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Malaysia

Brief

During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965. Natural resources found in Malaysia are tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, and bauxite.

Location

Located in Southeastern Asia, a peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam. The neighboring countries are Brunei, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Climate

The climate of Malaysia is tropical and the monsoon is usually, during April to October. Geographically, it has coastal plains rising to hills and mountains.

People

The Population is about 23,953,136. The nationality is Malaysian. There are ethnic groups such as Malay, Chinese, Indian, others are about 10%. The religions practiced in Malaysia are Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia. They mainly speak Bahasa Melayu, English, Chinese dialects, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, and Thai. East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, among them, the largest are Iban and Kadazan. Malaysian currency is Ringgit (MYR). The capital city is Kuala Lumpur.

Tourist Destinations

The Petronas Twin Towers building is the most recognizable building in the Kuala Lumpur due to the fact that it used to be the world tallest building - until recently when the honour goes to Taipei 101 building. Nevertheless, it still holds the record for the world's tallest two freestanding towers.

Another tourist attraction is the Sultan Abdul Saman Building. It is a stately, historic building rich in character, it was built in 1897 to house several important government departments during the British administration.

Other places such as Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman, Nation Sports Complex, Cammonwealth Hill And Family Park, National Mosque, The Family Park, National Art Gallery, The National Theater and Nationalplanetarium are also well known places in Malaysia.