About Malaysia

Official Name Capital Population Area Currency Religion Literacy Languages Major Cities Climate

Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 25 million (2008) 330,434 sq km or 127,581 sq km Ringgit ($1=3.80) Islam (official), Hinduism, Buddhism 83% Malay (official), English, Chinese, Tamil Ipoh, Johor Baharu, Melaka, Petaling Jaya Hot and humid

INTRODUCTION Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a federation of the former British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, including the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo. But Malaya became independent in 1957 and Singapore's separated in 1965.
Geographical Location

Malaysia Political map also shows the geographical coordinates of the country which are 2 30' North latitude and 112 30' East longitude. Located between 20 and 7 north of the Equator,
Peninsular Malaysia is separated from the states of Sabah and Sarawak by the South China Sea. To the north of Peninsular Malaysia is Thailand while its southern neighbor is Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak share a common border with Indonesia while Sarawak also shares a border with Brunei Darussalam

lies on a small section of the northern coast, and also with the Kalimantan region of Indonesia, which lies to the south. Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia and lies on the

coordinates of 3 08' North and 101 42' East latitude and longitude respectively. It is situated at a height of 60 meters above sea level. Malaysia has a tropical climate, which is warm and
humid throughout the year with cooler temperatures in the hill resorts. Temperatures range from 21 degree Celsius to 32 degree Celsius. It is a beautiful country with coastal plains rising to hills and mountains. Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of GMT and 16 hours ahead of the U.S. Pacific Standard Times.

Malaysia covers an area of 329,750 sq km. The total area of the country is 329, 750 square kilometers. The total area is divided into land and water. The land area comprises of 328,550 square kilometers and the rest 1,200 square kilometers is covered by water bodies. The coastline extends over 4, 675 kilometers. Gunung Kinabalu situated 4,100 meters above sea level and Indian Ocean is the lowest point.

The neighboring countries and islands of Malaysia shown in Malaysia map are:

Vietnam Borneo Cambodia Thailand Sumatra Brunei Indonesia Philippines

The water bodies and bays surrounding this country are:

Sulu Sea South China Sea Celebes Sea Gulf of Thailand

Malaysia is divided into two regions, known as West Malaysia and East Malaysia. West Malaysia is the
Peninsular, which comprises of 11 states. East Malaysia comprises the two states of Sabah and Sarawak, which are situated on the Island of Borneo. Malaysia comprises 13 states and two federal territories - Kuala Lumpur and Labuan (an island off the coast of Sabah). Nine of the states have a hereditary ruler from which the Supreme Head of State, the Yang DiPertuan Agong (King), is elected every five years. The government is based on parliamentary democracy. The head of the government, the Prime Minister, heads the cabinet of Ministers. The coastal plains rise to hills and mountains. The city's

airports are Kuala Lampur, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur International and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International.

Flag of Malaysia

The Malaysian flag contains 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteenpointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US. Climate of Malaysia Except for the highlands, Malaysia's climate is hot and humid round the year. Average daily temperatures vary from about 20 to 30C and the average annual rainfall for the peninsula is about 2,500 mm. The exposed northern slopes of Sarawak and Sabah receive as much as 5,080 mm of rain per year. Flora And Fauna of Malaysia The flora of Malaysia spreads out to coastal mangrove forests in lowland tropical forests and at elevations over 3,900 ft, to mossy or mountain oak forests. The country is estimated to contain 8,000 species of flowering plants, including some 2,500 species of trees. Some of the most important commercial timber species like mahogany and teak are also found here. The world's largest flower, the giant rafflesia (also known as corpse lily), and the largest of the pitcher plants, the Nepenthes rajah, which can hold up to 2 liters of water, grow here.

As far as fauna of Malaysia is concerned, the country has everything from Asian elephants to tigers to bears to rhinoceroses to some 500 species of birds to over a 100 species of snakes and 80 species of lizards to a huge collection of insects. People of Malaysia Malaysia has a multicultural society, with Malays, Chinese and Indians coexisting. The Malays who are Muslims and speak Bahasa are the largest community and are politically strong. The Chinese comprising about a third of the population are Buddhists and Taoists, and speak Hokkein, Hakka and Cantonese, and are dominant in business. Indians accounting for about 10% of the population are mainly Hindu Tamils and speak Tamil, Malayalam, and some Hindi, and occupy larger towns on the west coast. There is also a sizeable Sikh community. Eurasians and indigenous tribes make up the remaining population. Despite Bahasa Malaysia being the official language, English is the connective element. Arts, Culture and Music of Malaysia Heavily influenced by Chinese and Islamic forms of music, Malaysian music is based largely around the gendang (drum), but also includes percussion instruments, flutes, trumpets and gongs. A strong tradition of dance and dance dramas is prevalent, some of which are of Thai, Indian and Portuguese origin. Other artistic forms include wayang kulit (shadow-puppets), silat (a stylized martial art) and crafts such as batik, weaving and silver and brass work. Economy of Malaysia Malaysia has emerged from being a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. The mainstay of the economy has been the export of electronics. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and relatively small external debt make it a healthy economy.
Malaysia's economy was once exclusively based on agricultural commodities. It is still one of the world's largest producers of rubber, tin, palm oil, timber, and pepper. However, the current government had aspired to shift the economy to manufacturing and service based. Today, manufacturing forms the largest single component of Malaysia's economy. Revenue from oil and natural gas reserves together with increasing foreign investments have helped the economy diversify into car production and the manufacturing of computers. Tourism is also emerging as a major source of revenue. Malaysia has become one of the greatest economic success stories of Asia.

State Capitals of Malaysia The state capitals are denoted with white squares on the Malaysia map. The state capitals of the country are: Johor Bahru Alor Star

Kota Bharu Malacca Town Seremban Kuantan George Town Ipoh Kangar Kota Kinabalu Kuching Shah Alam Kuala Terengganu

The Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia is the largest cave in the world is 2300 feet (701 meters) long, 1300 feet (400 meters) wide, and more than 230 feet (70 meters) high.

Outline Map of Malaysia

Malaysia Mineral Map

Mineral NameSymbol Mineral NameSymbol Alunite Alumina Aluminium Andalusite and Antimony Arsenic Asbestos Asphalt Barite Bauxite Bentonite Beryllium/beryl Bismuth Bitumen (natural) Cesium Chromite Bit Boron Clays Bromine Coal Cadmium Calcium Carbon black Copper Cement Corundum Cobalt Columbium (Niobium)

Cryolite Diamond Diatomite Dolomite Emerald Emery Feldspar Ferroalloys Ferrochrome Ferromanganese Ferronickel Ferrosilicon Fertilizer Fluorspar Gallium Garnet Gemstones Germanium Gold Graphite Gypsum Indium Iron and steel Iron ore Jade Kaolin Limestone Kyanite Lapis lazuli Liquified natural gas Lead Lead/Zinc Liquified petroleum gas Lignite Lig Lithium Lime Magnesium

Magnesite Marble and alabaster Marl Mercury Mica Molybdenum Natural gas Natural gas liquids Nepheline syenite Nickel Nitrates Nitrogen (ammonia plants) Ochre Oil sands Oil shale Olivine Opal Peat Perlite Petroleum, crude Petroleum refinery products Phosphate Pig iron Pig Pigments, iron Platinum

Platinum-group metals Potash Pozzolana Pumice Pyrite Pyrophyllite Quartz or quartzite Rare earths Rhenium Salt Sand and gravel Sandstone Selenium Sepiolite, meerschaum Serpentine Shale Silicon Sillimanite Silver Soapstone Sodium Chloride Talc Tantalum Soda ash, trona Tellurium Sodium sulfate Tin Umber Titan Stone Strontium Vanadium Sulfur

Thorium Tungsten Zircon

Titanium (Rutile or Ilmenite) Vermiculite

Titanium dioxide (processed) Wollastonite Yttrium Zinc

Uranium

PETRONAS-Malaysia

Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) [International Islamic University Malaysia]

Crystal Mosque Kuala Terengganu

Penang Bridge Malaysia

Sabah Malaysia

Sabah Malaysia

Batu caves

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

New Parliament

Borneo-malaysia

References

http://www.unescap.org/huset/lgstudy/country/malaysia/malaysia.html http://www.mapsofworld.com/malaysia/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html

Presentation format for next week (names will be called randomly and make it a point to be present when your name is called, please). A total oof four slides maximum plus one cover slide. 1. Geographical features and any special feature if your country has it; 2. a quick listing of key indicators, especially the key ones that you think are important for people to know; 3. comparison with US and India (the year should be compatible, e.g. if your literacy ratio is for the year 2009, it should be compared with US for 2009, etc.) 4. sum up and make your own observations and any other unique feature that you want to mention (export/import or how the country is unique or what the country can do better). 4 minutes presentation and one minute for a question-answer. Do well and be prepared, practice it and time it because we will have a stop watch exactly for five minutes. All the best, see you all on Monday. Dr. Prita Chathoth
Major exports: petroleum, electronic equipment, palm oil, wood and wood products, rubber and textiles. Major imports: machinery and equipment, chemicals and food. Natural Resources: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas and bauxite. Main agriculture products: natural rubber, palm oil, rice, coconuts, pepper and timber. Major Industries: Tin, rubber, palm oil, timber, oil, textiles, electronics Major Trading Partners: Singapore, Japan, USA

Value added (as % of GDP)

10.63%

44.97%

Agriculture Industry Services 44.41%