The impact of internationalism on the Kuala Lumpur Core Urban Region (KLCUR) - The leading mega-city

The mega-city of Kuala Lumpur defined

What has been very clear so far has been the disproportionate growth in the largest urban centres, especially with respect to the capital region of Kuala Lumpur, which may be dubbed the urban ' macrocephaly" of Malaysia. Literature references to Kuala Lumpur almost invariably allude to the political boundary of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. This may be far from satisfactory to represent the core urban region. Vining (1985) has defined the Kuala Lumpur Core Urban Region to include both the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and the state of Selangor, occupying an area of some 8,200 km², that is, 6.2 per cent of the national territory. Figure 10.3 shows that this would include all the following districts: Sepang, Kuala Langat, Ulu Langat, Petaling, Federal Territory, Klang, Gombak, Kuala Selangor, Ulu Selangor, and Sabak Bernam. Based on this convenient definition, the population in 1980 was 2.4 million, or 21.4 per cent of the national population, giving a population density of 286 persons per km². In 1990, this same area would have had about 3.6 million population with a density of 439 persons per km². However, the present definition of the Kuala Lumpur Core Urban Region (KLCUR) includes only the immediate "umbra!" districts of Petaling, Klang, Kuala Langat, Sepang, Ulu Langat, and Gombak besides the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (fig. 10.3). Based on this definition, the population of KLCUR was 1.4 million in 1970, 2.1 million in 1980, and 3.1 million in 1990. This Core Urban Region of 4,283.46 km² may conveniently be divided into three distinct units:

Fig. 10.3 The Kuala Lumpur Core Urban Region in Selangor

(1) the Inner Core, comprising the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur;

(2) the Primary Diffusion Corridor from Port Klang to Kuala Lumpur, which is the hub of industrial concentration in the country, including the Royal capital of Klang and the new towns of Petaling Jaya, and Shah Alam; and

(3) an Outer Periphery, comprising such places as Rawang, Kuang, Batu Arang, Kapar, Banting, Telok Panglima Garang, Sepang, Salak, Dengkil, Ulu Langat, and Semenyih.

The growth of KLCUR and the impact of internationalism

The development of Kuala Lumpur and the Klang River basin began with the discovery of tin further inland in Kanching and Ampang. Early penetration of the interior was up the Sungai Klang to the confluence with Sungai Gombak where, in 1859, traders established the first three attap huts (Tsou, 1967). The trading post prospered and the population rose to 2,600 by 1879 (Gullick, 1955). Urban growth from then on was rapid because of the opening up of railway access, the expansion of mining operations, and the development of coffee and rubber cultivation. Commercial premises and residential brick houses were built on an increasing scale between 1905 and 1915 (Concannon, 1955). In the period immediately after World War II, there was an influx of some 100,000 persons, resulting in a disproportionate growth of squatter settlements and slums (Rudduck, 1956). This motivated the building of the first new town of Petaling Jaya and marked the development of a corridor nexus (Lee, 1987b). Subsequently, the objective of resettling squatters and slum dwellers was superseded by the growing demand for better-quality housing resulting from the emergence of a rapidly burgeoning middle class (McGee & McTaggart, 1967; Lee, 1976). Since then, Petaling Jaya's growth had been phenomenal. By 1980, Petaling Jaya had a population of 218,300 compared with 92,600 in 1970 and 16,600 in 1957. In fact, Petaling Jaya grew from being one of the least populated towns in the country at the time of Independence to become the fifth-largest town in Malaysia by 1980. However, partly because Petaling Jaya did not siphon off excess population from Kuala Lumpur, the problems in the Inner Core area began to reach enormous dimensions (Lee and Bahrin, 1985).

Table 10.11 Population growth in Inner Core Kuala Lumpur, 1901-1990

Year	Area (km2)	Population
1901	3.1	32,380
1911	3.1	46,718
1921	6.6	80,424
1931	6.6	111,418
1947	7.0	175,961
1957	13.9	316,230
1970	36.3	677,800
1980	36.3	937,875
1985	36.3	1,139,500
1990	36.3	1,550,000

Source: Sen (1986).

Table 10.11 shows the population growth of Inner Core Kuala Lumpur from a small township of 3.1 km² to the present status of the Federal Territory. In 1901, Kuala Lumpur had an estimated population of 32,380 persons. By 1921, the population had increased to 80,424, representing an increase of 72 per cent over the 10-year period since 1911. Immediately after the war, its population increased to 175,961 persons. By the time of Independence in 1957 the population had reached 316,230 while its land area increased to 13.9 km². The focus of economic and development policies accelerated the urbanization process in Kuala Lumpur. From the mid-1960s, the supply of housing for the growing population took the form of urban scatter in extensive medium-density housing estates built by the private sector in and around the fringes of the city (Lee, 1974). Overspilling was such that, by 1970, these housing estates were accommodating more than 255,000 persons outside the gazetted area of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, 1971b).

By 1980, Kuala Lumpur had a population of 938,000, which represented an increase of 38 per cent since 1970. The population of the Federal Territory was about 1.55 million in 1990 (table 10.11). Although an earlier gradient analysis between 1957 and 1970 using Clark's (1951) negative exponential decline showed a tendency towards a less compact city (Lee, 1975), the intra-core gross densities increased 1.6 times between 1980 and 1990 from 46.9 persons per ha to 75 persons per ha (See, 1986). The population is largely composed of three major ethnic groups, namely, the Chinese (56 per cent), Malays (26 per cent), and Indians (14 per cent). Significantly, the Malays in the Kuala Lumpur Inner Core have shown a greater propensity for growth. For instance, in the period 1970-1980, the Malay population increased by 7 times compared with about 3 times for both the Chinese and Indians. These trends reflect the strategy of precluding the development of a monolithic city profile and of encouraging more Bumiputras to participate in the commercial and industrial sectors of the city economy. By the year 2000, the proportion of Malays is expected to be 35 per cent, the Chinese 51 per cent, and the Indians 14 per cent.

It was only a matter of time before plans were laid for two more new towns - Shah Alam in the mid-1960s and Bangi in the mid-1970s - to absorb as much of the Klang Valley expansion as possible. Shah Alam, which is located about 15 km to the west of Petaling Jaya, is centrally sited between the country's premier port of Port Klang and Kuala Lumpur. Its development served to expedite a formative urban corridor between Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang. The town covers 3,051 ha, including an industrial area of about 672.7 ha, which is today the fastest-growing industrial centre in the country (Malaysia, 1977; Lee, 1983a).

Good infrastructure continues to be a major factor for the development of the main nexus of corridor development in Klang Valley. Future development along this corridor, in the form of three new highways in addition to a proposed M$543 million (US$217.2 million) dual-track rail project and a M$170 million (US$68 million) monorail project, mostly scheduled for completion by 1997, will further perpetuate the direction of primary diffusion between Port Klang, Klang, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya, and Kuala Lumpur, much along the lines suggested by Whebell (1969) of colonial corridors. These new transportation modes will improve accessibility and ease traffic flows between Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs and the areas to the west, and will therefore attract investors.

The Primary Diffusion Corridor has been perpetuated not only by the development of Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam but also by substantial private housing and industrial development in and around these areas and in Port Klang and Klang through to Shah Alam, Subang, Sungai Way, Ampang, Ulu Klang, and Ulu Langat. Subang Jaya, for instance, has housing for some 30,000 just adjoining Petaling Jaya. In Port Klang, an industrial area of some 1,215 ha is being developed. In retrospect, the development along the corridor is a logical extension from the dominant metropolitan Inner Core to form an elongated polycentric region.

To attract population away from the congested Inner Core and Primary Diffusion Corridor, a university town, Bangi, was planned in 1975 just 30 km south of Kuala Lumpur (Sulong and Katiman, 1984; Lee, 1987b). Demand for industrial land in Bangi is high because of its proximity to the Federal Highway linking Seremban to Kuala Lumpur and thence to Port Klang. The last few years have seen a greater provision of low-cost housing and facilities that have attracted a large number of people.

The Outer Periphery has also received some industrial spillover benefits in terms of industrial location and relocation plans. This ´'penumbra" of industrial locations is found in Telok Panglima Garang, Salak Tinggi, Hong Kong Estate in Gombak, Rawang, Kundang, Selayang Pandang, Beranang, Sungai Chua, Pulau Lumut, Jalan Kapar, Bukit Kemuning, and Sungai Buluh. Some M$3 billion (US$1.2 billion) worth of investments will be made in these areas.

Table 10.12 shows the distribution of industrial projects and investments in the Corridor, Outer Periphery, and other parts of Selangor. Between 1981 and 1990, the Corridor received about two-thirds of all the approved industrial projects, employment opportunities, as well as total investments in the Klang Valley, while the periphery accounted for one-third, with only a minute portion going to other parts of the state of Selangor.

Table 10.12 The distribution of industrial projects, employment opportunities, and investment in Selangor, 1981-1990

	Projects approved		Employment opportunities		Total investment
	No.	%	No.	%	M$	%
Primary Diffusion Corridor	715	64.9	93,890	65.2	9,715.7	63.5
Outer Periphery	368	33.4	47,137	32.7	5,314.4	34.8
Other areas in Selangor	19	1.7	2,979	2.1	264.1	1.7
Total	1,102	100.0	144,006	100.0	15,294.2	100.0

Source: Unpublished data from Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, Malaysia.