18 - Growth and Liveability: The Case of Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Summary

Introduction

Malaysia is a developing nation striving towards a developed status by the year 2020 as envisaged by the Malaysian government. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, also known as the urban century, this country has managed to maintain a semblance of stability in economic growth, social development, and mainstream politics. In the past, Malaysia's development and growth was structured according to the availability of its natural resources and agricultural activities which were exploited for export earnings. Indeed, the country has been exceptionally endowed with vast quantities of oil and gas, and this source of revenue has contributed 40 per cent to the federal revenue (Bank Negara Malaysia 2011). It can be assumed that the continuous rise in cruel oil prices from US$37.00 a barrel in 1980 to above US$145.00 a barrel in 2008, has enabled the government to implement and fast track many high cost projects. These include the twin-towers in Kuala Lumpur, the new federal administrative centre in Putra Jaya, and a host of others. The subsequent consequences from these projects have increased economic activities in the urban conurbation, with the opening up of neighbouring lands for industrial sites and housing construction.

This paradigm shift in economic policy, from an economy that was dependent on agriculture to industry driven, has led to rapid industrialization and to the concentration of economic activities in a few urban areas. This is so as to take advantage of infrastructural facilities like ports, telecommunication, electricity, airports, and institutions of higher learning, which are already in place in these urban centres. This pattern of development has inevitably resulted in the rise of a service sector to cater to the needs of the industrial sector, thus compounding the concentration of population in the existing urban centres and towns such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johore Baru, Ipoh, Klang, Petaling Jaya, and Kota Kinabalu. Ultimately, these towns and cities become attractive, simultaneously serving as the nerve centres of the nation, containing within them the “goods and services” required by everyone.

Urbanization Dilemma

Malaysia has been undergoing rather rapid urbanization and the proportion of urban population to total population especially in Peninsular Malaysia has increased at a rather fast pace. In Malaysia, the term “urban” was reclassified as the “gazetted area and their joining built-up areas with a combined population of 10,000 persons or more at the time of the census” (Department of Statistics 2000).