Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function.
Malaysia’s relentless efforts to expand and improve its infrastructure has effected in one of the most advanced infrastructure amongst the recently industrialising nations of Asia. A good infrastructure has been the greatest advantage for doing business in Malaysia. The investments have paid off over the years and Malaysia now boasts of one of the best infrastructures amongst the new industrialised nations of Asia.
Peninsular Malaysia's network of well-preserved highways is a benefit to industries. These highways connect the most important growth centres to seaports and airports throughout the peninsula and provide efficient ways to transport goods. To add to these highways, a Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur containerised service called the Asean Rail Express (ARX) has been commenced with the aim of expanding it to become the Trans-Asia Rail Link that will contain Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar before ending up in Kunming, China.
International trade, mainly seaborne trade, has conventionally been the lifeblood of Malaysia. Today, 95% of Malaysia’s trade is carried out by sea using many international ports. A leading newspaper in Hong-Kong has positioned Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas among top ten best seaports and top ten best container terminal operators in Asia. In addition the physical infrastructure being in place, the electronic data interchange (EDI) in the ports has resulted in prompt clearance of cargo with the electronic transfer of documentation. Malaysia, being located centrally in the Asia Pacific region, makes it an ideal centre to the rest of Asia. Air cargo facilities are well-developed in the international airports.
Malaysia's biggest airport, the KLIA, situated 50 km south of Kuala Lumpur, has a primary capacity of 25 million passengers and 650,000 tonnes of cargo per year. Cargo import and export processes are completely automated at the KLIA to cut down delivery time. Within a short period of two years since its opening, the KLIA was ranked number one for overall business passenger satisfaction in an International Air Transport Association survey.
Industries are chiefly situated in over 200 industrial estates or parks and 14 Free Industrial Zones (FIZs) extended throughout Malaysia. New places, fully equipped with infrastructure amenities like roads, electricity and water supplies, and telecommunications, are constantly being developed by state government as well as private developers to cater to the demand.
FIZs are export processing zones that have been developed to meet the needs of export-oriented industries. Firms in FIZs are permitted duty free imports of raw materials, components, parts, machinery and equipment directly necessary for the manufacturing process. In regions where FIZs are not available, companies can establish Licensed Manufacturing Warehouses (LMWs), which are provided facilities similar to those enjoyed by establishments in FIZs.
Specialised parks have been expanded to meet the needs of particular industries. Technology Park Malaysia in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur and the Kulim Hi-Tech Park in the northern state of Kedah are the examples of the parks that cater to technology-intensive industries and R&D activities.
Telecommunications network has gone through a remarkable growth and advancement during the past ten years following the successful privatisation of its Telecommunications Department. The latest digital and fibre optics technology is being made use of to offer high quality telecommunication services at competitive prices.
Last Updated on: 20-11-2009
