About Malaysia
Malaysia has an area of 329,758 sq km, there are two parts to the country, 11 states in the Peninsula of Malaysia and two states on the northern part of Borneo. Located between 2° and 7° north of the Equator, Peninsula Malaysia is separated from the states of Sabah and Sarawak by the South China Sea. To the north of Peninsula Malaysia is Thailand while its southern neighbour is Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak are north of Indonesia in Borneo while Sarawak also shares a border with Brunei.

Malaysia gained its independence from Great Britain on the 31st of August 1957 when it left the commonwealth after twelve years of war.

Malaysia has warm tropical whether all year round where temperatures rage from 21°C (70°F) to 32°C (90°F) depending on your altitude. Different parts of the country experience monsoons during different parts of the year.

Set in the heart of Southeast Asia, Malaysia is easily accessible from most parts of the world by air, surface and sea links.

The largest ethnic groups in Malaysia are the Malays, Chinese and Indians. In Sabah and Sarawak, there are countless indigenous ethnic groups with their own unique culture and heritage. Malays, Chinese, Indians and many other ethnic groups have lived together in Malaysia for generations.

The country is among the world’s biggest producers of computer disk drives, palm oil, rubber and timber. It has a state-owned car maker, Proton and tourism has considerable room for expansion.

Dense rainforests in the eastern states of Sarawak and Sabah, on the island of Borneo are a refuge for wildlife and tribal traditions.

Malaysia’s human rights record has come in for international criticism. Internal security laws allow suspects to be detained without charge or trial.

Malaysia’s economic prospects remain healthy, although it faces fierce competition from its neighbours, and from China and India.

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Malaysia - Geography
Full name : Federation of Malaysia
Capital : Kuala Lumpur
Population : 27.17 million (Department of Statistics Malaysia 2007)
Area : 329,758 sq km (127,316 sq. mi)

Geographic Coordinates : 2 30 N, 112 30 E
Monetary unit : Malaysian Ringgit indicated as RM 1 ringgit = 100 sen
International dialling code : +60

Location
Peninsula Malaysia is separated from the states of Sabah and Sarawak by the South China Sea. To the north of Peninsula Malaysia is Thailand while its southern neighbour is Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak are north of Indonesia in Borneo while Sarawak also shares a border with Brunei.

Land : 328, 550 sq km
Water : 1,200 sq km

Land boundaries : 2,669km

Border countries : Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km.
Coastline : 4, 675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068km, East Malaysia 2,607km)

Maritime claims : 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea
Exclusive Economic Zone : 200 NM
Territorial Sea : 12 NM

Climate : Tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons. Annual rainfall varies from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.

Terrain : Coastal plains and interior, jungle-covered mountains.

Lowest point : Indian Ocean 0 m
Highest point : Gunung Kinabalu 4,100m

Land use : Arable land : 5.46%
Permanent crops : 17.54%
Permanent pastures : 0%
Forests and woodland : 68%
Other : 77% (2005)
Irrigated land 2,941 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards : Flooding, landslides and forest fires.

Environment - current issues : air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires.

Environment - International agreements Party to : Biodiversity, climate change, desertification, endangered species, hazardous wastes, law of the sea, marine life conservation, nuclear test ban, ozone layer protection, ship pollution, tropical timber 83, tropical timber 94, wetlands.
Signed but not ratified : Climate change - Kyoto Protocol
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Malaysia - Population
Ethnic groups Malay 50.2%, Chinese 24.5%, indigenous 11.0%, Indian 7.2%, non-Malaysian citizens 5.9%, others 1.2%.

Religion
Islam, Buddhism, Hindusim, Daoism, Christianity. Sikhism; note - in addition Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia

Language
Bahasa Melayu, English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkein, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, Punjabi and other regional dialects and indigenous languages.

Education
Years compulsory : 6. Attendance : 98.5% (primary), 82% (secondary). Literacy: 93.5%.
(Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs December 2007, click here)

Below poverty : 5.%
Urban population : 62.8%
Life expectancy : 71.9 (men), 76.4 (women)
Crude birth rate : 17.6 births

Crude death rate : 4.4 deaths
Total fertility rate : 2.488 children born/woman (2003)

Infant mortality : 6.7 Department of Statistics Malaysia 2007
Maternal mortality : 32.7 per 100,000 live births (2002)
Births attended by skilled health personnel 98%

Sex ration (male/female)
At birth : 1.07
Under 15 : 1.06
15 - 64 : 1.007
65 and over : 0.789
All ages : 1.012
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of April 17, 2007
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Malaysia - Economy
GDP (Official exchange rate) : $132.3 billion.
Annual real GDP rate : 5.2% (2005), 5.9% (2006 est.).
Per capita (GDP) income : $12,900 (2006 est.)
(Source: CIA World Factbook, 2007)

Industry : rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, logging, production and refining.
Agriculture : rubber, palm oil, cacao, rice.
Exports : electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil. (Text source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004)
GNI per capita : US $4,960 (World Bank, 2006)

Natural resources : Tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.
Labour force participation : Male 80.9%, Female 47.3%, Both sexes combined 64.4%
Work force (10.55 million, 2005) : Services 51%; industry 36% (manufacturing 28.4%, mining and Construction 7.6%); agriculture 13%.
Unemployment rate 3.5% (Source: CIA World Factbook, 2007)
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Malaysia - Government
Head of Government
Prime Minister : YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi
Deputy Prime Minister : YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak

Government type : Parliamentary Democracy
Former : Federation of Malaya
Independence : 31 August 1957
Administrative capital : Putrajaya

Largest city : Kuala Lumpur
One of the 12 megacity centers in the world.

Peninsular Malaysia, formed on 31 August 1957; Malaysia (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore) formed 9 July 1963 (Singapore left Malaysia on 9 August 1965); nominally headed by the Prime Minister and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a non-elected upper house and an elected lower house.

Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary royalty rulers in all but Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, where Governors are appointed by the Malaysian Government; powers of state governments are limited by the federal constitution; under terms of the federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitution; (eg: the right to maintain their own immigration controls); Sabah - holds 20 seats in the House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government; Sarawak - holds 28 seats in the House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defence, internal security and other powers delegated to federal government.

Administrative Divisions
13 states and 3 Federal Territories; Negeri Sembilan, Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka, Pahang, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

Legal system
Based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

Legislative branch
Bicameral Parliament, or Parlimen, consists of nonelected Senate or Dewan Negara (69 seats; 43 appointed by the paramount ruler, 26 appointed by state legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms).

Elections
House of Representatives - to be held on 8 March 2008.

Political parties
Barisan Nasional (National Front) - a coalition comprising the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and 13 other parties, most of which are ethnically based; Democratic Action Party (DAP); Parti Islam se Malaysia (PAS); Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). There are more than 30 registered political parties, including the foregoing, not all of which are represented in the federal parliament. Suffrage: Universal adult (voting age 21).

Judicial Branch
Civil Courts include Federal Court, Court of Appeal, High Court of Malaya on peninsula Malaysia, and High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in states of Borneo (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister); Sharia Courts include Sharia Appeal Court, Sharia High Court, and Sharia Subordinate Courts (at state-level and deal with religious and family matters such as custody, divorce, and inheritance, only for Muslims; decisions of Sharia courts cannot be appealed to civil courts.
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