Malaysia |
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Malaysia is situated in Southeast Asia, bordering Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. The South China Sea separates Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are the capital and seat of the government of Malaysia respectively. It is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, and the Developing 8 Countries. HISTORY:- The earliest inhabitants of the region migrated from 2500 to 1500 BC. Seafaring Indians arrived in the land and introduced Hinduism. In the 15th century, the Hindu King of Malacca Dynasty, Parameswara Dewa Shah converted to Islam and Islam was officially introduced in the country. In 1511, the Portuguese conquered Malacca. After the fall of Malacca, disagreement started between Portugal and the two descendents of Malacca Empire. In 1641, the Dutch conquered Malacca. In 1786, the British colonized the Malayan coasts. In 1824, they divided Malaysia between two separate Britain and the Netherlands zones under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. To restore peace in the land, Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan came under de facto British control with the name of Federated Malay States in the beginning of the 20th century. During the World War II, Japan invaded Malaysia. The growing national movement led the British to establish the semi-autonomous Federation of Malaya in 1948. But Malayan Emergency continued from 1948 to 1960 to control guerrilla operations led by the Malayan Communist Party. In 1963, with the federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah (North Borneo), and Sarawak, Malaysia became independent. In 1965, Singapore broke up with the federation and since then Sabah and Sarawak were known as East Malaysia and the remaining as the West Malaysia. GEOGRAPHY:- Malaysia is located at 2 30 N, 112 30 E in Southeastern Asia, spanning across 329,750 sq km area (land: 328,550 sq km; water: 1,200 sq km). The coastline is 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km) long bordering the South China Sea. The lowest point is Indian Ocean (0 m) and the highest point is Gunung Kinabalu (4,100 m). Both West and East Malaysia are mostly formed of coastal plains rising to hills and mountains. CLIMATE:- The climate of Malaysia is mostly tropical. GOVERNMENT:- Malaysia has a constitutional monarchy. The constitution was adopted on 31st August 1957. The legal system is based on the English common law. The three major branches of the government are: Executive branch comprises the Sultan (chief of state), the Prime minister (head of government), the Deputy Prime Minister and cabinet. The Prime minister is elected from the House of Representatives. The cabinet is appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with the consent of the Paramount Ruler Sultan. Legislative branch comprises the bicameral Parliament, consists of the Senate (70 seats), and the House of Representatives (222 seats). Judicial branch comprises Civil Courts and Sharia Courts. Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Malaysian Chinese Association, Malaysian Indian Congress, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, Parti Rakyat Sarawak are some of the major political parties included in the ruling coalition- Barisan Nasional. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18. Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Sultan) Mizan Zainal Abidin Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Najib bin Abdul Razak ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Malaysia is divided into 13 states (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, and Terengganu) and 3 federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya). CULTURE:- Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual nation. Malaysian music is influenced by the Chinese and Islamic music. Gendang, rebab, serunai, flutes, and trumpets are the traditional musical instrument of Malaysia. ECONOMY:- Malaysia is a middle-income country to have multi-sector economy. GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $248.7 billion; per capita $10,400. Real growth rate: 5.2%. Inflation: 2.9%. Unemployment: 3.6%. 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. Budget: Revenues: $40.69 billion Expenditures: $46.7 billion (2007 est.) Public debt: 41.6% of GDP (2007 est.) Debt - external: $53.45 billion (31 December 2007) 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). Monetary unit: Ringgit LANGUAGE:- Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of Malaysia while English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai, Iban and Kadazan are widely spoken. CITIES:- The capital Kuala Lumpur is the largest city of Malaysia. Other major cities are George Town, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Alor Star, Malacca Town, and Klang. POPULATION:- The approximate population of Malaysia is 24,821,286 with a growth rate of 1.8%. Density per sq mi: 196 Literacy rate: 89% (2003 est.) RACE:- Malay 50.4% Chinese 23.7% Indigenous 11% Indian 7.1% Others 7.8% (2004) RELIGION:- Muslim 60.4% Buddhist 19.2% Christian 9.1% Hindu 6.3% Confucianism Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6% Other or unknown 1.5% None 0.8% (2000) HEALTH:- Birth rate: 22.44 births/1,000 population (2008 est.) Death rate: 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 16.39 deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.03 years HIV/AIDS - deaths: 2,000 (2003 est.) Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2004): 454 UNICEF:- The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS global campaign was launched in Malaysia to promote HIV awareness, prevention, care and treatment. UNICEF partners with the Ministry of Education and Health for child development, protection, participation and responsibility. TRANSPORTATION:- Railways: total: 2,418 km (2002). Highways: total: 65,877 km (1999). Waterways: 7,296 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). Posted by subhasis on Wednesday Jul 30 reply Comments |
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