¹ The term “vernacular” refers to an adapted form of traditional housing, often with some degree of institutional legitimacy, which is generally built in cities by artisans or small-scale construction firms. Squatter housing almost always involves extra-legal land occupation while vernacular housing tends to involve legal or quasi-legal tenure. Vernacular housing is more often built in accord with established building and planning regulations while squatter builders deliberately operate outside these regulations. Both squatter and vernacular forms are part of what I have called the unconventional housing sector because it has little or no contact with the modern institutions associated with the construction industry. It is unconventional in the sense that it is not based on the culturally artificial or formally imposed social standards of expatriate administrators or the local middle class and elites. (“Conventional” is defined by the concise Oxford Dictionary [6th ed. ] as “dependency on conventions, not natural, not spontaneous”. For a detailed discussion of these terms and how they fit into a model of the housing system, see Johnstone, M. A., “Access to Urban Housing in Peninsular Malaysia: Social and Spatial Distortions in a Peripheral Economy”, [Ph. D. thesis, Australian National University, 1979])Google Scholar.

² Ibid., esp. pp. 206–14.

³ This section is drawn from several historical accounts of this period. See Gullick, J. M., “Kuala Lumpur, 1880–1895”, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 28 (1955): 7–172Google Scholar; Gullick, J. M., The Story of Early Kuala Lumpur (London, 1956)Google Scholar; Jackson, J. C., “Kuala Lumpur in the 1880s: The Contribution of Bloomfield Douglas”, Journal of Southeast Asian History 4, no. 2 (Sept. 1963): 24–30CrossRefGoogle Scholar; McGee, T. G., “Malays in Kuala Lumpur: A Geographical Study in the Process of Urbani-sation”, (Ph. D. thesis, Victoria University, New Zealand, 1968)Google Scholar.

⁴ , Jackson, op. cit., p. 117.Google Scholar

⁵ Pondok = longhouse.

⁶ For accounts of Melaka and Kuala Trengganu, see respectively McGee, T. G., The Southeast Asian City (London, 1967)Google Scholar; and Neil, C. C., “Kuala Trengganu: A Case Study of Economic and Non-Economic Rationalities as Determinants of Urban Behaviour”, (M. A. thesis, Australian National University, 1966)Google Scholar.

⁷ Cited in Nagata, J. A., “Tale of Two Cities: The Role of Non-Urban Factors in Community Life of Two Malaysian Towns”, Urban Anthropology 3, no. 1 (1974): 1–26.Google Scholar

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⁹ , McGee, The Southeast Asian City, pp. 335–46.Google Scholar

¹⁰ Kiang, Ng Lee, “The Squatter Problem in Chan Sow Lin, With Special Reference to Their Education” (B. A. academic exercise, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1976).Google Scholar

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¹² , Gullick, op. cit., p. 39.Google Scholar

¹³ The latter's family went on to establish a nationwide real-estate and property conglomerate with branches in hotels, commercial development, and rubber plantations. See , Gullick, op. cit., pp. 68–79.Google Scholar

¹⁴ Johnstone, M. A., “The Conventional Housing Industry in Peninsular Malaysia: Social and Spatial Distortions”, Habitat 4 (1979).Google Scholar

¹⁵ , Gullick, op. cit., pp. 78–81.Google Scholar

¹⁶ Kuala Lumpur Town Board, “Report of the Health Officer”, report (Kuala Lumpur, 1931).Google ScholarPubMed

¹⁷ Caldwell, M., “War, Boom and Depression”, in Malaya: The Making of a Neo-Colony, ed. Amin, Moha-med and Caldwell, M. (Nottingham, 1977), pp. 38–63.Google Scholar

¹⁸ See Bauer, P. T., The Rubber Industry: A Study in Competition and Monopoly (1948) and Caldwell, op. cit.Google Scholar

¹⁹ , Caldwell, op. cit., p. 43.Google Scholar

²⁰ Buyong, Mohamed Rosli bin, “Housing Development and Urban Sprawl”, in Aspects of Housing in Malaysia, ed. Hai, Tan Soo and Sendut, Hamzah, Low Cost Housing Monograph (International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, 1975), pp. 270–98.Google Scholar

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²² Malayan Union, “Grow More Food Campaign”, unpublished records, File 607/46 (Kuala Lumpur, 1946)Google Scholar; Sandhu, K. S., “The Saga of the Malayan Squatter”, Journal of Southeast Asian History 5 (1964): 143–77CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

²³ Williams, E. T., Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of Kelantan 1939 (Caxton, 1940)Google Scholar; Malayan Union, Proceedings of theAdvisory Council (Kuala Lumpur, 1948)Google ScholarPubMed.

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³⁰ For discussion of the Emergency period, see Purcell, V., Malaya - Communist or Free (London, 1954)Google ScholarPubMed; Short, A., The Communist Insurrection in Malaya, 1948–1960 (London, 1975)Google Scholar; Caldwell, M., “From Emergency to Independence, 1948-57”, in Amin, Mohamed and Caldwell, M. (eds.), op. cit., pp. 216–65Google Scholar.

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³³ Concannon, T. A. L., “A New Town in Malaya: Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur”, Malayan Journal of Tropical Geography 5 (1955): 39–43.Google Scholar

³⁴ Details of source material used in Table 1: KLTB - Kuala Lumpur Town Board, 1931, op. cit.; Kuala Lumpur Town Board, Annual Report (Kuala Lumpur, 1947);Google ScholarPubMedLegislative Council, “The Squatter Problem in the Federation of Malaya”, Council Paper no. 14 B98 (Kuala Lumpur, 1950);Google ScholarRuddock, G., “Town Planning in Kuala Lumpur”, report to the Government of Malaya (Kuala Lumpur, 1956);Google ScholarAnthony, J. A., “Urban Politics in Malaysia: A Study of Kuala Lumpur”, (Ph. D. thesis, Australian National University, 1971);Google Scholar McGee, “The Southeast Asian City”; McGee, “Malays in Kuala Lumpur”; M. K. Sen, “The Rehousing and Rehabilitation of Squatters and Slum Dwellers, with Special Reference to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia”, in Tan Soo Hai and Hamzah Sendut (eds. ), op. cit.; KLM [Kuala Lumpur Municipality], “Summary of the Reports on the Surveys of Unauthorised Buildings on State Land and Public Land”, report (Kuala Lumpur, Valuation Department, 1969); NOC [National Operations Council], “Rehousing and Resettlement of Squatters to Kuala Lum-pur”, report of the subcommittee on squatter rehousing and resettlement (Kuala Lumpur, 1969); MLGH [Ministry of Local Government and Housing], “Squatters in Kuala Lumpur”, report, File KKTP 1232/D (Kuala Lumpur, 1971); Wehbring, K., “Squatters in the Federal Territory: Analysis and Program Recommendations”, report (Kuala Lumpur, Urban Development Authority, 1976);Google ScholarAmato, P. W., “Housing Needs and Programmes in the Federal Territory, 1975–1990”, report (Kuala Lumpur: Urban Development Authority, 1975);Google ScholarKuala Lumpur Municipality, “Surveys of Squatter Settlements in the Federal Territory”, records (Town Planning Department, Kuala Lumpur, 1976);Google Scholar EPU [Economic Planning Unit], “Low Cost Housing in the Federal Territory”, Document #5 in BPE 61/2/13 (Prime Minister's Department, Kuala Lumpur, 1977); MF [Ministry of Finance], Economic Report 1976/1977, The Treasury (Kuala Lumpur, 1976); Kuala Lumpur Municipality, Untitled, unpublished records (Master Plan Unit, Kuala Lumpur, 1980).

³⁵ Sendut, Hamzah, “Patterns of Urbanisation in Malaya”, Journal of Tropical Geography 16 (1962): 114–30Google Scholar ; Sandhu, op. cit.; Gullick, J. M., Malaysia (London, 1969)Google Scholar.

³⁶ For example, The Municipal Ordinance 1948, Local Authorities Ordinance 1950, Local Authorities Ordinance 1952, and The Straits Settlement Act (No. XXVII) 1957.

³⁷ Ipoh Town Board, “Annual Report”, Report no. N. A. BK/A/MBI (Ipoh, 1954).

³⁸ Ibid., p. 4.

³⁹ McGee, “The Southeast Asian City”, p. 360.

⁴⁰ National Operations Council, “Rehousing and Resettlement of Squatters to Kuala Lumpur”.

⁴¹ Ozman, Azizah bte, “The Squatter Problem in Kuala Lumpur, with Special Reference to Dato Keramat”, (B. A. academic exercise, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1970).Google Scholar

⁴² See , McGee, “The Southeast Asian City”; McGee, T. G., The Urbanization Process in the Third World (London, 1971)Google ScholarPubMed ; and Thong, Lee Boon, “Patterns of Urban Residential Segregation: The Case of Kuala Lumpur”, Journal of Tropical Geography 43 (1976): 41–48Google Scholar.

⁴³ Wehbring, “Squatters in the Federal Territory”.

⁴⁴ This estimate is corroborated by data collected by several sources. See Kuala Lumpur Municipality, “Surveys of Squatter Settlements”, and Ministry of Finance, op. cit. In contrast Wehbring (“Squatters in the Federal Territory”) estimates a decrease of over 44, 000 between 1968 and 1974. This latter study, however, does not explain how this figure was derived or explain the decrease.

⁴⁵ Narayanan, S., “Urban In-Migration and Urban Labour Absorption: A Study of Metropolitaelangor”, (M. Econ. thesis, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1975).Google Scholar

⁴⁶ Kuantan Town Council, “Unauthorised Buildings (Rumah Haram)”, unpublished records, #12a in File 117/A (Kuantan, 1970).Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Commissioner of Lands and Mines, Kedah State, personal communication, Alor Setar, 1977.

⁴⁸ Secretary, Kota Setar District and Town Council, personal communication, Alor Setar, 1977.

⁴⁹ Kedah, State Secretariat, “Urban Squatters in Kedah”, draft report (Economic Planning Unit, Alor Setar, 1977).Google Scholar

⁵⁰ Kedah, Department of Town and Country Planning, “An Analysis of Alor Setar's Squatter Population”, report, FileKl/1094/Pt. III (Alor Setar, 1972).Google Scholar