Agriculture in the Malaysian Region

Introduction to the Second Edition

xxi Introduction to the Second Edition One of the major approaches to the writing of historical geography is that of a cross-section through time. This is what the original text has become. It has been substantially recast to make it clear to which time-period it refers, namely the late 1970s. For this edition a further change has been the addition of two new chapters which bring up to date the situation of agriculture both economically and technically. These changes are placed within the context of a striking change in the economy of Malaysia as a whole. In Singapore the industry has been transformed from one dependent on large labour inputs and limited capital to one that is highly capitalized and has often has educational and recreational objectives grafted onto it. In Brunei, an emerging rentier economy, agriculture remains at a low ebb. Unlike economic and technical changes, changes in agricultural land use, unfortunately, cannot be as closely documented as previously, mainly because of the lack of accessible detailed statistics and, especially, the lack of region-wide land-use maps since the late 1970s. R.D. Hill Hong Kong, April 2012 ...