Parliamentary general elections are held every five years to elect the members of Parliament or the people's representatives.
Supreme Head of State In this system of constitutional monarchy The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the King or Supreme Head of State as provided by the Constitution. The King performs his official duties with the advice of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet as provided for by the Constitution. His Majesty also holds the position of the Islamic Religious Head for the States of Penang, Malacca,Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territories. As Malaysia's Supreme Head of State, the King is also the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
His Majesty, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is elected out of nine hereditary rulers (or Sultans) every five years by the Conference of Rulers. Malaysia is the only country in the world to have a rotating system of Kings.
Independence 31st August 1957
Population Estimated 27.9 million (in 2009)
Capital Kuala Lumpur
People Dubbed as "Mini Asia", Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic country where the majorities are the Malays, Chinese and Indian. In addition, there are some 29 ethnic groups including the majority groups of Dayaks (in Sarawak) and Kadazans (in Sabah).
(It is estimated that 66.2% of the population are made up of Malays, Malay related and aboriginal people; 25.1% are Chinese; while Indians make up 7.4% and another 1.3% comprises other races).
Language Bahasa Melayu is the national language, although English is widely used and spoken. The Mandarin language and Chinese dialects, particularly Cantonese and Hokkien, as well as Indian dialects like Tamil and Hindi are common among the Chinese and Indian communities respectively.
Religion Islam is the official religion of the nation. However, the Malaysian Constitution guarantees freedom of worship and as such, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism make up the other primary religions embraced by the Malaysian society. Currency & Exchange Rate All transactions in Malaysia are carried out using the official Malaysian currency of Ringgit (RM), which is in the form of notes, in the denominations of RM1, RM2, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100, and Sen, which is in the form of coins that include 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen. As at 4th January 2011, the exchange rate is US$1 = RM3.06 and all major currencies can be exchanged for the Ringgit.
Country Code +60 Time Difference The standard Malaysian time is 8 hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time and 16 hours ahead of the United State Pacific Standard time.
Climate Malaysia has a pleasant tropical climate and is generally warm all the year round with temperatures ranging from 21C to 32C. The general weather is humid with annual rainfall varying from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.
Natural Resources Tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.
Malaysia is currently the world's 11th most preferred study destination. According to UNESCO, Malaysia has captured a 2% market share of international students in the fast growing private education sector. With a population of 27.9 million in 2009 and more than a million Malaysian students in tertiary education, Malaysia also accommodates more than 80,000 international students.
Higher education opportunities are abundant for international students at an affordable cost. All students are welcome to come learn in a country of great diversity, rapid economic development and people living in peace and harmony!
Recognizing the potential of the country to become an education hub, various measures have been taken to promote Malaysia as a centre of excellence for education. These include establishing Malaysia as a higher education mobility hub for international students, deploying effective marketing strategies, and setting up Malaysian Higher Education Centers in selected cities worldwide.