology
The name Bandar Raja is derived from the official Samuderan name, which translates to "King's City". The first word, Bandar, comes from the Farsi term Bandar, which means "port" or "haven". In the Samuderan language, however, the term is also used to refer to a port city or a city in general. According to the city government's official website, the name was choosen to honor the late Samuderan monarch King Abdurrahman III, who proposed the underdeveloped royal estate of Medan Raja to be developed into the new capital on behalf of the Samuderan royal family, should the federal government sees it fit. The previous name of the territory, Medan Raja, means "the king's field", alluding its status as a royal property.

History
The area which was then known as Medan Raja (Samuderan: ꧋ꦩꦺꦣꦤ꧀ꦫꦗ) was established as a royal estate by the Royal Decree of Indrapura following the confiscation of a local sugar plantation formerly owned by the Talang family at the end of the Peninsular War. Government documents from the era recorded the existence of a small inland port and two villages, mainly populated by the workers of the plantation. The plantation and settlements persist to the 20th century, when villagers slowly abandoned the area in favor of the nearby cities of Indrapura and Medan Putera which experienced industrialization. Attempts by the royal family to bring the plantation back to live with the establishment of orchards and gardens to supplant the sugar plantation only received moderate successes. A large area of the estate was repurposed into an equestrian facility with a race track as a form of an entertainment for the royal family and the government guests in 1920.

The vision of a new Federal Government Administrative Centre to replace Palembang as the administrative capital began to emerge in the late 1960s during the tenure of Hakim Irawan, Samudera's third mangkubumi since its independence. A new city on a neutral ground was envisioned, where the government would systematically locate its government offices within an efficient administrative hub; as opposed to the past where government offices were previously scattered across the congested Palembang. Various locations were proposed, with the most notable are Kampong Air Tawar outside Muara in Gadang and the royal estate of Medan Raja, which was proposed by the then-Samuderan monarch King Abdurrahman III. Another set of comparative study that followed favored the location of Medan Raja, which is closer to Palembang and the proposed route of Inter-Samudera Expressway, as well as deemed as having more room for growth. The first foundation was laid out in August 1974, and the construction of the new capital would take place at the same month. It was one of Samudera's biggest projects, with an estimated final cost of NSD 7.2 billion. The entire project was designed and constructed by Samuderan companies, with only 10% imported materials. With the consent of the Majelis, the name Bandar Raja was chosen for the site.

The financial crisis of the late 1990s somewhat slowed the development of Bandar Raja, which was completed on 2 May 1996. Government staffs began to slowly move into the area in the late 1996, followed by the government servants in 2001, at the same time the transfer of the capital would be deemed as completed. On 3 January 2002, the city was formally transferred to the federal government and declared as Samudera's second federal territory.

Geography
Being located in the relatively plain Central Valley region, Bandar Raja is divided by the Sekayu river, which flows through the city from the Tembering Plateau to the Berok Bay in the east. While the city is situated inland, it is not really far from the sea, with the municipality of North Indrapura the only thing that separates the capital region from the coast. Bandar Raja is entirely surrounded by the state of Samudranagara, which differentiates it from the other federal territory of West Saka, which is bordered by the neighbouring nation of Eraman and the Meilawati Strait.

Demography
The population of Bandar Raja is 170,000 according to the 2021 census. Many of those work as government servants, although there are also workers in the small but thriving commercial sector. Historically, government servants and their families are encouraged to live in the capital, although as of currently, most of them choose to commute from the surrounding municipalities and the nearby city of Indrapura, swelling the city's day population by a significant margin.

Religion
A majority of Bandar Raja residents are Muslims according to the 2021 census, followed by those who identify as irreligious and adherents of Vinaya at 7% and 4%, respectively. The rest of the population belong to other religious groups, such as Bethinan, Judaism, and Christianity.

The Pink Mosque (Samuderan: Masjid Merah Muda) is the primary place of worship for the city's Muslim communities.

Government complexes

 * Grey Palace - The seat of the Majelis
 * Meilawati Palace - Serving as the main building of the Cabinet, Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the office of Mangkubumi
 * Seri Perdana Building - Official residence of Mangkubumi
 * Federal Ministry of Education
 * Federal Ministry of Health and Social Services
 * Federal Ministry of Finance
 * Wisma Antara - Serving as the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade
 * Wisma Satria - Ministry of Defence
 * Federal Government Administrative Centre
 * Federal Bank of Samudera
 * Bandar Raja International Convention Centre

Air
The city is served by Indrapura Airport, which is located in the neighbouring city of Indrapura. As the airport only serves domestic flights, foreign visitors who arrive by air usually go through either Medan Putera International Airport or King Iskandar I International Airport in Palembang, as those are the closest international airports to the area. From there, they can continue their travel to the capital either by train through the Northern Line, or by other modes of land transport through the Inter-Samudera Expressway.

Land
Bandar Raja is strategically located on the route of the Inter-Samudera Expressway, a national highway that connects the southern and northern parts of the Samuderan peninsula. Northern Line, a railway line constructed for the same purpose, also goes past the city limit, with Persatuan Station serving commuters from Bandar Raja and nearby municipalities. Journey by train from either Palembang and Medan Putera usually takes less than 30 minutes.

International Relations
Bandar Raja maintains a sister city relationship with the following cities:
 * Anara, Eraman
 * Pemecutan Puri, Pemecutan
 * Amarelda, Acastanha
 * Kiambang, Sendhang
 * Khurtubh, Southern Palm Islands