| Malaysia |
|
|
Motto: "Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu"[1]
"Unity Is Strength" |
Anthem: Negaraku
My Country
|
Location of Malaysia (green)
|
Capital
and largest city |
Kuala Lumpur
Putrajaya (administrative)
3°08′N 101°42′E / 3.133°N 101.700°E / 3.133; 101.700 |
| Official languages |
Malaysian |
| Official script |
Malay (Latin) alphabet |
| Recognised languages |
English |
| Ethnic groups ([2]) |
|
| Demonym |
Malaysian[3] |
| Government |
Federal parliamentary
constitutional monarchy, Elective monarchy |
| - |
King |
Abdul Halim |
| - |
Prime minister |
Najib Tun Razak (BN) |
| - |
Deputy prime minister |
Muhyiddin Yassin (BN) |
| Legislature |
Parliament |
| - |
Upper house |
Dewan Negara |
| - |
Lower house |
Dewan Rakyat |
| Independence from the United Kingdom |
| - |
Independence of the Federation of Malaya |
31 August 1957[4] |
| - |
Independence of Sarawak |
22 July 1963[5] |
| - |
Self-government of North Borneo |
31 August 1963[6] |
| - |
Federation of
Malaya, North Borneo,
Sarawak, Singapore |
16 September 1963 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
329,847 km2 (67th)
127,355 sq mi |
| - |
Water (%) |
0.3 |
| Population |
| - |
2015 estimate |
30,482,000[7] (42nd) |
| - |
2010 census |
28,334,135[8] |
| - |
Density |
92/km2 (116th)
237/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) |
2015 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$800.169 billion[9] (28th) |
| - |
Per capita |
$25,833.204[9] (42nd) |
| GDP (nominal) |
2015 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$375.633 billion[9] (35th) |
| - |
Per capita |
$12,127.206[9] (65th) |
| Gini (2009) |
 46.2[10]
high · 36th |
| HDI (2013) |
 0.773[11]
high · 62nd |
| Currency |
Ringgit (RM) (MYR) |
| Time zone |
MST (UTC+8) |
| - |
Summer (DST) |
not observed (UTC+8) |
| Date format |
dd-mm-yyyy |
| Drives on the |
left |
| Calling code |
+60 |
| ISO 3166 code |
MY |
| Internet TLD |
.my |
Malaysia (
i// mə-LAY-zhə or
i// mə-LAY-see-ə) (
Malaysian pronunciation: [məlejsiə]) is a
federal constitutional monarchy located in
Southeast Asia. It consists of
thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the
South China Sea into two similarly sized regions,
Peninsular Malaysia and
East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with
Thailand and maritime borders with
Singapore,
Vietnam, and
Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with
Brunei and
Indonesia and a maritime border with the
Philippines. The capital city is
Kuala Lumpur, while
Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population was 28.33 million, with 22.6 million living in Peninsular Malaysia. The southernmost point of continental
Eurasia,
Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the
tropics. It is one of 17
megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of
endemic species.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the
British Empire. The first British territories were known as the
Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the
Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the
Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with
North Borneo,
Sarawak, and
Singapore on 16 September 1963, with
si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. Less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation.
The country is
multi-ethnic and
multi-cultural, which plays a large role in politics. The
constitution declares
Islam the
state religion while protecting
freedom of religion. The government system is closely modelled on the
Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on
common law. The
head of state is the king, known as the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is an
elected monarch chosen from the hereditary
rulers of the nine
Malay states every five years. The head of government is the
prime minister.
Since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its
GDP growing at an average of 6.5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and
medical tourism. Today, Malaysia has a
newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia and
29th largest in the world. It is a founding member of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the
East Asia Summit and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and a member of
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the
Commonwealth of Nations, and the
Non-Aligned Movement.
Etymology
"Malaysia" used as a label for the
Malay Archipelago on a 1914 map from a United States atlas
The name "Malaysia" is a combination of the word "Malay" and the Latin-Greek suffix "-sia"/-σία.
[12] The word "
melayu" in
Malay may derive from the
Tamil words "
malai" and "
ur" meaning "mountain" and "city, land", respectively.
[13][14][15] "
Malayadvipa" was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the
Malay Peninsula.
[16][17][18][19][20] Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word "
melayu" or "
mlayu" may have been used in early
Malay/
Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the strong current of the river Melayu in
Sumatra.
[21] The name was later adopted by the
Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra.
[22][23]
Before the onset of European colonisation, the
Malay Peninsula was known natively as "
Tanah Melayu" ("Malay Land").
[24][25] Under a racial classification created by a German scholar
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, the natives of
maritime Southeast Asia were grouped into a single category, the
Malay race.
[26][27] Following the expedition of French navigator
Jules Dumont d'Urville to
Oceania in 1826, he later proposed the terms of "Malaysia", "
Micronesia" and "
Melanesia" to the
Société de Géographie in 1831, distinguishing these Pacific cultures and island groups from the existing term "
Polynesia". Dumont d'Urville described Malaysia as "an area commonly known as the East Indies".
[28] In 1850, the English ethnologist
George Samuel Windsor Earl, writing in the
Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, proposed naming the islands of Southeast Asia as "Melayunesia" or "Indunesia", favouring the former.
[29] In modern terminology, "Malay" remains the name of an
ethnoreligious group of
Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the
Malay Peninsula and portions of the adjacent islands of
Southeast Asia, including the east coast of
Sumatra, the coast of
Borneo, and smaller islands that lie between these areas.
[30]
The state that gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1957 took the name the "
Federation of Malaya", chosen in preference to other potential names such as "
Langkasuka", after the historic kingdom located at the upper section of the Malay Peninsula in the first millennium CE.
[31][32] The name "Malaysia" was adopted in 1963 when the existing states of the Federation of Malaya, plus Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak formed a new federation.
[33] One theory suggests the name was chosen due to the addition of "si" to "Malaya", representing the inclusion of Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak, in Malaya in 1963.
[33] Politicians in the Philippines contemplated renaming their state "Malaysia" before the modern country took the name.
[34]
History
Evidence of modern human habitation in Malaysia dates back 40,000 years.
[35] In the Malay Peninsular, the first inhabitants are thought to be
Negritos.
[36] Traders and settlers from India and China arrived as early as the first century AD, establishing trading ports and coastal towns in the second and third centuries. Their presence resulted in strong Indian and Chinese influences on the local cultures, and the people of the Malay Peninsula adopted the religions of
Hinduism and
Buddhism.
Sanskrit inscriptions appear as early as the fourth or fifth century.
[37] The Kingdom of
Langkasuka arose around the second century in the northern area of the Malay Peninsula, lasting until about the 15th century.
[31] Between the 7th and 13th centuries, much of the southern Malay Peninsula was part of the maritime
Srivijaya Empire. After the fall of Srivijaya, the
Majapahit Empire had influence over most of Peninsular Malaysia and the Malay Archipelago.
[38] Islam began to spread among Malays in the 14th century.
[3] In the early 15th century,
Parameswara, a prince of the former Srivijayan Empire, founded the
Malacca Sultanate, commonly considered the first independent state in the peninsula area.
[39] Malacca was an important commercial centre during this time, attracting trade from around the region.
In 1511, Malacca was conquered by
Portugal,
[3] after which it was taken by the
Dutch in 1641. In 1786, the
British Empire established a presence in Malaya, when the Sultan of Kedah leased
Penang to the British
East India Company. The British obtained the town of
Singapore in 1819,
[40] and in 1824 took control of Malacca following the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty. By 1826, the British directly controlled Penang, Malacca, Singapore, and the island of
Labuan, which they established as the crown colony of the
Straits Settlements. By the 20th century, the states of
Pahang,
Selangor,
Perak, and
Negeri Sembilan, known together as the
Federated Malay States, had British
residents appointed to advise the Malay rulers, to whom the rulers were bound to defer to by treaty.
[41] The remaining five states in the peninsula, known as the
Unfederated Malay States, while not directly under British rule, also accepted British advisers around the turn of the 20th century. Development on the peninsula and Borneo were generally separate until the 19th century. Under British rule the
immigration of Chinese and Indians to serve as labourers was encouraged.
[42] The area that is now
Sabah came under British control as
North Borneo when both the
Sultan of Brunei and the
Sultan of Sulu transferred their respective territorial rights of ownership, between 1877 and 1878.
[43] In 1842, Sarawak was ceded by the Sultan of Brunei to
James Brooke, whose successors ruled as the
White Rajahs over an independent
kingdom until 1946, when it became a
crown colony.
[44]
In the Second World War, the Japanese Army
invaded and occupied
Malaya,
North Borneo, Sarawak, and
Singapore for over three years. During this time, ethnic tensions were raised and nationalism grew.
[45] Popular support for independence increased after Malaya was reconquered, by Allied forces.
[46] Post-war British plans to unite the administration of Malaya under a single crown colony called the "
Malayan Union" met with strong opposition from the
Malays, who opposed the weakening of the Malay rulers and the granting of citizenship to the
ethnic Chinese. The Malayan Union, established in 1946, and consisting of all the British possessions in the Malay Peninsula with the exception of Singapore, was quickly dissolved and replaced by the
Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection.
[47] During this time, mostly Chinese rebels under the leadership of the
Malayan Communist Party launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya. The
Malayan Emergency lasted from 1948 to 1960, and involved a long anti-insurgency campaign by
Commonwealth troops in Malaya.
[48] After this a plan was put in place to federate Malaya with the crown colonies of North Borneo (which joined as Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore. The proposed date of federation was 31 August 1963; however, the date was delayed until 16 September 1963 due to opposition from Indonesia's
Sukarno and the
Sarawak United Peoples' Party.
[49]
Federation brought heightened tensions including a
conflict with Indonesia, Singapore's
eventual exit in 1965,
[50][51] and racial strife. This strife culminated in the
13 May race riots in 1969.
[52] After the riots, the controversial
New Economic Policy was launched by Prime Minister
Tun Abdul Razak, trying to increase the share of the economy held by the
bumiputera.
[53] Under Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad there was a period of rapid economic growth and urbanisation beginning in the 1980s. The economy shifted from being agriculturally based to one based on manufacturing and industry. Numerous mega-projects were completed, such as the
Petronas Towers, the
North-South Expressway, the
Multimedia Super Corridor, and the new federal administrative capital of
Putrajaya.
[33] However, in the late 1990s the
Asian financial crisis almost caused the collapse of the currency and the stock and property markets.
[54]
Government and politics
Malaysia is a
federal constitutional elective monarchy. The system of government is closely modelled on that of the
Westminster parliamentary system, a legacy of
British colonial rule.
[55] The head of state is the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commonly referred to as the King. The King is elected to a five-year term by and from among the nine hereditary
rulers of the
Malay states; the other four states, which have titular
Governors, do not participate in the selection. By informal agreement the position is systematically rotated among the nine,
[55] and has been held by
Abdul Halim of Kedah since December 2011.
[56] The King's role has been largely ceremonial since changes to the
constitution in 1994, picking ministers and members of the upper house.
[57]
Legislative power is divided between federal and state legislatures. The bicameral federal
parliament consists of the
lower house, the
House of Representatives and the
upper house, the
Senate.
[58] The 222-member House of Representatives is elected for a maximum term of five years from single-member constituencies. All 70 senators sit for three-year terms; 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies, and the remaining 44 are appointed by the King upon the Prime Minister's recommendation.
[3] The parliament follows a multi-party system and the government is elected through a
first-past-the-post system. Since independence Malaysia has been governed by a multi-party coalition known as the
Barisan Nasional.
[3]
Each state has a unicameral
State Legislative Assembly whose members are elected from single-member constituencies. State governments are led by
Chief Ministers,
[3] who are state assembly members from the majority party in the assembly. In each of the states with a hereditary ruler, the Chief Minister is normally required to be a
Malay, appointed by the ruler upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
[59] Parliamentary
elections are held at least once every five years, the most recent of which took place in May 2013.
[3] Registered voters of age 21 and above may vote for the members of the House of Representatives and, in most of the states, for the state legislative chamber. Voting is not mandatory.
[60] Except for state elections in Sarawak, by
convention state elections are held concurrently with the federal election.
[57]
Executive power is vested in the
Cabinet, led by the
Prime Minister. The prime minister must be a member of the house of representatives, who in the opinion of the King, commands a majority in parliament. The cabinet is chosen from members of both houses of Parliament.
[3] The Prime Minister is both the head of cabinet and the head of government.
[57] The incumbent,
Najib Razak, appointed in 2009, is the sixth prime minister.
[61]
Malaysia's legal system is based on
English Common Law.
[3] Although
the judiciary is theoretically independent, its independence has been called into question and the appointment of judges lacks accountability and transparency.
[62] The highest court in the judicial system is the
Federal Court, followed by the
Court of Appeal and two
high courts, one for Peninsular Malaysia and one for East Malaysia. Malaysia also has a special court to hear cases brought by or against royalty.
[63] The
death penalty is in use for crimes such as murder,
terrorism and
drug trafficking.
[64] Separate from and running parallel to the civil courts
[65] are the
Syariah Courts, which apply
Shariah law to Muslims
[66] in the areas of
family law and religious observances.
Race is a significant force in politics, and many political parties are ethnically based.
[3] Affirmative actions such as the
New Economic Policy[53] and the
National Development Policy which superseded it, were implemented to advance the standing of the
bumiputera, consisting of Malays and the indigenous tribes who are considered the original inhabitants of Malaysia, over non-
bumiputera such as Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indians.
[67] These policies provide preferential treatment to
bumiputera in employment, education, scholarships, business, and access to cheaper housing and assisted savings. However, it has generated greater interethnic resentment.
[68] There is ongoing
debate over whether the laws and society of Malaysia should reflect secular or Islamic principles.
[69] Islamic criminal laws passed by the
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party in state legislative assembly of Kelantan have been blocked by the federal government on the basis that criminal laws are the responsibility of the federal government.
[70]
Foreign relations and military
A founding member of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
[71] and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),
[72] the country participates in many international organisations such as the
United Nations,
[73] the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation,
[74] the
Developing 8 Countries,
[75] and the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
[76] It has chaired ASEAN, the OIC, and the NAM in the past.
[3] A former British colony, it is also a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations.
[77] Kuala Lumpur was the site of the first
East Asia Summit in 2005.
[78]
Malaysia's foreign policy is officially based on the principle of neutrality and maintaining peaceful relations with all countries, regardless of their political system.
[79] The government attaches a high priority to the security and stability of
Southeast Asia,
[78] and seeks to further develop relations with other countries in the region. Historically the government has tried to portray Malaysia as a progressive Islamic nation
[79] while strengthening relations with other Islamic states.
[78] A strong tenet of Malaysia's policy is national sovereignty and the right of a country to control its domestic affairs.
[57]
The policy towards territorial disputes by the government is one of pragmatism, with the government solving disputes in a number of ways, such as bringing the case to the
International Court of Justice.
[80] The
Spratly Islands are disputed by many states in the area, and the entirety of the
South China Sea is claimed by
China. Nevertheless, unlike its neighbours of
Vietnam and the
Philippines, Malaysia has avoided any conflicts with China.
[81] Brunei and Malaysia in 2009 announced an end to claims of each other's land, and to resolve issues related to their maritime borders.
[82] The Philippines has a
dormant claim to the eastern part of Sabah. Singapore's land reclamation has caused tensions, and maritime border disputes exist with Indonesia.
[83]
Malaysia has never recognised
Israel and has no diplomatic ties with it.
[84] It has remained a strong supporter of the
State of Palestine,
[85] and has called for Israel to be taken to the
International Criminal Court over the
Gaza flotilla raid.
[86] Malaysian peacekeeping forces are present in
Lebanon[87] and have contributed to many other UN peacekeeping missions.
[3][88]
The
Malaysian Armed Forces have three branches, the
Royal Malaysian Navy, the
Malaysian Army, and the
Royal Malaysian Air Force. There is no conscription, and the required age for voluntary military service is 18. The military uses 1.5% of the country's GDP, and employs 1.23% of Malaysia's manpower.
[89] Currently, Malaysia is undergoing major program to expand and modernise all three branches of its armed forces.
The
Five Power Defence Arrangements is a regional security initiative which has been in place for almost 40 years. It involves joint military exercises held among Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
[90] Joint exercises and war games also been held with Brunei,
[91] China,
[92] Indonesia
[93] and the United States.
[94] Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand have agreed to host joint security force exercises to secure their maritime border and tackle issues such as illegal immigration and
smuggling.
[95][96] There are fears that unrest in the Muslim areas of the
Mindanao, Philippines
[97] and
southern Thailand
[98] could spill over into Malaysia.
Subdivisions
Malaysia is a
federation of 13 states and three federal territories. These are divided between two regions, with 11 states and two federal territories on
Peninsular Malaysia and the other two states and one federal territory in
East Malaysia. Each state is divided into
districts, which are then divided into
mukim. In
Sabah and
Sarawak districts are grouped into divisions.
![Location of Malaysia (green)in ASEAN (dark grey) – [Legend]](https://www.blogger.com/wiki/File:Location_Malaysia_ASEAN.svg)
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