About Malaysia

COUNTRY

The Federation of Malaysia comprises Peninsular Malaysia, which is made up of 11 states, three Federal Territories as well as the states of Sabah and Sarawak situated in Borneo.

CAPITAL CITY

The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Located between 2 and 7 degrees 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 neighbour is Singapore.

Sabah and Sarawak share a common border with Indonesia while Sarawak also shares a border with Brunei Darussalam.

AREA

329,758 sq km

POPULATION

27 million

PEOPLE

Malays make up about 57% of the population and are the predominant group with Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups making up the rest.

LANGUAGE

Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) is the national language but English is widely spoken. Malaysians also speak various languages and dialects.

RELIGION

Islam is the official religion but all other religions are practised freely.

GOVERNMENT

Malaysia practices parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The Head of State is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Head of Government is the Prime Minister. The country has a bicameral legislative

system.

CLIMATE

Malaysia has a tropical climate and the weather is warm all year round. Temperatures range from 21°C to 32°C and the annual rainfall varies from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.

TIME

The standard Malaysian time is eight hours ahead of GMT and 16 hours ahead of the U.S. Pacific Standard Time.

ELECTRICITY

The voltage used throughout Malaysia is 220-240 volts AC, at 50 cycles per second.

Standard 3-pin square plugs and sockets are used.

MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

Malaysia uses the metric system.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Malaysia is linked nationally and internationally by telephone, facsimile, telegraph and via the Internet. Most hotels provide International Direct Dial (IDD) telephone services.