Urban-to-urban migration in Malaysia: A case study of the East Coast Corridor Economic Region

A country’s or a region’s economic development is manifested by the prevailing level of urbanisation. This level of urbanisation is in turn related to the prevailing and potential rates of migration whether rural- to -urban or urban- to - urban migration. Currently, Malaysia is experiencing a phenomenon of rapid urban-to-urban migration streams influenced by the current development progress in Malaysia. The migration flows are more dynamic due to the existence of various development activities along the economic corridors throughout Malaysia. This study examined the scenario of urban-to-urban migration streams in the East Coast Corridor Economic Region (ECER) based on the 2000 and 2010 censuses data and primary data gathered from a field survey of 361 local households. The findings revealed that migration occurs in the ECER albeit mildly. It was predominantly a youth driven migration comprising students and fresh job seekers. As a development driven region the ECER localities were expected to receive sizable numbers of urban-to-urban migrants involving both new arrivals and returnees.