Quick Facts about Malaysia

As a Malaysian who was able to travel to see the world, I was one of the lucky one. Over the last 10 months around Japan, Mexico, Central and South America, I didn't meet any Malaysian backpacking around. I felt honoured to be the first one to be there (at most of the places) and to share about Malaysia. Hopefully I have help to increase the awareness about my country. :-) Telling everyone about Malaysia was as interesting as me discovering their country. I think one has to meet a person or to be at the place to know the country. Just like you need to meet me (or other Malaysian) to know about Malaysia. :-) Now you just need to visit my country Malaysia.

Malaysia Truely Asia!

The Capital City of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur, 1.6 millions people lives here.
Malaysian currency is Ringgit Malaysia in short RM or MYR.
We are multi-ethnic country which consist of the Malay (50%), Chinese (24%), Indian (11%), Iindigenous tribes (7%) and others (8%)
We are multi-lingual, we speak at least 3 different languages, Bahasa Malayu being the national language, English is widely spoken, Mandarin, Cantonese and Tamil. Not to mention other dialects like Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew and others. 
We are a country of multi-religious, Islam being the largest and official religion of the country. Others practice Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Confucianism and others.
We celebrate several different festivals a year, starting from the Chinese New Year(Chinese) in Jan/Feb, Thaipusam(Indian) in Jan/Feb, Vesak(Buddhist), Hari Raya Puasa(Malay), Hari Raya Haji(Malay), Dewali(Indian) and Christmas (Christian).

We have huge diversity of food that will take one to try them all in months. 
We have many traditional sports like Wau is a traditional form of kite-flying involving kites created with intricate designs. Sepak takraw is a game in which a rattan ball is kept in the air without using hands, normally played by 3. Gasing is a traditional game played during the harvest season. Badminton being the most popular sport in the country with Lee Chong Wei being the Number 1 Badminton Player in the world as of Jan 2012.
We have the tallest twin tower in the world - The Petronas Tower. Designed by Argentine architect César Pelli.



Foreign Relation
Malaysia has never recognised Israel and has no diplomatic ties with it. Our passport states clearly that it is valid for all country except Israel.


History
We were Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial in the past.
We gained Independence from the British on the 31 August 1957.

Geography and Weather
We are in the Tropic, which means having 365 days of sun, rain and humidity. Temperatures are from 21ºC (70ºF) to 32ºC (90ºF).
The country is divided into 2 region, the Peninsular and East Malaysia, the Peninsular Malaysia is bordered with Thailand at the north, where else the East Malaysia is bordered with Brunei and Indonesia.
The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is located at Tanjung Piai, Malaysia.
About two thirds of Malaysia is covered in forest with some forests believed to be 130 million years old. 

Quick links for foreigners travelling to Malaysia
Malaysian Tourism Website - http://www.tourism.gov.my/
Visa requirement for foreigner - http://www.kln.gov.my/web/guest/requirement-for-foreigner
National carrier - Malaysia Airlines (http://www.malaysiaairlines.com)
Low cost carrier - AirAsia (http://www.airasia.com)
International Airport - KLIA Kuala Lumpur International Airport (http://www.klia.com.my/) and LCCT-Low Cost Carrier Terminal (http://lcct.klia.com.my/)
Malaysia Bus Info -  http://www.journeymalaysia.com/bus.htm