There are few better examples for a snapshot of the meteoric development of Malaysia than Kuala Lumpur International Airport. About 20 years ago, its 100 sqkm site was a broad area covered with row after row of oil palms.
Now - 11 years on from its opening - it is the country's premier international gateway, built at a cost of US$3.5 billion, capable of handling 35 million passengers a year and shifting 1.2 million tonnes of cargo. Expansion plans envision a total of five runways and six passenger terminals, which will eventually transform Kuala Lumpur into a major regional hub.
And one of the airport's greatest customers is AirAsia, the Malaysian low-cost carrier started by flamboyant entrepreneur Tony Fernandes who, since launching in 2001, has turned the airline into one of the most successful in the region. Taken as an example of overall growth, Malaysia has shot into the stratosphere
There are many similar tales to be told, with industrial and business parks being raised on green-field sites all over the country, most notably Cyberjaya, Malaysia's answer to Silicon Valley in California. It's part of the Multimedia Super Corridor stretching from the city centre to the airport which is the driving force behind the country's ambition to get ahead in the information and technology age.
From palm oil plantations to glistening modern aviation hubs, the country has come a long way since it was granted independence from Britain in 1957. Even before colonial times, ports such as Melaka were well known to traders, who took advantage of their geographical location and diverse merchandise. The east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, on the north coast of Borneo, were accepted into the fold in 1963, and the country embarked on a steep rise to prosperity under the leadership of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, from 1981 to 2003, as it diversified its economy from depending on exports of raw materials to manufacturing, services and tourism.
However, Malaysia continues to derive a substantial part of its wealth from its oil and gas industries. National oil company Petronas provides about a third of the federal budget through a combination of taxes, dividends and royalties. Petronas, since its inauguration in 1974, has paid the government more than M$400 billion (HK$800 billion) and it handed over M$67 billion last year.
Petronas is the custodian of all oil and gas reserves for Malaysia, and encourages foreign oil company participation through production-sharing contracts, in which significant amounts of oil will be given away to the overseas partner until it reaches a production target.