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Travel to Malaysia — Unbiased reviews and
great deals from TripAdvisorMalaysia
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Head of State: Tuanku Mizan Zainal
Abidin ibni al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud (2006)
Prime Minister: Abdullah Badawi
(2003)
Current government officials
Land area: 126,853 sq mi (328,549 sq km);
total area: 127,316 sq mi (329,750 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 25,259,428
(growth rate: 1.7%); birth rate: 22.4/1000; infant mortality rate:
16.0/1000; life expectancy: 73.0; density per sq km: 76
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Kuala Lumpur, 3,688,200 (metro. area),
1,403,400
Other large cities: Kelang,
683,200; Johor Bharu, 682,100
Monetary unit: Ringgit
Languages:
Bahasa Melayu (Malay, official), English,
Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan,
Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; several
indigenous languages (including Iban, Kadazan) in East Malaysia
Ethnicity/race:
Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%,
Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)
Religions:
Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian,
Sikh; Shamanism (East Malaysia)
National Holiday:
Independence Day/Malaysia Day, August 31
Literacy rate: 89% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007
est.): $357.4 billion; per capita $13,300. Real growth rate:
6.3%. Inflation: 2.1%. Unemployment: 3.2%. Arable
land: 5%. Agriculture: Peninsular Malaysia—rubber,
palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah—subsistence crops, rubber,
timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak—rubber, pepper, timber.
Labor force: 10.67 million; agriculture 14.5%, industry 36%,
services 49.5% (2000 est.). Industries: Peninsular
Malaysia—rubber and oil-palm processing and manufacturing,
light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting,
logging, timber processing; Sabah—logging, petroleum
production; Sarawak—agriculture processing, petroleum
production and refining, logging. Natural resources: tin,
petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.
Exports: $147.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): electronic
equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood
products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals. Imports:
$118.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): electronics, machinery,
petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products,
chemicals. Major trading partners: U.S., Singapore, Japan,
China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Indonesia
(2004).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 4.6 million (2000); mobile cellular: 5 million (2000).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001).
Radios: 10.9 million (1999). Television broadcast
stations: 1 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (2001).
Televisions: 10.8 million (1999). Internet Service
Providers (ISPs): 7 (2000). Internet users: 5.7 million
(2002).
Transportation: Railways: total: 2,418
km (2002). Highways: total: 65,877 km; paved: 49,935 km
(including 1,192 km of expressways); unpaved: 15,942 km (1999).
Waterways: 7,296 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah
1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km). Ports and harbors: Bintulu, Kota
Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Lumut, Miri,
Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Sibu,
Tanjung Berhala, Tanjung Kidurong, Tawau. Airports: 114
(2002).
International disputes:involved in
complex dispute over Spratly Islands with China, Philippines,
Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002
signed the “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South
China Sea,” a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short
of a legally binding “code of conduct”; disputes over
deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation
on Johor, maritime boundaries, and Singapore-occupied Pedra Branca
Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist—parties agree to ICJ
arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJ awarded
Ligitan and Sipadan islands off the coast of Sabah, also claimed by
Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia; a small section of the
Malaysia-Thailand boundary in the Kolok River remains in
dispute.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Malaysia is on the Malay Peninsula in southeast
Asia. The nation also includes Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo
to the east. Its area slightly exceeds that of New Mexico.
Most of Malaysia is covered by forest, with a
mountain range running the length of the peninsula. Extensive forests
provide ebony, sandalwood, teak, and other woods.
Government
Constitutional monarchy.
History
The ancestors of the people that now inhabit the
Malaysian peninsula first migrated to the area between 2500 and 1500 B.C. Those living in the coastal regions had early
contact with Chinese and Indians; seafaring traders from India brought
with them Hinduism, which was blended with the local animist beliefs. As
Muslims conquered India, they spread the religion of Islam to Malaysia. In
the 15th century A.D., Islam acquired a firm
hold on the region when the Hindu ruler of the powerful city-state of
Malacca, Parameswara Dewa Shah, converted to Islam.
British and Dutch interest in the region grew in
the 1800s, with the British East India Company establishment of a trading
settlement on the island of Singapore. Trade soared, with Singapore's
population growing from only 5,000 in 1820 to nearly 100,000 in just 50
years. In the 1880s, Britain formally established protectorates in
Malaysia. At about the same time, rubber trees were introduced from
Brazil. With the mass production of automobiles, rubber became a valuable
export, and laborers were brought in from India to work the rubber
plantations.
Following the Japanese occupation of Malaysia
during World War II, a growing nationalist movement prompted the British
to establish the semiautonomous Federation of Malaya in 1948. But
Communist guerrillas took to the jungles to begin a war of national
liberation against the British, who declared a state of emergency to quell
the insurgency, which lasted until 1960.
The independent state of Malaysia came into
existence on Sept. 16, 1963, as a federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah
(North Borneo), and Sarawak. In 1965, Singapore withdrew from the
federation to become a separate nation. Since 1966, the 11 states of
former Malaya have been known as West Malaysia, and Sabah and Sarawak as
East Malaysia.
By the late 1960s Malaysia was torn by communal
rioting directed against Chinese and Indians, who controlled a
disproportionate share of the country's wealth. Beginning in 1968, the
government moved to achieve greater economic balance through a national
economic policy.
In the 1980s, Dr. Mohamad Mahathir succeeded
Datuk Hussein as prime minister. Mahathir instituted economic reforms that
would transform Malaysia into one of the so-called Asian Tigers.
Throughout the 1990s, Mahathir embarked on a massive project to build a
new capital from scratch in an attempt to bypass congested Kuala
Lumpur.
Beginning in 1997 and continuing through the
next year, Malaysia suffered from the Asian currency crisis. Instead of
following the economic prescriptions of the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank, the prime minister opted for fixed exchange rates and
capital controls. In late 1999, Malaysia was on the road to economic
recovery, and it appeared Mahathir's measures were working.
Mahathir sacked his heir apparent, Anwar
Ibrahim, from his posts as deputy prime minister and finance minister in
Sept. 1998, after a disagreement over how to deal with the country's
economic problems. In defiance, Anwar launched a reform movement attacking
the government. The prime minister then jailed Anwar, who was beaten and
convicted on trumped-up charges of corruption and sodomy. In 2004, a year
after Mahathir left office, Malaysia's high court overturned Anwar's
conviction, releasing the former deputy prime minister, who had served six
years in prison.
In Oct. 2003, Mahathir retired after 22 years in
office. His rule led to his country's enormous economic growth but was
also characterized by repression and human rights abuses. Malaysia's new
prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, has a more statesmanlike reputation, and
in his first year in office he made headway on reducing corruption and
instituting reforms. In March 2004, the ruling National Front coalition
won an astonishing 90% of parliamentary seats, and Abdullah was reelected
on his own merits.
The governing coalition under Prime Minister
Badawi suffered a stunning defeat in March 2008's parliamentary elections.
Opposition parties quadrupled their representation in Parliament, and
Badawi's coalition, although it won 136 of 222 seats in Parliament, lost
its two-thirds majority, which is necessary to amend the Constitution, and
control of five state assemblies. It was the worst showing for the
National Front coalition in four decades. Shortly after the election,
Badawi trimmed his cabinet, removing several ministers who had been
accused of corruption, and appointed a prominent lawyer to oversee
judicial reform.
Leading opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim was
arrested and jailed on suspicion of sodomy in July 2008—for a second
time. Ten years earlier, when he was serving as deputy prime minister, he
was convicted of sodomy and corruption. The conviction was overturned
after he spent six years in jail. Anwar denied the charges both times,
claiming to have been set up by the government—allegations that had
a broad base of supporters, both domestically and abroad. Prior to each
arrest, Anwar's political challenge to the governing party had been
gaining momentum. Indeed, days before his arrest, he had announced plans
to run for Parliament. In August, Anwar won a by-election to return to
Parliament after a 10-year absence. He defeated the government party's
candidate, 31,196 to 15,524.
See also Encyclopedia: Malaysia.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Malaysia
Department of Statistics www.statistics.gov.my/ .
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
More on Malaysia from Infoplease:
- Bahasa Malaysia: meaning and definitions - Bahasa Malaysia: Definition and Pronunciation
- Malaysia - Malaysia Malaysia , independent federation (2005 est. pop. 23,953,000), 128,430 sq mi (332,633 sq ...
- Malaysia - Malaysia Profile: People, Government, Political Conditions, Foreign Relations
- Malaysia: meaning and definitions - Malaysia: Definition and Pronunciation
- Malaysia - Map of Malaysia & articles on flags, geography, history, statistics, disasters current events, and international relations.
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