33 Facts About Malaysia

1.

Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire, along with the British Straits Settlements protectorate.

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2.

Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third-largest in Southeast Asia and 33rd-largest in the world.

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3.

The name Malaysia gained some use to label what is the Malay Archipelago.

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4.

The name "Malaysia" was adopted in 1963 when the existing states of the Federation of Malaya, plus Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak formed a new federation.

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5.

Malaysia is a federal constitutional elective monarchy; the only federal country in Southeast Asia.

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6.

Malaysia has a special court to hear cases brought by or against royalty.

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7.

Malaysia's ranking in the 2020 Press Freedom Index increased by 22 places to 101st compared to the previous year, making it one of two countries in Southeast Asia without a 'Difficult situation' or 'Very Serious situation' with regards to press freedom.

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8.

Malaysia is marked at 48 and 62nd place according to the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating above average levels of corruption.

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9.

Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories.

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10.

Malaysia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

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11.

The illegality of homosexuality in Malaysia has been the forefront of Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trials, which Anwar has responded to it being politically motivated, a response supported by the United Nations' Working Group on Arbitrary Detention along with Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch.

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12.

Malaysia is the only country with territory on both the Asian mainland and the Malay archipelago.

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13.

The Strait of Malacca, lying between Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, is one of the most important thoroughfares in global commerce, carrying 40 per cent of the world's trade.

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14.

Two parts of Malaysia, separated from each other by the South China Sea, share a largely similar landscape in that both Peninsular and East Malaysia feature coastal plains rising to hills and mountains.

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15.

Around these two halves of Malaysia are numerous islands, the largest of which is Banggi.

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16.

Malaysia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 12 June 1993, and became a party to the convention on 24 June 1994.

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17.

The forests of East Malaysia are estimated to be the habitat of around 2, 000 tree species, and are one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, with 240 different species of trees every hectare.

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18.

Malaysia is a relatively open state-oriented and newly industrialised market economy.

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19.

Chinese businesses in Malaysia are part of the larger bamboo network, a network of overseas Chinese businesses in the Southeast Asian market sharing common family and cultural ties.

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20.

Malaysia is an exporter of natural and agricultural resources, and petroleum is a major export.

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21.

Malaysia has once been the largest producer of tin, rubber and palm oil in the world.

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22.

Malaysia remains one of the world's largest producers of palm oil.

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23.

Malaysia was ranked 38th in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019.

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24.

Malaysia was ranked 36th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, and 32nd in the Global Competitiveness Report in 2022.

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25.

Energy production in Malaysia is largely based on oil and natural gas, owing to Malaysia's oil reserves and natural gas reserves, which is the fourth largest in Asia-Pacific region.

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26.

Malaysia has an average population density of 96 people per km, ranking it 116th in the world for population density.

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27.

The native tribes of East Malaysia have their own languages which are related to, but easily distinguishable from, Malay.

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28.

Malaysia operates an efficient and widespread two-tier healthcare system, consisting of a universal healthcare system and a co-existing private healthcare system; provided by highly subsidized healthcare through its extensive network of public hospitals and clinics.

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29.

In East Malaysia, gong-based musical ensembles such as agung and kulintang are commonly used in ceremonies such as funerals and weddings.

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30.

Malaysia has a strong oral tradition that has existed since before the arrival of writing, and continues today.

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31.

Hindus in Malaysia celebrate Deepavali, the festival of lights, while Thaipusam is a religious rite which sees pilgrims from all over the country converge at the Batu Caves.

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32.

Badminton matches attract thousands of spectators, and since 1948 Malaysia has been one of four countries to hold the Thomas Cup, the world team championship trophy of men's badminton.

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33.

Malaysia has competed at the Commonwealth Games since 1950 as Malaya, and 1966 as Malaysia, and the games were hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

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