MALAYSIA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 329,750 km2; land area: 328,550 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries: 2,669 km total; Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782,
Thailand 506 km
Coastline: 4,675 km total (2,068 km Peninsular Malaysia,
2,607 km East Malaysia)
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation,
specified boundary in the South China Sea;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands
with China, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam; state of Sabah claimed by
the Philippines; Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that
divides Brunei into two parts
Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and
northeast (October to February) monsoons
Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Natural resources: tin, crude oil, timber, copper, iron ore,
natural gas, bauxite
Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures
NEGL%; forest and woodland 63%; other 24%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: subject to flooding; air and water pollution
Note: strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern
South China Sea
PEOPLE
Population: 17,981,698 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 29 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 71 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.6 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Malaysian(s); adjective--Malaysian
Ethnic divisions: Malay and other indigenous 59%, Chinese 32%,
Indian 9%
Religion: Peninsular Malaysia--Malays nearly all Muslim, Chinese
predominantly Buddhists, Indians predominantly Hindu; Sabah--Muslim 38%,
Christian 17%, other 45%; Sarawak--tribal religion 35%, Buddhist and
Confucianist 24%, Muslim 20%, Christian 16%, other 5%
Language: Peninsular Malaysia--Malay (official); English, Chinese
dialects, Tamil; Sabah--English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects,
Mandarin and Hakka dialects predominate among Chinese; Sarawak--English,
Malay, Mandarin, numerous tribal languages
Literacy: 78% (male 86%, female 70%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 6,800,000; agriculture 30.8%, manufacturing 17%,
government 13.6%, construction 5.8%, finance 4.3%, business services,
transport and communications 3.4%, mining 0.6%, other 24.5% (1989 est.)
Organized labor: 660,000, 10% of total labor force (1988)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
Type: Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963; constitutional
monarchy nominally headed by the paramount ruler (king) and a bicameral
Parliament; Peninsular Malaysian states--hereditary rulers in all
but Penang and Melaka, where governors are appointed by Malaysian
Government; powers of state governments are limited by federal
Constitution; Sabah--self-governing state, holds 20 seats in House of
Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and
other powers delegated to federal government; Sarawak--self-governing
state within Malaysia, holds 27 seats in House of Representatives, with
foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated
to federal government
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri,
singular--negeri) and 2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah
persekutuan, singular--wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan,
Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang,
Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*
Independence: 31 August 1957 (from UK)
Constitution: 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 when
Federation of Malaya became Federation of Malaysia
Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the
federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day, 31 August (1957)
Executive branch: paramount ruler, deputy paramount ruler, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlimen) consists of an
upper house or Senate (Dewan Negara) and a lower house or House of
Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Paramount Ruler AZLAN Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Sultan
Yusof Izzudin (since 26 April 1989); Deputy Paramount Ruler JA'AFAR ibni
Abdul Rahman (since 26 April 1989);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since
16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister Abdul GHAFAR Baba (since 7 May 1986)
Political parties and leaders: Peninsular Malaysia--
National Front, a confederation of 13 political parties dominated by
United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO Baru), MAHATHIR bin
Mohamad;
Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), LING Liong Sik;
Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Datuk LIM Keng Yaik;
Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Datuk S. Samy VELLU;
Sabah--Berjaya Party, Datuk Haji Mohammed NOOR Mansor;
Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Joseph Pairin KITINGAN;
United Sabah National Organizaton (USNO), Tun Datu Haji MUSTAPHA;
Sarawak--coalition Sarawak National Front composed of the Party
Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Datuk Patinggi Amar Haji Abdul TAIB
Mahmud;
Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), Datuk Amar Stephen YONG Kuet Tze;
Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Datuk James WONG Kim Min;
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Datuk Leo MOGGIE;
major opposition parties are
Democratic Action Party (DAP), LIM Kit Siang
and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Fadzil NOOR
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 21 October 1990 (next to be
held by August 1995);
results--National Front 52%, other 48%;
seats--(180 total) National Front 127, DAP 20, PAS 7, independents 4,
other 22; note--within the National Front, UMNO got 71 seats and MCA 18
seats
Communists: Peninsular Malaysia--about 1,000 armed insurgents on
Thailand side of international boundary and about 200 full time inside
Malaysia surrendered on 2 December 1989; about 50 Communist insurgents in
Sarawak surrendered on 17 October 1990
Member of: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdul MAJID Mohamed; Chancery
at 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
328-2700; there are Malaysian Consulates General in Los Angeles and
New York;
US--Ambassador Paul M. CLEVELAND; Embassy at 376 Jalan Tun Razak,
50400 Kuala Lumpur (mailing address is P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala
Lumpur); telephone 60 (3) 248-9011
Flag: fourteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating
with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side
corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the
crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was
based on the flag of the US
ECONOMY
Overview: In 1988-90 booming exports helped Malaysia continue to
recover from the severe 1985-86 recession. Real output grew by 8.8% in
1989 and 10% in 1990, helped by vigorous growth in manufacturing
output, further increases in foreign direct investment, particularly
from Japanese and Taiwanese firms facing higher costs at home, and
increased oil production in 1990. Malaysia has become the world's
third-largest producer of semiconductor devices (after the US and Japan)
and the world's largest exporter of semiconductor devices. Inflation
remained low as unemployment stood at 6% of the labor force and as
the government followed prudent fiscal/monetary policies. The country is
not self-sufficient in food, and some of the rural population subsists at
the poverty level. Malaysia's high export dependence leaves it
vulnerable to a recession in the OECD countries or a fall in world
commodity prices.
GDP: $43.1 billion, per capita $2,460; real growth rate 10%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 6% (1990)
Budget: revenues $12.6 billion; expenditures $11.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of $3.2 billion (1991 est.)
Exports: $28.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--natural rubber, palm oil, tin, timber, petroleum,
electronics, light manufactures;
partners--Singapore, US, Japan, EC
Imports: $26.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--food, crude oil, consumer goods, intermediate goods,
capital equipment, chemicals;
partners--Japan, US, Singapore, FRG, UK
External debt: $20.0 billion (1990)
Industrial production: growth rate 15.8% (1990 est.); accounts
for 27% of GDP
Electricity: 5,600,000 kW capacity; 16,500 million kWh produced,
940 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
Peninsular Malaysia--rubber and oil palm processing and
manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and
smelting, logging and processing timber;
Sabah--logging, petroleum production;
Sarawak--agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining,
logging
Agriculture:
Peninsular Malaysia--natural rubber, palm oil, rice;
Sabah--mainly subsistence, but also rubber, timber, coconut,
rice;
Sarawak--rubber, timber, pepper; there is a deficit
of rice in all areas; fish catch of 608,000 metric tons in 1987
Illicit drugs: transit point for Golden Triangle heroin
going to the US, Western Europe, and the Third World
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $170
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $4.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $42 million
Currency: ringgit (plural--ringgits); 1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen
Exchange rates: ringgits (M$) per US$1--2.7151 (January 1991),
1.7048 (1990), 2.7088 (1989), 2.6188 (1988), 2.5196 (1987), 2.5814
(1986), 2.4830 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads:
Peninsular Malaysia--1,665 km 1.04-meter gauge; 13 km double
track, government owned;
Sabah--136 km 1.000-meter gauge
Highways:
Peninsular Malaysia--23,600 km (19,352 km hard surfaced, mostly
bituminous-surface treatment, and 4,248 km unpaved);
Sabah--3,782 km;
Sarawak--1,644 km
Inland waterways:
Peninsular Malaysia--3,209 km;
Sabah--1,569 km;
Sarawak--2,518 km
Ports: Tanjong Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang,
Penang, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Tawau
Merchant marine: 157 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,530,756
GRT/2,246,358 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 65 cargo, 22
container, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 livestock
carrier, 31 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 chemical
tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 1 passenger-cargo, 23 bulk
Civil air: 53 major transport aircraft
Pipelines: crude oil, 1,307 km; natural gas, 379 km
Airports: 125 total, 119 usable; 32 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 18 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: good intercity service provided to peninsular
Malaysia mainly by microwave relay, adequate intercity radio relay
network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; international service good;
good coverage by radio and television broadcasts; 994,860 telephones
(1984); stations--28 AM, 3 FM, 33 TV; submarine cables extend to India
and Sarawak; SEACOM submarine cable links to Hong Kong and Singapore;
satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean
INTELSAT, and 2 domestic
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Royal Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal
Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force, Marine Police,
Sarawak Border Scouts
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,620,418; 2,815,910 fit for
military service; 180,991 reach military age (21) annually
Defense expenditures: $1.7 billion, 3.9% of GDP (1990)