Malaysia (GPS: 2 30 N, 112 30 E) located in Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam. The country’s area measurements are total: 329,847 sq km; land: 328,657 sq km, water: 1,190 sq km. This sovereign state is slightly larger than New Mexico. The total irrigated land is 3,800 sq km (2012).
Strategic location along the Strait of Malacca and the southern South China Sea.
It’s significant, and at the same time, the principal city, Kuala Lumpur’s GPS coordinates are 3 10 N 101 42 E. Kuala Lumpur’s local time is 13 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time. The capital’s time difference: UTC+8.
Google Maps Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur, Southeast Asia
About Malaysia in detail
Flag of Malaysia
Map of Malaysia
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in current Malaysia; Japan occupied these from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula, except Singapore, formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation.
The first several years of the country’s independence were marred by a communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore’s withdrawal in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was prosperous in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to manufacturing, services, and tourism. Prime Minister MAHATHIR and a newly-formed coalition of opposition parties defeated Prime Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul Razak’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO) in May 2018, ending over 60 years of uninterrupted rule by UMNO.
Malaysia’s names conventional long form: none, traditional short form: Malaysia, local long way: none, local short form: Malaysia, former: Federation of Malaya, etymology: the name means “Land of the Malays.” The name means “Land of the Malays.”
Malaysia’s terrain is typically coastal plains rising to hills and mountains. The country’s mean elevation: 419 m, elevation extremes; lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m, highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m.
The general climate in the country; tropical: annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons.
The total number of border countries is 3, Brunei 266 km, Indonesia 1,881 km, Thailand 595 km are the neighboring nations with the indicated border lengths. Malaysia’s coastline is 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km). At the same time, its marital claims are territorial sea: 12 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles, continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea. Waterways: 7,200 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km; Sabah 1,500 km; Sarawak 2,500 km) (2011). Land use: agricultural land: 23.2%; arable land 2.9%; permanent crops 19.4%; permanent pasture 0.9%; forest: 62%; other: 14.8% (2011 estimate).
The population in Malaysia 31,809,660 (July 2018 estimate), urban population: 74.7% of total population (2015), major urban area’s population: KUALA LUMPUR (capital) 6.837 million; Johor Bahru 912,000 (2015), while Malaysia has N/A. Their spoken languages are Bahasa Malaysia (official language), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai. Note: There are several indigenous languages; the most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan. Main religions in Malaysia are Muslim (official) 61.3%, Buddhist 19.8%, Christian 9.2%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 1.3%, other 0.4%, none 0.8%, unspecified 1% (2010 estimate).
The nation uses mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Court at the request of supreme head of the federation. It is a(n) federal constitutional monarchy. Note: nominally headed by the paramount ruler (commonly referred to as the king) and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as sultans) except Melaka (Malacca) and Pulau Pinang (Penang); those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by the government; the federal constitution limits powers of state governments; under terms of the federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their individual immigration controls), National holiday(s) Independence Day 31 August (1957) (independence of Malaya); Malaysia Day 16 September (1963) (formation of Malaysia).
Economic overview for the country: Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country, has transformed itself since the 1970s from a producer of raw materials into a multi-sector economy. Under current Prime Minister NAJIB, Malaysia is attempting to achieve high-income status by 2020 and move further up the value-added production chain by attracting high technology, knowledge-based industries, and services. NAJIB’s Economic Transformation Program is a series of projects and policy measures intended to accelerate its economic growth. The government has also taken steps to liberalize some services sub-sectors. Malaysia is vulnerable to a fall in world commodity prices or a general slowdown in global economic activity. The NAJIB administration is continuing efforts to boost domestic demand and reduce the economy’s dependence on exports. The domestic market continues to anchor economic growth, supported mainly by private consumption, which accounts for 53% of GDP. Notwithstanding, exports – particularly electronics, oil and gas, and palm oil – remain a significant driver of the economy. In 2015, gross exports of goods and services were equivalent to 73% of GDP. The oil and gas sector supplied about 22% of government revenue in 2015, down significantly from prior years amid a decline in commodity prices and diversification of government revenues.
Malaysia has embarked on a fiscal reform program to achieve a balanced budget by 2020, including the rationalization of subsidies and the 2015 introduction of a 6% value-added tax. Throughout the period, sustained low commodity prices strained government finances and shrunk Malaysia’s current account surplus, and weighed heavily on the Malaysian ringgit, which was among the region’s worst-performing currencies during 2013-2017. The ringgit hit new lows following the US presidential election amid a broader selloff of emerging-market assets. Bank Negara Malaysia (the central bank) maintains adequate foreign exchange reserves; A well-developed regulatory regime has limited Malaysia’s exposure to riskier financial instruments, although it remains vulnerable to volatile global capital flows. To increase Malaysia’s competitiveness, Prime Minister NAJIB raised possible revisions to the unique economic and social preferences accorded to ethnic Malays under the New Economic Policy of 1970 but retreated in 2013 after he confronted significant opposition from Malay nationalists and other vested interests.
In September 2013, NAJIB launched the new Bumiputra Economic Empowerment Program, policies that favor and advance the economic condition of ethnic Malays. Malaysia signed the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement in February 2016, although the future of the TPP remains unclear following the US withdrawal from the agreement. Along with nine other ASEAN members, Malaysia established the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, aiming to advance regional economic integration.
Natural resources of Malaysia: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.
Main export partners for Malaysia, Southeast Asia are Singapore 13.9%, China 13%, Japan 9.5%, US 9.4%, Thailand 5.7%, Hong Kong 4.7%, India 4.1% (2015) for semiconductors and electronic equipment, palm oil, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals, solar panels, while the main import partners for the country are: China 18.8%, Singapore 12%, US 8.1%, Japan 7.8%, Thailand 6.1%, South Korea 4.5%, Indonesia 4.5% (2015) for electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals.
When you visit this country in Southeast Asia, consider the natural hazards in Malaysia: Flooding, landslides, forest fires, while infectious diseases are a degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea vectorborne diseases: dengue fever water contact disease: leptospirosis (2016). Also, note that Malaysia faces the following environmental issues: Air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions, water pollution from raw sewage, Deforestation, Smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires, Endangered species, Coastal reclamation damaging mangroves and turtle nesting sites.
You may also be interested in Malaysia’s surrounding countries around its total 2,742 km border, like Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand.
