Malaysia Information

Links to Malaysia Information

Gateway to Malaysia: This is a compilation of available information resources about Malaysia maintained by the Malaysia Institute of Microelectronic Systems.
Fascinating Malaysia: This is an excellent source of information about Malaysia's economy, history, education, tourism, etc.
Information about Penang: This is a one page document about Penang, a small island off the coast of Malaysia.
Standards & Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia: SIRIM is the national organization for standardization and industrial research development under the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment.
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang: This server provides information about the university - general information, academic programmes, research, etc.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia: This server in Kuala Lumpur is run by University Technology Malaysia on a 386 PC under KA9Q NOS.
Other Information Providers: This is a list of known Malaysian-based information servers.
Rotary District 3300 (Malaysia): About Rotary International District 3300 in Malaysia, giving a listing of all Rotary Clubs in the District.
Payaindah: The above URL is for the Payaindah site which is managed by the Malaysian Wetlands Foundation. The site is a showcase of the conservation, rehabitaion and preservation of the Malaysian Peatswam and ex-mine wetlands. The site will offers ecotourism and other conservations activities when it is open by end of this year.
SunSITE Malaysia at University Pertanian Malaysia: Meet our fellow SunSITE in Malaysia!

About Malaysia

Geography

Malaysia is located in south-east Asia bordering the South China Sea between Vietnam and Indonesia. It occupies a total area of 329,750 sq km of which 328,550 sq km is on land. The country has 2,669 km of land boundaries and 4,675 km of coastline. A map of Malaysia is available.

The climate is tropical - annual south-west monsoons from April to October and north-east monsoons from October to February. Malaysia is subject to flooding. The terrain consists of costal plains rising to hills and mountains. Natural resources include tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas and bauxite.

People

Malaysia has a total population of 18,845,340 (July 1993 est.). Nationals of Malaysia are known as Malaysian(s). The population is made up mostly of Malay (59%) and Chinese (32%). The main religions are Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu. Malay is the official language; English, Chinese dialects and Tamil are also spoken.

Government

The Malaysian government is a constitutional monarchy. The capital is Kuala Lumpur. The national holiday is on 31 August (1957).

Malaysia's flag consists of fourteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom). There is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star. The crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam.

Economy

The Malaysian economy, a mixture of private enterprise and a soundly managed public sector, has posted a remarkable record of 8%-9% average growth in 1987-92. This growth has resulted in a substantial reduction in poverty and a marked rise in real wages. Despite sluggish growth in the major world economies in 1992, demand for Malaysian goods remained strong and foreign investors continued to commit large sums in the economy. The government is aware of the inflationary potential of this rapid development and is closely monitoring fiscal and monetary policies.

Communications

Malaysia has 1,801 km of railroads, 29,026 km of highways and 7,296 km of inland waterways. The ports are in Tanjong Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Kelang, Sandakan and Tawau. There are about 100 airports.

There is good intercity telecommunication service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay. Intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei is adequate. International service good.