Geography
 Malaysia
is located in Southeast Asia and covers an area of 329,750
sq km. It is the only country that occupies territory on both
the mainland and insular regions of Southeast Asia. The region
of Malaysia on the mainland is commonly referred to as either
Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia. It occupies the southern
half of the Malay Peninsula and accounts for 40% of the country's
land mass.
It is bordered by Thailand on the north and Singapore on the
south, the Strait of Malacca on the west and the South China
Sea on the east. The insular region is commonly referred to
as East Malaysia. It occupies the northwestern part of the
island of Borneo. (Kalimantan (Indonesian) Borneo occupies
the southeast portion of Borneo.) Approximately 400 miles
(650 km) of the South China Sea separates East Malaysia from
Peninsular Malaysia.
Peninsular Malaysia is largely mountainous with half of the
total area more than 500 feet (150 meters) above sea level.
There are several mountain ranges that run north-south with
elevations rising to more than 7,000 feet (2,000 m). Heavily
populated coastal lowlands (fertile plain) run along the west
side and narrow, swampy, and densely forested lowlands run
along the east side. The Pahang River is the principal river
flowing through Peninsular Malaysia
In East Malaysia the coastal plains rise to a hill and valley
region and then rise to a mountainous core with elevations
between 4,000 and 7,000 feet (1,200 and 2,000 m). The highest
point in the country, Mount Kinabalu (13,455 feet [4,101 m]),
is located in the extreme northeast portion of this mountainous
core.
The two principal rivers in East Malaysia are the Rajang and
the Kinabatangan. The Rajang is located in the state of Sarawak
and the Kinabatangan is located in Sabah.
Approximately two-thirds of Malaysia is forest with the majority
of it being tropical rainforest. Vegetation includes bamboo,
camphor, ebony, sandalwood, teak, and mangrove forests among
the over 8,000 species of flowing plants which include 2000
tree species, 800 different kinds of orchids and 200 types
of palm trees. Wildlife in Malaysia includes elephant, tiger,
leopard, wild ox, sun (honey) bear, wild pig, orangutan, gibbon,
and some rhinoceros. East Malaysia is known for having one
of the largest and most varied bird populations in the world
Climate
 Malaysia
is hot and humid year round with a temperature 20? - 30? C,
(68? - 86? F), and a humidity level of 90%. Since the temperature
fluctuates little throughout the year, travel in Malaysia
is a pleasure year round.
The rain forests and other tropical vegetation thrive in the
hot and humid climate and are fed by the wet seasons. There
are two distinct wet seasons for this country. The West Coast
of Malaysia will experience slightly more rain through the
months of September to December. The East Coast of Malaysia
and the states of Sabah and Sarawak experience significantly
more rain through the months of October to February. When
the rain comes, it typically falls in short hard bursts briefly
interrupting the strong sunshine.
Religion
52% Muslim, 17% Buddhist, 12% Taoist, 8% Christian, 8% Hindu,
2% Tribal
People
50% Malay, 33% Chinese, 9% Indian, Sikh, also indigenous tribes
such as Orang Asli and Iban
Language
Bahasa Malaysia (official language), English (language of
instruction in tertiary education), Chinese dialects (Hokkein,
Hakka, Cantonese), Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, indigenous dialects
Time: GMT/UTC plus eight hours
Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean time (GMT) and
16 hours ahead of United States Pacific Standard Time.
Electricity: 220-240V, 50 Hz
Weights & Measures: Metric
Tourism: 6.5 million visitors in 1993 (320,000 visited
East Malaysia)
Bank Hours: In most States Mon-Fri: 9:30am-4.00pm Sat:
9:30am-11:30am Sun: Closed
Kelantan and Terengganu:
Sat-Wed: 9:30am-4.00pm
Thur : 9:30am-11.30am
Fri : Closed
Currency
MYR = Malaysian Ringgit
1 DMark = 1.740814 MYR
1 FFranc = 0.519050 MYR
1 U.K. ? = 5.608822 MYR
1 US $ = 3.799500 MYR
1 Yen = 0.0337463 MYR
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