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Portal:Malaysia/Intro

Map of Malaysia

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 regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. 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, as well as a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, the country's largest city, and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. Putrajaya is the administrative centre, which represents the seat of both the executive branch (the Cabinet, federal ministries, and federal agencies) and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 34 million, the country is the world's 43rd-most populous country. Malaysia is tropical and is one of 17 megadiverse countries; it is home to numerous endemic species. Tanjung Piai in the Malaysian state of Johor is the southernmost point of continental Eurasia.

The country has its origins in the Malay kingdoms, which, from the 18th century on, became subject to the British Empire, along with the British Straits Settlements protectorate. During World War Two, British Malaya, along with other nearby British and American colonies, was occupied by the Empire of Japan. Following three years of occupation, Peninsular Malaysia was briefly unified as the Malayan Union in 1946 until 1948 when it was restructured as the Federation of Malaya. The country achieved independence on 31 August 1957. On 16 September 1963, independent Malaya united with the then British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to become Malaysia. In August 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation and became a separate, independent country.

The country is multiethnic and multicultural, which has a significant effect on its politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Chinese, Indians, and indigenous peoples. The official language is Malaysian Malay, a standard form of the Malay language. English remains an active second language. While recognising Islam as the official religion, the constitution grants freedom of religion to non-Muslims. The government is modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system, and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is an elected monarch, chosen from among the nine state sultans every five years. The head of government is the prime minister.

After independence, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average rate of 6.5% per year for almost 50 years. The country's economy has traditionally been driven by its natural resources but is expanding into commerce, tourism, and medical tourism. The country has a newly industrialised market economy, and it ranks very high in the Human Development Index. The country is a founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Commonwealth, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). (Full article...)

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The National Alliance (Malay: Perikatan Nasional; abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia; BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; PAS), Malaysian People's Movement Party (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia; GERAKAN), Sabah Progressive Party (Parti Maju Sabah; SAPP) and Malaysian Indian People's Party (Parti Rakyat India Malaysia; MIPP) This coalition was preceded by the Malaysian Party Alliance Association, also known as the Persatuan Perikatan Parti Malaysia (PPPM). It is the second largest political coalition in Dewan Rakyat with 74 seats after Pakatan Harapan (PH) with 81 seats.

Perikatan Nasional was formed early in the 2020 Malaysian political crisis with the intention to replace the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. The 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Abdullah of Pahang, appointed Muhyiddin Yassin, then the de facto leader of PN, as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia, bringing the informal political coalition into government. The coalition was in a coalition government with Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and other political parties from March 2020 to November 2022. The coalition led the coalition government from March 2020 to August 2021 with its Chairman Muhyiddin as prime minister. After Muhyiddin resigned as prime minister due to the withdrawal of support of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and loss of majority support in Dewan Rakyat, the coalition government was led by UMNO Vice President Ismail Sabri Yaakob as prime minister from August 2021 to November 2022. A new coalition government of PH, BN, GPS, GRS and other political parties led by PH Chairman Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister was formed as a result of the general election in November 2022. PN then formed the Opposition led by its Secretary-General Hamzah Zainudin as Leader. (Full article...)
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Mohd Razizan bin Abdul Razak (born 15 April 1984) is a Malaysian comedian, actor, television personality, singer, director and producer. He has also been a contestant in several reality television shows. (Full article...)
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Johor River section in Kota Tinggi
Johor River section in Kota Tinggi
Johor River (Malay: Sungai Johor) is a river in Johor. It stretches for 122.7 km long and has a total catchment area of 2,636 km2. It flows roughly from north to south of Johor, originating from Mount Gemuruh and ending at Straits of Johor.
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The following are images from various Malaysia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Wiki Loves Malaysia

  • For more images from Malaysia, see the following categories at Wikimedia Commons:

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2009 Malaysian Grand Prix
2009 Malaysian Grand Prix


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Arau
Arau
Credit: Chongkian (12 April 2019)
Arau is the royal capital of Perlis. It houses the Perlis royal palace. With a population of 20,000, the town is accessible by Arau railway station.


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