1st Edition

Constructing Malaysia From Third World to Tiger Economy

Edited By Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz, Toong-Khuan Chan Copyright 2027
238 Pages 16 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book addresses the evolution of the construction industry in Malaysia from its independence in 1957 until the present day. It is a fascinating look at Malaysia’s story of achievements and setbacks told for the first time from an infrastructure development and construction perspective. Chapters cover topics such as the government’s economic development policies, the transition from foreign... Read more

Chapter 1: Malaysia’s Development Context and the Construction Industry

Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz

Chapter 2: Malaysian Contractors and The Affirmative Action Policy

Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz

Chapter 3: Foreign Construction Companies in Malaysia

Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz

Chapter 4: Foreign Construction Workers in Malaysia

Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz and Poline Bala

Chapter 5: Construction Industry Development Board

Toong Khuan Chan

Chapter 6: Construction Industry Development Strategies

Toong Khuan Chan 

Chapter 7: Prefabrication, Mechanisation and Industrialised Building Systems

Toong Khuan Chan

Chapter 8: Environmental Sustainability and Green Building

Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz and AbdulLateef Olanrewaju

Chapter 9: The Evolution of the Malaysian Architectural Consultancy Industry: From Independence to Present

Jia Chian Tong

Chapter 10: Engineers and Engineering Consultants

Toong Khuan Chan

Chapter 11: The Evolution of the Quantity Surveying Profession in Malaysia: Institutionalisation, Regulation, and Professional Transformation

Fock Kui Kan

Chapter 12: The North South Expressway: Privatisation, Risk Allocation and Political Economy

Toong Khuan Chan

Chapter 13: Conclusions

Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz and Toong Khuan Chan

Biography

Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz was Professor at Wawasan Open University, Penang, Malaysia, from 2022 to 2025. Prior to this, he had a distinguished career at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), where he served for 31 years from 1991. During his tenure at USM, he was seconded to Universiti Malaysia Sarawak from 2019 to 2021, where he contributed to the development of its undergraduate quantity surveying programme. His research interests include international construction, labour issues in the construction industry, contractor development, and privatisation. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Quantity Surveying and a PhD from the University of Reading. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a member of the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia, and a registered Consultant Quantity Surveyor with the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia. Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz currently runs his own quantity surveying practice.

Toong-khuan Chan is Associate Professor in Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Engineering, La Trobe University. His research interests include construction economics, construction industry development, and infrastructure policy. His work has contributed to industry development initiatives in Malaysia and Indonesia. Prior to academia, he spent many years in the petrochemical and construction sectors in Singapore and Malaysia, including consulting for major construction and multinational companies across Asia. He has previously taught at The University of Melbourne, Nanyang Technological University, and the Malaysia University of Science and Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the University of Malaya and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge.