All about malaysia

Geopolitical

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The

federal constitutional monarchy consists of 13
states and three federal territories, separated by
the South China Sea into two similarly sized
regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia
(Malaysian Borneo). Peninsular Malaysia shares a
land and maritime border with Thailand and
maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and
Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a
maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and
largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. With a population of over 30
million, Malaysia is the world's 44th most populous country.

The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a large role in its politics. About half
the population is ethnically Malay, with large minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian
Indians, and indigenous peoples. While recognising Islam as the country's established religion,
the constitution grants freedom of religion to non-Muslims. The government system is closely
modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common
law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is an elected
monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head
of government is the Prime Minister. The country's official language is Malaysian, a standard
form of the Malay language. English remains an active second language.

Malaysia is divided into 13 states and 3 federal territories (Wilayah Persekutuan)- Kuala
Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. The country is made up of two regions, Peninsula Malaysia and
East Malaysia across the South China Sea. The Peninsula Malaysia is divided into the 'east coast'
and the 'west coast' A series of mountain ranges run through both Sabah and Sarawak. The
Crocker Range in Sabah is the site of Mt Kinabalu, the highest peak in South East Asia. The
climate of Malaysia is generally warm throughout the year with temperatures ranging from 21°
- 32°C in the lowlands. This can however be as low as 16° C in the hills and highlands.

The king of Malaysia in 2019 is Abdullah Al-haj the sultan from Pahang and the prime minister is
Mahathir Mohammad.

History
Malaysia has a rich history dating back to the 13th century it was a busy seaport for European
and Far East traders for many hundreds of years.

 Malaya (Malacca1400-1511)

Malacca was founded in the 13th century by a Sumatran prince. It became the most influential
port city in Southeast Asia during this time. The early Arab traders brought Islam to
Malacca.The local chiefs became the "sultans" heading up a highly organized administration
structure whose main purpose was to facilitate trade. Success brought prosperity, wealth and
power to Malacca.

 Colonial Malaya (1511 -1957)

In 1511, a Portuguese fleet led by Alfonso de Albuquerque sailed into Malacca harbour and
captured the city with canon fire. A century later in 1641, the Dutch captured the city from the
Portuguese and controlled the spice trade. In 1819 British administration replaced the Dutch
and established a trading post in Singapore. Together with Penang and Malacca these centres
became known as the Straits Settlements. The British administration in Malaya lasted 138 years
until independence in 1957.

 Independence in 1957

The British granted independence to Malaya in 1957 in Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Square. Tunku
Abdul Rahman became the first prime minister of Malaya. It has a secular and democratic
government. Malaya became independent in 1957. It became Malaysia in 1961 when it
incorporated Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore. Singapore seceded peacefully in 1965.

Life syle

 Local Customs

Muslim ladies greet with a nod of her head and smile. Greeting of "salam" resembles a
handshake whereby the man offers both hands, lightly touches the visitor's outstretched hands,
and then brings his hands to his chest to mean, "I greet you from my heart".

Local Customs Greeting, by hugging and kissing, is not generally practiced in Malaysia. Shoes
must be removed when entering a Mosque or an Indian temple and Malaysian homes. Pointing
is normally done using the thumb as using the forefinger is considered rude.

 The celebration in Malaysia

Eid al-Fitr : Muslims in Malaysia celebrate Eid al-Fitr as the others in the Islamic countries They
call Hari Raya Puasa
Eid al-Adha : They call Hari Raya Haji

Deevapali holiday : Name is one of the most important Hindu holidays

Wesak day : A buddha's birthday

Chinese New Year holiday: Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year head of living in Malaysia is the
official day of Eid vacation

New Year's Day holiday: It is considered the second most important Christian holidays at all

National day: Malaysian capital celebrates Independence Day, which falls on August 31.

 Malaysian foods

Ayam percik, asik lemak, ayam pongteh, asam laksa penang, kek lapis serawak, nasi kerabu

 5 top tourism attrection in Malaysia

1. Petronas Twin Towers. It is the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004

2. Langkawi Island. Langkawi Island located on west coast malaysia, consisting of 99 islands. It
is a tourist destination for a large number of Malaysians and foreign tourists due to the
picturesque nature.

3. Perhentian Islands The Perhentian Islands are islands in Besut District, Terengganu, Malaysia.

4. Sepilok Rehabilition Centre. Sepilok is an orang utans rehabilitation center. It is located about
25 kilometres west of Sandakan in the state of Sabah, Malaysia.

5. Batu Caves. Batu Caves is a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in
Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia.

Education

Children in Malaysia begin their education as early as at the age of four at pre-schools although
this is not compulsory. Primary education starts when the child reaches the age of six on the
first day of January of the current school year. Presently, only the six years of primary education
is compulsory while the five years of secondary education will be made compulsory by 2015.
The government provides free education for six years at primary level and five years at
secondary level. At the end of this secondary education, students sit for the public common
examination, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). Education in the country is consisting of pre-school,
primary, secondary, tertiary and postgraduate. Similar to many developed country in the world,
Malaysia adopts a system of 6+5+2 years of formal education.
  Levels of Education

* Pre-school and kindergarten education for children age 4 to 6

* Primary education from age 6+ to 11+ (Standard 1 to 6 for six years)

* Secondary education from age 12+ to 16+ (Form 1 to 5 for five years)

- Lower secondary from age 12+ to 14+ (Form 1 to 3)

- Upper secondary from age 15+ to 16+ (Form 4 to 5) with the option to choose either

- academic secondary education; or

- technical secondary education; or

- vocational education; or

- religious secondary education

* Post-secondary education or pre-university from age 17+ (for one to two years)

- Form 6, STPM (for one-and-a-half years); or

- Matriculation certificate (for one year); or

- STAM (for one year)

* Higher Education

- Certificate and diploma education from age 17+ onwards

- Teacher education at Teacher Training Institutes from age 17+ onwards

- Bachelor's degree from age 18+ or 19+ (for three to five years)

- Postgraduate studies [master's degree or PhD studies after acquiring a bachelor's degree] (for
one to five years)

 Categories of Educational Institutions

The Malaysian education system has been shaped to reflect the needs and identity of a
multicultural society. There are at least eight broad categories of educational institutions
(which include both government or public-funded institutions and private institutions) to meet
the needs of its people and the international community.

* At Pre-tertiary Level
There are six categories of schools:

1. Government and private sector kindergartens (that follow the national pre-school
curriculum)

2. Government schools or public funded national schools (that follow the Malaysian national
curriculum and national examination)

3. Government-aided schools or national-type primary schools (that follow the Malaysian

national curriculum and national examination), which include:

-Chinese national-type primary schools (where the medium of instruction is Chinese)

-Tamil national-type primary schools (where the medium of instruction is Tamil)

4. Private-funded schools (that follow the Malaysian national curriculum and national
examination)

5. Independent Chinese secondary schools (that teach a 6-year curriculum developed by Dong
Jiao Zong and prepare students for a standardised examination known as the United
Examination Certificate at the end of Year 6 of secondary school; the medium of instruction is
Chinese)

6. Foreign system schools such as international schools and expatriate schools.

* At Higher Education Level

There are two categories of higher education institutions:

1. Government-funded public universities, polytechnics, community colleges and public colleges

2. Private higher educational institutions

Culture

 The traditional dress

Most Malaysians dress as Westerners do but many Muslim women wear long skirts/pants and
head scarves. On special occasions, people from each ethnic group wear their traditional
clothes.

Malays: For Malay women, they wear the baju kurung; Malay men wear the baju melayu with a
songkok on the head. Alternatively, the men wear batik shirts with trousers.
Indians: Indian women wear the sari. The salwar kameez or Punjabi suit is popular with
northern Indian ladies. The kurta is the traditional attire for men on formal occasions.

Chinese women: The traditional clothes for Chinese women is the cheongsam (literally 'long

dress') or qipao.

Peranakan ladies: Also known as Baba Nyonya, they are Chinese immigrants who married Malay
partners. They wear the elegant kebaya that can be described as traditional high fashion.

 Arts and Culture

The harvest season is celebrated with the giant kites (The Wau), top spinning (gasing) and
traditional puppet shows (Wayang Kulit). And other else culture of malaysia are Rattan Football
(Sepak Takraw), Martial Art (Silat), Traditional barn-dance (joget).