About Malaysia

Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia. Less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation.

The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a large role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with large minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians, and indigenous peoples. The constitution grants freedom of religion and makes Malaysia an officially secular state, while establishing Islam as the "religion of the Federation". The government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister.

Since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6.5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia and 29th largest in the world. It is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the East Asia Summit and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and a member of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Cuisines

Malaysian cooking style emphasizes the use of spices such as cardamoms, cinnamons and especially chilies with several shapes, sizes and colors. The main ingredients of Malaysian cuisines include rice, noodles, bread, meat, vegetables and fruits.

Nasi Lemak is the national dish of Malaysia. This dish contains rice cooked in coconut milk, topping with fried anchovies, peanuts and a dab of chili. Another famous dish of Malaysia is Satay, which are barbecued skewers of meat used with peanut sauce. Satay is known as one of the most delicious street food in the World.

You must be cautious when trying out local foods around Malaysia, since two different dishes from different parts of the country can have the same name. An example of this case is laksa, which refers to different noodles dishes in Penang and Sarawak. Consequently, you should ask the local people to know which cuisine they are mentioning.

Nasi Lemak
Laksa
Satay

Culture

The culture of Malaysia is influenced by various cultures of different groups of people in Malaysia including mainly Chinese and Indian. Different ethnicities in Malaysia have their own culture, with some crossover. One thing they share in common is the long tradition of arts and music.

Music and arts performing in Malaysia are different from regions to regions. The music is based around percussion instruments; especially the drum called Gendang. Also, there are many kinds of tradition dances reflecting great spiritual significance. One important point is that the Malaysian government has limited rap music and heavy metal because they believe that those kinds of music can cause negative impacts on the youth.

The diversity in nature and culture, along with the great variety of cuisines in Malaysia has attracted a lot of tourists each year. Also, more reasonable price than other countries such as Singapore is another feature that makes Malaysia more considerable for tourists. If you are looking for a wonderful vacation with affordable costs, Malaysia is one of the most recommended destinations.