Map of Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia . A federal constitutional monarchy , it 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 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 42nd-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. It is also home to 111 living indigenous languages . Malaysia was also home to 2 indigenous languages that are now extinct. 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 .
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 , which is relatively open and state-oriented. 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... )
The following are images from various Malaysia-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Historic
Indosphere cultural influence zone of
Greater India for transmission of religion, music, arts, and cuisine (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 2 Pan Mee (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 3 Nasi kerabu (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 4 SMJK Confucian in Kuala Lumpur, an example of converted Chinese independent school to government-funded "SMJK" (literally
Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan ). (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 5 The usually crowded
Lim Chong Eu Expressway and its surroundings in Penang were deserted on 22 March 2020 during the
Malaysian Movement Control Order to combat the
COVID-19 pandemic . (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 6 Air bandung. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 7 Japanese troops moving through Kuala Lumpur during their advance through Malaya (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 8 Proportion of ethnic Chinese and Malay with indigenous voters in the
2018 Malaysian parliamentary constituency :
Bright red indicates a higher proportion of ethnic Chinese
Mixed colour means that the ratio of the two is equivalent
The brownish colour are the area with the higher proportion of other non-indigenous races (such as
Indians )
(from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 9 Clockwise from bottom left: beef soup, ketupat (compressed rice cubes), beef
rendang and
sayur lodeh (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 10 Teh C Peng Special (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 12 The Zheng He monument, today, marks his stopover at the city. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 13 Statue of
Francis Light in the
Fort Cornwallis of Penang, marking the start of
British rule in the Malay Archipelago (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 14 Amplang. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 15 Evolution of Malaysia (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 16 1935 map of the
Ming dynasty under the
Yongle Emperor in 1415 (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 17 The discovery of a skull estimated to be around 40,000 years old in the
Niah Caves , in Sarawak, has been identified as the earliest evidence for human settlement in
Malaysian Borneo (photo December 1958). (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 18 1860–1900 photograph of
Bukit Cina (Chinese Hill) in
Malacca , one of Malaysia's oldest Chinese cemeteries (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 19 The extent of the
Malaccan Empire in the 15th century became the main point for the spreading of
Islam in the
Malay Archipelago . (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 20 Malaysian Chinese
Catholics during
Palm Sunday at St Ignatius Church in
Selangor . (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 21 Ayam percik (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 22 Raw (l) and cooked (r) sambal tempoyak. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 23 2007 Bersih rally that was held in Kuala Lumpur (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 24 The proclamation on the formation of the independent
Federation of Malaysia by
Lee Kuan Yew (top) for
Singapore ;
Donald Stephens (centre) for
North Borneo and
Stephen Kalong Ningkan (bottom) for
Sarawak . However, Singapore left the Federation less than two years after the merger due to
racial issues . (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 25 Tongmenghui fundraising meeting in
Ipoh for the
Second Guangzhou Uprising ,
c. 1911 (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 26 New villages were established during the 1950s to segregate Chinese with connections to communist insurgents. (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 27 Nasi Lemak , the national dish of Malaysia (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 28 The Nyonya making various traditional
kuih . (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 29 Chinese women working in a British
mobile canteen during the
Malayan Campaign ,
c. January 1942 (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 30 British and Malayan police talking to a Chinese civilian about communist activity in the area in 1949 (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 31 The
1MDB corruption scandal tainted the tenure of Prime Minister, Najib Razak. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 32 Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) guerrillas during their disbandment ceremony in
Kuala Lumpur after the end of World War II (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 33 A typical serving of banana leaf rice. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 36 Sea grapes, known as latok by the Bajau people. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 37 Wonton Mee (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 38 Maggi goreng in
George Town ,
Penang (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 39 An ethnic Chinese woman in Malaysia grinds and cuts up dried
herbs to make
traditional Chinese medicine . (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 40 A craftsman making
batik .
Malaysian batik is usually patterned with floral motifs with light colouring. (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 41 Kimberley Street is considered the heart of Chinatown in
George Town ,
Penang . (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 42 A bowl of Asam laksa (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 43 The topography of Malaysian Borneo. (from
Geography of Malaysia )
Image 44 Johor-Dutch battle in the 1780s (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 46 Philippine President
Duterte in a meeting with Mahathir in the
Malacanang Palace in 2019 (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 47 16th century Portuguese sketch of Malacca. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 48 Murtabak being made at a stall, a type of pancake filled with eggs, small chunks of meat and onions. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 49 Some of the traditional clothes from
East Malaysia (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 50 Kolo mee (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 51 South-East Asia's Largest Temple-
Kek Lok Si in
Penang being illuminated in preparation for the
Lunar New Year . (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 52 Peninsular Malaysia Precipitation Map in December 2004 showing heavy precipitation on the east coast, causing floods there. (from
Geography of Malaysia )
Image 53 Bronze Avalokiteshvara statue found in Perak, 8th–9th century (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 57 A selection of Nyonya kuih (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 59 Laksa Sarawak (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 60 Bantang River Recreational Forest in
Segamat District ,
Johor . (from
Geography of Malaysia )
Image 61 A Chinese
junk in the
Kinabatangan District of northern Borneo, photographed by
Martin Johnson c. 1935 (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 62 Na Tuk Kong (拿督公) shrine in West Malaysia. (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 63 Ikan bakar in
Muar ,
Johor . (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 64 An 1880 painting of southern Chinese merchant from
Fujian (left) and Chinese official in
Penang Island . (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 66 Some of the examples of ethnic Chinese influenced Malaysian cuisine, clockwise from top-right:
grass jelly (凉粉) with
Bandung (玫瑰露加奶),
yong tau foo (酿豆腐),
Nyonya steamed layer cake (娘惹千层糕) and
laksa noodle (叻沙). (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 67 Inside the former house of a Peranakan (Baba-Nyonya or 峇峇娘惹) in
Malacca which has now been
converted into a museum , a Nyonya can be seen sitting inside wearing the traditional
kebaya . (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 69 A view of a river from the anchorage off Sarawak, Borneo,
c. 1800s . Painting from the
National Maritime Museum of London. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 70 Hainanese chicken rice balls in
Muar ,
Johor ,
Malaysia (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 72 British flag hoisted for the first time on the
island of Labuan on 24 December 1846 (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 73 Peninsular Malaysia (left) is 40% of
Malaysia 's territory, and
East Malaysia (right) is 60% of
Malaysia 's territory. The capital of Malaysia is
Kuala Lumpur . (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 75 Heads from old
headhunting practices in a
Kadazan house in Sabah (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 76 A Malaysian
nasi lemak traditionally wrapped in
banana leaves (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 78 Map of the geographic origin of the present-day ethnic Chinese Malaysians since their early migrations from China to
Nanyang region more than a hundred years ago. (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 79 Kangkung belacan (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 81 Iced Ipoh white coffee in
Menglembu ,
Ipoh , Malaysia (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 82 Bak Kut Teh (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 84 The Dutch fleet battling with the Portuguese armada as part of the
Dutch–Portuguese War in 1606 to gain control of
Malacca (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 85 Tugu Negara , the Malaysian national monument, is dedicated to those who fell during World War II and the Malayan Emergency. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 86 Joget Melayu , a Malay dance (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 87 Yusheng (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 88 A beach on
Redang Island in the South China Sea. (from
Geography of Malaysia )
Image 90 Members of the
Cobbold Commission were formed to conduct a study in the
British Borneo territories of
Sarawak and
Sabah to see whether the two were interested in the idea to form the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya and Singapore. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 91 The Buddha-Gupta stone, dating to the 4th–5th century AD, was dedicated by an Indian Merchant, Buddha Gupta. Found in Seberang Perai and kept in the National Museum, Calcutta, India. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 94 Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) in Kuala Lumpur, where Malaysians celebrate Independence Day on 31 August each year (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 96 Gasing spinning top at the cultural center Gelanggang Seni (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 97 A bowl of
curry mee , with fried beancurd skins and fish cake on the side (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 98 Malay children dressed for
Hari raya (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 100 Soto ayam , (chicken soto). Note the transparent yellow broth, the
emping and fried shallot (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 101 The
Klang Bell , dated 200 BC–200 AD (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 102 Durians in rack sold in Kuala Lumpur (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 104 Joint Chinese-Malay anticommunist demonstration in
Semenyih , Selangor during the 1950s (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 105 Mahathir Mohamad was the leading force in making Malaysia into a major industrial power. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 106 Nasi dagang (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 107 Photo of Sultan
Ahmad Muʽazzam and his courtiers. Many years after the precolonial period. c. 1900. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 108 Sambal belacan, made with mixed toasted
belachan , ground chilli, kaffir leaves, sugar and water (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 109 The 1056m
Johor-Singapore Causeway connects Malaysia and Singapore across the
Straits of Johor . In the background is
Johor Bahru . (from
Geography of Malaysia )
Image 110 The earliest record of a local law influenced by Islamic teaching and written in
Jawi . The
stone monument is found in
Terengganu . (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 111 Kuala Lumpur , a blend of old and new (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 112 Petaling Street , a
Chinatown in Malaysia's capital of
Kuala Lumpur , at night (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 114 A view of Petronas Twin Towers and the surrounding
central business district in Kuala Lumpur (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 116 Roti tisu served as a savoury meal, pictured here with a glass of teh tarik. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 117 Mount Kinabalu , the highest point of Malaysia, is located in
Sabah . (from
Geography of Malaysia )
Image 118 Authentic
mee bandung from
Muar (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 119 Chinese
tycoon Ng Boo Bee with British officials in
Perak in 1904 (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 120 Map of the
Sinophone world, where
Chinese languages are spoken as a
first language among ethnic Chinese in countries where their population is significant:
Chinese-speaking majority (Coastal and central areas of China,
Taiwan and
Singapore )
Large Chinese-speaking minority (Highland China,
Malaysia and inner
Myanmar )
Small Chinese-speaking minority (
Brunei )
(from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 121 Tanks of fresh
seafood at a seafood restaurant in
Kota Kinabalu , Malaysia (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 122 Comparison of Malay language, Jawi writing, and Khat calligraphy with other languages. (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 124 Built in the 6th century AD, Candi Bukit Batu Pahat is the most well-known ancient Hindu temple found in Bujang Valley. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 126 Geographical distributions of ethnic Chinese Malaysians by majority in each cities or towns:
Undetermined majority
(from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 127 Bersih 2.0 rally protesters marching the streets of
Kuala Lumpur peacefully before the police confronted them. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 128 Idli served with typical accompaniments. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 129 Children in a
rickshaw pulled by a Chinese
coolie in
Kuching around 1919 (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 130 Bubur pulut hitam, without coconut milk. (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 131 Replica of the palace of the
Malacca Sultanate , built from information in the
Malay Annals . (from
Culture of Malaysia )
Image 134 Lion dance in Malaysia's capital during the Chinese main festivity. (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 137 Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur was the tallest building in Southeast Asia. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 138 Aside from
mandarin orange , various other snacks are presented for visitors throughout the Chinese New Year. (from
Malaysian Chinese )
Image 142 Japanese troops landed on Malaya in 1941. (from
History of Malaysia )
Image 143 Roti Telur and Teh Tarik (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 144 Tau sar pneah , also known as
Tambun pneah , from
Penang (from
Malaysian cuisine )
Image 145 Former mine which has been converted into a
lake garden in
Perak . (from
Mining in Malaysia )
Image 146 A
wau workshop (from
Culture of Malaysia )
For more images from Malaysia, see the following categories at Wikimedia Commons:
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories
Miri
... that Miri (pictured) was the first town in Malaysia that was not a state capital to be granted city status?
... that part of capital city Kuala Terengganu 's name, according to one theory, is derived from terang ganu , Malay for "bright rainbow"?
... that George Town , the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang , was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia?
Here are some things you can help with Malaysia articles:
Rank
Name
State
Pop.
Rank
Name
State
Pop.
Kuala Lumpur Kajang
1
Kuala Lumpur
Federal Territory
1,982,112
11
Ipoh
Perak
759,952
Seberang Perai Subang Jaya
2
Kajang
Selangor
1,047,356
12
Seremban
Negeri Sembilan
681,541
3
Seberang Perai
Penang
946,092
13
Iskandar Puteri
Johor
575,977
4
Subang Jaya
Selangor
902,086
14
Kuantan
Pahang
548,014
5
Klang
Selangor
902,025
15
Sungai Petani
Kedah
545,053
6
Johor Bahru
Johor
858,118
16
Ampang Jaya
Selangor
531,904
7
Shah Alam
Selangor
812,327
17
Kota Kinabalu
Sabah
500,425
8
George Town
Penang
794,313
18
Malacca City
Malacca
453,904
9
Petaling Jaya
Selangor
771,687
19
Sandakan
Sabah
439,050
10
Selayang
Selangor
764,327
20
Alor Setar
Kedah
423,868
Religions in Malaysia
Southeast Asia
Other countries