Category: Malaysia

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia, located just above the equator. It has two main parts: one on the Malaysian Peninsula and the other on the Island of Borneo, which it shares with Indonesia and Brunei. Malaysia has been inhabited by Homo sapiens for about 40,000 years or more. Small kingdoms existed in the region, in the early centuries of the Christian Era, which had cultural and commercial influence from India. Thus, Buddhism and Hinduism arrived in Malaysia. Islam arrived around the 13th century. In the 15th century, Malacca was already a major commercial port and, in the following decades, became the largest commercial center in Southeast Asia. In 1511, Malacca was conquered by the Portuguese. Subsequently, the Dutch (17th century) and English (18th century) arrived. Malaysia’s independence was achieved in 1957. An agreement between the Malaysian Federation and Britain included Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 1963. Singapore left the Federation in 1965. Malaysia is currently one of the British Commonwealth countries, with the same monarch as the United Kingdom as head of state. There are more than 30 million residents (2015). The capital is Kuala Lumpur. The Supreme Court and the Prime Minister’s headquarters are in Putrajaya, in the Federal Territory, 25 km from Kuala Lumpur.