Malaysia - Facts At A Glance

by StudyMalaysia.com on February 21, 2015 | Why Study in Malaysia

Official Name	The Federation of Malaysia
Malaysia's Land Area	Malaysia consists of two areas of mainland, separated by the South China Sea, namely West Malaysia (or more popularly known as Peninsular Malaysia) and East Malaysia. The country has a total land area of 329,758 square km made up of 13 states and three Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur (the capital), Putrajaya and Labuan.
Location	Malaysia is situated in South-eastern Asia, between 2 and 7 degrees north of the Equator. To the north of Peninsular Malaysia is Thailand while to the south is Singapore.
Government	Malaysia practises a system of government based on parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy at the federal and state levels. At the federal level, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong is the head of the state and the federal government is governed by the Prime Minister and his cabinet of ministers who report to the Parliament which comprises two houses, namely a house of Representatives and a Senate. At the State level, the head (Ruler) of state is either the Sultan, Raja or Yang Di-Pertua Besar, while Yang Di-Pertua Negeri is the head of the state where there is no ruler. In keeping with the concept of Parliamentary Democracy which forms the basis of the government administration in Malaysia, the Federal Constitution (the supreme law of the nation) underlines the distribution of governing powers among the Executive, Judicial and Legislative Authorities. The Executive branch is headed by the Prime Minister, Honourable Dato' Sri Mohd. Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak. Parliamentary general elections are held every five years to elect the members of Parliament or the people's representatives.
Supreme Head of State	In this system of constitutional monarchy The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the King or Supreme Head of State as provided by the Constitution. The King performs his official duties with the advice of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet as provided for by the Constitution. His Majesty also holds the position of the Islamic Religious Head for the States of Penang, Malacca,Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territories. As Malaysia's Supreme Head of State, the King is also the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces. His Majesty, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is elected out of nine hereditary rulers (or Sultans) every five years by the Conference of Rulers. Malaysia is the only country in the world to have a rotating system of Kings.
Independence	31st August 1957
Population	Estimated 28.3 million (in 2010)
Capital	Kuala Lumpur
People	Dubbed as "Mini Asia", Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic country where the majorities are the Malays, Chinese and Indian. In addition, there are some 29 ethnic groups including the majority groups of Dayaks (in Sarawak) and Kadazans (in Sabah). (It is estimated that 66.2% of the population are made up of Malays, Malay related and aboriginal people; 25.1% are Chinese; while Indians make up 7.4% and another 1.3% comprises other races).
Language	Bahasa Melayu is the national language, although English is widely used and spoken. The Mandarin language and Chinese dialects, particularly Cantonese and Hokkien, as well as Indian dialects like Tamil and Hindi are common among the Chinese and Indian communities respectively.
Religion	Islam is the official religion of the nation. However, the Malaysian Constitution guarantees freedom of worship and as such, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism make up the other primary religions embraced by the Malaysian society.
Currency & Exchange Rate	All transactions in Malaysia are carried out using the official Malaysian currency of Ringgit (RM), which is in the form of notes, in the denominations of RM1, RM2, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100, and Sen, which is in the form of coins that include 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen. As at 4th January 2011, the exchange rate is US$1 = RM3.06 and all major currencies can be exchanged for the Ringgit.
Country Code	+60
Time Difference	The standard Malaysian time is 8 hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time and 16 hours ahead of the United State Pacific Standard time.
Climate	Malaysia has a pleasant tropical climate and is generally warm all the year round with temperatures ranging from 21°C to 32°C. The general weather is humid with annual rainfall varying from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.
Natural Resources	Tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.

Introducing Malaysia's Success

Malaysia is a harmonious and peaceful country where various ethnic groups live together through mutual understanding and tolerance fostered over several decades of coexistence. The cultures of these groups form a colourful and vibrant heritage for the peoples of Malaysia as well as its visitors.

Since Malaysia gained independence in 1957, it has evolved into a high technology nation and experienced steady economic progression and rapid infrastructure development which Malaysians are truly proud of.

Today, Malaysia continues to thrive in its ventures. It has become more efficient and competitive globally. According to the 2010 World Competitive Yearbook published by the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development (IMD), Malaysia had an overall ranking of 10th most competitive countries in the world. IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook reports on the competitiveness of nations through the Overall Competitiveness Scoreboard which ranks the world's 57 leading economic nations. It takes into consideration a economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

Malaysia is also a popular destination for tourists. Lonely Planet, one of the most widely read travel guidebook, picked Malaysia as one of the world's top destination for 2010. The Lonely Planet praises Malaysia for its diversity from its cities to the rainforests as well as multicultural elements of its people.

"Malaysia is known to many as a peaceful country where various ethnic groups live harmoniously"

Malaysian Plan for Developed Country Status

The 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) covers the period from 2011 to 2015 and is part of the government's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020. Among the highlights of the 10MP are new approaches towards becoming a high income and high productivity economy. The gross national income per capita is targeted to increase from the current RM23,567 or USD7,365, (in 2009) to RM38,850 or USD12,140, in 2015.

Twelve National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) have been identified to boost the economy on the basis of contribution to high income, sustainability and inclusiveness. They include: oil and gas, palm oil and related products, financial services, wholesale and retail, tourism, information and communications technology, education, electrical and electronics, business services, private healthcare, agriculture as well as the Greater Kuala Lumpur revitalisation.

"The 10MP has been formulated with various new approaches towards becoming a high income and high productivity economy"

Centre of Excellence for Education

Malaysia is currently the world's 11th most preferred study destination. According to UNESCO, Malaysia has captured a 2% market share of international students in the fast growing private education sector. With a population of 27.9 million in 2009 and more than a million Malaysian students in tertiary education, Malaysia also accommodates more than 80,000 international students.

Higher education opportunities are abundant for international students at an affordable cost. All students are welcome to come learn in a country of great diversity, rapid economic development and people living in peace and harmony!

Recognising the potential of the country to become an education hub, various measures have been taken to promote Malaysia as a centre of excellence for education. These include establishing Malaysia as a higher education mobility hub for international students, deploying effective marketing strategies, and setting up Malaysian Higher Education Centres in selected cities worldwide.

In addition, high impact projects have been developed to cater specifically for education, for example, Kuala Lumpur Education City (KLEC) and Iskandar Malaysia's EduCity in Nusajaya (Johor) that offers tailored-made programmes for international students.

The US Newsweek magazine listed Malaysia as the eighth best nation in the education category among the upper middle-income countries in its The World's Best Countries survey 2010.

"Malaysia is the world's 11th most preferred study destination"

Source: Study in Malaysia Handbook 8th Ed.

All rights reserved. No part of this editorial contents may be reproduced, copied, translated, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent from the publisher Challenger Concept (M) Sdn Bhd (www.studymalaysia.com/challenger)