This paper discusses the urbanization process in Malaysia from 1911 to 2000. The definition of
urban areas in Malaysia is gazetted areas with a population of 10,000 or more. However, during the 1991
census, the definition of urban areas was changed as gazetted areas with their adjoining built areas that
have a combined population of 10,000 and more. The topics of analysis were trends, household size,
growth rates, size of urban settlement, and the phase of urban growth during the period. Further analysis
included the urbanization process by the states in Malaysia and the factors that affect the development of
urban growth. The city of The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown of Penang were
chosen on the basis of their description regarding the growth of urban population. In addition, this article
also discussed the role of small towns, ethnic composition, and the impact of urban growth. The result of
this study has revealed that Malaysia experienced rapid growth of urban population for the last nine
decades but more importantly during the 1980s and 1990s. The level of urbanization in Malaysia has
increased from around 10.0 percent in 1911 to 28.4 percent in 1970 and 61.8 per cent in 2000. The most
interesting result of the study is the ethnic urban composition in Malaysia, and more than 50 percent of
the urban population is Malay. The expected level of urbanization in 2010 was more than 70 percent of the
Malaysia's population living in urban areas. This urban growth and development was owing to the rapid
socio-economic development of the country since more than five decades. The growth of the urban
population in Malaysia has created several issues pertaining to the basic needs of people such as housing,
health, education, and sanitation facilities, and the most urgent problems are urban poverty and housing
for the lower income group. Finally, the urban process in Malaysia will continue to a large extent, and
more people will be moving to and living in major cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Johor Baharu,
Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu.