| |
Northern Region:
Ipoh - Langkawi - Lumit - Pangkor Island - Penang Beach
and City -
Central Region:
Kuala Lumpur/ Selangor -
East Coast Region:
Cameron Highlands - Genting Highlands - Kota Bharu -
Kuantan - Redang Island - Taman Negara - Terengganu
- Tioman Island -
Southern Region:
Johor Bharu - Malacca -
Sarawak and Sabah:
Kota Kinabalu - Kuching - Labuan - Lahad Datu - Miri
- Mount Kinabalu - Mulu - Sandakan - Semporna - Tawau
-
|
 |
AREA:
329,758 sq km (127,320 sq miles).
POPULATION: 21,169,000 (official estimate 1996)
POPULATION DENSITY:
64.2 per sq km.
CAPITAL: Kuala Lumpur.
Population: 1,231,500 (1995).
GEOGRAPHY: Malaysia
is situated in central South-East Asia, bordering on Thailand
in the north, with Singapore and Indonesia to the south and
the Philippines to the east. It is composed of Peninsular
Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the north
coast of the island of Borneo, 650-950km (404-600 miles) across
the South China Sea. Peninsular Malaysia is an area of forested
mountain ranges running north¡Vsouth, on either side
of which are low-lying coastal plains. The coastline extends
some 1900km (1200 miles). The west coast consists of mangrove
swamps and mudflats which separate into bays and inlets. In
the west, the plains have been cleared and cultivated, while
the unsheltered east coast consists of tranquil beaches backed
by dense jungle. Sarawak has alluvial and, in places, swampy
coastal plains with rivers penetrating the jungle-covered
hills and mountains of the interior. Sabah has a narrow coastal
plain which gives way to mountains and jungle. Mount Kinabalu,
at 4094m (13,432ft), is the highest peak in Malaysia. The
major islands are Langkawi (a group of 99 islands), Penang
and Pangkor off the west coast; and Tioman, Redang, Kapas,
Perhentian and Rawa off the east coast.
LANGUAGE: Bahasa Malaysia is
the national and official language, but English is widely
spoken. Other languages such as Chinese (Mandarin), Iban and
Tamil are spoken by minorities.
RELIGION: Muslim (53%) and Buddhist
(19%) majorities. The remainder are Christian, Taoist, Confucianist,
Hindu and Animist.
TIME: GMT + 8.
ELECTRICITY: 220 volts AC, 50Hz.
Square 3-pin plugs and bayonet-type light fittings are generally
used.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Telephone: IDD service is available.
Country code: 60. Outgoing international code: 00. Public
coin-operated phones can be found in many areas, such as supermarkets
and post offices. Local calls cost 10 sen. Telephone Card
public phones can be found throughout the country. Cards can
be purchased at airports, petrol stations and some shops for
amounts ranging from R3-50. There are presently two types
¡V Kadfon and Unicard ¡V and these can only be
used in their appropriate marked phonebooths.
Fax: Centres for public use are located in the main
post offices of all large towns. Most main hotels also have
facilities.
Telegram: Telegrams can be sent from any telegraph
office.
Post: There are post offices in the commercial centre
of all towns, open 0800-1700 Monday to Saturday.
Press: The English-language dailies printed in Peninsular
Malaysia are the Business Times, Malay Mail, New Straits Times,
The Sun and The Star. There are also several English-language
Sunday newspapers and periodicals. The Borneo Bulletin, published
in Brunei, also circulates. There are many printed in other
languages and several in two or three languages.
BBC World Service frequencies:
From time to time these change.
BBC:
MHz 15.57 15.36 11.96 9.410
Voice of America:
MHz 15.43 11.76 9.770 7.215
|
