Klang Valley: A ticking time bomb

Thousands of Malaysians migrate to the Klang Valley in search of opportunities, paving the way for an regional economic imbalance.

PETALING JAYA: It is no secret that Klang Valley is Malaysia’s most attractive economic hotspot.

Consisting of vibrant population centres such as Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Klang, the region is teeming with a myriad of business, education and entertainment prospects.

These factors, International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) professor Alias Abdullah said, have led to people flocking to the economic centre from all over the country.

Because of this, Alias estimated that at least 40% of Selangor residents were in fact domestic migrants.

“Migration has been happening from other states towards Selangor. Selangor has a higher population not because of natural growth but because of migration. At least 40% to 50% (of its residents come) from other states,” he said.

Alias said Klang Valley had always captured the attention of investors, more so than the rest of Malaysia.

“We cannot deny that Klang Valley is the most attractive area for investment. The concentration has been here for quite some time… three or four decades.

“You have the increase of land value, good infrastructure, centralisation, the number of public and private universities,” he said.

At 5.462 million people, Selangor has the highest population in the country, according to the 2010 Population and Census Report.

The state also has 2.1 million more people than Johor, its nearest contender (3.348 million), and recorded an average annual population growth rate at 2.7% (from 2000 to 2010).

Selangor’s rapid growth was also displayed under the 2010 Preliminary Count Report.

Once the state’s most sparsely populated district, Sepang experienced heavy average annual population growth rates, with 7.62% from 1991 to 2000 and 7.81% from 2000 to 2010.

Recorded at having 48,941 inhabitants in 1991, it now has 212,050 people.

KL’s neighbour, Petaling, also saw a heavy influx of residents over the past 20 years, nearly tripling from 633,165 in 1991 to 1,782,375 by 2010.

The nation’s capital recorded a population of 1.67 million last year, with an annual average population growth rate of 1.9%.

Currently having a population density of 6,891 (the highest in the country), KL was estimated to have 2.2 million people by 2020.

‘KL, a powerful magnet’

Alias said that Sepang’s population explosion could be attributed to the building of the nearby Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), and federal territory Putrajaya.

Petaling, too, was experiencing an incredibly rapid growth, with the IIUM professor and urban planner claiming a “300% to 400% increase” of development in the past decade.

“Population has increased in Selangor because people have bought houses there. They’re not from Selangor, but they stay there and work in KL,” he said.

However, the heavy concentration of development in the Klang Valley often led to other economic corridors being left out.

Regions such as Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Pahang through their economic corridors, he said, had to fight for the government’s attention.

“They cannot compete with Greater KL. I don’t see it as being neglected but it is depending on the pull factor.

“Other states have economic development programmes but the KL magnet is so powerful that it attracts a lot of things and diminishes other projects,” he said.

Alias added that when it came to weighing the benefits, businessmen often chose KL because of the obvious and larger returns.

“People will say, ‘Why should I open a business in Terengganu when I can make more money in KL?’” he said.

Alias warned that this concentration combined with heavy migration to the Klang Valley would lead to a “regional imbalance” if left unchecked.

“You will see a lot of traffic problems, a frequent increase of goods, facilities and utilities. Even energy consumption will increase, as you’ll have to provide more energy and water supplies,” he said.

A quick search on local property website iProperty.com revealed a disparity in house prices. Most double-storey terrace houses in Ipoh were priced at RM400,000 or less.

Many double-storey terrace houses in Petaling Jaya, however, could fetch more than RM500,000 each, with RM300,000 considered as low-range for a single unit.

Water, too, was a major concern.

“With rapid development, rivers will be wiped out and the government will have to invest a lot of infrastructure (to get water) from other states,” said Alias.

A “tense (living) environment”, he said, would follow suit, especially with residents having to work longer hours and spending more time commuting to their jobs.

He also predicted that fast-growing cities could lead to a rise in family problems as well as an increase in crime rate.

Alias said both federal and state governments needed to be careful if it wanted to avoid these issues.

Economic decentralisation needed

Agreeing with him was Monash University associate professor Phua Kai Lit, who suggested economic decentralisation as a solution.

“What the government can do is decentralise some of the growth, maybe locate to other areas besides the Klang Valley,” he said.

“They should look at places like East Malaysia as the growth poles where people will migrate to but they’re not because they have economic problems,” he added.

Doubling as a sociologist, Phua said that East Malaysia’s lack of opportunities was a primary reason why many there crossed over to the Peninsula.

“You need to encourage foreign investment, provide physical infrastructure, build ports, provide (adequate) water and power supplies and that sort of thing.

“If you decentralise, you wouldn’t have this problem,” he said.