Malaysia

Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a federation of the former British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, including the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the federation in 1965.

• 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, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

0-14 years:

33.7% (male 4,001,507; female 3,777,896)

15-64 years:

61.9% (male 7,163,252; female 7,131,745)

65 years and over:

4.4% (male 447,230; female 571,310) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Malaysian(s)

adjective:

Malaysian

• Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai;
• note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Malaysia

former:

Federation of Malaysia

• 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 3 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah persekutuan);
• Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Putrajaya*, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*

note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is 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 SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, the Raja of Perlis (since 12 December 2001)

head of government:

Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since 31 October 2003); Deputy Prime Minister NA (since 31 October 2003)

cabinet:

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

election results:

Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail elected paramount ruler

elections:

• paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms;
• election last held 12 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006);
• 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

ruling coalition parties:

• Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party or PGRM [LIM Kheng Yaik];
• Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal Demokratik - Sabah) or LDP [CHONG Kah Kiat];
• Malaysian Chinese Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or MCA [LING Ong Ka Ting];
• Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongresi India Malaysia) or MIC [S. Samy VELLU];
• Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak or PBDS [Leo MOGGIE];
• Parti Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan];
• Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud];
• Sabah Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Sabah) or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee];
• Sarawak United People's Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [WONG Soon Kah];
• United Malays National Organization or UMNO [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi];
• United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (Pertubuhan Pasko Momogun Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [leader NA];
• opposition parties: Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KERK Kim Hock];
• Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam se Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang];
• National Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Nasional) or Keadilan [WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismael];
• National Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN (the ruling coalition dominated by the UMNO and includes
  • MCA,
  • MIC,
  • PGRM,
  • PBDS,
  • SUPP,
  • PBB,
  • PBS,
  • LDP,
  • SAPP,
  • UPKO) [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi]

chief of mission:

Ambassador GHAZZALI bin Sheikh Abdul Khalid

chancery:

3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles and New York

FAX:

[1] (202) 572-9882

telephone:

[1] (202) 572-9700

chief of mission:

Ambassador Marie T. HUHTALA

embassy:

376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[60] (3) 2168-5000

FAX:

[60] (3) 2142-2207

• 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

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

38.4% (1997 est.)

• 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 - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice;
• Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice;
• Sarawak - rubber, pepper;
• timber

general assessment:

modern system; international service excellent

domestic:

• good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay;
• adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei;
• domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations

international:

submarine cables to India, Hong Kong, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) (2001)

total:

2,418 km

standard gauge:

57 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

2,361 km 1.000-m gauge (150 km electrified) (2002)

total:

65,877 km

paved:

49,935 km (including 1,192 km of expressways)

unpaved:

15,942 km (1999)

• involved in complex dispute over Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei;
• claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct";
• disputes over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation on Johor, maritime boundaries, and Singapore-occupied Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years;
• ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands off the coast of Sabah, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia;
• a small section of the Malaysia-Thailand boundary in the Kolok River remains in dispute