Full country name: Federation of Malaysia

Area: 329750 sq. km.

Population: 22 million people

Capital(s): Kuala Lumpur

Peoples: 50% Malays, 33% Chinese, 9% Indians, plus indigenous islanders such as Orang Azli and Iban

Language: Bahasa [Malaysian], English, Chinese (various dialects), Tamil (and other local dialects),

Religion: 52% Muslim, 17% Buddhist, 12% Taoist, 8% Christian, 8% Hindu, 2% Pagan

State structure: Parliamentary monarchy

Branches of the national economy: Production of tin, rubber, palm oil, timber, oil, light industry, electronics

Main partners: Singapore, Japan, USA

Time: GMT plus eight hours

Health risks: fever, hepatitis, malaria and rabies

Mains voltage: 220-240V, 50Hz

System of measures and weights: metric

Symbolism

The flag was officially approved on September 16, 1963.

Has proportions of 1:2.

The crescent and star are the symbols of Islam. The 14 points of the star and 14 stripes represent the 14 members of the Federation of Malaysia (Singapore left the Federation in 1965, but the flag has not changed). The blue part of the flag is a symbol of the unity of the peoples of Malaysia, and yellow is the color of royal power.

Economy

According to agooddir, Malaysia is an industrial-agrarian country. The annual increase in gross domestic product (GDP – the total value of final goods and services) in 2002 was approx. 4.1% per year and $8,800 per person.

The economic recovery was accompanied by a reduction in the proportion of the population below the poverty line, from 20.7 to 17.1%, and in 2002 – 8%. At the same time, incomes of 40% of the poorest families grew faster than those of other social groups.

Malaysia has achieved these results thanks to its orientation towards the production of export products, the income from which in 2002 amounted to 95.2 billion US dollars, as well as due to sectoral diversification of production. Important export commodities such as oil and natural gas have been added to the traditional Malaysian exports of rubber and palm oil.

The main economic achievement of the country should be considered the development of industry, especially those of its industries that work for export. In 2002, GDP by sector was: in agriculture – 12%, in industry – 40%, in services – 48%.

Currency

The monetary unit of Malaysia is the ringgit, which is equal to 100 sen. Banknotes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 ringgits of various modifications are in circulation. All banknotes are decorated with a portrait of the first supreme ruler of Malaysia, Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

A new banknote of 1 ringgit has been put into circulation, with a size of 121 x 65 mm. To the right of its front side is a portrait of Tuanku Abdul Rahman. On the back is a coastal landscape and a mountain. The banknote is protected by a watermark in the form of a portrait of Tuanku Abdul Rahman. The security thread runs down the center. The colors of the banknote are blue, dark blue and purple.

The reverse side of the banknote 5 ringgit (135 x 65 mm) is decorated with an image of a modern building in Kuala Lumpur and a map of the city. The banknote is protected by a watermark – a portrait of Tuanku Abdullah Rahman and the number 5. In addition, a silver diving security thread runs to the left of the center. The dominant colors of the banknote are light and dark green, black and yellow.

On the front side of the 10 ringgit banknote (modified in 2004), 140 x 65 mm in size, there is a portrait of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the first supreme ruler of Malaysia (1957-1960). The reverse side of the banknote depicts an airplane, a train and a barge. The banknote is watermarked with a portrait of Tuanku Abdul Rahman and the number 10. A metalized diving security thread with repeating “BNM RM10” microtext runs from the left. A holographic stripe (10 mm), on which, depending on the angle of view, one can observe “RM10” or a geometric pattern, is located on the right edge of the front side. The dominant colors of the banknote are orange, red and brown.

On the back of the 100 ringgit banknote (150 x 69 mm) a car conveyor is depicted. The banknote is protected by a watermark in the form of a portrait of Tuanku Abdullah Rahman and the number 100. In addition, a wide optically variable holographic stripe runs on the right side of the obverse. The banknote is colored in purple and red-brown colors.

Population

The total population of Malaysia is about 20 million people. The balance between the main nations is distributed as follows – 59% Malays, 32% Chinese, 9% – Indians. West Malaysia has a population density about seven times that of East Malaysia.

Along with Islam (the official religion), Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism are freely practiced. Despite differences in religion, culture, traditions and way of life, Malaysians live in harmony with each other, respect and celebrate national holidays and hold festivals.

Borneo is considered the most exotic island for us. This is a large island that is located right on the equator.

It is in Borneo that the legendary tribe, the Dayaks, lives. It is divided into mountain dayaks – peace-loving, living in the interior of the island, and sea dayaks, who live on the seashore and near rivers and are considered a warlike people. Wars in this tribe can go on for decades, and their cause is an unequal number of severed heads. This terrible custom of cutting off heads is peculiar only to the Dayaks. True, recently it has dawned on the Dayaks that tourism brings a lot of money, and excursions to their villages have become the most popular in Malaysia. But it is still not clear who is the subject of the excursion for whom – Dayaks for tourists, or tourists for Dayaks.

Language

The official language of Malaysia is Malay. English and Chinese are widely spoken; dialects – Mandarin, Hakka, Cantonese, Tamil and others. Since English is taught in high school at a fairly serious level, the language barrier is easily overcome.

Malay belongs to the Indonesian group of Austronesian languages. The Malay language is divided into many local dialects. There are about 15 million Malay speakers.

The so-called ancient Malay language (7th – 10th centuries AD) is represented by epigraphic monuments located mainly in South Sumatra. The Malay language, widely spoken there as the language of trade, has become the language of culture and the Muslim religion in many parts of the Malay Archipelago since the 15th century. In the 15th – 19th centuries, classical national Malay literature was created in Malay (with Arabic script) (its language is conditionally called classical Malay). There were also pidginized (the so-called bazaar Malay, low Malay) and creolized forms of the language (Jakartan dialect, Ambon Malay and others). Since the second half of the 19th century, the press has been published in the Dutch Indies in the Malay language.

The modern literary language of Malaysia (also called Malaysian) differs from Indonesian mainly in terminology, partly in phonetics and some features of morphology and syntax.