Malaysia

Malaysia A country in south-east Asia, having two parts, West and East, separated by the South China Sea.

Physical

East Malaysia comprises Sarawak and Sabah in the north and north-west of the island of Borneo. West, or Peninsular, Malaysia comprises the former Federation of MALAYA and occupies the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, extending south from the south-east Asian mainland and bounded on the north by Thailand and on the south by Singapore; it has a south-western coast on the Strait of Malacca.

Economy

Manufacturing industry produces automobiles, electronics, cigarettes, tyres, sawn logs, and cement. Crude oil is an important export. Agriculture, with rice the principal subsistence crop, remains the mainstay of the economy, despite high industrial growth in recent years. Malaysia is the world's largest producer of rubber, palm oil, and tin; timber is also an important export. Other mineral resources include bauxite, iron ore, and copper. The New Economic Policy (NEP), initiated after ethnic riots in 1970, introduced ethnic quotas in an attempt to promote economic growth and eradicate the association of race with occupation. The economy was disrupted by a financial crisis in 1997.

History

Established in 1963, the Federation of Malaysia originally included SINGAPORE but it was forced to secede in 1965 because of fears that its largely Chinese population would challenge Malay political dominance. BRUNEI refused to join the Federation. The establishment of Malaysia was first suggested (1961) by Tunku ABDUL RAHMAN, who became its first Prime Minister (1963–70). The Federation aroused deep suspicion in Indonesia, and provoked President SUKARNO's policy of confrontation (KONFRONTASI), resulting in intermittent guerrilla war in Malaysia's Borneo territories, which was only defeated with Commonwealth military assistance (1963–66). In 1969, inequalities between the politically dominant Malays and economically dominant Chinese resulted in riots in Kuala Lumpur, and parliamentary government was suspended until 1971. As a result, there was a major restructuring of political and social institutions designed to ensure Malay predominance, the New Economic Policy being launched to increase the Malay (bumiputra) stake in the economy. The largest single political party remained the United Malays National Organization, which had been created by Tunku Rahman. Since 1971 this has ruled in uneasy alliance with the Malaysian Chinese Association and some other ten parties in a coalition, the National Front. Mahathir bin Mohamed became its leader and Prime Minister in 1981. A leading member of the ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS, Malaysia replaced the New Economic Policy in 1991 by a New Development Policy, whose aim was to diversify the economy. At the same time it has incurred international criticism for its exploitation of its rain-forests. During 1994 a scandal over Britain's lending Malaysia £234 million to build the Pergau dam in an aid-for-trade agreement caused controversy in Britain and strained relations between the two countries. The ruling coalition was re-elected in 1995.

Capital:	Kuala Lumpur (transferring to Putrajaya in 2000)
Area:	330,442 sq km (127,584 sq miles)
Population:	22,083,000 (1998 est)
Currency:	1 ringgit = 100 sen
Religions:	Muslim 52.9%; Buddhist 17.3%; Chinese popular religions 11.6%; Hindu 7.0%; Christian 6.4%
Ethnic Groups:	Malay, Orang Asli, Iban, Land Dayak, Bajan, and Kadazan 60.0% Chinese 31.0%; Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi 8.0%
Languages:	Malay (official); English; Chinese; Tamil; minority languages
International Organizations:	UN; Commonwealth; Non-Aligned Movement; Colombo Plan; ASEAN