The Country

Malaysia is strategically located in the heart of Southeast Asia – one of the world’s fastest growing regions.  Located between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, and at the southernmost tip of the Asian Continent, this dynamic young nation is well serviced by all major air and shipping lines.  This easy access to the rest of the world has today made Malaysia an attractive centre for trade, investment and tourism.

Peninsular Malaysia stretches from Thailand in the north to Singapore in the south, while the states of Sabah and Sarawak straddle the northern and western coasts of Borneo.  About four-fifths of Malaysia’s land area of 330,000 km² (127,000 square miles) is covered by tropical rainforests, while major land-uses include cultivation of rice, rubber and oil palm.

Malaysia lies in the equatorial zone where no seasons mark the passing of the months.  The days are generally warm and sunny with temperatures averaging 26^OC (80^O F).  The wet north-east and south-west monsoons which blow from October till March and from May till September respectively, influence the climate in Malaysia, especially that along the coastal areas.

The People

Malaysia is truly multicultural, and one of its greatest resources is its rich cultural diversity.  Malays number around half of the total population of over 21 million, while the other half comprises Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans, and other ethnic groups.

Bahasa Malaysia is the national language although English is widely spoken.  Islam is the official religion, but freedom of worship is guaranteed by the Malaysian constitution.

The Government

Malaysia gained independence from the Great Britain in 1957 through peaceful negotiations.  This amicability has set the tone for Malaysian politics over the last forty-four years.  Consensus has traditionally guided the nation’s course of events, resulting in a high degree of political stability.

Malaysia is made up of fifteen states and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.  Nine of the states have sovereign monarchs or sultans.   Every five years, a unique system of rotation allows the nine sultans to elect a king, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, from among themselves.

Malaysia has practised democracy as a constitutional monarchy since independence.  A federal form of government exists with a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives.  Elections to the House of Representatives, a fully elected body of 180 members, are held every five years on the basis of universal adult suffrage, each constituency returning one member.  The 70 members of the Senate are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the State Legislatures.

The Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition representing the multiracial composition of the country, commands a two-thirds majority in Parliament.  This has ensured Malaysia a strong, stable government committed to the development of the Country.

The government’s confidence in its position and the acceptance of its policies is seen in its ability to plan ahead, not only through Malaysia’s series of five-year development plans, but also through long-term policies into the 21^st century such as the Third Outline Perspective Plan, 2001-2005.  Vision 2020, the government’s vision for Malaysia to become a fully developed nation by the year 2020 in every sense of the word – economically. politically, socially, spiritually, psychologically and culturally –  is currently the country’s most far-sighted goal.

Most important to investors in Malaysia is that the government’s policy parameters are laid out and the way ahead is clearly charted, thereby providing investors with a high degree of certainty for their future planning.