Malaysia

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Not to be confused with Malesia.

Malaysia

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu[1]

"Unity is Strength"

Anthem: Negaraku
"My Country"

1:25

Show globe Show map of Southeast Asia Show all

 Location of Malaysia (dark green)

– in Asia (dark gray & white)

– in ASEAN (dark gray)

Capital Putrajaya (administrative)
2°56′N 101°42′E
Kuala Lumpur (ceremonial, legislative and
judicial)
3°8′N 101°41′E

Largest city Kuala Lumpur

Official language Malay[a][b][c]

Recognised English[c]
language

Ethnic groups See below

Religion See below

Demonym(s) Malaysian

Government Federal parliamentary constitutional elective
monarchy

• Monarch Abdullah
• Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob

Legislature Parliament

• Upper house Dewan Negara (Senate)

• Lower house Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)

Independence 
from the United Kingdom
• Federation of 31 August 1957[2]
Malaya
• Sarawak self- 22 July 1963
governance
• North Borneo self- 31 August 1963[3]
governance
• Proclamation of 16 September 1963
Malaysia

Area
• Total 330,803 km2 (127,724 sq mi) (67th)
 • Water (%) 0.3

Population
• 2022 estimate 33,871,431[4] (43rd)
• 2020 census 32,447,385[5]
• Density 98/km2 (253.8/sq mi) (116th)

GDP (PPP) 2022 estimate
• Total  $1.089 trillion [6] (31th)

• Per capita  $32,901[6] (54th)

GDP (nominal) 2022 estimate
• Total  $439.373 billion[6] (34th)

• Per capita  $13,268[6] (66th)

Gini (2015)  41[7]
medium

HDI (2021)  0.803[8]
very high · 62nd

Currency Ringgit (RM) (MYR)

Time zone UTC+8 (MST)

Date format dd-mm-yyyy

Driving side left

Calling code +60

ISO 3166 code MY

Internet TLD .my

Malaysia (/məˈleɪziə, -ʒə/ ( listen) mə-LAY-zee-ə, -zhə; Malay: [məlejsiə]) is a country

in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and
three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions, Peninsular
Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. 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 and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, largest city and the
seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. The nearby planned
capital of Putrajaya is the administrative capital, which represents the seat of both
the executive branch (Cabinet, federal ministries and agencies) and the judicial
branch of the federal government. With a population of over 32 million, Malaysia is the
 world's 45th-most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is
in Tanjung Piai. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, home to
numerous endemic species.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms which, from the 18th century, became
subject to the British Empire, along with the British Straits Settlements protectorate.
Peninsular Malaysia was unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was
restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and achieved independence on 31
August 1957. The independent Malaya united with the then British crown
colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become
Malaysia. In August 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation and became
a separate independent country.[9]
The country is multiethnic and multicultural, which has a significant effect on its politics.
About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Chinese, Indians,
and indigenous peoples. The country's official language is Malaysian Malay, a standard
form of the Malay language. English remains an active second language. While
recognising Islam as the country's established religion, the constitution grants freedom
of religion to non-Muslims. The government is modelled on the Westminster
parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of
state is an elected monarch, chosen from among the nine state sultans every five years.
The head of government is the Prime Minister.
After independence, the Malaysian GDP grew 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.
Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third-largest in Southeast
Asia and 33rd-largest in the world.[10] It is a founding member of ASEAN, EAS, OIC and
a member of APEC, the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
 3Government and politics
o 3.1Administrative divisions
o 3.2Foreign relations and military
o 3.3Human rights
 4Geography
o 4.1Biodiversity and conservation
 5Economy
o 5.1Infrastructure
 6Demographics
o 6.1Religion
o 6.2Languages
o 6.3Health
o 6.4Education
 7Culture
o 7.1Fine arts
o 7.2Cuisine
o 7.3Media
o 7.4Holidays and festivals
o 7.5Sports
 8See also
 9Notes
 10References
 11External links

Etymology
Main article: Malay people

"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 "Malays" and the Latin-Greek suffix
"-ia"/"-ία"[11] which can be translated as "land of the Malays".[12] The origin of the word
'Melayu' is subject to various theories. It may derive from the Sanskrit "Himalaya",
referring to areas high in the mountains, or "Malaiyur-pura", meaning mountain town.
[13]
 Another similar theory claims its origin lies in the Tamil words "malai" and "ur"
meaning "mountain" and "city, land", respectively. [14][15][16] Another suggestion is that it
derives from the Pamalayu campaign. A final suggestion is that it comes from
a Javanese word meaning "to run", from which a river, the Sungai Melayu ('Melayu
river'), was named due to its strong current. [13] Similar-sounding variants have also
appeared in accounts older than the 11th century, as toponyms for areas in Sumatra or
referring to a larger region around the Strait of Malacca. [17] The Sanskrit text Vayu
Purana, thought to have been in existence since the first millennium CE, mentioned a
land named 'Malayadvipa' which was identified by certain scholars as the modern Malay
peninsula.[18][19][20][21][22] Other notable accounts are by the 2nd century
Ptolemy's Geographia that used the name Malayu Kulon for the west coast of Golden
Chersonese, and the 7th century Yijing's account of Malayu.[17]
At some point, the Melayu Kingdom took its name from the Sungai Melayu.[13][23] 'Melayu'
then became associated with Srivijaya,[17] and remained associated with various parts of
Sumatra, especially Palembang, where the founder of the Malacca Sultanate is thought
to have come from.[24] It is only thought to have developed into an ethnonym as Malacca
became a regional power in the 15th century. Islamisation established
an ethnoreligious identity in Malacca, with the term 'Melayu' beginning to appear as
interchangeable with 'Melakans'. It may have specifically referred to local Malays
speakers thought loyal to the Malaccan Sultan. The initial Portuguese use
of Malayos reflected this, referring only to the ruling people of Malacca. The prominence
of traders from Malacca led 'Melayu' to be associated with Muslim traders, and from
there became associated with the wider cultural and linguistic group. [17] Malacca and
later Johor claimed they were the centre of Malay culture, a position supported by the
British which led to the term 'Malay' becoming more usually linked to the Malay
peninsula rather than Sumatra.[24]
Before the onset of European colonisation, the Malay Peninsula was known natively as
"Tanah Melayu" ("Malay Land").[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] The name
Malaysia gained some use to label what is now the Malay Archipelago. [30] 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.[31]
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.[32][33] 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.[34][d] One theory posits the name was chosen so that
"si" represented the inclusion of Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak to Malaya in
1963.[34] Politicians in the Philippines contemplated renaming their state "Malaysia"
before the modern country took the name.[36]

History
Main article: History of Malaysia
The Malacca Sultanate played a major role in spreading Islam throughout the Malay Archipelago.

Evidence of modern human habitation in Malaysia dates back 40,000 years.[37] In the

Malay Peninsula, the first inhabitants are thought to be Negritos.[38] 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.[39] The Kingdom of Langkasuka arose
around the second century in the northern area of the Malay Peninsula, lasting until
about the 15th century.[32] Between the 7th and 13th centuries, much of the southern
Malay Peninsula was part of the maritime Srivijayan empire. By the 13th and the 14th
century, the Majapahit empire had successfully wrested control over most of the
peninsula and the Malay Archipelago from Srivijaya. [40] In the early 15th
century, Parameswara, a runaway king of the former Kingdom of Singapura linked to
the old Srivijayan court, founded the Malacca Sultanate.[41] The spread of Islam
increased following Parameswara's conversion to that religion. Malacca was an
important commercial centre during this time, attracting trade from around the region. [42]

The Dutch fleet battling with the Portuguese armada as part of the Dutch–Portuguese War in 1606 to gain
control of Malacca

In 1511, Malacca was conquered by Portugal,[42] 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 Island to the British East India Company. The British obtained
the town of Singapore in 1819,[43] 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 by treaty.[44] 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. [45] 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.
  In 1842, Sarawak was ceded by the Sultan of Brunei to James Brooke, whose
[46]

successors ruled as the White Rajahs over an independent kingdom until 1946, when it

became a crown colony.[47]
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.[48] Popular support for independence increased after
Malaya was reconquered by Allied forces. [49] 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 on 1 February 1948 by
the Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states
under British protection.[50]
Leader of the Malayan Communist Party Lee Meng holding a rifle during the Malayan Emergency, 1951

During this time, the mostly ethnically Chinese rebels under the leadership of
the Malayan Communist Party launched guerrilla operations designed to force the
British out of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) involved a long anti-
insurgency campaign by Commonwealth troops in Malaya.[51] On 31 August 1957,
Malaya became an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations. [52] 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 date of federation was planned
to be 31 August 1963 so as to coincide with the anniversary of Malayan independence;
however, federation was delayed until 16 September 1963 in order for a United Nations
survey of support for federation in Sabah and Sarawak, called for by parties opposed to
federation including Indonesia's Sukarno and the Sarawak United Peoples' Party, to be
completed.[53][54]
Federation brought heightened tensions including a conflict with Indonesia as well
continuous conflicts against the Communists in Borneo and the Malayan Peninsula
which escalates to the Sarawak Communist Insurgency and Second Malayan
Emergency together with several other issues such as the cross border attacks into
North Borneo by Moro pirates from the southern islands of the Philippines,
Singapore being expelled from the Federation in 1965,[55][56] and racial strife. This strife
culminated in the 13 May race riots in 1969.[57] 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.[58] Under Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad there was a period of rapid economic growth and urbanization 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.[34] However, in the late 1990s,
the Asian financial crisis almost caused the collapse of the currency and the stock and
property markets, although they later recovered.[59] The 1MDB scandal was a major
global corruption scandal that implicated then-Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2015.[60] The
scandal contributed to the first change in the ruling political party since independence in
the 2018 general election.[61] In the 2020s, the country was gripped by a political
crisis that coincided with health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19
pandemic.[62]

Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of Malaysia and Government of Malaysia

The Parliament of Malaysia, the building that houses the members of the Dewan Rakyat

Malaysia is a federal constitutional elective monarchy; the only federal country in

Southeast Asia.[63] The system of government is closely modelled on
the Westminster parliamentary system, a legacy of British rule.[64] The head of state is
the King, whose official title is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. 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 rotated among the nine, [64] and has been held by Abdullah of
Pahang since 31 January 2019.[65] The King's role has been largely ceremonial since
changes to the constitution in 1994, picking ministers and members of the upper house.
[66]

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.[67] 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. [42] The parliament
follows a multi-party system and the government is elected through a first-past-the-
post system.[42][68] Parliamentary elections are held at least once every five years,[42] the
most recent of which took place in May 2018. [61] Before 2018, registered voters aged 21
and above could vote for the members of the House of Representatives and, in most of
the states, for the state legislative chamber. Voting is not mandatory. [69] In July 2019, a
bill to lower the voting age to 18 years old was officially passed.[70]
The Perdana Putra houses the office of Malaysia's Prime Minister

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 His Majesty
the King, commands the support of a majority of members. The Cabinet is chosen from
members of both houses of Parliament. [42] The Prime Minister is both the head of
cabinet and the head of government.[66] As a result of the 2018 general election Malaysia
was governed by the Pakatan Harapan political alliance,[61] although Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad resigned amid a political crisis in 2020. In March 2020,
the Perikatan Nasional coalition formed under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin,
[71]
 before Muhyiddin lost majority support and was replaced by deputy Prime
Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, a veteran politician from UMNO, in August 2021. [72][73]
Malaysia's legal system is based on English Common Law.[42] Although the judiciary is
theoretically independent, its independence has been called into question and the
appointment of judges lacks accountability and transparency. [74] 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. [75]
Racial is a significant force in politics.[42] Affirmative actions such as the New Economic
Policy[58] 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.[76] 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.[77] There is ongoing debate over whether the laws and society of Malaysia
should reflect Islamism or secularism.[78] Islamic criminal laws passed by the Pan-
Malaysian Islamic Party with the support of United Malays National
Organisation (UMNO) state assemblymen in the 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.[79][80][81]
After the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) lost power at the 2018
Malaysian general election, Malaysia's ranking increased by 9 places in the
2019 Democracy Index to 43th compared to the previous year, and is classified as a
'flawed democracy'.[82] Malaysia's ranking in the 2020 Press Freedom Index increased by
22 places to 101st compared to the previous year, making it one of two countries in
Southeast Asia without a 'Difficult situation' or 'Very Serious situation' with regards to
press freedom.[83] However, it fell 18 places the following year due to the policies of
the Perikatan Nasional government.[84]
Malaysia is marked at 48 and 62nd place according to the 2021 Corruption Perceptions
Index, indicating above average levels of corruption. Freedom House noted Malaysia as
"partly free" in its 2018 survey.[85] A lawsuit filed by Department of Justice (DOJ), alleged
that at least $3.5 billion involving former prime minister Najib Razak had been stolen
from Malaysia's 1MDB state-owned fund, known as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad
scandal.[86][87][88]
Administrative divisions
Main articles: States and federal territories of Malaysia, Divisions of Malaysia,
and Districts of Malaysia