Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Malaysia shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Malaysia offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Malaysia at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Malaysia? Wrong! If the Malaysia is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Malaysia then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Malaysia? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Malaysia and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Malaysia wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Malaysia then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Malaysia site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Malaysia, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Malaysia, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = Malaysia|conventional_long_name =|common_name = Malaysia|image_flag = Flag of Malaysia.svg|image_coat = Msia-crest.jpg|symbol_type = Emblem|image_map = LocationMalaysia.png|national_motto = "Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu""Unity Is Strength"|national_anthem = Negaraku]|capital = Kuala Lumpur|leader_title1 = [Yang di-Pertuan Agong|leader_title2 = [Prime Minister of Malaysia|leader_name2 = Abdullah Ahmad Badawi|established_event1 = from the [United Kingdom (Federation of Malaya only)|established_date1 = August 31 1957, [Sarawak and Singapore)] 1963-->|percent_water = 0.3|population_estimate = 27,122,000|population_estimate_year = Jun 2007|population_estimate_rank = 45th|population_census_year = 2000|population_census = 24,821,286|population_density_km2 = 82|population_density_sq_mi = 213 (RM)|currency_code = MYR|time_zone = Malaysian Standard Time|utc_offset = +8|time_zone_DST = not observed|utc_offset_DST = +8|cctld = .my/[FIFA: MASISO: MYS]|footnote1 = Malaysian Flag and Crest from www.gov.my.|footnote2 = The current terminology as per government policy is Bahasa Malaysia (literally Malaysian language) ref but legislation continues to refer to the official language as Bahasa Melayu (literally Malay language).|footnote3 = Putrajaya is the primary seat of government.] 1965.]: ) is a federation of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia.myGovernment. Federal Territories and State Governments. Retrieved December 8 2006. The country consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea:CIA. The World Fact Book. Malaysia. Retrieved December 9 2006.

Although politically dominated by the Malay people, modern Malaysian society is heterogeneous, with substantial Chinese Malaysian and Indian Malaysian minorities.CIA. People. 2006 The World Fact Book. Retrieved December. Malaysian politics have been noted for their allegedly communal nature;Farish Noor (2005). Kafirs R' Us: Why we need to think beyond the Muslim-Kafir divide (Part 1). From Majapahit to Putrajaya. Page 158. Silverfish Books. ISBN-X the three major component parties of the Barisan Nasional each restrict membership to those of one ethnic group. However, the only major intercommunal violence the country has seen since independence was the May 13 Incident of 1969 that occurred in the wake of an election campaign that was dominated by racial issues.Time Magazine. Race War in Malaysia. May. Retrieved December.

Etymology The name "Malaysia" was adopted in 1963 when the Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu), Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed a 14-state federation.Paragraph 22. Singapore. Road to Independence. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Country Studies/Area Handbook Series. U.S. Department of the Army. Retrieved December 9 2006. Singapore was expelled from the federation in 1965 and subsequently became an independent country.Paragraph 25. Singapore. Road to Independence. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Country Studies/Area Handbook Series. U.S. Department of the Army. Retrieved December 9 2006.

History Early history The earliest inhabitants of the Malay peninsula were the orang asli or indigenous people who migrated from Siam around 2500 BC. Proto-Malays originating from Java began arriving between 1500 BC and 500 BC. Ptolemy showed it on his early map with a label that translates as "Golden Chersonese", the Straits of Malacca were referred to as "Sinus Sabaricus". From the mid to the late first millennium, much of the Peninsula as well as the Malay Archipelago were under the influence of Srivijaya.Originally these were Hindu or Buddhism nations.

There were numerous Malay kingdoms in the 2nd and 3rd century CE—as many as 30 according to Chinese sources. Kedah—known as Kedaram or Kataha, in ancient Pallava or Sanskrit—was in the direct route of invasions of Indian traders and kings. Rajendra Chola Chola dynasty, who is now thought to have laid Kota Gelanggi to waste, put Kedah to heel in 1025 but his successor, Vir Rajendra Chola, had to put down a Kedah rebellion to overthrow the invaders. The coming of the Chola reduced the majesty of Srivijaya which had exerted influence over Kedah and Pattani and even as far as Ligor.

The Buddhist Nakhon Si Thammarat kingdom took control of Kedah shortly after, and its King Chandrabhanu used it as a base to attack Sri Lanka in the 11th century, an event noted in a stone inscription in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu and in the Sri Lankan chronicles, Mahavamsa. During the first millennium, the people of the Malay peninsula adopted Hinduism and Buddhism and the use of the Sanskrit language until they eventually converted to Islam, but not before Hinduism, Buddhism and Sanskrit became embedded into the Malay worldview. Traces of the influences in political ideas, social structure, rituals, language, arts and cultural practices still can be seen to this day.

. It was built by the Portuguese in the 15th century.

There are reports of other areas older than Kedah—the ancient kingdom of Gangganegara, around Bruas in Perak, for instance, pushes Malaysian history even further into antiquity. If that is not enough, a Tamil poem, Pattinapillai, of the second century CE, describes goods from Kadaram heaped in the broad streets of the Chola capital; a seventh century Sanskrit drama, Kaumudhimahotsva, refers to Kedah as Kataha-nagari. The Agnipurana also mentions a territory known Anda-Kataha with one of its boundaries delineated by a peak, which scholars believe is Gunong Jerai. Stories from the Katasaritasagaram describe the elegance of life in Kataha.

in Kuala Lumpur houses the High Court of Malaya and the Trade Court. Kuala Lumpur was the capital of the Federated Malay States and is the current Malaysian capital.In the early 15th century, the Sultanate of Malacca was established under a dynasty founded by Parameswara, a prince from Palembang with bloodline related to the royal home of Srivijaya, who fled from the island Temasek (now Singapore). Parameswara decided to establish his kingdom in Malacca after witnessing an astonishing incident where a white mouse deer kicked one of his hunting dogs. He took it as a sign of good luck and name his kingdom "Melaka" after the tree he was resting under. At its height, the sultanate controlled the areas which are now Peninsula Malaysia, southern Thailand (Patani), and the eastern coast of Sumatra. It existed for more than a century, and within that time period Islam spread to most of the Malay Archipelago. Melaka was the foremost trading port at the time in Southeast Asia.M.C. Ricklefs. pp. 19. A History of Modern Indonesia. Indiana University Press. 1981. ISBN

The first evidence of Islam in the Malay peninsula dates from the 14th century in Terengganu, but according to the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, the 9th Maharaja Derbar Raja AD) of Sultanate of Kedah converted to Islam and changed his name to Sultan Muzaffar Shah. Since then there have been 27 Sultans who ruled Kedah. In 1511, Malacca was conquered by Portugal, which established a colony there. The sons of the last Sultan of Malacca established two sultanates elsewhere in the peninsula—the Sultanate of Perak to the north, and the Sultanate of Johor (originally a continuation of the old Melaka sultanate) to the south. After the fall of Melaka, three nations struggled for the control of Malacca Strait: the Portuguese (in Malacca), the Sultanate of Johor, and the Aceh. This conflict went on till 1641, when the Netherlands (allied to the Sultanate of Johor) gained control of Malacca.

British arrival United Kingdom established its first colony in the Malay peninsula in 1786, with the lease of the island of Penang to the British East India Company by the Sultan of Kedah. In 1824, the United Kingdom took control of Malacca following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 which divided the Malay archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands, with Malaya in the British zone. In 1826, Britain established the crown colony of the Straits Settlements, uniting its three possessions in Malaya: Penang, Malacca and Singapore. The Straits Settlements were administered under the East India Company in Calcutta until 1867, when they were transferred to the Colonial Office in London.

During the late 19th century, many Malay states decided to obtain British help in settling their internal conflicts. The commercial importance of tin mining in the Malay states to merchants in the Straits Settlements led to British government intervention in the tin-producing states in the Malay Peninsula. British gunboat diplomacy was employed to bring about a peaceful resolution to civil disturbances caused by Chinese gangsters, and the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 paved the way for the expansion of British influence in Malaya. By the turn of the 20th century, the states of Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan, known together as the Federated Malay States (not to be confused with the Federation of Malaya), were under the de facto control of British resident (title) appointed to advise the Malay rulers. The British were "advisers" in name, but in reality they exercised substantial influence over the Malay rulers.The remaining five states in the peninsula, known as the Unfederated Malay States, while not directly under rule from London, also accepted British advisors around the turn of the 20th century. Of these, the four northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu had previously been under Thailand control.

On the island of Borneo, Sabah was governed as the crown colony of British North Borneo, while Sarawak was acquired from Brunei as the personal kingdom of the Brooke family, who ruled as White Rajahs.

Following the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II, popular support for independence grew.Mahathir Mohamad. Our Region, Ourselves. Time Asia. May. Post-war British plans to unite the administration of Malaya under a single crown colony called the Malayan Union foundered on strong opposition from the ethnic Malay, who opposed the emasculation of the Malay rulers and the granting of citizenship to the Chinese Malaysian.Time Magazine. Token Citizenship. May. The Malayan Union, established in 1946 and consisting of all the British possessions in Malaya with the exception of Singapore, was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection.

During this time, rebels under the leadership of the Communist Party of Malaya launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency, as it was known, lasted from 1948 to 1960, and involved a long anti-insurgency campaign by Commonwealth of Nations troops in Malaya.Time Magazine. Siege's End. May 2 1960. Against this backdrop, Hari Merdeka for the Federation within the Commonwealth was granted on 31 August 1957.Time Magazine. A New Nation. September 9 1957.

Post independence In 1963 Malaya along with the then-British crown colonies of Singapore, Sabah (British North Borneo) and Sarawak formed Malaysia. The Sultanate of Brunei, though initially expressing interest in joining the Federation, withdrew from the planned merger due to opposition from certain segments of the population as well as arguments over the payment of oil royalties and the status of the Sultan in the planned merger.Time Magazine. Hurray for Harry. DecemberTime Magazine. Fighting the Federation. December, the capital and largest city of MalaysiaThe childhood of independence were marred by Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (Konfrontasi) over the formation of Malaysia, Singapore's eventual exit in 1965, and racial strife in the form of May 13 Incident in 1969.Time Magazine. The Art of Dispelling Anxiety. August. The Philippines also made an active claim on Sabah in that period based upon the Sultanate of Brunei's cession of its north-east territories to the Sultanate of Sulu in 1704. The claim is still ongoing.Republic of the Philippines. Department of Foreign Affairs. FAQs on the ICJ Decision. Retrieved December.After the May 13 Incident of 1969, the controversial Malaysian New Economic Policy—intended to increase the share of the economic pie owned by the bumiputras ("indigenous people", which includes the majority Malays, but not always the indigenous population) as opposed to other ethnic groups—was launched by Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Malaysia has since maintained a delicate ethno-political balance, with a system of government that has attempted to combine overall economic development with political and economic policies that favour Bumiputras.Jomo Kwame Sundaram. UNRISD The New Economic Policy and Interethnic Relations in Malaysia. Retrieved December.

Between the 1980s and the mid 1990s, Malaysia experienced significant economic growth under the premiership of Mahathir bin Mohamad.Anthony Spaeth. Time Magazine. Bound for Glory. December 9 1996. The period saw a shift from an agriculture-based economy to one based on manufacturing and industry in areas such as computers and consumer electronics. It was during this period, too, that the physical landscape of Malaysia has changed with the emergence of numerous mega-projects. The most notable of these projects are the Petronas Twin Towers (at the time the tallest building in the world), KL International Airport (KLIA), North-South Expressway, the Sepang F1 Circuit, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), the Bakun hydroelectric dam and Putrajaya, a new federal administrative capital.

In the late 1990s, Malaysia was shaken by the Asian financial crisis as well as political unrest caused by the sacking of the deputy prime minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim.Anthony Spaeth. Time Magazine. He's the Boss. September. In 2003, Dr Mahathir, Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, retired in favour of his deputy, Abdullah Badawi.

Government and politics , the symbol of democracy system practised by the Malaysian Government

Malaysia is a federation constitutional monarchy elective monarchy. The federal head of state of Malaysia is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commonly referred to as the King of Malaysia. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected to a five-year term among the nine hereditary Malay Rulers of the Malay states; the other four states, which have titular Governors, do not participate in the selection.Article 32. Constitution of Malaysia.

The system of government in Malaysia is closely modeled on that of Westminster System parliamentary system, a legacy of British Empire. In practice however, more power is vested in the executive branch of government than in the legislative, and the judiciary has been weakened by sustained attacks by the government during the Mahathir era. Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has been governed by a multi-party coalition known as the Barisan Nasional (formerly known as the Alliance).US Department of State. Malaysia. Retrieved December.

Legislative power is divided between federal and state legislatures. The bicameral Parliament of Malaysia consists of the lower house, the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (literally the "Chamber of the People") and the upper house, the Senate or Dewan Negara (literally the "Chamber of the Nation").Article 44. Constitution of Malaysia.Article 45. Constitution of Malaysia.Article 46. Constitution of Malaysia. The 219-member House of Representatives are elected from single-member constituencies that are drawn based on population for a maximum term of 5 years. All 70 Senators sit for 3-year terms; 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies, 2 representing the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur, 1 each from federal territories of Labuan and Putrajaya, and 40 are appointed by the king. Besides the Parliament at the federal level, each state has a unicameral state legislative chamber (Malay language:Dewan Undangan Negeri) whose members are elected from single-member constituencies. Malaysian general election are held at least once every five years, with the last general election being in March 2004. Registered voters of age 21 and above may vote for the members of the House of Representatives and in most of the states, the state legislative chamber as well. Voting is not compulsory.

Executive branch is vested in the Cabinet of Malaysia led by the Prime Minister of Malaysia; the Malaysian Constitution of Malaysia stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of the lower house of Parliament of Malaysia who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament.Article 43 (2). Constitution of Malaysia The cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of Parliament and is responsible to that body.Article 43 (1). Constitution of Malaysia

State governments are led by chief ministers (Menteri Besar in Malay states or Ketua Menteri in states without hereditary rulers), who is a state assembly member from a majority party in the state assemblies (Dewan Undangan Negeri).

Citizenship Most Malaysians are granted citizenship by lex soli.Article 14. Constitution of Malaysia All Malaysians are Federal citizens with no formal citizenships within the individual states except for states & the federal territory in East Malaysia where state citizenship is privilege & distinguishable from the Peninsula. Every citizen is issued with a biometric smartchip identity card, known as MyKad, at the age of 12, and must carry the card with them. A citizen is required to present his/her identity card to the police, or in the case of an emergency, to any military personnel, to be identified. If the card cannot be produced immediately, the person technically has 24 hours under the law to produce it at the nearest police station.

Geography The two distinct parts of Malaysia, separated from each other by the South China Sea, share a largely similar landscape in that both Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia feature coastal plains rising to often densely forested hills and mountains, the highest of which is Mount Kinabalu at 4,095.2 metres (13,435.7 foot (unit of length)) on the island of Borneo. The local climate is equatorial and characterised by the annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons.

Tanjung Piai, located in the southern state of Johor, is the southernmost tip of continental Asia.Leow Chiah Wei. Travel Times. New Straits Times. Asia's southernmost tip. Retrieved December.Sager Ahmad. Travel Times. New Straits Times. Tanjung Piai, the End of Asia. Retrieved December.

The Strait of Malacca, lying between Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, is arguably the most important shipping lane in the world.Andrew Marshall. Time Magazine. Waterway to the World. Retrieved December.

Putrajaya is the newly created administrative capital for the federal government of Malaysia, aimed in part to ease growing congestion within Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur remains the seat of parliament, as well as the commercial and financial capital of the country. Other major cities include Georgetown, Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Alor Star, Malacca Town, and Klang.

Natural resources Malaysia is well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry as well as minerals. In terms of agriculture, Malaysia is the world's primary exporter of natural rubber and palm oil, which together with sawn logs and sawn timber, cocoa, black pepper, pineapple and tobacco dominate the growth of the sector. Palm oil is also a major generator of foreign exchange.

Regarding forestry resources, it is noted that logging only began to make a substantial contribution to the economy during the nineteenth century. Today an estimated 59% of Malaysia remains forested. The rapid expansion of the timber industry, particularly after the 1960s, has brought about a serious erosion problem in the country's forest resources. However, in line with the Government's commitment to protect the environment and the ecological system, forestry resources are being managed on a sustainable basis and accordingly the rate of tree felling has been on the decline.

In addition, substantial areas are being silviculture 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 square mile) of land with rattan under natural forest conditions and in rubber plantations as an inter crop. 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 cultivation of high-value trees like teak and other trees for pulp and paper are also encouraged. Rubber, once the mainstay of the Malaysian economy, has been largely replaced by oil palm as Malaysia's leading agricultural export.

Tin and petroleum are the two main mineral resources that are of major significance in the Malaysian economy. Malaysia was once the world's largest producer of tin until the collapse of the tin market in the early 1980s. In the 19th and 20th century, tin played a predominant role in the Malaysian economy. It was only in 1972 that petroleum and natural gas took over from tin as the mainstay of the mining sector. Meanwhile, the contribution by tin has declined. Petroleum and natural gas which were discovered in oilfields offshore Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu have contributed much to the Malaysian economy particularly in those three states. Other minerals of some importance or significance include copper, gold, bauxite, iron-ore and coal together with industrial minerals like clay, kaolin, silica, limestone, barite, phosphates and dimension stones such as granite as well as marble blocks and slabs. Small quantities of gold are produced.

In 2004, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, revealed that Malaysia's oil reserves stood at 4.84 billion barrels while natural gas reserves increased to 89 trillion Cubic foot (2,500 km³). This was an increase of 7.2%.

The government estimates that at current production rates Malaysia will be able to produce oil up to 18 years and gas for 35 years. In 2004 Malaysia is ranked 24th in terms of world oil reserves and 13th for gas. 56% of the oil reserves exist in the Peninsula while 19% exist in East Malaysia. The government collects oil royalties of which 5% are passed to the states and the rest retained by the federal government.

Demographics is one of the most recognizable mosques in Malaysia.Malaya's population comprises many ethnic groups, with the Malay (ethnic group)s making up the majority, close to 52% of the population. By constitutional definition, all Malays are Muslim. About 30% of the population are Chinese Malaysian. Indian Malaysian comprise about 8% of the population. About 90% of the Indian community are Tamil peoples but various other groups are also present, including Keralas, Punjabis and Gujaratis. There are also various non-Malay peoples who are designated as indigenous, mostly in East Malaysia. These make up about 7% of the population.

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 known as Orang Asli. The non-Malay indigenous population is divided into dozens of ethnic groups, but they share some general cultural similarities. Other Malaysians also include those of, inter alia, European, Middle Eastern, Cambodian, Thailand and Vietnamese descent. Europeans and Eurasian (mixed ancestry) include British who colonized and settled in Malaysia and some Kristang people. Most of the Middle Easterners are Arab descent. A small number of Cambodians and Vietnamese settled in Malaysia as Vietnam War refugees. Population distribution is uneven, with some 20 million residents concentrated on the Malay Peninsula, while East Malaysia is relatively less populated.

Due to the rise in labour intensive industries, Malaysia has 10 to 20% foreign workers with the uncertainty due in part to the large number of illegal workers, mostly Indonesian. There are a million legal foreign workers and perhaps another million unauthorized foreigners. The state of Sabah alone has nearly 25% of its 2.7 million population listed as illegal foreign workers in the last census. However, this figure of 25% is thought to be less than half the figure speculated by NGOs.{{cite web|url=http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog_surat1/2006/08/all-sabahans-must-fight-bn-and-umno.html|title= All Sabahans must Fight BN and UMNO|publisher=Malaysia Today|date=August 15, 2006-->

Religion is a well-known historical mosque in Kuala Kangsar. was constructed in the 18th century by the Dutch.

Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion. According to the Population and Housing Census 2000 figures, approximately 60.4 percent of the population practiced Islam; 19.2 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; and 6.3 percent Hinduism. The remaining 5 percent was accounted for by other faiths, including animism, shamanism, Sikhism, Bahá'í, Taoism, Confucianism, and other traditional Chinese religions. "Population and Housing Census" Press statement, Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Accessed April 3, 2007. Until the 20th century, most practiced animism, which arguably still linger on to a greater degree than Malaysian officialdom is prepared to acknowledge.

Although the Malaysian constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom, in practice the situation is not so simple. All ethnic Malays are Muslim as defined in the Malaysian constitution.Article 160 (2). Constitution of Malaysia. Additionally, all non-Muslims who marry a Muslim must renounce their religion and convert to Islam. Meanwhile, Non-Muslims experience restrictions in activities such as construction of religious buildings and the celebration of certain religious events in some states.Inter Press Service: Temple Demolitions Spell Creeping Islamisation. Retrieved 4 June 2006.BBC : Pressure on multi-faith Malaysia. Retrieved 4 June 2006. Muslims are obliged to follow the decisions of Sharia courts. As a legal matter, Muslims may not apostatise very freely, as doing so involves the Sharia court. The Sharia court is governed by judges who are trained in Sharia law. Generally, one who wishes to leave Islam makes a legal declaration, but this is still not recognised by the Malaysian civil courts. One has to obtain a declaration of apostasy from a Sharia court and the court will only grant the apostasy after the court is truly convinced that the petitioner no longer has faith in Islam. This may be considered a very tolerant position for a Sharia court.

Malaysians tend to personally respect one another's religious beliefs, with inter-religious problems arising mainly from the political sphere. However, there is a growing divide because many Chinese and Indians feel oppressed by recent religiously-related political sentiments that threaten freedom of religion.

Education is one of the earliest boarding schools to be established in British Malaya..Education in Malaysia is monitored by the federal government Ministry of Education.Ninth Schedule. Constitution of Malaysia.

Most Malaysian children start schooling between the ages of three to six, in kindergarten. Most kindergartens are run privately, but there are a few government-operated kindergartens.

Children begin primary schooling at the age of seven for a period of six years. There are two major types of government-operated or government-assisted primary schools. They are the national schools (Sekolah Kebangsaan) which use Malay as the medium of instruction, and the national-type schools (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan) which use either Chinese or Tamil as the medium of instruction. Before progressing to the secondary level of education, students in Year 6 are required to sit for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), or Primary School Assessment Examination. An exam called Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS), First Level Assessment, was used to measure the ability of bright students, and to allow them to move from Year 3 to 5, skipping Year 4.World Education Forum. UNESCO. Education for All 2000 Assessment Report. Malaysia. Retrieved December. This exam was removed in 2001.

Secondary education in government secondary schools last for five years. Government secondary schools use Malay as the main medium of instruction. The only exceptions are the Maths and Science subjects as well as languages other than Malay. At the end of the third year or Form Three, students sit for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), Lower Secondary Assessment. The combination of subjects available to Form 4 students vary from one school to another. In the last year (Form 5), students sit for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Malaysian Certificate of Education, which is equivalent to the British Ordinary or 'O' Levels (now referred to as GCSE). The oldest in Malaysia is Penang Free School. Penang Free School is also the oldest school in South East Asia.

Mathematics and Science subjects in government primary and secondary schools such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry are taught in English. The reasoning was that students would no longer be hindered by the language barrier during their tertiary education in fields such as medicine and engineering.

There are also 60 Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia, where most subjects are taught in Chinese. Chinese Independent High Schools are monitored and standardized by the United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, more commonly referred to by its Chinese name, Dong Zong 董总), however, unlike government schools, every independent school is free to make its own decisions. Studying in independent schools takes 6 years to complete, divided into Junior Middle (3 years) and Senior Middle (3 years). Students sit for a standardised test by Dong Zong known as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in Junior Middle 3 (equivalent to PMR) and Senior Middle 3 (equivalent to AO level). A number of independent schools conduct classes in Malay and English in addition to Chinese, enabling the students to sit for the PMR and SPM as well.

Malaysia's secondary schools are grouped into a few types, namely SMK (National Schools)which include daily schools and religious schools (SMKA – There are 54 of them), SMJK (Chinese Independent Schools), SMT (Technical schools), SBP (Residential Schools, MRSM (Mara Junior College)and private-funding schools such SMA (Religious Schools), International Schools (such as Fairview International School)and Private Schools (such as Sri Cempaka)

Students who wish to enter public universities must complete one and a half more years of secondary schooling in Form Six and sit for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), Malaysian Higher School Certificate; equivalent to the British Advanced or 'A' levels.

As for tertiary education, there are public universities such as University of Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In addition, five international reputable universities have set up their branch campuses in Malaysia since 1998. A branch campus can be seen as an ‘off-shore campus’ of the foreign university, which offers the same courses and awards as the main campus. Both local and international students can acquire these identical foreign qualifications in Malaysia for a cheaper price. The foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia are: Monash University (Sunway Campus), Curtin University of Technology (Sarawak Campus), Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and FTMS-De Monfort University Campus of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

Students also have the option of enrolling in private colleges after secondary studies. Most colleges have educational links with overseas universities especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Malaysian students abroad study mostly in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and Japan.

In addition to the National Curriculum, Malaysia has many international schools. International schools offer students the opportunity to study the curriculum of another country. These schools mainly cater to the growing expatriate population in the country. International schools include: the Australian International School, Malaysia (Australian curriculum), The Alice Smith School (British Curriculum), The Garden International School (British Curriculum), Lodge International School (British Curriculum), The International School of Kuala Lumpur (International Baccalaureate and American Curriculum), The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur (Japanese Curriculum), The International School of Penang (International Baccalaureate and British Curriculum), Lycée Français de Kuala Lumpur (French Curriculum) amongst others.

Healthcare Malaysian society places importance on the expansion and development of health care, putting 5% of the government social sector development budget into public healthcare—an increase of more than 47% over the previous figure. This has meant an overall increase of more than RM 2 billion. With a rising and aging population, the Government wishes to improve in many areas including the refurbishment of existing hospitals, building and equipping new hospitals, expansion of the number of polyclinics, and improvements in training and expansion of telehealth. Over the last couple of years they have increased their efforts to overhaul the systems and attract more foreign investment.

The Malaysian healthcare system requires doctors to perform a compulsory three years service with public hospitals to ensure the manpower of these hospitals is maintained. Recently foreign doctors have also been encouraged to take up employment here. There is still, however, a compound shortage of medical workforce, especially that of highly trained Medical specialist resulting in certain medical care and treatment only available in large cities. Recent efforts to bring many facilities to other towns have been hampered by lack of expertise to run the available equipment made ready by investments.

The majority of private hospitals are in urban areas and, unlike many of the public hospitals, are equipped with the latest diagnostic and imaging facilities. Private hospitals have not generally been seen as an ideal investment—it has often taken up to ten years before companies have seen any profits. However, the situation has now changed and companies are now looking into this area again, particularly in view of the increasing interest by foreigners in coming to Malaysia for medical care and the recent government focus to develop the medical tourism industry. Health Tourism, Malaysian Government Portal. Accessed October 12, 2007.

Economy The Malay Peninsula and indeed Southeast Asia has been a centre of trade for centuries. Various items such as porcelain and spice were actively traded even before Sultanate of Malacca and Singapore rose to prominence.In the 17th century, they were found in several Malay states. Later, as the British Empire started to take over as administrators of Malaya, rubber and palm oil trees were introduced for commercial purposes. Over time, Malaya became the world's largest major producer of tin, rubber, and palm oil.Time Magazine. Rubber from Malaya. March 1 1943. These three commodities, along with other raw materials, firmly set Malaysia's economic tempo well into the mid-20th century.

Instead of relying on the local Malays as a source of labour, the British brought in Chinese and Indians to work on the mines and plantations. Although many of them returned to their respective home countries after their agreed tenure ended, some remained in Malaysia and settled permanently.

As Malaya moved towards independence, the government began implementing economic Five-year plans of Malaysias, beginning with the First Malayan Five Year Plan in 1955. Upon the establishment of Malaysia, the plans were re-titled and renumbered, beginning with the First Malaysia Plan in 1965.

In 1970s, Malaysia began to imitate Asian Tigers and committed itself to a transition from being reliant on mining and agriculture to an economy that depends more on manufacturing. With Japanese investment, heavy industries flourished and in a matter of years, Malaysian exports became the country's primary growth engine. Malaysia consistently achieved more than 7% GDP growth along with low inflation in the 1980s and the 1990s.

During the same period, the government tried to eradicate poverty with the controversial New Economic Policy (Malaysia) (NEP), after the May 13 Incident of racial rioting in 1969. Its main objective was the elimination of the association of race with economic function, and the first five-year plan to begin implementing the NEP was the Second Malaysia Plan. The success or failure of the NEP is the subject of much debate, although it was officially retired in 1990 and replaced by the National Development Policy (NDP).

The rapid economic boom led to a variety of supply problems, however. Labour shortages soon resulted in an influx of millions of foreign workers, many illegal. Cash-rich PLCs and consortia of banks eager to benefit from increased and rapid development began large infrastructure projects. This all ended when the Asian Financial Crisis hit in the fall of 1997, delivering a massive shock to Malaysia's economy.

As with other countries affected by the crisis, there was speculative short-selling of the Malaysian currency, the ringgit. Foreign direct investment fell at an alarming rate and, as capital flowed out of the country, the value of the ringgit dropped from MYR 2.50 per USD to, at one point, MYR 4.80 per USD. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's composite index plummeted from approximately 1300 points to around 400 points in a matter of weeks. After the controversial sacking of finance minister Anwar Ibrahim, a National Economic Action Council was formed to deal with the monetary crisis. Bank Negara imposed capital controls and fixed exchange rate the Malaysian ringgit at 3.80 to the US dollar. Malaysia refused economic aid packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, however, surprising many analysts.

In March 2005, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published a paper on the sources and pace of Malaysia's recovery, written by Jomo K.S. of the applied economics department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. The paper concluded that the controls imposed by Malaysia's government neither hurt nor helped recovery. The chief factor was an increase in electronics components exports, which was caused by a large increase in the demand for components in the United States, which was caused, in turn, by a fear of the effects of the arrival of the year 2000 (Y2K) upon older computers and other digital devices.

However, the post Y2K slump of 2001 did not affect Malaysia as much as other countries. This may have been clearer evidence that there are other causes and effects that can be more properly attributable for recovery. One possibility is that the currency speculators had run out of finance after failing in their attack on the Hong Kong dollar in August 1998 and after the Russian ruble collapsed. (See George Soros)

Regardless of cause/effect claims, rejuvenation of the economy also coincided with massive government spending and budget deficits in the years that followed the crisis. Later, Malaysia enjoyed faster economic recovery compared to its neighbours. In many ways, however, the country has yet to recover to the levels of the pre-crisis era.

While the pace of development today is not as rapid, it is seen to be more sustainable. Although the controls and economic housekeeping may not have been the principal reason for recovery, there is no doubt that the banking sector has become more resilient to external shocks. The current account has also settled into a structural surplus, providing a cushion to capital flight. Asset prices are now a fraction of their pre-crisis heights.

The fixed exchange rate was abandoned in July 2005 in favour of a managed floating exchange rate within an hour of China's announcing of the same move. In the same week, the ringgit strengthened a percent against various major currencies and was expected to appreciate further. As of December 2005, however, expectations of further appreciation were muted as capital flight exceeded USD 10 billion.Department of Statistics. Malaysia. Quarterly Balance of Payments Performance October - December, 2005. Retrieved December.

In September 2005, Sir Howard J. Davies, director of the London School of Economics, at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, cautioned Malaysian officials that if they want a flexible capital market, they will have to lift the ban on short-selling put into effect during the crisis. In March 2006, Malaysia removed the ban on short selling.Financial Times. Malaysia relaxes short-selling ban. Extracted March 28, 2006. Currently, Malaysia is considered a newly industrialized country.

Infrastructure See also: :Category:Buildings and structures in Kuala Lumpur and and structures in Putrajaya|Buildings an {{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = Malaysia|conventional_long_name =|common_name = Malaysia|image_flag = Flag of Malaysia.svg|image_coat = Msia-crest.jpg|symbol_type = Emblem|image_map = LocationMalaysia.png|national_motto = "Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu""Unity Is Strength"|national_anthem = Negaraku]|capital = Kuala Lumpur|leader_title1 = [Yang di-Pertuan Agong|leader_title2 = [Prime Minister of Malaysia|leader_name2 = Abdullah Ahmad Badawi|established_event1 = from the [United Kingdom (Federation of Malaya only)|established_date1 = August 31 1957, [Sarawak and Singapore)] 1963-->|percent_water = 0.3|population_estimate = 27,122,000|population_estimate_year = Jun 2007|population_estimate_rank = 45th|population_census_year = 2000|population_census = 24,821,286|population_density_km2 = 82|population_density_sq_mi = 213 (RM)|currency_code = MYR|time_zone = Malaysian Standard Time|utc_offset = +8|time_zone_DST = not observed|utc_offset_DST = +8|cctld = .my/[FIFA: MASISO: MYS]|footnote1 = Malaysian Flag and Crest from www.gov.my.|footnote2 = The current terminology as per government policy is Bahasa Malaysia (literally Malaysian language) ref but legislation continues to refer to the official language as Bahasa Melayu (literally Malay language).|footnote3 = Putrajaya is the primary seat of government.] 1965.]: ) is a federation of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia.myGovernment. Federal Territories and State Governments. Retrieved December 8 2006. The country consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea:CIA. The World Fact Book. Malaysia. Retrieved December 9 2006.

Although politically dominated by the Malay people, modern Malaysian society is heterogeneous, with substantial Chinese Malaysian and Indian Malaysian minorities.CIA. People. 2006 The World Fact Book. Retrieved December. Malaysian politics have been noted for their allegedly communal nature;Farish Noor (2005). Kafirs R' Us: Why we need to think beyond the Muslim-Kafir divide (Part 1). From Majapahit to Putrajaya. Page 158. Silverfish Books. ISBN-X the three major component parties of the Barisan Nasional each restrict membership to those of one ethnic group. However, the only major intercommunal violence the country has seen since independence was the May 13 Incident of 1969 that occurred in the wake of an election campaign that was dominated by racial issues.Time Magazine. Race War in Malaysia. May. Retrieved December.

Etymology The name "Malaysia" was adopted in 1963 when the Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu), Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed a 14-state federation.Paragraph 22. Singapore. Road to Independence. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Country Studies/Area Handbook Series. U.S. Department of the Army. Retrieved December 9 2006. Singapore was expelled from the federation in 1965 and subsequently became an independent country.Paragraph 25. Singapore. Road to Independence. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Country Studies/Area Handbook Series. U.S. Department of the Army. Retrieved December 9 2006.

History Early history The earliest inhabitants of the Malay peninsula were the orang asli or indigenous people who migrated from Siam around 2500 BC. Proto-Malays originating from Java began arriving between 1500 BC and 500 BC. Ptolemy showed it on his early map with a label that translates as "Golden Chersonese", the Straits of Malacca were referred to as "Sinus Sabaricus". From the mid to the late first millennium, much of the Peninsula as well as the Malay Archipelago were under the influence of Srivijaya.Originally these were Hindu or Buddhism nations.

There were numerous Malay kingdoms in the 2nd and 3rd century CE—as many as 30 according to Chinese sources. Kedah—known as Kedaram or Kataha, in ancient Pallava or Sanskrit—was in the direct route of invasions of Indian traders and kings. Rajendra Chola Chola dynasty, who is now thought to have laid Kota Gelanggi to waste, put Kedah to heel in 1025 but his successor, Vir Rajendra Chola, had to put down a Kedah rebellion to overthrow the invaders. The coming of the Chola reduced the majesty of Srivijaya which had exerted influence over Kedah and Pattani and even as far as Ligor.

The Buddhist Nakhon Si Thammarat kingdom took control of Kedah shortly after, and its King Chandrabhanu used it as a base to attack Sri Lanka in the 11th century, an event noted in a stone inscription in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu and in the Sri Lankan chronicles, Mahavamsa. During the first millennium, the people of the Malay peninsula adopted Hinduism and Buddhism and the use of the Sanskrit language until they eventually converted to Islam, but not before Hinduism, Buddhism and Sanskrit became embedded into the Malay worldview. Traces of the influences in political ideas, social structure, rituals, language, arts and cultural practices still can be seen to this day.

. It was built by the Portuguese in the 15th century.

There are reports of other areas older than Kedah—the ancient kingdom of Gangganegara, around Bruas in Perak, for instance, pushes Malaysian history even further into antiquity. If that is not enough, a Tamil poem, Pattinapillai, of the second century CE, describes goods from Kadaram heaped in the broad streets of the Chola capital; a seventh century Sanskrit drama, Kaumudhimahotsva, refers to Kedah as Kataha-nagari. The Agnipurana also mentions a territory known Anda-Kataha with one of its boundaries delineated by a peak, which scholars believe is Gunong Jerai. Stories from the Katasaritasagaram describe the elegance of life in Kataha.

in Kuala Lumpur houses the High Court of Malaya and the Trade Court. Kuala Lumpur was the capital of the Federated Malay States and is the current Malaysian capital.In the early 15th century, the Sultanate of Malacca was established under a dynasty founded by Parameswara, a prince from Palembang with bloodline related to the royal home of Srivijaya, who fled from the island Temasek (now Singapore). Parameswara decided to establish his kingdom in Malacca after witnessing an astonishing incident where a white mouse deer kicked one of his hunting dogs. He took it as a sign of good luck and name his kingdom "Melaka" after the tree he was resting under. At its height, the sultanate controlled the areas which are now Peninsula Malaysia, southern Thailand (Patani), and the eastern coast of Sumatra. It existed for more than a century, and within that time period Islam spread to most of the Malay Archipelago. Melaka was the foremost trading port at the time in Southeast Asia.M.C. Ricklefs. pp. 19. A History of Modern Indonesia. Indiana University Press. 1981. ISBN

The first evidence of Islam in the Malay peninsula dates from the 14th century in Terengganu, but according to the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, the 9th Maharaja Derbar Raja AD) of Sultanate of Kedah converted to Islam and changed his name to Sultan Muzaffar Shah. Since then there have been 27 Sultans who ruled Kedah. In 1511, Malacca was conquered by Portugal, which established a colony there. The sons of the last Sultan of Malacca established two sultanates elsewhere in the peninsula—the Sultanate of Perak to the north, and the Sultanate of Johor (originally a continuation of the old Melaka sultanate) to the south. After the fall of Melaka, three nations struggled for the control of Malacca Strait: the Portuguese (in Malacca), the Sultanate of Johor, and the Aceh. This conflict went on till 1641, when the Netherlands (allied to the Sultanate of Johor) gained control of Malacca.

British arrival United Kingdom established its first colony in the Malay peninsula in 1786, with the lease of the island of Penang to the British East India Company by the Sultan of Kedah. In 1824, the United Kingdom took control of Malacca following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 which divided the Malay archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands, with Malaya in the British zone. In 1826, Britain established the crown colony of the Straits Settlements, uniting its three possessions in Malaya: Penang, Malacca and Singapore. The Straits Settlements were administered under the East India Company in Calcutta until 1867, when they were transferred to the Colonial Office in London.

During the late 19th century, many Malay states decided to obtain British help in settling their internal conflicts. The commercial importance of tin mining in the Malay states to merchants in the Straits Settlements led to British government intervention in the tin-producing states in the Malay Peninsula. British gunboat diplomacy was employed to bring about a peaceful resolution to civil disturbances caused by Chinese gangsters, and the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 paved the way for the expansion of British influence in Malaya. By the turn of the 20th century, the states of Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan, known together as the Federated Malay States (not to be confused with the Federation of Malaya), were under the de facto control of British resident (title) appointed to advise the Malay rulers. The British were "advisers" in name, but in reality they exercised substantial influence over the Malay rulers.The remaining five states in the peninsula, known as the Unfederated Malay States, while not directly under rule from London, also accepted British advisors around the turn of the 20th century. Of these, the four northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu had previously been under Thailand control.

On the island of Borneo, Sabah was governed as the crown colony of British North Borneo, while Sarawak was acquired from Brunei as the personal kingdom of the Brooke family, who ruled as White Rajahs.

Following the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II, popular support for independence grew.Mahathir Mohamad. Our Region, Ourselves. Time Asia. May. Post-war British plans to unite the administration of Malaya under a single crown colony called the Malayan Union foundered on strong opposition from the ethnic Malay, who opposed the emasculation of the Malay rulers and the granting of citizenship to the Chinese Malaysian.Time Magazine. Token Citizenship. May. The Malayan Union, established in 1946 and consisting of all the British possessions in Malaya with the exception of Singapore, was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection.

During this time, rebels under the leadership of the Communist Party of Malaya launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency, as it was known, lasted from 1948 to 1960, and involved a long anti-insurgency campaign by Commonwealth of Nations troops in Malaya.Time Magazine. Siege's End. May 2 1960. Against this backdrop, Hari Merdeka for the Federation within the Commonwealth was granted on 31 August 1957.Time Magazine. A New Nation. September 9 1957.

Post independence In 1963 Malaya along with the then-British crown colonies of Singapore, Sabah (British North Borneo) and Sarawak formed Malaysia. The Sultanate of Brunei, though initially expressing interest in joining the Federation, withdrew from the planned merger due to opposition from certain segments of the population as well as arguments over the payment of oil royalties and the status of the Sultan in the planned merger.Time Magazine. Hurray for Harry. DecemberTime Magazine. Fighting the Federation. December, the capital and largest city of MalaysiaThe childhood of independence were marred by Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (Konfrontasi) over the formation of Malaysia, Singapore's eventual exit in 1965, and racial strife in the form of May 13 Incident in 1969.Time Magazine. The Art of Dispelling Anxiety. August. The Philippines also made an active claim on Sabah in that period based upon the Sultanate of Brunei's cession of its north-east territories to the Sultanate of Sulu in 1704. The claim is still ongoing.Republic of the Philippines. Department of Foreign Affairs. FAQs on the ICJ Decision. Retrieved December.After the May 13 Incident of 1969, the controversial Malaysian New Economic Policy—intended to increase the share of the economic pie owned by the bumiputras ("indigenous people", which includes the majority Malays, but not always the indigenous population) as opposed to other ethnic groups—was launched by Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Malaysia has since maintained a delicate ethno-political balance, with a system of government that has attempted to combine overall economic development with political and economic policies that favour Bumiputras.Jomo Kwame Sundaram. UNRISD The New Economic Policy and Interethnic Relations in Malaysia. Retrieved December.

Between the 1980s and the mid 1990s, Malaysia experienced significant economic growth under the premiership of Mahathir bin Mohamad.Anthony Spaeth. Time Magazine. Bound for Glory. December 9 1996. The period saw a shift from an agriculture-based economy to one based on manufacturing and industry in areas such as computers and consumer electronics. It was during this period, too, that the physical landscape of Malaysia has changed with the emergence of numerous mega-projects. The most notable of these projects are the Petronas Twin Towers (at the time the tallest building in the world), KL International Airport (KLIA), North-South Expressway, the Sepang F1 Circuit, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), the Bakun hydroelectric dam and Putrajaya, a new federal administrative capital.

In the late 1990s, Malaysia was shaken by the Asian financial crisis as well as political unrest caused by the sacking of the deputy prime minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim.Anthony Spaeth. Time Magazine. He's the Boss. September. In 2003, Dr Mahathir, Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, retired in favour of his deputy, Abdullah Badawi.

Government and politics , the symbol of democracy system practised by the Malaysian Government

Malaysia is a federation constitutional monarchy elective monarchy. The federal head of state of Malaysia is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commonly referred to as the King of Malaysia. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected to a five-year term among the nine hereditary Malay Rulers of the Malay states; the other four states, which have titular Governors, do not participate in the selection.Article 32. Constitution of Malaysia.

The system of government in Malaysia is closely modeled on that of Westminster System parliamentary system, a legacy of British Empire. In practice however, more power is vested in the executive branch of government than in the legislative, and the judiciary has been weakened by sustained attacks by the government during the Mahathir era. Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has been governed by a multi-party coalition known as the Barisan Nasional (formerly known as the Alliance).US Department of State. Malaysia. Retrieved December.

Legislative power is divided between federal and state legislatures. The bicameral Parliament of Malaysia consists of the lower house, the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (literally the "Chamber of the People") and the upper house, the Senate or Dewan Negara (literally the "Chamber of the Nation").Article 44. Constitution of Malaysia.Article 45. Constitution of Malaysia.Article 46. Constitution of Malaysia. The 219-member House of Representatives are elected from single-member constituencies that are drawn based on population for a maximum term of 5 years. All 70 Senators sit for 3-year terms; 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies, 2 representing the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur, 1 each from federal territories of Labuan and Putrajaya, and 40 are appointed by the king. Besides the Parliament at the federal level, each state has a unicameral state legislative chamber (Malay language:Dewan Undangan Negeri) whose members are elected from single-member constituencies. Malaysian general election are held at least once every five years, with the last general election being in March 2004. Registered voters of age 21 and above may vote for the members of the House of Representatives and in most of the states, the state legislative chamber as well. Voting is not compulsory.

Executive branch is vested in the Cabinet of Malaysia led by the Prime Minister of Malaysia; the Malaysian Constitution of Malaysia stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of the lower house of Parliament of Malaysia who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament.Article 43 (2). Constitution of Malaysia The cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of Parliament and is responsible to that body.Article 43 (1). Constitution of Malaysia

State governments are led by chief ministers (Menteri Besar in Malay states or Ketua Menteri in states without hereditary rulers), who is a state assembly member from a majority party in the state assemblies (Dewan Undangan Negeri).

Citizenship Most Malaysians are granted citizenship by lex soli.Article 14. Constitution of Malaysia All Malaysians are Federal citizens with no formal citizenships within the individual states except for states & the federal territory in East Malaysia where state citizenship is privilege & distinguishable from the Peninsula. Every citizen is issued with a biometric smartchip identity card, known as MyKad, at the age of 12, and must carry the card with them. A citizen is required to present his/her identity card to the police, or in the case of an emergency, to any military personnel, to be identified. If the card cannot be produced immediately, the person technically has 24 hours under the law to produce it at the nearest police station.

Geography The two distinct parts of Malaysia, separated from each other by the South China Sea, share a largely similar landscape in that both Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia feature coastal plains rising to often densely forested hills and mountains, the highest of which is Mount Kinabalu at 4,095.2 metres (13,435.7 foot (unit of length)) on the island of Borneo. The local climate is equatorial and characterised by the annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons.

Tanjung Piai, located in the southern state of Johor, is the southernmost tip of continental Asia.Leow Chiah Wei. Travel Times. New Straits Times. Asia's southernmost tip. Retrieved December.Sager Ahmad. Travel Times. New Straits Times. Tanjung Piai, the End of Asia. Retrieved December.

The Strait of Malacca, lying between Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, is arguably the most important shipping lane in the world.Andrew Marshall. Time Magazine. Waterway to the World. Retrieved December.

Putrajaya is the newly created administrative capital for the federal government of Malaysia, aimed in part to ease growing congestion within Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur remains the seat of parliament, as well as the commercial and financial capital of the country. Other major cities include Georgetown, Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Alor Star, Malacca Town, and Klang.

Natural resources Malaysia is well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry as well as minerals. In terms of agriculture, Malaysia is the world's primary exporter of natural rubber and palm oil, which together with sawn logs and sawn timber, cocoa, black pepper, pineapple and tobacco dominate the growth of the sector. Palm oil is also a major generator of foreign exchange.

Regarding forestry resources, it is noted that logging only began to make a substantial contribution to the economy during the nineteenth century. Today an estimated 59% of Malaysia remains forested. The rapid expansion of the timber industry, particularly after the 1960s, has brought about a serious erosion problem in the country's forest resources. However, in line with the Government's commitment to protect the environment and the ecological system, forestry resources are being managed on a sustainable basis and accordingly the rate of tree felling has been on the decline.

In addition, substantial areas are being silviculture 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 square mile) of land with rattan under natural forest conditions and in rubber plantations as an inter crop. 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 cultivation of high-value trees like teak and other trees for pulp and paper are also encouraged. Rubber, once the mainstay of the Malaysian economy, has been largely replaced by oil palm as Malaysia's leading agricultural export.

Tin and petroleum are the two main mineral resources that are of major significance in the Malaysian economy. Malaysia was once the world's largest producer of tin until the collapse of the tin market in the early 1980s. In the 19th and 20th century, tin played a predominant role in the Malaysian economy. It was only in 1972 that petroleum and natural gas took over from tin as the mainstay of the mining sector. Meanwhile, the contribution by tin has declined. Petroleum and natural gas which were discovered in oilfields offshore Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu have contributed much to the Malaysian economy particularly in those three states. Other minerals of some importance or significance include copper, gold, bauxite, iron-ore and coal together with industrial minerals like clay, kaolin, silica, limestone, barite, phosphates and dimension stones such as granite as well as marble blocks and slabs. Small quantities of gold are produced.

In 2004, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, revealed that Malaysia's oil reserves stood at 4.84 billion barrels while natural gas reserves increased to 89 trillion Cubic foot (2,500 km³). This was an increase of 7.2%.

The government estimates that at current production rates Malaysia will be able to produce oil up to 18 years and gas for 35 years. In 2004 Malaysia is ranked 24th in terms of world oil reserves and 13th for gas. 56% of the oil reserves exist in the Peninsula while 19% exist in East Malaysia. The government collects oil royalties of which 5% are passed to the states and the rest retained by the federal government.

Demographics is one of the most recognizable mosques in Malaysia.Malaya's population comprises many ethnic groups, with the Malay (ethnic group)s making up the majority, close to 52% of the population. By constitutional definition, all Malays are Muslim. About 30% of the population are Chinese Malaysian. Indian Malaysian comprise about 8% of the population. About 90% of the Indian community are Tamil peoples but various other groups are also present, including Keralas, Punjabis and Gujaratis. There are also various non-Malay peoples who are designated as indigenous, mostly in East Malaysia. These make up about 7% of the population.

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 known as Orang Asli. The non-Malay indigenous population is divided into dozens of ethnic groups, but they share some general cultural similarities. Other Malaysians also include those of, inter alia, European, Middle Eastern, Cambodian, Thailand and Vietnamese descent. Europeans and Eurasian (mixed ancestry) include British who colonized and settled in Malaysia and some Kristang people. Most of the Middle Easterners are Arab descent. A small number of Cambodians and Vietnamese settled in Malaysia as Vietnam War refugees. Population distribution is uneven, with some 20 million residents concentrated on the Malay Peninsula, while East Malaysia is relatively less populated.

Due to the rise in labour intensive industries, Malaysia has 10 to 20% foreign workers with the uncertainty due in part to the large number of illegal workers, mostly Indonesian. There are a million legal foreign workers and perhaps another million unauthorized foreigners. The state of Sabah alone has nearly 25% of its 2.7 million population listed as illegal foreign workers in the last census. However, this figure of 25% is thought to be less than half the figure speculated by NGOs.{{cite web|url=http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog_surat1/2006/08/all-sabahans-must-fight-bn-and-umno.html|title= All Sabahans must Fight BN and UMNO|publisher=Malaysia Today|date=August 15, 2006-->

Religion is a well-known historical mosque in Kuala Kangsar. was constructed in the 18th century by the Dutch.

Malaysia is a multi-religious society and Islam is the official religion. According to the Population and Housing Census 2000 figures, approximately 60.4 percent of the population practiced Islam; 19.2 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; and 6.3 percent Hinduism. The remaining 5 percent was accounted for by other faiths, including animism, shamanism, Sikhism, Bahá'í, Taoism, Confucianism, and other traditional Chinese religions. "Population and Housing Census" Press statement, Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Accessed April 3, 2007. Until the 20th century, most practiced animism, which arguably still linger on to a greater degree than Malaysian officialdom is prepared to acknowledge.

Although the Malaysian constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom, in practice the situation is not so simple. All ethnic Malays are Muslim as defined in the Malaysian constitution.Article 160 (2). Constitution of Malaysia. Additionally, all non-Muslims who marry a Muslim must renounce their religion and convert to Islam. Meanwhile, Non-Muslims experience restrictions in activities such as construction of religious buildings and the celebration of certain religious events in some states.Inter Press Service: Temple Demolitions Spell Creeping Islamisation. Retrieved 4 June 2006.BBC : Pressure on multi-faith Malaysia. Retrieved 4 June 2006. Muslims are obliged to follow the decisions of Sharia courts. As a legal matter, Muslims may not apostatise very freely, as doing so involves the Sharia court. The Sharia court is governed by judges who are trained in Sharia law. Generally, one who wishes to leave Islam makes a legal declaration, but this is still not recognised by the Malaysian civil courts. One has to obtain a declaration of apostasy from a Sharia court and the court will only grant the apostasy after the court is truly convinced that the petitioner no longer has faith in Islam. This may be considered a very tolerant position for a Sharia court.

Malaysians tend to personally respect one another's religious beliefs, with inter-religious problems arising mainly from the political sphere. However, there is a growing divide because many Chinese and Indians feel oppressed by recent religiously-related political sentiments that threaten freedom of religion.

Education is one of the earliest boarding schools to be established in British Malaya..Education in Malaysia is monitored by the federal government Ministry of Education.Ninth Schedule. Constitution of Malaysia.

Most Malaysian children start schooling between the ages of three to six, in kindergarten. Most kindergartens are run privately, but there are a few government-operated kindergartens.

Children begin primary schooling at the age of seven for a period of six years. There are two major types of government-operated or government-assisted primary schools. They are the national schools (Sekolah Kebangsaan) which use Malay as the medium of instruction, and the national-type schools (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan) which use either Chinese or Tamil as the medium of instruction. Before progressing to the secondary level of education, students in Year 6 are required to sit for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), or Primary School Assessment Examination. An exam called Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS), First Level Assessment, was used to measure the ability of bright students, and to allow them to move from Year 3 to 5, skipping Year 4.World Education Forum. UNESCO. Education for All 2000 Assessment Report. Malaysia. Retrieved December. This exam was removed in 2001.

Secondary education in government secondary schools last for five years. Government secondary schools use Malay as the main medium of instruction. The only exceptions are the Maths and Science subjects as well as languages other than Malay. At the end of the third year or Form Three, students sit for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), Lower Secondary Assessment. The combination of subjects available to Form 4 students vary from one school to another. In the last year (Form 5), students sit for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Malaysian Certificate of Education, which is equivalent to the British Ordinary or 'O' Levels (now referred to as GCSE). The oldest in Malaysia is Penang Free School. Penang Free School is also the oldest school in South East Asia.

Mathematics and Science subjects in government primary and secondary schools such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry are taught in English. The reasoning was that students would no longer be hindered by the language barrier during their tertiary education in fields such as medicine and engineering.

There are also 60 Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia, where most subjects are taught in Chinese. Chinese Independent High Schools are monitored and standardized by the United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, more commonly referred to by its Chinese name, Dong Zong 董总), however, unlike government schools, every independent school is free to make its own decisions. Studying in independent schools takes 6 years to complete, divided into Junior Middle (3 years) and Senior Middle (3 years). Students sit for a standardised test by Dong Zong known as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in Junior Middle 3 (equivalent to PMR) and Senior Middle 3 (equivalent to AO level). A number of independent schools conduct classes in Malay and English in addition to Chinese, enabling the students to sit for the PMR and SPM as well.

Malaysia's secondary schools are grouped into a few types, namely SMK (National Schools)which include daily schools and religious schools (SMKA – There are 54 of them), SMJK (Chinese Independent Schools), SMT (Technical schools), SBP (Residential Schools, MRSM (Mara Junior College)and private-funding schools such SMA (Religious Schools), International Schools (such as Fairview International School)and Private Schools (such as Sri Cempaka)

Students who wish to enter public universities must complete one and a half more years of secondary schooling in Form Six and sit for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), Malaysian Higher School Certificate; equivalent to the British Advanced or 'A' levels.

As for tertiary education, there are public universities such as University of Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In addition, five international reputable universities have set up their branch campuses in Malaysia since 1998. A branch campus can be seen as an ‘off-shore campus’ of the foreign university, which offers the same courses and awards as the main campus. Both local and international students can acquire these identical foreign qualifications in Malaysia for a cheaper price. The foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia are: Monash University (Sunway Campus), Curtin University of Technology (Sarawak Campus), Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and FTMS-De Monfort University Campus of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

Students also have the option of enrolling in private colleges after secondary studies. Most colleges have educational links with overseas universities especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Malaysian students abroad study mostly in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and Japan.

In addition to the National Curriculum, Malaysia has many international schools. International schools offer students the opportunity to study the curriculum of another country. These schools mainly cater to the growing expatriate population in the country. International schools include: the Australian International School, Malaysia (Australian curriculum), The Alice Smith School (British Curriculum), The Garden International School (British Curriculum), Lodge International School (British Curriculum), The International School of Kuala Lumpur (International Baccalaureate and American Curriculum), The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur (Japanese Curriculum), The International School of Penang (International Baccalaureate and British Curriculum), Lycée Français de Kuala Lumpur (French Curriculum) amongst others.

Healthcare Malaysian society places importance on the expansion and development of health care, putting 5% of the government social sector development budget into public healthcare—an increase of more than 47% over the previous figure. This has meant an overall increase of more than RM 2 billion. With a rising and aging population, the Government wishes to improve in many areas including the refurbishment of existing hospitals, building and equipping new hospitals, expansion of the number of polyclinics, and improvements in training and expansion of telehealth. Over the last couple of years they have increased their efforts to overhaul the systems and attract more foreign investment.

The Malaysian healthcare system requires doctors to perform a compulsory three years service with public hospitals to ensure the manpower of these hospitals is maintained. Recently foreign doctors have also been encouraged to take up employment here. There is still, however, a compound shortage of medical workforce, especially that of highly trained Medical specialist resulting in certain medical care and treatment only available in large cities. Recent efforts to bring many facilities to other towns have been hampered by lack of expertise to run the available equipment made ready by investments.

The majority of private hospitals are in urban areas and, unlike many of the public hospitals, are equipped with the latest diagnostic and imaging facilities. Private hospitals have not generally been seen as an ideal investment—it has often taken up to ten years before companies have seen any profits. However, the situation has now changed and companies are now looking into this area again, particularly in view of the increasing interest by foreigners in coming to Malaysia for medical care and the recent government focus to develop the medical tourism industry. Health Tourism, Malaysian Government Portal. Accessed October 12, 2007.

Economy The Malay Peninsula and indeed Southeast Asia has been a centre of trade for centuries. Various items such as porcelain and spice were actively traded even before Sultanate of Malacca and Singapore rose to prominence.In the 17th century, they were found in several Malay states. Later, as the British Empire started to take over as administrators of Malaya, rubber and palm oil trees were introduced for commercial purposes. Over time, Malaya became the world's largest major producer of tin, rubber, and palm oil.Time Magazine. Rubber from Malaya. March 1 1943. These three commodities, along with other raw materials, firmly set Malaysia's economic tempo well into the mid-20th century.

Instead of relying on the local Malays as a source of labour, the British brought in Chinese and Indians to work on the mines and plantations. Although many of them returned to their respective home countries after their agreed tenure ended, some remained in Malaysia and settled permanently.

As Malaya moved towards independence, the government began implementing economic Five-year plans of Malaysias, beginning with the First Malayan Five Year Plan in 1955. Upon the establishment of Malaysia, the plans were re-titled and renumbered, beginning with the First Malaysia Plan in 1965.

In 1970s, Malaysia began to imitate Asian Tigers and committed itself to a transition from being reliant on mining and agriculture to an economy that depends more on manufacturing. With Japanese investment, heavy industries flourished and in a matter of years, Malaysian exports became the country's primary growth engine. Malaysia consistently achieved more than 7% GDP growth along with low inflation in the 1980s and the 1990s.

During the same period, the government tried to eradicate poverty with the controversial New Economic Policy (Malaysia) (NEP), after the May 13 Incident of racial rioting in 1969. Its main objective was the elimination of the association of race with economic function, and the first five-year plan to begin implementing the NEP was the Second Malaysia Plan. The success or failure of the NEP is the subject of much debate, although it was officially retired in 1990 and replaced by the National Development Policy (NDP).

The rapid economic boom led to a variety of supply problems, however. Labour shortages soon resulted in an influx of millions of foreign workers, many illegal. Cash-rich PLCs and consortia of banks eager to benefit from increased and rapid development began large infrastructure projects. This all ended when the Asian Financial Crisis hit in the fall of 1997, delivering a massive shock to Malaysia's economy.

As with other countries affected by the crisis, there was speculative short-selling of the Malaysian currency, the ringgit. Foreign direct investment fell at an alarming rate and, as capital flowed out of the country, the value of the ringgit dropped from MYR 2.50 per USD to, at one point, MYR 4.80 per USD. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's composite index plummeted from approximately 1300 points to around 400 points in a matter of weeks. After the controversial sacking of finance minister Anwar Ibrahim, a National Economic Action Council was formed to deal with the monetary crisis. Bank Negara imposed capital controls and fixed exchange rate the Malaysian ringgit at 3.80 to the US dollar. Malaysia refused economic aid packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, however, surprising many analysts.

In March 2005, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published a paper on the sources and pace of Malaysia's recovery, written by Jomo K.S. of the applied economics department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. The paper concluded that the controls imposed by Malaysia's government neither hurt nor helped recovery. The chief factor was an increase in electronics components exports, which was caused by a large increase in the demand for components in the United States, which was caused, in turn, by a fear of the effects of the arrival of the year 2000 (Y2K) upon older computers and other digital devices.

However, the post Y2K slump of 2001 did not affect Malaysia as much as other countries. This may have been clearer evidence that there are other causes and effects that can be more properly attributable for recovery. One possibility is that the currency speculators had run out of finance after failing in their attack on the Hong Kong dollar in August 1998 and after the Russian ruble collapsed. (See George Soros)

Regardless of cause/effect claims, rejuvenation of the economy also coincided with massive government spending and budget deficits in the years that followed the crisis. Later, Malaysia enjoyed faster economic recovery compared to its neighbours. In many ways, however, the country has yet to recover to the levels of the pre-crisis era.

While the pace of development today is not as rapid, it is seen to be more sustainable. Although the controls and economic housekeeping may not have been the principal reason for recovery, there is no doubt that the banking sector has become more resilient to external shocks. The current account has also settled into a structural surplus, providing a cushion to capital flight. Asset prices are now a fraction of their pre-crisis heights.

The fixed exchange rate was abandoned in July 2005 in favour of a managed floating exchange rate within an hour of China's announcing of the same move. In the same week, the ringgit strengthened a percent against various major currencies and was expected to appreciate further. As of December 2005, however, expectations of further appreciation were muted as capital flight exceeded USD 10 billion.Department of Statistics. Malaysia. Quarterly Balance of Payments Performance October - December, 2005. Retrieved December.

In September 2005, Sir Howard J. Davies, director of the London School of Economics, at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, cautioned Malaysian officials that if they want a flexible capital market, they will have to lift the ban on short-selling put into effect during the crisis. In March 2006, Malaysia removed the ban on short selling.Financial Times. Malaysia relaxes short-selling ban. Extracted March 28, 2006. Currently, Malaysia is considered a newly industrialized country.

Infrastructure See also: :Category:Buildings and structures in Kuala Lumpur and and structures in Putrajaya|Buildings an

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