Rapid Urbanization In Malaysia

SPC Dickhoff, Andrew/25JAN18

(U) Malaysian Urbanization

(U) Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located within Southeast Asia that has been going through the process of rapid urbanization. Rapid urbanization is the rapid building up of formally rural areas at a faster than normal pace. Rapid Urbanization can be a good thing, however, it has begun creating problems within families as well as an increase in other crimes. (U) Malaysia gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 31 Aug 1957 and has used a federal constitutional monarchy ever since. This type of government practices the election by the people of a king or queen. Malaysia ranks as the 44th most populous country in the world with a diverse religious population

During the period of 1957-1969, after Malaysia’s independence from British colonial rule, the pace of urbanization was relatively slow, partly due to the policy emphasis on agriculture and rural land development projects. Malaysia as a whole has not been able to keep up with the building, and as a result, the younger population of the country has taken the full force of negative impacts that have come about. UNICEF states that “underpinning these is the issue of disparity, social and economic, are resulting in the marginalization of some communities.”2 The population within Malaysia has nearly doubled since 1981 growing at a rate of nearly 7.8% per year.2 Although the urbanization has brought along a number of good outcomes to include higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rates, it has brought its fair share of negative outcomes. Some of these outcomes are an increase in illegal drugs that have begun flooding the streets of impoverished areas, but also an increase in violent crimes as the economy within the country has not improved to the extent of the countries

As of now, the Malaysian government relies primarily on the police force to counter any issues that arise on the streets. With different sections of law enforcement tasked for different portions of crime whether it be drug related or criminal abuse cases the workload being reduced may help with lowering some of the negative effects of the urbanization. With these simple changes, the crime rate will drop allowing the country to continue in a forward path rather than worrying about the increasing crime