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THE MALAYSIA PAGE FOR TOURISTS, KIDS AND TEACHERS Where is Malaysia ? Malaysia is a country situated in Southeast Asia. It is between Thailand and Singapore. Malaysia is divided into two parts, that is West Malaysia or Peninsula Malaysia and East Malaysia which is on the island of Borneo. West and East Malaysia is about 400 miles apart. The combined land area of both regions is about 330,400 sq km (127,000 sq miles). Peninsula Malaysia is again divided into east and west coast by the Main Range (mountain range), known as Banjaran Titiwangsa. It runs from the Malaysian-Thai border in the north right up to the state of Negeri Sembilan. In East Malaysia, the Crocker Range in Sabah is where the highest peak in South East Asia lies, Mount Kinabalu. The highest point of the mountain is at 4,0952.2 metres above sea level. Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of GMT time. West Malaysia consists of 11 states while East Malaysia consists of two states.
Capital of Malaysia Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia. It is in the heart of the country. "Kuala" means estuary or mouth of river in Malay and "Lumpur" means mud in Malay. Kuala Lumpur was a Chinese tin-trading settlement in the early days. The settlement grew and grew into a big city. The population in Kuala Lumpur is approximately 2 million now. The city now is bursting with skyscrapers and the tallest building in the world, the Petronas Twin Tower. This building stands 1,483 feet (452 meters) high. It is the headquarteres of the national oil company, Petronas. The building also houses a huge shopping complex called the KLCC (Kuala Lumpur Commerical Center). The 1999 movie "Entrapement" starring Sean Connery was filmed here. Economy of Malaysia Malaysia's economy has shifted from agricultural to manufacturing. In the late 1900's, Malaysia became a major manufacturing nation and exporter of electronic goods. Malaysia also produces its own national car, the Proton. Although industrialization has taken over the major role, agriculture is still very important. Rubber, tin, timber (rubber wood), palm oil (vegetable oil), pepper and cocoa beans are still major exports. Others are pineapple, coconut and pepper. Tourism too is an important source of income for the country. It comes close after the manufacturing sector. Malaysia also has natural gas and petroleum. Petroleum tops the list in GDP. In 1997, Malaysia's economy began to slip due to regional economic downturn. However, it is making recovery without any foreign help or from the IMF. The Malaysian dollar is called "Ringgit". Flag and National Anthem
The National Anthem is "Negara Ku" which means "My Country. Sing along with it.
Government Malaysia is a democratic country. It is also a constitutional monarchy. The hereditary rulers are called "Sultans". There are 9 Sultans altogether and from among them, one will be chosen to be king called the "Yang di-pertuan Agong". The King is the head of the state. The King will only serve for 5 years and the kingship will rotate to another of the 9 sultans. The Agung's performs mainly ceremonial duties. The federal government is run by a Prime Minister and a parliament. The Parliament has two houses, a house of representatives and a senate. The house of representative is called the Dewan Rakyat (Dewan = hall, rakyat = people,citizens). The senate is called the Dewan Negara (negara= country). These representatives are elected by the people to serve a five year term. The leader of the political party with most seats won normally will be the Prime Minister. There major political parties in Malaysia are UMNO (United Malays National Organization) which represents the Malays, MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association), representing the Chinese, MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress), representing the Indians. These 3 groups together form the National Front or Barisan Nasional in Bahasa Malaysia. It is the most powerful political organization in Malaysia. DAP (Democratic Action Party) which is a multi-racial party and PAS or the Islamic Party of Malaysia, representing the Muslims are the major opposition parties. Climate Malaysia is very close to the equator. The climate there is hot and humid (humidity around 80 percent). (high humidity makes you sweat a lot). The average temperature is around 26 degrees Celsius. The annual rainfall is around 2,500 mm (100 inches) during heavy rainfall. It is a tropical country that is covered with thick rainforests. Malaysia has a National Park (Taman Negara in Bahasa Malaysia) called "Endau Rompin National Park". Population Malaysia has a population of about 22.7 million as of December 1999. It is a multi-racial society consisting of Malays who are the majority, the Chinese and the Indians. Others smaller groups include the Eurasians, the indigenous groups like the Ibans, Kadazans, Dayaks, Dusuns, Bidayuhs and Muruts. About 80 percent of the population occupy West Malaysia or Peninsula Malaysia. Religion The official religion of Malaysia is Islam which is the religion of the Malays. The other religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Hinduism. The Chinese are mainly Taoists and Buddhists while the Hindus are the Indians. The Christians consists of Chinese, Indians, some indigenous groups and Eurasians. Malaysians have the freedom to practice their own religion but at the same time respect other religions. The government does not force anyone to embrace Islam. Celebrations There are many religious celebrations in Malaysia because of the multi- racial society. The Malays celebrate (Ramadan) Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji and Awal Muharam. The Chinese will celebrate Chinese New Year. The Chinese Buddhist and Taoist will also celebrate Wesak Day and the unofficial Nine Emperor God celebration. The Hindu Indians will celebrate Deepavali. The Christians celebrate Christmas. Dressing & Costumes During normal days, most Malaysians dress like the people in United States and Europe. Most Malay women however, will dress in their Islamic styles, called "Baju Kurung" and a shawl covering their heads. The Malay men on the other hand wear a black hat called a "songkok". During formal occasions, the Malays will wear their traditional Malay dress which is made of batik material or cloth. The Chinese, Indians and other groups will also put on their traditional dress for special occasions. The Chinese women wear the cheongsam" while the Indian women wear the "sarees". Language The official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia but English is very widely spoken too. The other major languages are Chinese and Tamil. Most Malaysians know more than one language. Many can speak several languages and many dialects too. Many children start learning 3 languages as early as in preschool. Life-Style You will find more Chinese in urban areas. In the rural areas, there are more Malays. The rural Malays live in villages called "kampungs". They farm or fish for a living. Many of them grow rice or "padi". They also raise poultry and plants vegetables to supplement their income. The ones living in coastal areas fish for a living. Kampung houses are built on stilts. They have wooden floors and walls and attap roofs (kind of a palm roofing). They have stilts to raise the level of the house to prevent flooding during the rainy season and also to provide better ventilation. Urban homes are different. They are built with bricks and concrete with tiled roofing and tiled flooring. Most of the people live either in terraced houses or apartments. The wealthier ones live in big detached homes called "bungalows" there. The wealthy and middle income Malaysians usually have servants or maids too. Click here for more pictures and information on Types of houses in Malaysia Food Malaysians, the Chinese especially, love to eat. You can see that by the many restaurants and eating places everywhere which are crowded most of the time in the cities. The staple diet of Malaysians is rice. A normal Malaysian meal usually consists of a soup, a vegetable dish and a meat dish with rice. There are many choices in food. You can find Malay, Chinese, Indian, Korean, American, European, Mongolian and Thai food. The children however love McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken !! Education It is compulsory for all children to attend school. Primary and secondary (elementary and highschool) education are free. Kindergarten starts at age 5 or 6 and formal school starts at 6-7 years old. They study for 6 years in Primary school, called Standard One to Standard Six. Then, they move on the Secondary School for another 5 years (Form 1 - Form 5). Those who do really well will qualify for Form 6, another 2 years of education. From here, they will proceed to College or University, depending on their examination results. Malaysia has local as well as international colleges and universities. It is fast becoming an educational regional center. The medium of instruction in the National-type Primary schools are in Bahasa Malaysia. The private-Chinese schools however teach in Mandarin. They teach Bahasa Malaysia too as it is a compulsory subject. All schools teach English too as a compulsory subject.
Thank you Kimbo for this lovely banner.
OH MALAYSIA On the shore beyond the tropical sea You will stand to welcome me On the shore beneath the sky so blue All my dreams at last will come true Oh Malaysia, land of glory Where I found my heart's true love Soon we'll be meeting, dear Malaysia You will be forevermore (Malay Version) Di pinggiran pantai lautan tropika Aku di sambut mesra Terbentam luas langgit biru Tercapai impian ku Oh Malaysia, indah permai Terpikat ku oleh mu Keindahan mu Oh Malaysia Kitakan bertemu lagi
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The Malaysian flag has 14 red and white stripes. Each stripe represent one
state, including Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory). There is a yellow crescrent which represents the religion, Islam.
The star has 14 points. Each point represents one state just like the stripes.
The crescent and the star lie on a blue background. The Malaysian Flag is called "Jalur Gemilang".
The National Flower is the red 
The National Bird is the Rhinocerous Hornbill found in the State of Sarawak in East Malaysia.
Malaysia is also home to the largest flower in the world, the 
