The Southeast Asian country Malaysia is a federation of 13 states, which was formed in 1963. Prior to 1963, the Federation of Malaya was known as Persekutuan Tanah Melayu in Malay. The name Malaysia was adopted in 1963 when Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaya. Singapore left the federation in 1965.



The capital city of Malayasia is Kuala Lumpur while Putrajaya is the newly created administrative capital for the federal government of Malaysia. The prime minister's office moved in 1999 and the move is expected to be completed in 2005. Kuala Lumpur remains the seat of parliament, as well as the commercial and financial capital of the country. Other major cities include George Town, Ipoh, Johor Bahru and Kuching.

The two distinct parts of Malaysia, separated from each other by the South China Sea, share a largely similar landscape. In both West and East Malaysia coastal plains rise to densely forested hills and mountains. The highest peak of Malayasia is Mount Kinabalu at 4,095.2 metres (13,435.7 ft) on the island of Borneo. The southernmost tip of continental Asia is Tanjung Piai which is located in the southern state of Johor. The Strait of Malacca, lying between Sumatra and West Malaysia, is arguably the most important shipping lane in the world.

Malaysia's population is comprised of many ethnic groups, with the politically dominant Malays making up the majority. About a quarter of the population are Chinese. These Chinese have been playing an important role in trade and business. Malaysians of Indian descent comprise about 10% of the population. About 90% of the Indian community is Tamil but various other groups like Malayalis, Punjabis and Telugus are also present. Non-Malay indigenous groups make up more than half of the state of Sarawak's population, constitute about 66% of Sabah's population, and also exist in much smaller numbers on the Peninsula, where they are collectively called Orang Asli. There are dozens of non-Malay ethnic groups who share some general cultural similarities. Other Malaysians also include those of, inter alia, European, Middle Eastern, Cambodian, and Vietnamese descent.

The total population is 24,385,858. Population distribution in Malaysia is uneven, with some 20 million residents concentrated on the Malay Peninsula. The life expectancy of Malaysian population is 72.5.

Malaysia is a multi-religious society, and Islam is the country's official religion. The main religions are Islam (60.4%), Buddhism (19.2%), Hinduism (6.3%), and Christianity (9.1%mostly in East Malaysia, i.e. Borneo). The aforementioned figures may be skewed as they do not take into account the fact that all Malay persons are officially regarded and treated as Muslim, regardless of private belief.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society, which consists 65% Malays and other indigenous tribes, 25% Chinese, 7% Indians. The native language of Malays is Malay (Bahasa Melayu). Bahasa Malaysia which is largely similar to Bahasa Melayu in most practical terms which is the national language of the country.

The local climate of Malaysia is equatorial and characterised by the annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons. Malaysia is well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry as well as minerals. Malaysia is the world's primary exporter of natural rubber and palm oil, which together with saw logs and sawn timber, cocoa, pepper, pineapple and tobacco dominate the growth of the sector. Palm oil is also a major foreign exchange earner.

The rapid expansion of the timber industry, particularly after the 1960s, has brought about a serious erosion problem in the country's forest resources. Today an estimated 59 percent of Malaysia remains forested. Substantial areas are being silviculturally treated and reforestation of degraded forest land is also being carried out. The Malaysian government provide plans for the enrichment of some 312.30 square kilometres (120.5 sq mi) of land with rattan under natural forest conditions and in rubber plantations as an intercrop. To further enrich forest resources, fast-growing timber species such as meranti tembaga, merawan and sesenduk are also being planted. At the same time, the government encouraged the cultivation of high-value trees like teak and other trees for pulp and paper. Rubber, once the mainstay of the Malaysian economy, has been largely replaced by oil palm as Malaysia's leading agricultural export. Today Malaysia has turnrd into modern industrialised nation rather than a tin and rubber exporter.

If you are planning a visit to Malaysia there are Several prepaid calling card and phone card companies available to call both to and from Malaysia.