1. SSR 2014 BASIC CONCEPTS & ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT
Lecture 6b: Urbanization in Malaysia

2. OBJECTIVES OF THIS LECTURE:
Discuss the challenges of urbanizations on LDCs.
Discuss the policies related to urbanization and development in LDCs.
Explain the concept of urbanization in the context of Malaysia.

3. Recall…. What is meant by urbanization?
Trends of urbanization and population growth since 1950s.
Effects of urbanizations?

4. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF RAPID URBANIZATION IN LDCS
Urban migration & diverse ethnicity (salad bowl/melting pot)
Growth of Informal sector
Urban bias in development – urban vs rural
Regional inequalities

5. URBAN MIGRATION & ETHNICITY
Most urban migrants are from large geographical areas.
E.g 2/3 of migrants to Bangkok are from Lao-dominated north east of Thailand
In Malaysia –increased urban ethnic diversity –as a result of deliberate government policies (NEP)
Resulted in ethnic complexities.
Growing urban ethnic diversification – has been exacerbated by the increased internationalization of labor movements. Recent trend: Globalization?

6. SOUTHEAST ASIA SCENARIO
Singapore –first magnet for migrants from Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines (factory and domestic works).
More recent, construction labour has come from Myanmar, Pakistan and Nepal.
Malaysia –uses both legal and illegal migrants esp from Myanmar and Indonesia.
Estimated 1 million Indonesian workers in Malaysia –both legal and illegal.
Resentment from the locals –lack of job opportunities.
Effects on development?

7. EFFECTS ON DEVELOPMENT
This increasingly complex ethno-development is threatening urban sustainability in a number of ways:
Growing ethnic and class antagonism and exploitation
Weakly policed borders.
Others?

8. INFORMAL SECTOR
Made up of jobs such as street hawking, scavenging, ice-cream vending, car washing etc

9. INFORMAL SECTOR IN LDCs
Difficult to define adequately.
An informal activity may possess any one or more of these features:
Semi-legal
Small scale
Family oriented
Traditional technology

11. PATTERN & EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
For many years, activities of informal sector, although useful, has been abhorrent to urban management.
Many regulations have sought to keep the informal sector in check (although in 70s –govt supported this as a way to improve basic needs provision).
90s and 00s are witnessing a revival of interest in informal sector –especially after the financial crisis of in Asia, and the structural re-adjustment in Africa

12. CASE STUDY:
URBANIZATION IN MALAYSIA

13. POPULATION CHANGE & URBANIZATION
Rapid development since independence.
Transformation from agricultural to industrial development.
Creation and growth of new towns.
Urbanization was driven by rural to urban migration
(read: Rahimah Abdul Aziz)

14. POPULATION CHANGE & URBANIZATION
Malaysian population growing steadily.
In 1950 –6.1 millions, 1955 –7 millions, over 1 million added every five years.
Population live in urban areas:
1950 –20.4%
1960 –26.6%
1991 –over 50%
Estimated –¾ of population live in urban areas by

18. URBAN POPULATION WITHIN THE STATES
States in Malaysia have been categorized into more developed and less developed states.
In 2000:
Less developed states have low proportion of people living in urban areas (<50%)
More developed states have high proportion of people living in urban areas (>50%)

19. INTERNAL MIGRATION: AGGREGATE PATTERNS
Changing levels of migration, and :
Migration within the country decline during the last census
Total migration dropped from 4.6 millions during period to 3.6 millions during period
Possible reason -economic downtown because of currency crisis during the second period, or Malaysia had probably passed the time of peak rural to urban flows.

20. MIGRATION BY AGE AND SEX, 1995-2000
Highest propensity to migrate –among the population in their 20s and 30s.
Internal migration involves more men than women.
In late teenage and young working age groups (15- 29), females migrants outnumber males.
In child ages, middle and late working age, there are more male migrants than female.

23. MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE: SUMMARY
Malaysia experiencing rapid urbanization since independence and internal migration is one of the significant determinants at early stage.
Most urbanized states situated in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and they are also the more developed states.
Internal migration within Malaysia in is between urban areas, which suggest the process of de- concentration of urban population into its rural hinterlands.

24. REFERENCES Handelman –Chapter 7
Gold, H Urban Life & Society. New Jersey: Prentice Hall –see Chapter 16
Skeldon, R Urbanization & Migration in the ESCAP Region. Asia Pacific Population Journal Vol. 13 (1)
Boyle, P Exploring Contemporary Migration