The night skyline of the nation's capital, Kuala Lumpur. On the left is
the just-opened KL Tower, tallest in Asia and third highest in the world,
while on the right are the new Petronas Twin Towers.
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The national flag of Malaysia.
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Malaysia is a tropical wonderland situated in the heart of South-East Asia, just north of the Equator. It is made up of two regions, Peninsular Malaysia which lies between Thailand and Singapore, and East Malaysia, situated across the South China Sea on the island of Borneo. Together these two regions cover an area of 330,434 square kilometers.
The climate is hot and humid throughout the year, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures ranging from 21 degrees Centigrade to 32 degrees Centigrade. The average annual rainfall is between 2,000 mm to 2,500 mm.
Malaysia has many beautiful beaches. This one is in Penang.
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Malaysia has a population of slightly over 23 million with about 18 million living in Peninsular Malaysia, and about 5 million in Sabah and Sarawak. They are of a variety of racial backgrounds, with Malays, Chinese and Indians forming the majority on the peninsula, and Iban, Kadazan and Bidayuh being the main indigenous ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak. Bahasa Malaysia is the official national language, but Chinese dialects and Tamil are still widely used in their respective communities, and most people speak English.
Manufacturing stage of a PROTON car, Malaysia's national car.
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Malaysia's top three trading partners in 2000 are the U.S.A., Japan and the Republic of Singapore. These three countries collectively contributed more than half (53.3%) to Malaysia's total trade. Electrical and Electronic Products, Malaysia's largest export earner, accounts for about 57% (RM220 billion) of the country's total export revenue, followed by petroleum and natural gas at 8%.
Malaysian time is eight hours ahead of G.M.T. and sixteen hours ahead of U.S. Pacific Standard Time.
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