| Local name: Persekutuan Tanah Malaysia
- |
| Surface : 329,733
sq km (127,311 sq miles) - Located in South East Asia, Malaysia
consists of two distinct parts namely the Peninsular and East
Malaysia.
The Federation of Malaysia comprises of 13 states and the Federal
Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan. The Peninsular extends
southwards from Thailand. It's closest neighbors are Indonesia,
Thailand and Myanmar. The Peninsular is further divided into 11 states
and a federal territory. The remaining two states makes up East
Malaysia, located at the northern tip of the Borneo Island. Malaysia
shares the island with Indonesia and Brunei. |
| Population : 23,266,000
inhabitants |
| Electricity: 220
volts AC, 50Hz. Square three-pin plugs and bayonet-type light fittings
are generally used |
| Climate: Tropical
without extremely high temperatures. Days are very warm, while nights
are fairly cool. The main rainy season in the east runs between
November and February, while August is the wettest period on the west
coast. East Malaysia has heavy rains (November to February) in Sabah
and in Sarawak. However, it is difficult to generalise about the
country’s climate, as rainfall differs on the east and west coasts
according to the prevailing monsoon winds (northeast or southwest). |
| Passports:
A valid passport or other travel documents
recognised by the Malaysian government required by all. The former
must have enough pages for the embarkation stamp upon arrival and be
valid for at least 6 months at date of entry. The latter should be
endorsed with a valid re-entry permit. - Restricted
entry: Nationals of Israel and Serbia
and Montenegro (unless in transit and staying inside the airport).
Foreign women who are at least 6 months pregnant (unless in transit)
and those of scruffy appearance may be denied entry |
| Capital : Kuala
Lumpur. Population: 1,297,526 |
| System : Constitutional
monarchy since 1963. Gained independence from the UK in 1957 -
Malaysia has a complex federal political system, with extensive local
power still in the hands of nine hereditary sultans, who elect the
head of state (entitled HM the Yang di-Pertuan Agong) every five years
from among their number. There are 13 states plus two ‘Federal
Territories’ (Kuala Lumpur and the island of Labuan). |
| Languages : Bahasa
Malaysia is the national and official language, but English is widely
spoken. Other languages such as Chinese (Cantonese and Hokkien), Iban
and Tamil are spoken by minorities. |
| Religions : Muslim
(53 per cent) and Buddhist (19 per cent) majorities. The remainder are
Christian, Taoist, Confucianist, Hindu and Animist. |
| Money : Ringgit
(RM) = 100 sen. Notes are in denominations of RM1000, 500, 100, 50,
10, 5, 2 and 1. The RM1000 and RM500 notes are now being phased out.
Coins are in denominations of RM1, and 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 sen. |
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