Malaysia
Malaysia - Truly Asia
Geographical Location:
Malaysia is country located in the Southeast Asia with a total landmass of 329,847 km². To the north of Peninsula Malaysia is Thailand while its southern neighbour is Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak are north of Indonesia in Borneo while Sarawak also shares a border with Brunei. The country is separated into two regions i.e the Peninsula Malaysia (consists of 11 states: Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang Island, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Pahang and Johore) and East Malaysia which located at the northern part of Borneo (consists 2 states: Sabah, and Sarawak). The two regions are separated by the South China Sea. The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur.
Key and Nature Attactions of Malaysia:
The trees in the Rainforest of Agriculture Park of Bukit Cahaya, Selangor.
Ø Oldest Rainforest with over 130million years old
Ø Being a tropical country, Malaysia is overwhelmingly green with the world oldest rainforest. It is famous for its diverse range of flora (E.g: Rafflesia – the world largest flower weigh about 9kg) and fauna. There are about 8000 species of flowering plants, which include 2000 tree species, 800 different orchids and 200 types of palm trees.
Ø Wildlife Expedition
Ø Sabah and Sarawak (located on the northern part of Borneo) is the greatest concentration of wildlife. It shelters a host of the world’s rarest and most remarkable animals such as the Sumatran rhinoceros, elephants, crocodiles, the clouded leopard and the Malaysian tiger, the sun bear, the monitor lizard, macaques, red and silver leaf monkeys, tiny mouse-deers the size of cats, owls, orang utans and the shy proboscis monkey.
Ø A Destination for multicultural lifestyle
Ø You can also experience the multicultural and diverse lifestyle of the Malaysian which consists of Malay, Chinese, Indians and other minority ethnics. Each of these ethnics enjoys a good mix of food among themselves. Most of them understand, respect and care about others’ preference and lifestyle. You can also experience paddy farming, fishing village, palm oil plantation and vegetable farming in some rural village areas through the homestay program.
Ø Limestone Formation Caves
Ø You may find some of the biggest and longest caves in the world in Perak and Sarawak states of Malaysia. Some of these caves are archaeological sites. Some of the caves are with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites as well as underground rivers. Some of these caves are actually home to a wide variety of cave fauna such as bats, swiftlets, snakes, and invertebrates. These also include insects, spiders, beetles, cockroaches, centipedes and millipedes. Being a multiracial country, you may also find some temples built in the caves in Ipoh, Perak.
Ø Beautiful coral reef and Marine Life:
Ø Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse marine eco-systems on earth which help to balance marine environment. Corals have been in existence for about 200 million years and reached their current level of diversity 50 million years ago. Beautiful coral reefs help to sustain the life snails, rays, crabs, lobsters, turtles, dolphins and other sea life. The Coral reefs in the Southeast Asia accounted for 34% of the world’s total. You may find beautiful coral reefs and marine life mostly in the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia and the northern part of Borneo.
Brief History of Malaysia :
The country was once colonized by the Great Britain during the late 18th and 19th centuries. It was occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. The British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya in 1948, which became independent in August 31, 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. Malaysia is headed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and politically led by a Prime Minister. The government is closely modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system. As a former British colony, it is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
People & Culture
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. The largest ethnic groups in Malaysia are the Malays, Chinese and Indians. There are also a myriad of indigenous ethic groups (Orang Asli, Bidayuh, Iban, Kadazans and etc) with their own unique culture and heritage in Sabah & Sarawak.
There are about 26 millions people in Malaysia consisting of 62% Malays, 24% Chinese, 8% Indians, with other minorities and indigenous peoples. Islam is the official region but other religions like Buddism, Hinduism, Christian, Catholic, Taoist etc are freely practiced.
Language
Bahasa Melayu (Malay) is the national language but English is widely spoken. The ethnic groups also speak various languages such as and dialects. (E.g.: Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Hokkien, Javanese)
Climate
Located near the equator, the weather is characterized by tropical climate with warm weather all year round. Temperatures in the lowlands range from 21ºC (70ºF) to 32ºC (90ºF). The highlands are cooler, where temperatures range between 15°C (59° F) to 25°C (77°F). Annual rainfall varies from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.
Currency
The unit of currency is Malaysian Ringgit indicated as RM. USD1 is roughly equivalent to RM3.40. Foreign currency can be converted at banks and local licensed money changers.
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