Malaysia

• air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions;
• water pollution from raw sewage;
• deforestation;
• smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

0-14 years:

36% (male 3,832,040; female 3,635,136)

15-64 years:

60% (male 6,314,693; female 6,324,389)

65 years and over:

4% (male 359,006; female 467,637) (July 1998 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.77 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

noun:

Malaysian(s)

adjective:

Malaysian

• Peninsular Malaysia-Muslim (Malays), Buddhist (Chinese), Hindu (Indians);
• Sabah-Muslim 38%, Christian 17%, other 45%;
• Sarawak-tribal religion 35%, Buddhist and Confucianist 24%, Muslim 20%, Christian 16%, other 5%

• Peninsular Malaysia-Malay (official), English, Chinese dialects, Tamil;
• Sabah-English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects, Chinese (Mandarin and Hakka dialects predominate);
• Sarawak-English, Malay, Mandarin, numerous tribal languages

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Malaysia

former:

Malayan Union

• 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular-negeri) and 2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular-wilayah persekutuan);
• Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*

note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is located within the federal territory of Wilayah Persekutuan; the terms therefore are not interchangeable

• based on English common law;
• judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

Paramount Ruler TUANKU JA'AFAR ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman (since 26 April 1994) and Deputy Paramount Ruler Sultan TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisammuddin Alam Shah (since 26 April 1994)

head of government:

Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since 16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister ANWAR bin Ibrahim (since 1 December 1993)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the paramount ruler

elections:

• paramount ruler and deputy paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms;
• election last held 4 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999);
• prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins a plurality of seats in the House of Representatives becomes prime minister

election results:

• TUANKU JA'AFAR ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman elected paramount ruler;
• Sultan TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisammuddin Alam Shah elected deputy paramount ruler

• National Front, a confederation of 13 political parties dominated by United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO Baru), MAHATHIR bin Mohamad;
• Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), LING Liong Sik;
• Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, LIM Keng Yaik;
• Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), S. Samy VELLU;
• major opposition parties are Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), Ustaz Fadzil Mohamed NOOR and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), LIM Kit Siang

• National Front, dominated by the UMNO;
• Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Datuk YONG Teck Lee;
• Parti Democratic Sabah (PDS), Bernard DOMPOK;
• Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), Datuk Joseph KURUP

chief of mission:

Ambassador DALI Mahmud Hashim

chancery:

2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 328-2700

chief of mission:

Ambassador John R. MALOTT

embassy:

376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur

mailing address:

P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur or American Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152

telephone:

[60] (3) 248-9011

• 14 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;
• the design was based on the flag of the US

total:

8.398 million (1996 est.)

by occupation:

manufacturing 25%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 21%, local trade and tourism 17%, services 12%, government 11%, construction 8% (1996)

• Peninsular Malaysia-rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber;
• Sabah-logging, petroleum production;
• Sarawak-agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging

• Peninsular Malaysia-natural rubber, palm oil, rice;
• Sabah-subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconut, rice;
• Sarawak-rubber, pepper;
• timber

total value:

$78.2 billion (1996)

commodities:

electronic equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, palm oil, wood and wood products, rubber, textiles

partners:

US 21%, Singapore 20%, Japan 12%, Hong Kong 5%, UK 4%, Thailand 4%, Germany 3% (1995)

total value:

$78.4 billion (1996)

commodities:

machinery and equipment, chemicals, food

partners:

Japan 27%, US 16%, Singapore 12%, Taiwan 5%, Germany 4%, South Korea 4% (1995)

total:

1,648 km

narrow gauge:

1,648 km 1.000-m gauge (148 km electrified)

total:

94,500 km

paved:

70,970 km (including 580 km of expressways)

unpaved:

23,530 km (1996 est.)

• involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei;
• Sabah State claimed by the Philippines;
• Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides Brunei into two parts;
• two islands in dispute with Singapore;
• two islands in dispute with Indonesia