We just got back from Malaysia but were mainly on the East Coast. Of the places you mention, our only experience of driving was in Kuala Lumpur and I can echo the Lonely Planet advice that this is not for the faint hearted (my husband is a very confident driver and even he found the experience quite traumatic)! If you do do this, do not do as we did and arrive during peak hour without a proper KL map. We rented our car from Mayflower in Kuantan (returned it in KL) and were happy with the service from them. Think it cost us around RM130 per day for a Proton Wajah (Malaysian car).
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