Malaysia

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The country was once colonized by the United Kingdom; British Malaya and Malaysia did not exist as a unified state prior to 1946 and 1963 respectively. The Federation of Malaya achieved independence from the United Kingdom on August 31, 1957. Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and the Federation of Malaya federated to form Malaysia on September 16, 1963. The early years of the federation were marred by an armed conflict with Indonesia and the expulsion of Singapore. The Southeast Asian nation experienced an economic boom and underwent rapid development during the late 20th century. With a GDP per capita standing at USD13,000, it from time to time has been considered as a newly industrialized country. As one of three countries that control the Strait of Malacca, international trade plays a large of its economy. At one time, it was the largest producer of tin, rubber and palm oil in the world. Manufacturing has a large influence in the country’s economy.

The population of Malaysia is approximately 27 million. The Malay forms the majority of the population while there are sizable Chinese and Indian communities. Islam is the largest as well as the official religion of the federation. The Malay language is the official language.

The two distinct parts of Malaysia,separated from each other by the South China Sea, share a largely similar landscape in that both West and East Malaysia feature coastal plains rising to often densely forested hills and mountains, the highest of which is Mount Kinabalu at 4,095.2 metres (13,435.7 ft) on the island of Borneo. The local climate is equatorial and characterised by the annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons.

Malaysia is well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry and minerals. In terms of agriculture, Malaysia is one of the top exporters of natural rubber and palm oil, which together with sawn logs and sawn timber, cocoa, pepper, pineapple and tobacco dominate the growth of the sector. Palm oil is also a major generator of foreign exchange.

Regarding forestry resources, it is noted that logging only began to make a substantial contribution to the economy during the nineteenth century. Today, an estimated 59% of Malaysia remains forested. The rapid expansion of the timber industry, particularly after the 1960s, has brought about a serious erosion problem in the country’s forest resources. However, in line with the Government’s commitment to protect the environment and the ecological system, forestry resources are being managed on a sustainable basis and accordingly the rate of tree felling has been on the decline.

Although the Malaysian constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom, in practice the situation is not so simple. All ethnic Malays are Muslim as defined in the Malaysian constitution. Additionally, all non-Muslims who marry a Muslim must renounce their religion and convert to Islam. Meanwhile, non-Muslims experience restrictions in activities such as construction of religious buildings and the celebration of certain religious events in some states. Muslims are obliged to follow the decisions of Sharia courts when it comes to matters concerning their religion. The jurisdiction of Sharia court is limited only to Muslims over matters of Faith and Obligations as a Muslim, which includes marriage, inheritance, apostasy, conversion, and custody among others. Any other criminal or civil offences are not under the jurisdiction of the Sharia Courts. As a rule, the Civil Courts cannot overule any decision made by the Sharia Courts, not even the Federal Court. The Sharia Courts has a similar hierarchy to the Civil Courts.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. The population as of February 2007 is 26.6 million consisting of 62% Malays, 24% Chinese, 8% Indians, with other minorities and indigenous peoples (Dept of Stats. Malaysia). The Malays, who form the largest community, are defined as Muslims in the Constitution of Malaysia. The Malays play a dominant role politically and are included in a grouping identified as bumiputra. Their native language is Malay (Bahasa Melayu). Malay is the national language of the country.