| Country name | Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Surface area | About 330,000 km² (roughly nine tenths that of Japan) |
| Population | 28.31 million (2009; Department of Statistics) |
| Population density | 82/km²(2007) |
| Percentage of urban population | 72.2%(2010) |
| GDP (real) | USD 147.4 billion(2009) |
| GNI per capita (nominal) | USD 7,921(2008) |
| Percentage of employment by industry | Primary industry: 14.0% Secondary industry: 28.1% Tertiary industry: 57.9%(2008) |
| GDP growth rate | ▲1.7%(2009) |
Country Profile
The South China Sea separates the two landmasses that make up Malaysia: one covering the southern half of the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) and the other spread over the northwestern coastal region of Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak). Four fifths of the country is covered by forest and swampland.
In 1957, the Federation of Malaya gained its in independence from the British colony. In 1963, together with the British colonies of Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia came into being as an independent federation (Singapore has opted out from the federation and became independent in 1965).
The federal government has considerable power over the state governments of the 11 states of Peninsular Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak, however, enjoy rights that the other states do not, rights which are derived from agreements reached when Malaysia was formed.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country comprising predominantly the Malays, Chinese, and the Indians. This various ethnic groups influence its culture and play a large role in Malaysian politics.
Map of Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia and North Borneo)
Source: Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Malaysia, 2010
Local Governments and Spatial Planning System
Figure:National Development Planning Framework
Source: Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Malaysia (2005) "National Physical Plan"
The administration system of Malaysia is three-tiered, consisting of the federal government, the state governments (a region is an area situated in two or more states), and local authorities (city, municipal, and district councils). There are 13 states (11 of which are in Peninsular Malaysia) and 144 local authorities (as of 2007).
In terms of planning that involves land policies, both five-year development plans (socioeconomic development plans i.e. Malaysia Plan) and physical (spatial) plans (National Physical Plan) are prepared at the federal levels. These plans are subsequently interpreted into the State (Five-Year) Plan and Structure Plan respectively. These state plans in turn serve as the framework for development planning at the local level, which is in the form of a local plan or a special area plan.
Structure plans are drafted by each state with that state as the fundamental unit, while regional plans entail projects involving two or more states, and are prepared for areas that have priority development issues of an interstate nature that need to be addressed.
Major Authorities Relating to Spatial Policy
| Program name or administrative field |
Organizations | Webpage |
|---|---|---|
| Tenth Malaysia Plan | Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Department | http://www.epu.gov.my/home |
| National Physical Plan (Revised in 2010) |
Federal Department of Town and Country Planning | http://www.townplan.gov.my/ |
| Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan | Kuala Lumpur City Hall | http://www.dbkl.gov.my/index.php?lang=en |
Socioeconomic Planning Systems at the National Level
Currently socioeconomic development in Malaysia is being guided by Vision 2020, and Malaysia Plan. Vision 2020 is a thirty-year vision statement that aims to propel Malaysia fully into the ranks of fully-developed nations in every respect (economically, politically, socially, spiritually, psychologically and culturally) by the year 2020. The Malaysia Plan is a five-year plan formulated by the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department, and it is now on its tenth cycle, thus the plan currently in effect is the Tenth Malaysia Plan.
The Malaysia Plan sets macroeconomic growth goals, outlines the scale and distribution of public sector development projects, and lays out guidelines for the public sector. The announcement of these intensions as public policy in effect steers investment decisions made by the private sector. The Tenth Malaysia Plan aims to achieve an economy marked by high income, high productivity without compromising social justice, in line with the spirit "1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now". This Plan is based on ten ideas namely:
- i. Internally driven, externally aware;
- ii. Leveraging on diversity internationally;
- iii. Transforming to a high-income nation through specialization;
- iv. Unleashing productivity-led growth and innovation;
- v. Nurturing, attracting and retaining top talent;
- vi. Ensuring equality of opportunity and safeguarding the vulnerable;
- vii. Concentrated growth, inclusive development;
- viii. Supporting effective and smart partnerships;
- ix. Valuing environmental endowments; and
- x. Government as competitive corporation.
At the same time, economic development in Malaysia is also guided by the New Economic Model (NEM) which goal is to "transform Malaysia into a high-income economy through quality growth (sustainability and inclusiveness) by 2020".
Spatial Planning System at the National Level (the National Physical Plan)
Figure:Development Strategy of Peninsular Malaysia
Source: Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Malaysia (2010) "2nd National Physical Plan"
The legal foundation for the National Physical Plan (NPP) is the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (revised in 2001). The Federal Department of Town and Country Planning is responsible for drafting the plan.
The NPP concept was introduced as a result of amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act in 2001. The first NPP was approved in 2005. This NPP covers the period from 2006 to 2020. Pursuant to the Town and Country Planning Act, NPP must be reviewed every five years in conjunction with the Five-Year Plan (i.e. the Malaysia Plan).
NPP is developed out of a collaborative process between the federal government and the states. The plan itself is formulated in accordance with the objectives of urbanization and other relevant sectoral policies. At present, NPPs apply only to Peninsular Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak fall under the authority of separate planning systems.
The revised NPP (NPP-2) was approved on August 2010. The stated objective of NPP-2 is "to create an efficient, equitable and sustainable national spatial framework to guide the overall development of the country towards achieving a high-income and developed nation status by 2020". Additional policies and measures formulated in NPP-2 include matters regarding climate change, protection of biodiversity, green and new technology, as well as sustainable tourism. Also included in NPP-2 is the outline measures to achieve goals of six National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) such as reduction of crime rate, widening access to affordable and quality education, raising the living standard of the poor, improving infrastructure in rural areas, improving public transport, which were set out in the course of introducing outcome-based approach into public sector programmes.
NPP-2 sets out a national spatial strategy for Peninsular Malaysia known as “Concentrated Decentralisation”. Its key strategies are to: (1) focus development along potential growth corridors (e.g. urban and industrial development, agriculture, tourism, transportation network, infrastructure and urban services); (2) focus urban development in selected urban conurbations and key urban areas; (3) spread development to lagging and non-urbanised regions; and (4) provide access to ecotourism and agricultural resources (see Figure on the right). Above (2) takes over and expands the “Selective Concentration” strategy set out in the first NPP which aimed at national development through promoting growth of major conurbations such as Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Johor Bahru, Kuantan.
Figure:Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan
Source: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (2004) "Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020"
Metropolitan Planning System
The Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan is a statutory plan prepared under the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982. The organ drafting the plan is the City Hall of Kuala Lumpur. The duration of the current plan is 20 years, from 2000 to 2020. This plan clarifies the guidelines for the direction that development in Kuala Lumpur is to take for two decades. It presents visions, goals, policies, and proposals for the city.
The City of Kuala Lumpur is officially part of Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Region (KLMR). The KLMR refers to the entire Klang Valley Region as originally defined by the Klang Valley Study (1972) together with a few other districts extending to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Its covers a total area of approximately 4,000 sq. km. (Kuala Lumpur itself covers 243 sq. km.). The KLMR is one large urban entity which incorporates the complete range of urban functions. The planning system mandates that the City of Kuala Lumpur coordinate with the local governments in surrounding areas when formulating its structure plan.
Figure:Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Region
Source: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (2004) "Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020"
‘Kuala Lumpur Conurbation’ and ‘Greater Kuala Lumpur’ are terms loosely used to describe Kuala Lumpur and its nucleus. The former is a term used in the first NPP(2005), which refers to an area that is within 45 minutes travelling time from the centre of Kuala Lumpur, hence its area is bigger than KLMR, extending even to Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan. The latter on the other hand, is a term used in setting out the only regional improvement initiative within the twelve National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) --- the other NKEAs are of indutrial fields --- which were determined to lead economic development of Malaysia. It refers to Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding municipalities (10 municipalities altogether), making up 2,793.27 sq. km. of ‘Greater Kuala Lumpur’. This initiative aims to transform Greater Kuala Lumpur into a leading global city over ten years, specifically to achieve a top-20 ranking in city economic growth (as defined by the city GDP growth rate) while being among the global top-20 most liveable cities (as defined by accessibility, business environment, tourist attractions, recreational and other services) by 2020.
Rapidly Growing Urban Areas
The National Physical Plan has recognized the fact that certain urban areas are growing faster than others. It proposed that Johor Bharu, George Town, and Kuantan be conferred the "rapidly growing urban area" status or regional growth conurbation. Based on this proposal, the Ninth Malaysia Plan includes development strategies for three "regional economic development corridors" for South Johor, the Northern Corridor, and the Eastern Corridor. These three regions cover about 60% of Peninsular Malaysia.
Economic Regions
Three economic regions namely, Iskandar Development Region (in south Johor), Northern Corridor Economic Region (selected areas in the four northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang and Perak) and East Coast Economic Region (selected areas in the four eastern states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and northern Johor) have been established through three Acts of Parliament, namely, Iskandar Regional Development Authority Act 2007 (Act 664), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority Act 2008 (Act 687) and East Coast Economic Region Development Council Act 2008 (Act 688). These Acts and these regional economic development authorities serve to provide proper direction, policies and strategies in relation to the development in the areas, including to provide for coordination between Government entities in the promotion of trade, investment, tourism, etc. These authorities (Iskandar Development Region, Northern Corridor Economic Region, and East Coast Economic Region) will prepare a comprehensive development plan, development plan, and a master plan respectively, and subsequently be guided by these plans in making development choices.
- Information update:February 9, 2011
- Contributor:Sanisah binti Shafie (Senior Assistant Director, Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Malaysia)
