Malaysia

1 Chapter Basic knowledge

    • Basic knowledge

       ■ Official country name → Malaysian English name: Malaysia
      Malaysia means "the country of Melayu". Murayu originated from the Sanskrit word Malayadvipa (Malayadovipa) meaning "land with mountain ranges", and in the old days was referring to a wide area around the Malaysian peninsula and its surroundings. In British colonial era it became known as "British Malaya", became independent as "Malaya Commonwealth" in 1957, then became the current name of "Malaysia" in 1963.

      ■National flag
      The 14 red and white lines represent the 13 states and the federal special district of Malaysia, the capital city Kuala Lumpur, the crescent moon and the stars are the Islamic symbols of the state religion, with the blue color representing unity, the sultan It is drawn in yellow which is the color of). In 1963 Malaysia independence was enacted as this national flag.
       


      ■ Area · Country land → about 332 290 square kilometers (about 0.9 times Japan)
      The country of Malaysia is divided into two parts, the northern part of the Malaysian peninsula and the northern part of Borneo Island, across the South China Sea. The land area is about 332 290 square kilometers, the peninsula part is 40% of the national land, and East Malaysia is 60%.
      The peninsula part is called "Malaysian Peninsular Area (Semenanjung Malaysia)", adjacent to Thailand in the northern part and Singapore in the southest southern part. The northern part of Borneo Island is called "Malaysia Timur", bordering Brunei and Indonesia.

      【Map of Malaysia】

      ■ Capital → Kuala Lumpur
      The capital city of Kuala Lumpur with a population of 1.77 million is one of the modern cities in Southeast Asia. It is the political and economic center of Malaysia and it is a federal independence zone that is consistent with 13 states.
      Originated from the development of the tin mine by the Chinese in the mid-nineteenth century, after the British colonial era it prospered as an agglomeration of rubber. It became the capital of the Malaya Commonwealth in the independence of 1957, and after reaching Malaysia in 1963, it is now the capital.
      Since 1990's, relocation of the capital function has been promoted to Putrajaya in the suburbs in order to make chronic traffic congestion in Kuala Lumpur city and the efficiency of administrative agencies more efficient.

      ■Climate
      In Malaysia located near the equator, most of the country belongs to the tropical rainforest climate, except for some highland areas, the climate of high temperature and humidity are high throughout the year. In case
      Because it is affected by monsoon (seasonal wind), the time varies depending on the area, but there are rainy season and dry season. However, as the squall (shower) falls in the dry season, there is a certain rainfall.

      　【Average temperature and precipitation of Kuala Lumpur】 (Unit: ℃)

      Source: Malaysia Tourism Board

      ■ Population → Approximately 29.34 million (2012 Malaysian Bureau of Statistics)
      As of the end of 2012, the population of Malaysia is approximately 29.34 million, according to the Malaysian Bureau of Statistics, it is expected to exceed 30 million in 2013 and further increase trend will continue.
      The ethnic proportion of the population is Malay (including indigenous Bumibutra) is about 67%, Chinese are about 25% and Indian are about 7%. In the future, population growth of Chinese and Indian population is limited, and the population of Malay and Bumibutra is expected to increase greatly. It is also thought that the declining birthrate and the aging of society will progress in the future, there is also a view that population growth rate will show a trend of a slight decline.


      　　　　　　【Population pyramid of Malaysia (2014)】
       
      Source: United Stated Census

      ■ Time difference → -1 hour (UTC + 8)
      The time difference between Japan and Malaysia is -1 hour, Japan is at noon and Malaysia is at 11 am. Daylight saving time is not adopted.
      Malaysia Peninsula district and Borneo Island's eastern Malaysia district differ greatly in longitude, but it is UCT + 8 as a unified time zone. It is the same time zone as China, Philippines, Singapore etc.

      ■ Language → official language: Malaysian, English
      There are many people who speak multiple languages ​​in Malaysia and it can be said that it is a multilingual society. People of Malay type speak Malay languages ​​as their mother tongues, Chinese people talk about Cantonese and Fujian languages ​​because they often have southern China in their roots, but there are many people who are acquiring Mandarin . Many people in India speak Tamil, a language in southern India. In Sarawak State and Sabah State of East Malaysia, ethnic languages ​​such as Bydayeu, Kadazan, Iban, etc, named Bumiputra are used.
      From the influence of the former Soviet Union, the official language was English even after becoming an independent state, but "Malay" became the official language in 1967. In 2007 it is called "Malaysian language" in order to avoid confusion by being called Malay language including Indonesian which is a very similar language. As a quasi-official position, English is often used as a common language of many ethnicities, and many people speak only English as their mother tongue.

      ■ Currency → ringgit (Ringgit) Abbreviation: RM, or MYR)
      The currency unit of Malaysia is "Ringgit", abbreviated as RM or MYR. In Japanese it is sometimes written as "ringgit". In some cases, it is sometimes called Malaysian dollar, but it is not the official name. The auxiliary unit is SEN (abbreviation) and ¢ is used. 100 centimeters is one ringgit.
      There are five types of banknotes: 100 RM, 50 RM, 10 RM, 5 RM, 1 RM, and 50 ¢, 20 ¢, 10 ¢, 5 ¢, 1 ¢ coins.


      　　　　　【Malaysia · Ringgit / Japanese yen chart】 (RM / 1 yen)

      Source：OANDA

    • Religion in Malaysia

      Malaysia is a country where Islam is defined as state religion. However, freedom of religion is recognized, and there are actually more than one religion. The majority of Malay people are Muslims, accounting for over 60% of the population. Many Chinese people practice Buddhism and Taoism while Indian practice Hinduism, others believe in Christianity due to influence of Portuguese or British of the former Soviet Union andSikhs who originated from India, etc., and as well as animism (indigenous religion).


      　　　　【Percentage of Religion in Malaysia】 (Unit:%)

      　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia Basic Data
       

    • Political system of Malaysia

      Political System of Constitutional Monarchy (Parliamentary Democracy)

       

      Head of state is Abdul · Harim · Mozam Shah, the 14th king

      In case,The leader of the government are:

      Prime Minister: Najib Razak (assumed to be appointed in April 2009, reappointed in May 2013)

      Foreign Minister: Anifa Aman (assuming office in April 2009)

       

      Parliamentary Bicameral System (Senate / House)

      Senate has 70 seats, term of office three years

      (44 members seated by the appointment of the king while26 members were nominated by the state legislature)

       

      House of representatives has 222 seats, term of office 5 years

      (Direct election by small constituency system)

       

       

      Justice

      Federal Court, Court of Appeals, High court 's three - trial system and lower courts composed the justice system.

      However, there is also a Shari'a court, which is in accordance with the Islamic law. This court will rule only among Muslims.

       

      Malaysia is being run by  parliamentary democracy system which is based on the constitutional monarchy. The head is the king and he is being elected by mutual selection by the sultans of each state (excluding some). Congress consists of the Senate which is partly appointed by the King and the House with direct election by the people.

      After the regime of Prime Minister Mahathir (then), who continued to be seated for 23 years from 1981 to 2003, the administration was headed by  the new prime minister in the name Abdullah  of "Unified Malay National Organization" (UMNO). However, in the general election in March 2008, the ruling coalition, which had been responsible for the administration since Malaysia gained its independence, lost seats significantly, and the administration was transferred to Mr. Najib, who was at that time was theDeputy Prime Minister, and the Najib regime was established . After that, in the general election in May 2013, the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Najib maintained almost the existing seats, and the second Najib regime was inaugurated.

      With the country’s background in political corruption and ethnic conflict, the Najib regime has launched administrative reform programs, programs for economic education, proposals for ethnic reconciliation, etc. with the slogan "One Malaysia".

    • History of Malaysia (~ modern)

      ■ Rise of Muslim and Melaka Kingdom (14th-15th century)

      In the western part of Malaysia Peninsula where trading with Indian was thriving for a long time ago, the Kingdom of Melaca came out in the 14th century. The Kingdom of Melaka  prospered as a key hub of the trading industry if the sea connecting India, China and the Arab world. It is said that Islam had already been introduced in the 8th century, but  when the King of Melaka was converted into Islam in 14th century, the start of wider Islamic belief also happened.

      ■ Colonial Era (16th century - first half of the 20th century)

      Colonization and colonial rule by European countries continued from the 16th  to the 20th century.

      Melaka is colonized by Portugal in the beginning of the 16th century and by the Netherlands in the 17th century. After that, the  dominance of East India Company continued. In the 18th century, France colonized Benin, after which Britain also began building the base in the East India Company. In 1824 the British Ring Agreement  made the Malay Peninsula and the northern part of Borneo Island the British colony.

      In the 19th century the Malay Peninsula flourished as a major production center of tin, and in the 20th century natural rubber production  boomed. Around this time there were mass migrants from southern China and southern India, thus the country  became a multi ethnic region.

       

      ■ The End of World War II and Independence of Malaysia (1945 - 1965)

      When the Second World War II started, Japanese troops occupied Malaysia in 1942 and continued until the end of the war in 1945. After the end of the war, in 1948 Malaysia under the colonization of British government became a religious country again and became the "Commonwealth of the British Malaya."

      After that, in August 1957, the Malay Peninsula Department became an independent country "Malaya Commonwealth", and in 1963 Saba, Sarawak and Singapore in the northern part of Borneo Island joined, establishment of "Malaysia". After that, in 1965 Singapore became independent and the Malaya Commonwealth became Malaysia now.

       

      ■ Confusion in the early Malaysian Period

      Malaysia remained confused for a while after gaining its independence. In 1969, supporters of the ruling and opposition parties collide after the general election, and a massive incident called "May 13 incident" occurred. It is said that the ethnic conflict between the Chinese and Malay residents is the cause of the collision and the result of the conflict as a multi-ethnic nation outbursts.

      Taking responsibility for the "May 13 incident", Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, resigned and the seat was transferred to the Rashak regime. Prime Minister Rashak submitted a new economic policy (NEP: New Economic Policy) as  Malay people's economic disparity against the Chinese system is one of the factors that leads  to the "May 13 incident". NEP is a national strategy to promote economic growth in Malaysia and it has become a pillar of preferential policies of Malayans (including some indigenous peoples).

       

      ■ Mahathir Times (1981 - 2003)

      In 1981 Prime Minister Mahathir took office. Focusing on the unified Malay people 's citizen organization (UMNO), he took in China and Indian political parties, Sabah and Sarawak' s regional political parties, and supported the wide - ranging ruling coalition National People 's Front (BN: Barisan National). His long-term regime continued for over 22 years. In the 1980s, he launched a "Look East Policy" to learn from the success of Japan and other Asian countries, implemented infrastructure, privatized state enterprises, actively introduced foreign capital and attracted foreign-affiliated companies and implemented economic stimulus measures . As a result, before the other Southeast Asian countries,   the country’s economic growth began in the 1980s.

       

      ■ Asian Currency Crisis

      "Asian currency crisis" which originated in neighboring countries like Thailand and which was widely linked in Southeast Asia and South Korea brought serious problems to Malaysia in 1998. At that time, the external debt ratio was high, the ringgit fell and the economy struggled.

      Instead of rebuilding the economy by IMF and austerity finance, the government implemented economic rebuilding through economic stimulus measures along with currency stabilization measures. The rebuilding was done by fixing the exchange rate and measures to prevent outflows of financial assets. In 1998, the country had a negative growth of 6.5%, but then it demodulated ahead of other IMF-supported countries.

       

      ■ Post · Mahathir Era (2003 ~)

      Even after the withdrawal of Mahathir regime, the administration of the ruling coalition (BN) which is centered on UMNO continued.  This administration are the Abdullah-Badaoui regime from 2003 to 2009 and the Najib Razak regime from 2009 onwards. However, in the 2008 general election, BN significantly reduced the number of seats in the House and opposition parties won in five provinces from a total of 12  in the state elections. It is said that changes are taking place in the stable ruling party system over the long term as there are movements of opposition party forces.

      The Najib regime has launched "1 (one) Malaysia" as a slogan. Together with One Malaysia an economic reform program and government change program were also launched. These aim  to expand support by calling for harmonization of the divided and conflicting strata and ethnic groups.

    • Education

      The educational system in Malaysia is 6 years of elementary school and 5 years of junior high school. A compulsory education is not stipulated, but enrollment rate of public school is high, and elementary school has almost 100% ratio.

      As a characteristic of primary education in Malaysia, a multinational country, there are three types of elementary schools: "national school", "national school of Chinese", "national school of Tamil language". "National School" is required to conduct classes in Malay and English. "Chinese national school" classes are taught in Chinese but teaching Malay language is compulsory, while "Tamil national school" required classes in Tamil and Malay. Classes are held in Malaysian as a general course during the first three years of the 5t-year  junior high school, and the second term is divided into "ordinary course (grammatical science / science)" and "vocational course" industrial course. After that, students that will enter university need to  go  to college preparatory education for one year (a part and a half year)while for those who will enter a two-year college is not required to go  through preliminary education. Moreover, college in Malaysia take  4 years (partly 5 to 6 years).
      　【Public School System in Malaysia】