Kuala Lumpur: The Jan Brady of Southeast Asia

For the non-Americans reading this, Jan Brady is the teenaged, middle daughter of 3 girls on a 1970s American TV show called "The Brady Bunch". Jan is often forgotten and thinks she knows more than she really does.

If Bangkok is the low-cost tourist hub of Southeast Asia, and Singapore is where the world goes to conduct business, then Kuala Lumpur (the locals refer to it as KL) is somewhere in the middle, struggling to define its place in the world. Some examples:

KL: We have two of the world's tallest buildings (Petronas Towers and Menara KL tower).
The World: Yes, they're very impressive, but have since been eclipsed by Taiwan in height.

KL: We host a world-class Formula 1 race.
The World: Its a fantastic facility, but tickets are so expensive the average Malay can't afford to attend.

KL: We have our own make of automobile, Proton.
The World: Protons are simply rebadged 10 year old Mitsubishis designs assembled in Malaysia, and are so uncompetitive they can't be sold anywhere else in the world.

KL: We are a multicultural society that blends the best of Chinese, Indian, native Malay, and westerners; English is widely spoken and people have freedom of religion.
The World: Singapore is far more culturally integrated than Malaysia is. And, people may have freedom of religion, but according to the Islamic High Court that rules the country, they are not free to change religions.

KL: KL has emerged as the Islamic Banking capital of the world.
The World: No doubt, but multi-national corporations and investment banks do far more business in London, Singapore and Dubai, where they can receive both Islamic and traditional services. KL's Islamic Banking sector primarily consists of local Malay banks, and HSBC.

KL: Malaysia Airlines is among the world's best.
The World: MAS is not part of any major airline alliance, and their ground staff / in-flight services are not at the same level as Thai Airways or Singapore Airlines. Having said that, Air Asia, Malaysia's low cost airline (similar business model to Ryanair) does appear to be a very successful business (more on this in a future post)

KL: Kuala Lumpur is among the wealthiest cities in Asia.
The World: The wealth is concentrated amongst a very small handful of people (mostly Petronas oil tycoons and bankers). Meanwhile, seemingly every bookstore is stocked with "get rich quick" books. In fact, one of my friends from high school, who is part of a network marketing business (commonly referred to as a pyramid scheme) recently spent a few months successfully expanding his network in KL.

KL: Kuala Lumpur has an extensive public transportation infrastructure.
The World: Yes, but none of the monorail or train lines are integrated, which means you need to purchase separate tickets for each line, and go outside the station to change trains.

Obviously Kuala Lumpur isn't nearly as bad as the above makes it out to be. KL City Centre is a truly modern area, the airport is beautiful, roads are first class, food (both local and western) fresh and tasty, and major western big box retailers, speciality retailers and hotels have a significant presence. However, unquestionably, the city has a "we are great, we've got it all, we're better than you" teenage-like attitude about it. I suppose this comes with newfound wealth: Malaysia as a whole gained independence from England only 50 years ago, and money poured into the country when Petronas started oil drilling in 1974. Also, in the 70s, the government implemented a wealth distribution scheme from Chinese / Westerners to native Malay. Therefore, this is the first generation of Malay to experience a fair amount of prosperity.