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Malaysia
Area: 329,758 sq km (127,317 sq miles)
Population: 26.0m (2005)
Capital City: Kuala Lumpur (population: 1.5m); Putrajaya (Administrative Capital)
People: Bumiputra (mostly Malays) (65.7%), Chinese (25.4%), Indians (7.6%), Others (1.3%)
Languages: Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) is the national language. Other languages include Chinese, Tamil and Iban. English is widely used.
Religions: 55% Muslim, 17% Buddhist, 12% Taoist, 7% Christian, 7% Hindu, 2% Animist/Other
Currency: Ringgit Malaysia (RM)
Major Political Parties: Malaysian political parties are distinguished more by their differing racial compositions than by competing political philosophies. The Government has been dominated since Independence by the Barisan Nasional (BN), a coalition of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), plus a series of smaller parties (mainly from the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and reflecting their complex ethnically mixed populations).
The main opposition parties are the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Government: Constitutional Monarchy: the King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) is drawn on a rotating 5-year basis from the Sultans and hereditary rulers of the states of the Malay Peninsula.
Head of State (Agong): HM Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail
Prime Minister: Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Foreign Minister: Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Malaysia is a member of the Commonwealth, the UN, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),and the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC). Malaysia is also the current Chair of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).
GEOGRAPHY
Malaysia has two geographically distinct areas. Eleven of its thirteen states are in Peninsular Malaysia, with Thailand to the north and Singapore and Indonesia to the south. The other two states, Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the federal territory of Labuan, are 1000 kms away in East Malaysia on the north and west coasts of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and Brunei.
HISTORY
Recent History
- 1957: Independence for the Federation of Malaya (mainland Peninsular states).
- 1963: Formation of the Federation of Malaysia, comprising the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak.
- 1965: Singapore left the Federation.
- 1969: Inter-racial riots led to the introduction in 1971 of 20-year New Economic Policy (NEP) aimed at alleviating causes of the tension through enhancing the bumiputra (Malay) economic position.
- 1971 – Present: Country experienced rapid economic growth and industrialisation (with a major but temporary downturn in 1997/98).
- 1981: Dr Mahathir Mohamad became Prime Minister.
- 1997/1998: Asian Economic Crisis.
- 1999: General election returned the Barisan Nasional to power with a reduced, but still two-thirds majority.
- 2003: Dr Mahathir stepped down; succeeded by his Deputy, Abdullah Badawi
- 2004: General election on 21 March resulted in a landslide win by the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition.
Longer Historical Perspective
In ancient times the Malay Peninsula was settled by waves of immigrants from the north and was later subject to Indian and Islamic influences. A series of indigenous trading empires culminated in that of Malacca which fell to the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. They were ousted by the Dutch who, in turn, were supplanted by the British in the late eighteenth century.
Three administrative entities emerged under British rule during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: – the Straits Settlements of the city states of Malacca, Penang and Singapore; the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. The British preserved the Malay system, working through the Sultans of the individual states and respecting Muslim Malay religion and culture. With the development of rubber plantations and tin mines, thousands of Chinese arrived to work as labourers. Meanwhile, Sarawak was governed by the Brooke family (the 'White Rajahs') and Sabah by the British North Borneo Company.
During the Second World War, Malaysia was occupied by the Japanese from 1941 –1945. Anti-Japanese resistance was led by the predominantly Chinese communists who, after the restoration of British rule, attempted to seize power. The Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960 was suppressed with the help of British and Commonwealth forces. The provinces of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo became British colonies in 1946.
The Federation of Malaya achieved independence in 1957 under its first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who oversaw the introduction of the country's multi-ethnic coalition style of government, led by the majority Malays with a Westminster style of constitution. The Federation of Malaysia, formed in 1963, comprises the Malay Peninsula and the Borneo territories of Sabah and Sarawak. The country embodies a mixture of races and cultures resulting from successive migrations and exposure to external religious and cultural influences. Immediately after its formation, the Federation faced hostility until 1967 from Indonesia (known as the period of 'Confrontation'). Relations thereafter improved notably, assisted by the formation in 1968 of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of which Malaysia was a founder member.
POLITICS
System of Government
The Head of the Government is the Prime Minister, who must be a member of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives), the Lower House of Parliament. The Upper House, the Dewan Negara (Senate), is composed of Senators appointed by the Government for a period of three years. Each of the thirteen states of Malaysia has its own State Assembly headed by a Chief Minister who heads the State Government. The State Governments enjoy significant devolved power in specific fields (infrastructure development, land and the exploitation of natural resources - although not forestry). The Sultans (or Raja in the case of Perlis, Yang di-Pertuan Besar in the case of Negri Sembilan, and Governors in the case of Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak), enjoy sovereign authority in their states.
Elections
Elections are held every five years. The Barisan Nasional won the 21 March 2004 general election by a landslide, taking 198 of the 219 parliamentary seats and winning 12 of the 13 states, displacing the Islamic opposition party, PAS, in the north-eastern state of Terengganu and almost following suit in neighbouring Kelantan. The result was widely seen as a resounding vote in favour of moderate Islam and action to eliminate corruption. The next elections are not due to be held until 2009. However, there is widespread public speculation that they will take place earlier.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$130.8bn (2005)
GDP per head (Nominal): US$5,040 (2005)
GDP per head (Purchasing Power Parity): US$11,201 (2005)
Annual Growth: 5.2% (actual); 2004: 7.1% (actual); 2005: 5.3% (actual); 2006: 5.9% (actual)
Inflation: 3.6% (2006)
Major Industries: Electronics, Petroleum & LNG, Chemicals, Textiles, Palm Oil, Timber, Tourism
Major Trading Partners: USA, Singapore, Japan and China
Exchange Rate: £1=6.8 Ringgit - variable
Malaysia was hit hard by the 1997 Asian economic crisis with the economy contracting by 6.8% in 1998. The government reacted with an unorthodox policy mix of pegging the currency against the US dollar, exchange controls, and deficit financing to reflate domestic demand. This coupled with strong ICT exports (which account for over 40% of Malaysia's exports) saw growth rebound strongly in 1999-2000. Apart from a blip in 2001, the economy has continued to grow robustly since then: by 5.2% in 2003 (despite SARS), 7.1% in 2004, 5.3% in 2005, 5.9% in 2006 and an expected 6% in 2007. Since the Asian financial crisis, Malaysia has made good progress in reforming its banking and financial system. Local banks have been consolidated and there is phased liberalisation to allow greater competition.
The Government has also progressively dismantled the exchange and other controls imposed during the Asia Crisis - including abandoning the Ringgit peg to the dollar in July 2005 in favour of a managed float. The chief economic reform challenges facing Malaysia now are to improve the performance of Government Linked Companies (which still account for a large part of the economy); to achieve further progress in corporate governance and transparency, and to move up the value chain in response to the economic challenge posed by China and other low-cost manufacturing economies. The administration has made some changes to improve financial and political accountability, and is seeking to improve Malaysian competitiveness in sectors such as biotechnology. But there is more to do.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Malaysia is an active player on the world stage. Its main foreign policy focus is on ASEAN, of which it is the immediate past chair. Malaysia the past chair of NAM and the current chair of the OIC also sees itself as a leader in the Islamic and developing world. It has made a valuable contribution to UN Peacekeeping Forces in various countries, including Bosnia, Angola, Kuwait, Western Sahara, Liberia and East Timor and is part of the Aceh Monitoring Mission working with the EU. Malaysia's most recent contribution is to provide troops to UNIFIL in Lebanon. Malaysia runs an active programme of technical assistance from which a number of countries now benefit. Malaysia has been generous in providing humanitarian assistance to those affected by a number of recent disasters. Malaysia hosted the ASEAN Summit and inaugural East Asia Summit in December 2005 and the ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2006. It also hosted the NAM Summit in February 2003 and the OIC Summit in October 2003.
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