Malaysia

Malaysia is located in southeastern Asia on a peninsula bordering Thailand to the north, the northern one-third of the island of Borneo bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam. The country is slightly larger than New Mexico. The capitol of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur.

Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia during the late 18th and 19th centuries. During World War II Malaysia was occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the Federation of Malaya was formed on the Malay peninsula, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia joined the United Nations on September 17 of that year. The present day Federation of Malaysia was formed with the merger of the former British colonies of the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo; Singapore joined Malaya in 1963. The first years of Malaysia were volatile; there was a communist insurgency, a confrontation from Indonesia, Filipino claims to Sabah, and Singapore's expulsion from the federation in 1965. From 1981 until 2003, under the longest-serving prime minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad, Malaysia successfully diversified its economy by reducing its dependence on exports of raw materials and expanding into manufacturing, services, and tourism.

Some of Malaysia's natural resources include tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, and bauxite. Its estimated population in 2008 was approximately 27 million. The dominant religion is Islam, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism. The country's official language is Bahasa Malaysia.

Government

The government of Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, and the heads of the states are either hereditary sultans or appointed governors. The constitution was ratified on August 31, 1957, and has been amended many times since. The most recent amendment to the constitution was in 2007. The position of the king is largely ceremonial; the current king is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who has acted in that capacity since December 13, 2006.

The cabinet is appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the king. Kings are elected for five-year terms by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states. The last election was held on November, 3 2006 and the next will be held in 2011. The prime minister is selected from the house of representatives. When the legislative elections have concluded, the leader who commands the support of the majority of members in the house becomes prime minister. It has been tradition since independence that the leader of the UMNO party becomes prime minister.

The bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of the house of representatives, known as Dewan Rakyat, and the senate, which is known as Dewan Negara. This upper house contains 70 seats, with 44 appointed by the king and 26 elected by 13 state legislatures. These senators serve three-year terms with a limit of two terms. The house of representatives or Dewan Rakyat is made up of 222 seats. The members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year maximum [Page 1047]terms. Elections for the house of representatives were held on March 8, 2008, and are also scheduled for June 2013. Citizens must be 21 years of age or older in order to vote.

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