Kuala Lumpur is changing. Rapidly.
It has to be seen to be believed. But when you enter KL you sense it immediately. This dynamic capital is transforming into a polyglot society of Malays, Chinese and Indians, of course - as before - but now also Arabs in abundance, European business types, Africans in ever increasing numbers, and people from every Continent.
There's construction everywhere, new shopping and residential development, restaurants offering fare from most countries under the sun, and a real buzz.
Whatever the politics in play, the country, or the capital and commercial heart at least, is thriving. And it shows. I wonder how many other countries will be watching with relative envy at Malaysia's advance?
Interestingly, the country accommodates numerous international university and now school campuses. So, Malaysians and nearby South East Asians no longer need to fly out to the UK, Australia or wherever to study. They can do so at home at the University of Nottingham, University of Southampton or Marlborough College in either KL or Nasujaya in Johor - a stone's throw from the border with Singapore.
Malaysia is achieving what other developing countries can only dream of: political stability, dynamic economy and pluralistic society. Over the next ten to fifteen years I bet the bulk of this diverse and geographically spread out country will reach first world developed status. Much of it has already.
I think it's unlikely that Singapore will regret leaving the Malaysian federation in 1965, but the drift of Malaysian Chinese south might fall to a trickle, and ultimately the Singaporeans will have to adjust their attitudes to their larger and no less dynamic neighbour to their North.
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