Malaysia - History, Politics, Geography, Economy, Natural resources, Transport and communications, Healthcare, Education, Demographics, Religion, Culture, Citizenship, Holidays

Local name Malaysia

Timezone GMT +8 Area 329 749 km²/127 283 sq mi population total (2002e) 24 370 000 Status Republic Date of independence 1957 Capital Kuala Lumpur Languages Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) (official), also Chinese, English, and Tamil widely spoken Ethnic groups Malay (59%), Chinese (32%), Indian (9%) Religions Muslim (53%), Buddhist (17%), Chinese folk-religionist (12%), Hindu (7%), Christian (6%) Physical features Independent federation of states located in SE Asia, comprising 11 states and a federal territory in Peninsular Malaysia, and the E States of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo; mountain chain of granite and limestone running N–S, rising to Mt Tahan, 2189 m/7182 ft; peninsula length 700 km/435 mi, width up to 320 km/200 mi; mostly tropical rainforest and mangrove swamp; Mt Kinabalu on Sabah, Malaysia's highest peak, 4094 m/13 432 ft. Climate Tropical climate strongly influenced by monsoon winds; high humidity; average annual rainfall in the peninsula, 260 mm/10 in (S), 800 mm/32 in (N); average daily temperatures, 21–32°C in coastal areas, 12–25°C in mountains. Currency 1 Malaysian Dollar/Ringgit (MYR) = 100 cents Economy Discovery of tin in the late 19th-c brought European investment; rubber trees introduced from Brazil; minerals including iron ore, bauxite; oil, natural gas; electronic components, electrical goods; tourism. GDP (2002e) $198·4 bn, per capita $8800 Human Development Index (2002) 0·782 History Part of Srivijaya Empire, 9th–13th-c; Hindu and Muslim influences, 14th–15th-c; Portugal, the Netherlands, and Britain vied for control from the 16th-c; Singapore, Malacca, and Penang formally incorporated into the British Colony of the Straits Settlements, 1826; British protection extended over Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Pahang, constituted into the Federated Malay States, 1895; protection treaties with several other states (Unfederated Malay States), 1885–1930; occupied by Japanese in World War 2; Federation of Malaya, 1948; independence, 1957; constitutional monarchy of Malaysia, 1963; Singapore withdrew from the Federation in 1965; governed by a bicameral Federal Parliament; Head of State is a Monarch elected for five years by his fellow sultans; advised by a Prime Minister and a Cabinet; coastal regions hit by tsunami, 2004.

مليسيا Malaysia
Flag Emblem
Motto: Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu (English: "Unity Is Strength")
Anthem: "Negaraku"
Capital	Kuala Lumpur 3°08′N 101°42′E
Largest city	Kuala Lumpur
Official language	Malay
Government	Federal constitutional monarchy
- Paramount Ruler	Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail
- Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Independence
- from the UK (Malaya only)	August 31, 1957
- Federation (with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore)	September 16, 1963
Area
- Total	329,847 km² (67th) 127,355 sq mi
- Water (%)	0.3
Population
- 2006 estimate	26,849,336 (45th)
- 2000 census	23,953,136
- Density	81/km² (115th) 211/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$290.7 billion (33rd)
- Per capita	$11,201 (61st)
HDI  (2006)	0.805 (high) (61st)
Currency	Ringgit (RM) (MYR)
Time zone	MST (UTC+8)
- Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+8)
Internet TLD	.my
Calling code	+60
1 Putrajaya is the primary seat of government.

Malaysia is a country of thirteen states in southeast Asia. The name "Malaysia" was adopted in 1963 when the Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed a 14-state federation. Singapore withdrew from Malaysia in 1965 to become an independent country.

The country consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea:

Peninsular Malaysia (or West Malaysia) on the Malay Peninsula shares a land border on the north with Thailand and is connected by the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link to the south with Singapore. Malaysian Borneo (or East Malaysia) occupies the northern part of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and surrounding the Sultanate of Brunei.

Although politically dominated by the Malays, modern Malaysian society is heterogeneous, with substantial Chinese and Indian minorities. Nonetheless, Malaysia is considered to be a model of racial harmony.

History

The Malay Peninsula has long benefited from its central position in the maritime trade routes between China and the Middle East.

The earliest recorded Malay kingdoms grew from coastal city-ports established in the 10th century AD. The first evidence of Islam in the Malay peninsula dates from the 14th century in Terengganu, but according to the Kedah Annals, the 9th Maharaja Derbar Raja (1136-1179 AD) of Sultanate of Kedah converted to Islam and changed his name to Sultan Muzaffar Shah.

There were numerous Malay kingdoms in the 2nd and 3rd century A.D., as many as 30 according to Chinese sources.

The Buddhist kingdom of Ligor took control of Kedah shortly after, and its King Chandrabhanu used it as a base to attack Sri Lanka in the 11the century, an event noted in a stone inscription in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu and in the Sri Lankan epic, Mahavamsa. During the first millennium, the people of the Malay peninsula adopted Hinduism and Buddhism and the use of the Sanskrit language until they eventually converted to Islam, but not before Hinduism, Buddhism and Sanskrit became embedded into the Malay worldview.

There are reports of other areas older than Kedah – the ancient kingdom of Ganganegara, around Bruas in Perak, for instance – that pushes Malaysian history even further into antiquity.

In the early 15th century, the Sultanate of Malacca (Malay: Kesultanan Melaka) was established under a dynasty founded by Parameswara, a prince from Palembang, who fled from the island Temasek (now Singapore). At its height, the sultanate controlled the areas which are now Peninsula Malaysia, southern Thailand (Patani), and the eastern coast of Sumatra.

In 1511, Malacca was conquered by Portugal, which established a colony there.

Britain established its first colony in the Malay peninsula in 1786, with the lease of the island of Penang to the British East India Company by the Sultan of Kedah.

During the late 19th century, many Malay states decided to obtain British help in settling their internal conflicts. The commercial importance of tin mining in the Malay states to merchants in the Straits Settlements led to British government intervention in the tin-producing states in the Malay Peninsula. By the turn of the 20th century the states of Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan, known together as the Federated Malay States (not to be confused with the Federation of Malaya), were under the de facto control of British Residents appointed to advise the Malay rulers.

The remaining five states in the peninsula, known as the Unfederated Malay States, while not directly under rule from London, also accepted British advisors around the turn of the 20th century.

On the island of Borneo, Sabah was governed as the crown colony of British North Borneo, while Sarawak was acquired from Brunei as the personal kingdom of the Brooke family, who ruled as white rajahs.

Following the Japanese occupation of Malaya (1942-1945) during World War II, popular support for independence grew. Post-war British plans to unite the administration of Malaya under a single crown colony called the Malayan Union foundered on strong opposition from the Malays, who opposed the emasculation of the Malay rulers and the granting of citizenship to the ethnic Chinese. The Malayan Union, established in 1946 and consisting of all the British possessions in Malaya with the exception of Singapore, was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection.

During this time, rebels under the leadership of the Communist Party of Malaya launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya.

In 1963 the Federation was renamed Malaysia with the admission of the then-British crown colonies of Singapore, Sabah (British North Borneo) and Sarawak.

The early years of independence were marred by conflict with Indonesia (Konfrontasi) over the formation of Malaysia, Singapore's eventual exit in 1965, and racial strife in the form of racial riots in 1969.

After the May 13 racial riots of 1969, the controversial New Economic Policy - intended to increase the share of the economic pie owned by the bumiputras ("indigenous people", which includes the majority Malays, but not always the indigenous population) as opposed to other ethnic groups - was launched by Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Malaysia has since maintained a delicate ethno-political balance, with a system of government that has attempted to combine overall economic development with political and economic policies that favour Bumiputras.

Between the 1980s and the early 1990s, Malaysia experienced significant economic growth under the premiership of Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad. It was during this period, too, that the physical landscape of Malaysia has changed with the emergence of numerous mega-projects.

In the late 1990s, Malaysia was shaken by the Asian financial crisis as well as political unrest caused by the sacking of the deputy prime minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim. In 2003, Dr Mahathir, Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, retired in favour of his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, commonly known as Pak Lah.

Politics

Malaysia is a federal constitutional elective monarchy. It is nominally headed by the Paramount Ruler or Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commonly referred to as the King of Malaysia. This makes Malaysia an elective monarchy.

The system of government in Malaysia is closely modeled on that of Westminster parliamentary system, a legacy of British colonial rule. Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has been governed by a multi-racial coalition known as the Barisan Nasional (formerly the Alliance).

The bicameral parliament consists of the lower house, the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (literally the "Chamber of the People") and the upper house, the Senate or Dewan Negara (literally the "Chamber of the Nation").

Executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister;

The state governments are led by chief ministers (Menteri Besar in Malay states or Ketua Menteri in states without hereditary rulers), selected by the state assemblies (Dewan Undangan Negeri) advising their respective sultans or governors.

Geography

The two distinct parts of Malaysia, separated from each other by the South China Sea, share a largely similar landscape in that both West and East Malaysia feature coastal plains rising to often densely forested hills and mountains, the highest of which is Mount Kinabalu at 4,095.2 metres (13,435.7 ft) on the island of Borneo.

Tanjung Piai, located in the southern state of Johor, is the southernmost tip of continental Asia.

The Strait of Malacca, lying between Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, is arguably the most important shipping lane in the world.

Putrajaya is the newly created administrative capital for the federal government of Malaysia, aimed in part to ease growing congestion within Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur.

Economy

The Malay Peninsula and indeed Southeast Asia has been a centre of trade for centuries.

In the 17th century, large deposits of tin were found in several Malay states. These three commodities, along with other raw materials, firmly set Malaysia's economic tempo well into the mid-20th century.

Instead of relying on the local Malays as a source of labour, the British brought in Chinese and Indians to work on the mines and plantations. Although many of them returned to their respective home countries after their agreed tenure ended, some remained in Malaysia and settled permanently.

As Malaya moved towards independence, the government began implementing economic five-year plans, beginning with the First Malayan Five Year Plan in 1955. Upon the establishment of Malaysia, the plans were re-titled and renumbered, beginning with the First Malaysia Plan in 1965.

In 1970s, Malaysia began to imitate the footsteps of the original four Asian Tigers and committed itself to a transition from being reliant on mining and agriculture to an economy that depends more on manufacturing. Malaysia consistently achieved more than 7% GDP growth along with low inflation in the 1980s and the 1990s.

During the same period, the government tried to eradicate poverty with the controversial New Economic Policy (NEP), after the May 13 Incident of racial rioting in 1969. Its main objective was the elimination of the association of race with economic function, and the first five-year plan to begin implementing the NEP was the Second Malaysia Plan.

The rapid economic boom led to a variety of supply problems, however. This all ended when the Asian Financial Crisis hit in the fall of 1997, delivering a massive shock to Malaysia's economy.

As with other countries affected by the crisis, there was speculative short-selling of the Malaysian currency, the ringgit. Malaysia refused economic aid packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, however, surprising many analysts.

In March 2005, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published a paper on the sources and pace of Malaysia's recovery, written by Jomo K.S. The paper concluded that the controls imposed by Malaysia's government neither hurt nor helped recovery.

However, the post Y2K slump of 2001 did not affect Malaysia as much as other countries. (See George Soros)

Regardless of cause/effect claims, rejuvenation of the economy also coincided with massive government spending and budget deficits in the years that followed the crisis. Later, Malaysia enjoyed faster economic recovery compared to its neighbours.

While the pace of development today is not as rapid, it is seen to be more sustainable.

The fixed exchange rate was abandoned in July 2005 in favour of a managed floating system within an hour of China's announcing of the same move.

In September 2005, Sir Howard J. On March 23 2006, Malaysia removed the ban on short selling.

Natural resources

Malaysia is well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry as well as minerals. In terms of agriculture, Malaysia is the world's primary exporter of natural rubber and palm oil, which together with saw logs and sawn timber, cocoa, pepper, pineapple and tobacco dominate the growth of the sector.

Regarding forestry resources, it is noted that logging only began to make a substantial contribution to the economy during the nineteenth century. Today an estimated 59% of Malaysia remains forested.

In addition, substantial areas are being silviculturally treated and reforestation of degraded forest land is also being carried out. Rubber, once the mainstay of the Malaysian economy, has been largely replaced by oil palm as Malaysia's leading agricultural export.

Tin and petroleum are the two main mineral resources that are of major significance in the Malaysian economy. Malaysia was once the world's largest producer of tin until the collapse of the tin market in the early 1980s.

In 2004, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, revealed that Malaysia's oil reserves stood at 4.84 billion barrels while natural gas reserves increased to 89 trillion cubic feet (2,500 km³).

The government estimates that at current production rates Malaysia will be able to produce oil for 18 years and gas for 35 years. In 2004 Malaysia is ranked 24th in terms of world oil reserves and 13th for gas. 56% of the oil reserves exist in the Peninsula while 19% exist in East Malaysia.

Transport and communications

Malaysia has extensive roads that connect all major cities and towns on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The major expressway, the North-South Expressway spans from the northern and the southern tips of Peninsular Malaysia at Bukit Kayu Hitam and Johor Baru respectively.

Roads in the East Malaysia and the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia are still relatively undeveloped.

Train service in West Malaysia is operated by the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malayan Railways) and has extensive railroads that connect all major cities and towns on the peninsular, including Singapore.

There are sea ports in Tanjong Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Kuantan, Pasir Gudang, Tanjung Pelepas, Penang, Port Klang, Sandakan and Tawau.

There are also world class airports, such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Bayan Lepas International Airport in Penang, Kuching International Airport and Langkawi International Airport that provide international and domestic destinations as well as small domestic airstrips in rural Sabah and Sarawak. Malaysia is the home of the first low-cost carrier in the region, Air Asia.

The intercity telecommunication service is provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay. One of the largest and most significant telecommunication companies in Malaysia is Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), providing products and services from fixed line, mobile as well as dial-up and broadband Internet access service.

In December 2004, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik reported that only 0.85% or 218,004 people in Malaysia used broadband services.

Healthcare

Malaysian society places importance on the expansion and development of healthcare, putting 5% of the government social sector development budget into public healthcare — an increase of more than 47% over the previous figure.

The Malaysian healthcare system requires doctors to perform a compulsory 3 years service with public hospitals to ensure the manpower of these hospitals is maintained.

There are currently 114 government hospitals and healthcare centres with a total of 28,163 beds. As for private hospitals, there are 225 of them (including maternity and nursing homes) in Malaysia, and they provide 9,498 beds. However, the situation has now changed and companies are now looking into this area again, particularly in view of the increasing interest by foreigners in coming to Malaysia for medical care.

Education

Education in Malaysia is monitored by the federal government Ministry of Education.

Most Malaysian children start schooling at the age of 3-6, in kindergarten.

Children begin primary schooling at age of 7 for six years. There are two major types of government-operated or government-assisted primary schools: national schools (Sekolah Kebangsaan) which uses Malay as medium of instruction, and national-type schools (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan) which uses either Chinese or Tamil as medium of instruction.

Secondary education in government secondary schools lasts five years. In the last year (Form 5), students sit for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Malaysian Certificate of Education, which is equivalent to the British Ordinary or 'O' Levels, now referred to as GCSE.

Mathematics and Science subjects in government primary and secondary schools such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry are taught in English.

There are also 60 Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia, where most subjects are instructed in Chinese. Chinese Independent High Schools are monitored and standardized by the United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, more commonly referred to by its Chinese name, Dong Zong 董总), however, unlike government schools, every independent school is free to make its own decisions. A number of independent schools conduct classes in Malay and English in addition to Chinese, enabling the students to sit for the PMR and SPM as well.

Students wishing to enter public universities must complete 1 1/2 more years of secondary schooling in Form Six and sit for the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), Malaysia Higher Certificate of Education;

As for tertiary education, there are public universities such as University of Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In addition, 5 international reputable universities have set up their branch campuses in Malaysia since 1998. Both local and international students can acquire these identical foreign qualifications at a much lower education cost in Malaysia. The foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia are: Monash University (Sunway Campus), Curtin University of Technology (Sarawak Campus), Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and FTMS-De Monfort University Campus of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

Students can also opt to go to private colleges after secondary studies.

In addition to the National Curriculum, Malaysia has many international schools. International schools include - Australian International School, Malaysia (Australian curriculum), The Alice Smith School (British curriculum), The Garden International School (British curriculum), The International School of Kuala Lumpur (International Baccalaureate and American curriculum), The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur (Japanese curriculum),The International School of Penang (International Baccalaureate and British curruculum) Lycée Français de Kuala Lumpur (French curriculum) amongst others.

Demographics

Malaysia's population is comprised of many ethnic groups, with the politically dominant Malays making up the majority, about 60% of the population.

Non-Malay indigenous groups make up more than half of the state of Sarawak's population, constitute about 66% of Sabah's population, and also exist in much smaller numbers on the Peninsula, where they are collectively called Orang Asli. Europeans and Eurasians include British who colonized and settled in Malaysia and some Portuguese, and most of the Middle Easterners are Arabs. A small number of Kampucheans and Vietnamese settled in Malaysia as Vietnam War refugees.

May 13, 1969 saw an incident of civil unrest which was then thought to be largely due to the socio-economic imbalance of the country along racial lines, though in retrospect it may have been more motivated by political firebrands in both governing and opposition parties, as the violence involved only the areas in and around the capital, with much of the country remaining at peace.

Due to the rise in labour intensive industries, Malaysia has 10 to 20% foreign workers with the uncertainty due in part to the large number of illegal workers, mostly Indonesian; Caning is a standard punishment for more than 40 crimes in Malaysia, ranging from sexual abuse to drug use.

Some 380,000 unauthorized foreigners left during an "amnesty" that began in 2004 and was extended several times.

Religion

Malaysia is a multi-religious society, and Islam is the country's official religion. The four main religions are Islam (60.4% of the population), Buddhism (19.2%), Christianity (9.1%, mostly in East Malaysia), and Hinduism (6.3%), according to government census figures in 2000.

Although the Malaysian constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom, in practice the situation is not so simple (See Status of religious freedom in Malaysia).

Malaysians tend to personally respect one another's religious beliefs, with inter-religious problems arising mainly from the political sphere.

Islam in Malaysia Buddhism in Malaysia Christianity in Malaysia Hinduism in Malaysia Status of religious freedom in Malaysia

Culture

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society, consisting of 65% Malays and other indigenous tribes, 25% Chinese, 7% Indians. The Malays, which form the largest community, are all Muslims since one has to be Muslim to be legally Malay under Malaysian law. Bahasa Malaysia which is largely similar to Bahasa Melayu in most practical terms is the national language of the country.

In the past, Malay was written widely in Jawi, a script based on Arabic.

The largest indigenous tribe in terms of numbers is the Iban of Sarawak, who number over 600,000. The Orang Asli (140,000), or aboriginal peoples, comprise a number of different ethnic communities living in Peninsular Malaysia. Traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers and agriculturists, many have been sedentarised and partially absorbed into modern Malaysia.

The Chinese population in Malaysia is mostly Buddhist (of Mahayana sect), Taoist or Christian. Chinese in Malaysia speak a variety of Chinese dialects including Mandarin Chinese, Hokkien/Fujian, Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew. Many Chinese in Malaysia also speak English as a first language.

The Indians in Malaysia are mainly Hindu Tamils from southern India, speaking Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi, living mainly in the larger towns on the west coast of the peninsula. Many middle to upper-middle class Indians in Malaysia also speak English as a first language. There is also a sizeable Sikh community in Malaysia with over 83,000 of them live here.

Eurasians, Cambodians, Vietnamese, and indigenous tribes make up the remaining population.

Malaysian traditional music is heavily influenced by Chinese and Islamic forms.

Citizenship

Most Malaysians are granted citizenship by jus soli.

Holidays

Malaysians observe a number of holidays and festivities throughout the year.

The most celebrated holiday is the "Hari Merdeka" (Independence Day) on August 31 commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya in 1957.

Muslims in Malaysia (including all Malays and other non-Malay Muslims) celebrate Muslim holidays.

Chinese in Malaysia typically celebrate festivals that are observed by Chinese around the world.

The majority of Indians in Malaysia are Hindus and they celebrate Deepavali (Diwali), the festival of light, while Thaipusam is a celebration which pilgrims from all over the country flock to Batu Caves.

Other festivals such as Christmas, Hari Gawai of the Ibans (Dayaks), Pesta Kaamatan of the Kadazan-Dusuns are also celebrated in Malaysia.

Despite most of the festivals are identified with a particular ethnic or religion, all Malaysians celebrate the festivities together regardless of their religions and ethnic background. For years 1996-1998, when Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year coincided, a slogan Kongsi Raya, a combination of Gong Xi Fa Cai, a greeting used on the Chinese New Year, and Hari Raya (which could also mean "celebrating together" in Malay language) was coined.

Sites

myGovernment Portal - Malaysian Government Portal Bernama - Malaysian national news agency Malaysian Department of Statistics Tourism Malaysia - Malaysian tourism portal Malaysia Travel Guide - Malaysia travel guide Virtual Malaysia - The Official Portal of the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia Office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia Radio Televisyen Malaysia - Government-owned television network Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation Small Medium Industries Development Corporation v • d • e Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Brunei • Cambodia • Indonesia • Laos • Malaysia • Myanmar • Philippines • Singapore • Thailand • Vietnam

v • d • e Countries of Asia

Afghanistan • Armenia • Azerbaijan • Bahrain • Bangladesh • Bhutan • Brunei • Cambodia • People's Republic of China • Cyprus • East Timor • Georgia • India • Indonesia • Iran • Iraq • Israel • Japan • Jordan • Kazakhstan • Kuwait • Kyrgyzstan • Laos • Lebanon • Malaysia • Maldives • Mongolia • Myanmar • Nepal • North Korea • Oman • Pakistan • Philippines • Qatar • Russia • Saudi Arabia • Singapore • South Korea • Sri Lanka • Syria • Tajikistan • Thailand • Turkey • Turkmenistan • United Arab Emirates • Uzbekistan • Vietnam • Yemen

For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List of unrecognized countries.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) not officially recognized by the United Nations;