DISCLAIMER:- These pages and the links below are NOT updated! Please refer to the official websites for more relevant and up-to-date information. Also, check out http://www.allmalaysia.info/.

TO KNOW MALAYSIA, IS TO LOVE MALAYSIA

Welcome to Malaysia - my home country! What can I say... it's hot and humid all year round (quite the lethal combination). Imagine being bathed in sweat upon immediate contact with natural air (outside of air-conditioned malls and office buildings). Sometimes I wonder if that's why I don't live there anymore. I just like having four distinct seasons and the changes associated with having them here in Washington, DC. But seriously, if you've never been to Malaysia, you HAVE to go. It's cheap, awesome, everyone speaks English and the beaches are sublime. It's far, I know, but it's worth it. Really, it's "only a smile away".

MALAYSIA (another map, location in Asia) - country of Southeast Asia, composed of two noncontiguous regions - Peninsular, or West Malaysia and East Malaysia - separated by some 400 mi (650 km) of the South China Sea. Peninsular Malaysia occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula; it is about 500 mi (800 km) long and 200 mi (325 km) wide and is bordered on the north by Thailand, on the south by Singapore, on the west by the Strait of Malacca, and on the east by the South China Sea. East Malaysia occupies the northwestern part of the island of Borneo and is about 670 mi (1,075 km) long and 240 mi (385 km) wide; it consists of the states of Sarawak and Sabah. It is bordered on the north and west by the South China Sea, on the east by the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, and on the south by Kalimantan (Indonesian) Borneo; the small independent coastal sultanate of Brunei is surrounded on land by Sarawak. The new administrative capital of Malaysia is Putrajaya. The commercial capital is still Kuala Lumpur as well as the seat of Parliament.

Malaysia has a total area of 127,320 square miles (329,758 square kilometers). Peninsular Malaysia comprises of two Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya) and 11 small states, with a total area of 50,810 square miles (131,598 square kilometers). Two much larger states - Sarawak and Sabah - lie on the island of Borneo. Sarawak covers 48,050 square miles (124,449 square kilometers). Sabah - including the Federal Territory of Labuan, a small island off the coast of Borneo - covers 28,460 square miles (73,711 square kilometers). Both the Malay Peninsula and Borneo are heavily forested and mountainous. Mount Kinabalu in Sabah is the highest peak, rising to about 13,431 feet (4,094 meters).

The West Malaysia wing of the 13-state federation of Malaysia occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula and is separated from East Malaysia by the South China Sea. Formerly the Federation of Malaya (1948-63), it contains the bulk of Malaysia's population and has both Kuala Lumpur and the new capital city of Putrajaya.

The East Malaysia wing of the 13-state federation of Malaysia consists of the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern and northwestern part of the island of Borneo and is separated from mainland Peninsular, or West, Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula by some 400 mi (640 km) of the South China Sea. Off the coast of Sabah lies the small island territory of Labuan.

Malaysia lies close to the equator and has a tropical climate with hot, humid weather that varies little throughout the year. Thick rain forests cover parts of both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. Coastal temperatures range from 70 to 90 °F (21 to 32 °C), while mountain temperatures are usually 55 to 80 °F (13 to 27 °C). Humidity is usually 90 percent. The region has a monsoonal climate whereby rainfall varies slightly, with heavier downpours from October to April and less rain from May to September. Peninsular Malaysia gets an average of 100 inches (250 centimeters) of rain annually, while Sarawak and Sabah both receive about 150 inches (380 centimeters).

Many animals flourish in Malaysia. They include tigers, wild oxen, water buffaloes, tapirs, orangutans, many varieties of monkeys, cobras, crocodiles, lizards, over 500 kinds of birds, and a vast number of butterflies. Malaysia's plants are equally varied, with many types of wild orchids, tropical fruits, and exotic hardwood trees.

CONTENTS
- The land
- The people
- The economy
- Government and social conditions
- Transportation and Communications
- Way of Life
- History
- Links
- GOV.MY Links
- Travel Information

FACTS & FIGURES

Area	329,758 sq km (incl. inland water) 330,417 sq km (Peninsular) 131,598 sq km (Sabah) 73,711 sq km (Sarawak) 124,449 sq km
Population	23.26 million (mid-year 2000)
Density	approx. 70 per sq km
Crude Birth/Death Rate	24.5 / 4.4
Infant Mortality Rate	7.9
Number of Households	4,910,921 (Census 2000)
Household Size	4.52
Population per doctor	2,062
Literacy rate	92.5%
Poverty rate	9.6 % of households
Life Expectancy (M/F)	70.2 / 75.0
Sex Ratio (M/F)	102 / 100
Languages	Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese dialects, Tamil, indigenous dialects
Government	Constitutional Monarchy
Head of state	Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail
Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
GDP	RM339.4 billion (2000)
GNP	RM310.8 billion (2000)
GNP per capita	RM13,361 (2000)
Current Account Balance	+RM31.2 billion (2000)
Exports / Imports	RM373.3 bn / RM 312.4 bn (2000)
CPI change	+1.5% (Q1 2001)
Employment	9.64 million Agriculture = 14.0% Mining = 00.5% Manufacturing = 27.8% Construction = 08.8% Services = 48.3%
Unemployment	3.0% (Dec 2000)
Telephone subscribers	4.4 million
Mobile phone subscribers	2.3 million
Motor vehicles per 1,000p	132
Total road mileage	70,578 km
Total railway tracks	2,227 km
Electricity coverage	96% of population
Water coverage	91% of population

(US$1 = RM3.80)