Malay - Settlements

Malay settlements tend to be strung out along the mouths of rivers, on stretches of beach, or in ribbons along a road or highway. The settlement is a village ( kampung ) made up of various houses, often built on stilts and set among orchard crops, with rice fields outside the bounds of the village. The kampung usually has no public building, unless it has a surau (chapel) or a small mosque. Towns and cities are the product of immigrant populations and commercial and administrative activities, with a few cities combining the above with transport centers. Markets are held in the towns; produce flows in from the countryside via trishaw, boat, truck, bus, and train. In addition to the village patterns there are plantation line settlements. Urbanization and the formation of towns are rapidly increasing, and the cities are the fastest-growing type of settlement in Malaysia.