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Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, 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 role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, 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 and 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 resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
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Culture of Malaysia
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The culture of Malaysia draws on the varied cultures of the different people of Malaysia. The first people to live in the area were tribes that still remain, they were followed by the Malays. Chinese and Indian cultural influences made their mark when trade began with those countries, other cultures that heavily influenced that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic, and British. The many different ethnicities that currently exist in Malaysia have their own unique and distinctive cultural identities, arts and music have a long tradition in Malaysia, with Malay art dating back to the Malay sultanates. Traditional art was centred on such as carving, silversmithing. Islamic taboos restricted artwork depicting humans until the mid-20th century, performing arts and shadow puppet shows are popular, and often show Indian influences. Various influences can be seen in architecture, from individual cultures in Malaysia, large modern structures have been built, including the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers. Malaysian music has a variety of origins, and is based around percussion instruments. Much early Malaysian literature was based on Indian epics, which remained unchanged even as Malays converted to Islam, English literature remained restricted to the higher class until the arrival of the printing press. Locally created Chinese and Indian literature appeared in the 19th century, cuisine is often divided along ethnic lines, but some dishes exist which have mixed foods from different ethnicities. Each major religious group has its major holy days declared as official holidays, official holidays differ by state, the most widespread one is Merdeka day which celebrates the independence of Malaya. Although festivals often stem from an ethnic background, they are celebrated by all people in Malaysia. Traditional sports are popular in Malaysia, while it has become a powerhouse in international sports such as badminton, Malaysia hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998, the first Commonwealth Games where the torch passed through more countries than England and the host. This especially affected language, only Malay texts are considered official cultural texts, government control over the media is strong, and most media outlets are related to the government in some way. Malaysia consists of two geographical regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Malaysia was formed when the Federation of Malaya merged with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore in 1963, UMNO has dominated the coalition from its inception. Although Islam is the state religion, the Constitution of Malaysia guarantees freedom of religion. Malaysia is a multi–ethnic, multicultural, and multilingual society, the society of Malaysia has been described as Asia in miniature
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Malaysian cuisine
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Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysias population can roughly be divided among three ethnic groups, Malays, Chinese and Indians. This resulted in a symphony of flavours, making Malaysian cuisine highly complex, Chilli peppers are indispensable to Malaysian kitchens, and both fresh and dried chilies are used. Chillies come in sizes, shapes and even colours. Green chillies are more peppery in taste while red chillies, green chillies which have left to ripen, have a slightly sweeter heat. If a milder flavour is preferred, the seeds and membranes would be removed from the pods before it is cut, or the chillies would be left whole. Some common uses include but are not limited to grinding the chillies into a paste or sambal, chopping fresh chillies as a condiment or garnish, Belacan is essential to Malaysian cooking. It is a type of paste which is pressed into a block. In its raw form it has a pungent, and some would say awful. Once cooked however, the shrimp pastes aroma and flavour mellows out, to prepare belacan for use, a typical method involves wrapping a small amount of the shrimp paste block in foil, which is then roasted over a flame or placed into a pre-heated oven. Belacan is most commonly pounded or blended with local chilli peppers, shallots and lime juice to make the most popular and ubiquitous relish in Malaysia, sambal belacan. Belacan is also crumbled into a spice paste called rempah, which will usually include garlic, ginger, onions or shallots. The coconut is another feature of Malaysian cuisine, and virtually all parts of the plant are used for culinary purposes. The white fleshy part of the endosperm is grated, shredded and used as it is, dried to make desiccated coconut, or toasted until dark brown. Grated coconut flesh is also squeezed to obtain milk, which is used extensively in savoury dishes. Coconut oil is used for cooking and cosmetic purposes, and may be obtained either from processing copra or extracted from fresh coconuts as virgin coconut oil. Coconut water, the liquid found inside the cavity of each coconut, is a popular cooler in Malaysias hot. Gula melaka is unrefined palm sugar produced from the sap of the coconut flower and it is the most traditional sweetener in Malaysian cooking and imbues a rich caramel-like flavour with a hint of coconut
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Malaysian Chinese
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The Malaysian Chinese or Chinese Malaysians consist of people of full or partial Chinese—particularly Han Chinese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia. Most of these people are the descendants of those who arrived between the early 19th century and the mid-20th century, Malaysian Chinese form the second largest community of Overseas Chinese in the world, after Thailand. Within Malaysia, they represent the second largest ethnic group in Malaysia after the ethnic Malay majority and they are usually simply referred to as Chinese in Malaysia, Orang Cina in Malay, and Huaren or Huaqiao by Chinese themselves. The Chinese population in Malaysia has been consistently declining percentage-wise since Malayan independence, the reason for the decline may be due to a lower birthrate, as well as a high level of emigration in recent decades. The large number of emigrants, many of whom are young, the first wave of Han Chinese settlers came during the Malacca Empire in the early 15th century. The friendly diplomatic relations between China and Malacca culminated during the reign of Sultan Mansur Syah, who married the Chinese princess Hang Li Po, a senior minister of state and five hundred youths and maids of noble birth accompanied the princess to Malacca. Admiral Zheng He had also brought along 100 bachelors to Malacca, the descendants of this wave, many of whom are of Hokkien ancestry, adapted to the customs of local Malays while retaining parts of their ancestral culture. They are called Peranakan, or Baba for their menfolk and Nyonya for the females, Chinese immigration to British Malaya and Straits Settlements was encouraged by the British and the Malay sultans to work in the mines and plantations. This group was responsible for establishing the many Chinese-medium schools in Malaya and are mostly Chinese-educated, Some such as Koh Lay Huan escaped from China due to rebellious activities against the Qing dynasty. A much smaller wave came after the 1990s and they were mostly Mandarin speaking Chinese from northern China and these were mostly foreign spouses married to Malaysian Chinese. Some national sports coaches such as badminton coach Han Jiang could only obtain permanent residency after repeated rejections of their citizenship applications, however, diving coach Huang Qiang managed to obtain his Malaysian citizenship. China is the largest participant in Malaysias foreign residency scheme called Malaysia My Second Home, according to department of statistics Malaysia July 2003, the composition of each dialect are as follows. The largest dialect group are the Min people with a total of about 2.947 million, the Min dialect group consists of the following subgroups. The southern Hokkien from Quanzhou, Amoy, and Zhangzhou is the largest Chinese language group in Malaysia, the first wave of Hokkien settled primarily in Malacca where they constitute a mere 3 percent of Malaccas Chinese population and are called Peranakan. The Quanzhou Hokkien also migrated to towns in Sarawak. Teochew immigrants from the Chaoshan region began to settle in Malaya in large numbers from the 18th century onwards, mainly in Province Wellesley and these immigrants were chiefly responsible for setting up gambier and pepper plantations in Malaya. More Teochew immigrated to Johor at the encouragement of Temenggong Ibrahim in the 19th century, many of them are the descendants of plantation workers who came to set up gambier and pepper plantations, following the administrative pattern of their countrymen in Johor. Chinese immigrants from Hainan began to migrate to Malaya and North Borneo from the 19th century onwards, smaller communities of Hainanese are also found in Sarawak and Sabah, where they work as coffee shop owners and are mainly found in large towns and cities
5.
Demographics of Malaysia
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The demographics of Malaysia are represented by the multiple ethnic groups that exist in this country. Malaysias population, according to the 2010 census, is 28,334,000 including non-citizens, of these,5.72 million live in East Malaysia and 22.5 million live in Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysian population continues to grow at a rate of 2. 4% per annum, Malay fertility rates are 40% higher than Malaysian Indians and 56% higher than Malaysian Chinese. In 2010, the Malays and Bumiputeras were 60. 3%, Chinese 24. 6%, the Chinese population has shrunk to half of its peak share from 1957 when it was 45% of Malaya, although in absolute numbers they have multiplied more than threefold. The population distribution is uneven, with some 79% of its citizens concentrated in Peninsular Malaysia, censuses were taken in Malaysia in 1970,1980,1991, and 2000, with the one in 2000 taking place between 5 and 20 July. The total population is around 28.3 million according to the 2010 census, the population distribution is highly uneven, with some 20 million residents concentrated in Peninsula Malaysia. 74. 7% of the population is urban, due to the rise in labour-intensive industries, Malaysia is estimated to have over 3 million migrant workers, which is about 10% of the Malaysian population. The exact numbers are unknown, there are a million foreign workers. The state of Sabah alone had nearly 25% of its 2.7 million population listed as foreign workers in the last census. Sabah based NGOs estimate that out of the 3 million population,2 million are illegal immigrants, of this population, approximately 70,500 refugees and asylum seekers are from the Philippines,69,700 from Burma, and 21,800 from Indonesia. The USCRI named Malaysia as one of the ten worst places for refugees on account of the discriminatory practices toward them. Malaysian officials are reported to have turned deportees directly over to human smugglers in 2007, and Malaysia employs RELA, in 2000 Source, National Census 2000, Department of Statistics Malaysia. Population estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred, in 2010 Source, National Census 2010, Department of Statistics Malaysia Data from July 2010. The corresponding figures in Singapore was 2.16,1.48 and 1.95, Data for obtained from Department of Statistics releases. All key rates sampled per 1000 of population, total fertility rate by state as of 2011, Malaysias population comprises many ethnic groups. People of Austronesian origin make up the majority of the population, large Chinese and Indian minorities also exist. Malays, as Bumiputra, see Malaysia as their land, however, since then racial stability has prevailed, if not full harmony. Mixed marriages are on the rise, Bumiputra status is also accorded to certain non-Malay indigenous peoples, including ethnic Thais, Khmers, Chams and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak
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Economy of Malaysia
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Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, which is relatively open and state-oriented. The economy of Malaysia is the fourth largest in Southeast Asia, after the more populous Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Malaysia is also the third richest in Southeast Asia by GDP per capita values, after the city-states of Singapore, Malaysias economy is one of the most competitive in the world, ranking 14th in the Ease of Doing Business Index for 2015. Malaysian economy is highly robust and diversified with export value of products in 2014 stood at 63.3 billion USD. Malaysia exports the second largest volume and value of oil products globally after Indonesia. Due to a reliance on oil exports for central government revenue. However government had step up measures to increase revenue by introducing the widely unpopular Government Service Tax at 6% rate to reduce deficits, as one of three countries that control the Strait of Malacca, international trade plays a very significant role in Malaysias economy. At one time, it was the largest producer of tin, rubber, manufacturing has a large influence in the countrys economy, accounting for over 40% of the GDP. Malaysia is also the worlds largest Islamic banking and financial centre, in the 1970s, the predominantly mining and agricultural based Malaysian economy began a transition towards a more multi-sector economy. Since the 1980s the industrial sector has led Malaysias growth, high levels of investment played a significant role in this. With Japanese investment, heavy industries flourished and in a matter of years, Malaysia consistently achieved more than 7% GDP growth along with low inflation in the 1980s and the 1990s. In 1991, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir bin Mohamad outlined his ideal, tan Sri Nor Mohamed, a government minister, said Malaysia could attain developed country status in 2018 if the countrys growth remains constant or increases. Malaysia experienced a boom and underwent rapid development during the late 20th century and has GDP per capita of US$11,062.043 in 2014. In 2009, the PPP GDP was US$383.6 billion, about half the 2014 amount, in 2014, the Household Income Survey undertaken by the government indicated that there were 7 million households in Malaysia, with an average of 4.3 members in each household. The average household income of Malaysia increased by 18% to RM5,900 a month, compared to RM5,000 in 2012. According to a HSBC report in 2012, Malaysia will become the worlds 21st largest economy by 2050, with a GDP of $1.2 trillion and a GDP per capita of $29,247. The report also says The electronic equipment, petroleum, and liquefied natural gas producer will see an increase in income per capita. Malaysian life expectancy, relatively high level of schooling, and above average fertility rate will help in its rapid expansion, viktor Shvets, the managing director in Credit Suisse, has said Malaysia has all the right ingredients to become a developed nation
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Education in Malaysia
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Education in Malaysia is overseen by the Ministry of Education. Although education is the responsibility of the Federal Government, each state, the main legislation governing education is the Education Act 1996. The education system is divided into preschool education, primary education, secondary education, post-secondary education, Education may be obtained from the multilingual public school system, which provides free education for all Malaysians, or private schools, or through homeschooling. By law, primary education is compulsory, as in many Asia-Pacific countries such as the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan, standardised tests are a common feature. Currently, there are 37 private universities,20 private university colleges, Sekolah Pondok, Madrasah and other Islamic schools were the earliest forms of schooling available in Malaysia. Early works of Malay literature such as Hikayat Abdullah mention these schools indicating they pre-date the current secular model of education, secular schools in Malaysia were largely an innovation of the British colonial government. Many of the earliest schools in Malaysia were founded in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca, many English-language schools are considered quite prestigious. British historian Richard O. Winstedt worked to improve the education of the Malays and was instrumental in establishing Sultan Idris Training College with the purpose of producing Malay teachers, Richard James Wilkinson helped established the Malay College Kuala Kangsar in 1905 which aimed to educate the Malay elite. Many Malays failed to pursue additional education due to this issue and he remarked, In the fewest possible words, the Malay boy is told You have been trained to remain at the bottom, and there you must always remain. Why, I ask, waste so much money to attain this end when without any school, and without any special effort. To remedy this problem, the British established the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, most of these were single-sex schools. During the British colonial period, large numbers of immigrants from China, the Chinese and Indian communities eventually established their vernacular schools with school curricula and teachers from China and India respectively. In the 1950s, there were four initial proposals for developing the national system, the Barnes Report, Ordinance Report, the Fenn-Wu Report. The Barnes proposal was implemented through the 1952 Education Ordinance amidst Chinese protests, in 1956, the Razak Report was adopted by the Malayan government as the education framework for independent Malaya. Malay-medium schools would be known as national, while other schools would be known as national-type. Chinese secondary schools were given the options of accepting government funding and change into English national-type schools or remain Chinese, most of the schools accepted the change, although a few rejected the offer and came to be known as Chinese Independent High Schools. Shortly after the change, some of the national-type schools reestablished their Chinese independent high school branches, in the 1970s, in accordance to the national language policy, the government began to change English-medium primary and secondary national-type schools into Malay-medium national schools. The language change was made starting from the first year in primary school, then the second year in the following year
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Cinema of Malaysia
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The cinema of Malaysia consists of feature films produced in Malaysia, shot in the languages of Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Malaysia produces about 20 feature films annually, and between 300–400 television dramas and serials a year apart from the productions by the individual television stations. Malaysia also holds its own annual National Film Festival, there are about 250 cinemas and cineplexes in Malaysia, showing not only local films but also foreign films. Malaysian cinema began in 1933 with Leila Majnun, based on a classical Persian story of two ill-fated lovers, directed by B. S. Rajhans and produced by the Singapore-based Motilal Chemical Company of Bombay, the cast was derived from a local opera group. However, they managed to produce five or six movies prior to the Japanese invasion in 1941. Ironically, the Japanese would exploit Malaysia for exactly the same purposes even obtaining the help of the Shaws to break into their extensive Southeast Asian film exhibition network, the Japanese film studios shot a number of films in Shonan depicting the area as a sort of Japanese frontier. Films such as Southern Winds II, Tiger of Malay or Singapore All-Out Attack presented the area as a land rich in resources, occupied by simple but honest people, and highly exotic. Following the end of World War II in 1945, the Shaw Brothers resumed production in 1947 with a Rajhans-directed film called Singapura Di Waktu Malam starring Siput Sarawak, backed by their chain of theatres, which they either owned or rented, the film enjoyed a good response. The Shaw Brothers proceeded to produce films and introduced new faces. Her first film, Cempaka, revolved around the life of an island girl. In 1948, P. Ramlee - who later became the legend of the Malay film world. P. Ramlee’s talents in composing and singing brought him prominence. He was very versatile as a actor, a comic, dramatic artiste, scripwriter. Most of the films carried plenty of singing and dancing scenes. After Rajhans, Shaw Brothers imported many other Indian film directors, among them S. Ramanathan, seetharama Sastry, Phani Majumdar and D. Ghoss. There were also some local film directors such as L. Krishnan and K. M. Bashker who learned the trade and techniques through experience, by the 1960s, many of the expatriates were replaced by local directors. The success enjoyed by the Shaw Brother’s film studio, known as the Malay Film Productions, there was a Nusantara film company started. In 1951, Hsu Chiu Meng started the Nusantara film company, however, he depended heavily on independent theatres, and after producing about a dozen films Nusantara closed down in 1954
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Health in Malaysia
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In 2010 half the population was under 25. Life expectancy at birth was 74 at birth and 19 at age 60, according to the World Health Organisation health status in Malaysia is relatively good, and the country is on target to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The proportion of people is rising rapidly, and with it the numbers of people with chronic conditions. Between 2002 and 2012 the numbers of people with hypertension rose by 43%, from 1996 to 2011 the proportion of the population who are obese increased from 5% to 15%
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Public holidays in Malaysia
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There are two types of public holidays in Malaysia, those at national and state levels. National holidays are observed by most governmental and private organisations. State holidays are observed by certain states in Malaysia or when it is relevant to the state itself. In addition, government agencies are closed every Saturday and Sunday in most of Malaysia, while in Kedah, Kelantan, Johor and Terengganu they are closed every Friday and Saturday. Malaysia has one of the highest numbers of public holidays in the world, ranking number seven in the top ten countries after Thailand, Indonesia, India, some holidays are federally gazetted public holidays and some are public holidays observed by individual states. Other festivals are observed by ethnic or religion groups, but are not public holidays. The main holy days of each religion are public holidays. The most widespread holiday is the Hari Kebangsaan, otherwise known as Hari Merdeka on 31 August commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya and this, as well as Labour Day, the Kings birthday and some other festivals are major national public holidays. Federal Territory day is celebrated in the three Federal territories, Malaysia Day, held on 16 September to commemorate the formation of Malaysia, became a nationwide holiday in 2010. Before that it was celebrated only in Sabah, New Years Day is also observed as a public holiday in all Malaysian states, except for Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu. Muslim holidays are prominent in Malaysia. The most important of these is Hari Raya Puasa which is the Malay translation of Eid al-Fitr and it is generally a festival honoured by the Muslims worldwide marking the end of Ramadan will the fasting month. In addition to Hari Raya Puasa, they also celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha, Awal Muharram, Malaysian Chinese typically hold the same festivals observed by Chinese around the world. Chinese New Year is the most prominent, lasting for 15-days, other festivals celebrated by Chinese are the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Malaysian Indians of the Hindu faith celebrate Deepavali, the festival of light, the most important Sikh festival is the Sikh new year or Vaisakhi festival. Other important days are Lodi and Gurpurab, other Indian and Indochinese communities observe their new year celebrations at around the same time, such as Pohela Boishakh of the Bengalis and Songkran of the Thais. People in the states do celebrate the Thai festival of Loy Kratong. Wesak, the Buddhist festival commemorating Buddhas birth, is a public holiday, malaysias Christian community observes most of the holidays observed by Christians elsewhere, most notably Christmas and Easter
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Human rights in Malaysia
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The situation of human rights in Malaysia is controversial as there have been numerous allegations of human rights abuses in the country. Human rights groups and foreign governments are critical of the Malaysian government. In 2013, Malaysia was ranked 147 out of 180 nations by Reporters Without Borders in the Press Freedom Index, as of 2013, Malaysia is rated as Partly Free in the Freedom in the World report. Several Malaysian laws are used to basic human rights. Recent sweeping changes in these laws have been described by the government as human-rights reforms but, according to critics, have actually, in some regards and this is to ensure that the respect for social harmony is preserved and protected. The practices of human rights in Malaysia are reflections of a wider Asian value system where welfare, there are several strong and sweeping pieces of legislation that have long been used by Malaysia to restrict the human rights of individuals and thus preserve, in its view, social order. Perhaps the best known of these laws is the Internal Security Act, a great many critics and political opponents of the Malaysian regime have been arrested and held under the Sedition Act, the effect of which has been to restrict freedom of expression in Malaysia. As with the Sedition Act, the effect of the Printing Presses. Meanwhile, in East Malaysia, press is free as there is less concern of controversy happenning there. The Police Act of 1967 allows the Malaysian police to detain persons without warrants, in addition, the government agreed to review several laws, including Section 27 of the Police Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Official Secrets Act. Spiegel complained that SOSMA “does not go far enough to protect the rights and freedoms of Malaysians. ”In fact, asserted Spiegel, SOSMA is actually more repressive and retrograde than the ISA in some ways, an indication that the government was “playing bait and switch with human rights. ”In addition, it “further erodes citizens’ individual protections, for example by ceding to the police rather than judges the power to intercept communications. ”The Peaceful Assembly Act replaces Section 27 of the Police Act. Under the new act, such permits are not necessary. Instead, organizers must give the police 10 days notice of any planned gathering, after which the police will reply, outlining any restrictions they wish to place on the gathering. ”The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, the leading human-rights organisation in Malaysia is Suara Rakyat Malaysia. On 17 September 2012, several dozen international human-rights groups issued a joint press release protesting what they described as “the Malaysian governments ongoing harassment” of SUARAM, in 2010 Prime Minister Najib called for the reform of this positive discrimination policy. Those who are not members of the ethnic Malay majority are systematically discriminated against in education, employment, Freedom of speech and the press are restricted, with journalists intimidated into self-censorship. Public comment on race, religion, and other subjects is prohibited, a variety of laws restrict political speech, although some criticism of the government occurs without retaliation. All newspapers are controlled by governing parties or their allies, Publications must apply annually for permit renewals, which can be denied, foreign publications are subject to censorship and confiscation. On radio and TV, opposition parties are subject to biased reporting, certain Malaysians and foreigners are banned from appearing on broadcast media
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Malaysian Indians
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The Malaysian Indians or Indian Malaysians consists of people of full or partial Indian descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia. In 2015, there were around 2 million people self-identifying as Indian who hold Malaysian nationality, most are descendants from those who migrated from India during the British colonisation of Malaya. There is a possibility that the first wave of Indians migration towards Southeast Asia happened when the Asokas invasion towards Kalinga, today, they form the third largest ethnic group in Malaysia after the Malays and the Chinese. Malaysia is home to one of the largest populations of Overseas Indians, Malaysias Indian population is notable for its class stratification, with large elite and lower income groups and diverse racial differences even within its fold. Ancient India exerted an influence over Southeast Asia through trade, religious missions, wars. Pre-colonial Malaysia was part of Indianised Kingdoms like Chola, Srivijaya, Malacca, Kadaram and the Majapahit, the kings welcomed Buddhist missionaries from India, accepting their teaching of the Mahayana sect, which spread through their territories. The ancient Indian Kalinga was located in southeastern India occupying modern day Orissa, in the 7th century an Indonesian kingdom was named Kalingga after the aforementioned Kalinga in India. Chinese sources mention this kingdom as a center for Buddhist scholars around 604 before it was overshadowed by the Sanjaya or Mataram Kingdom, the most famous Kalingga ruler is Ratu Sima. There is evidence of the existence of Indianised kingdoms such as Gangga Negara, Old Kedah, early contact between the kingdoms of Tamilakkam and the Malay peninsula had been very close during the reigns of the Pallava dynasty and Chola dynasty. The trade relations the Tamil merchants had with the ports of Malaya led to the emergence of Indianised kingdoms like Kadaram and Langkasugam, the Cholas had a powerful merchant and naval fleet in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. These people were Goan Catholics and East Indians, kuparis who were of mixed Samvedic Brahmin, Goan and Portuguese descent also arrived. Sinhalese and their children from Portuguese that include Portuguese Burghers from Portuguese Ceylon also came later and their children already intermarried with Malay population, losing their ethnic identities. British acquisition of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore - the Straits Settlements from 1786 to 1824 started a steady inflow of Indian labour and this consisted of traders, policemen, plantation labourers and colonial soldiers. Apart from this there was substantial migration of Indians to work in the British colonial government. The Indian population in pre-independence Malaya and Singapore was predominantly adult males who were single with family back in India, hence the population fluctuated frequently with the immigration and exodus of people. As early as 1901 the Indian population in the Straits Settlements, by 1931 there were 640,000 Indians in Malaya and Singapore and interestingly they even outnumbered the native Malays in the state of Selangor that year. However, during World War II many Indian men and women left for Burma as part of the Indian National Army with thousands thought to have perished, as a result, the population of Indians in 1957 had only increased to 820,000. Today, Malaysian Indians account for approximately 7 per cent of the population of Malaysia and 9 per cent in Singapore
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Languages of Malaysia
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The indigenous languages of Malaysia belong to the Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian families. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, with other ethnic groups represented in smaller numbers. The largest native languages spoken in East Malaysia are the Iban, Dusunic, English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school. It is also the language spoken in most private colleges and universities. Malaysia contains speakers of 137 living languages,41 of which are found in Peninsula Malaysia, the government provides schooling at the primary level in each of the three major languages, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Within Malay and Tamil there are a number of dialectal differences, there are a number of Chinese languages native to the ethnic Chinese who originated from southern China, which include Yue, Min and Hakka Chinese. The official language of Malaysia is known as Bahasa Malaysia and it is a standardised form of the Malay language. There are 10 dialects of Malay used throughout Malaysia, Malay became predominant after the 1969 race riots. A variant of the Malay language that is spoken in Brunei is also spoken in East Malaysia. Citizens of Minangkabau, Bugis or Javanese origins, who can be classified Malay under constitutional definitions may also speak their respective ancestral tongues, the native tribes of East Malaysia have their own languages which are related to, but easily distinguishable from, Malay. Iban is the tribal language in Sarawak while Dusun and Kadazan languages are spoken by the natives in Sabah. Some of these languages remain strong, being used in education, Sabah has tenth sub-ethnic languages, Bajau, Bruneian, Murut, Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, Rungus, Bisaya, Iranun, Sama, Suluk and Sungai. There are over 30 native groupings, each of which has its own dialect and these languages are in danger of dying out, unlike the major ones such as Kadazandusuns which have developed educational syllabuses. Iban also has developed an educational syllabus, Languages on the peninsular can be divided into three major groups, Negrito, Senoi, and Malayic, further divided into 18 subgroups. The Semai is used in education, Thai is also spoken in northern parts of Peninsular especially in Northern Kedah and Langkawi, Perlis, Northern Perak, Northern Terengganu, and Northern Kelantan. Malaysian English, also known as Malaysian Standard English, is a form of English derived from British English, English used with heavy Malay, Chinese, and Tamil influences. Most Malaysians are conversant in English, as most Malaysian Chinese have ancestry from the southern provinces of China, various southern Chinese varieties are spoken in Malaysia
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Malaysian literature
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Malaysian literature is the collection of literary works produced in the Malay peninsula until 1963 and in Malaysia thereafter. Malaysian literature is written in any of the countrys four main languages, Malay, English, Chinese. It portrays various aspects of Malaysian life and comprises an important part of the culture of Malaysia, the earliest works of Malaysian literature were transmitted orally in the absence of writing scripts. Oral literature encompasses a variety of genres of Malay folklore, such as myths, legends, folk tales, romances, epics, poetry, proverbs, origin stories and oral histories. Oral tradition thrived among the Malays, but continues to survive among the people of Malaysia, including the Orang Asli and numerous ethnic groups in Sarawak. Much of the stories were recompiled and republished into books, driven by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Malay romantic tales were also sourced from the Panji cycle of Hindu Java. There were also forms of Malay poetry, which are either in the form of pantun, syair, gurindam. For the Orang Asli, literature was and still is constituted by accounts of actual events, different ethnic groups have different versions of the same story, although there are several recurring themes and elements in every tale. The cultural practices of the people in Sarawak are shaped in part by oral traditions. The recitation of oral literature is often accompanied by rituals, the oral traditions of Sabah encompass folk tales and legends, such as creation myths, that have been preserved by the ethnic groups in the state. This oral literature is recited during ceremonies conducted by priestesses, who serve as ritual specialists, faith healers, by the 19th century, oral literature on the Malay peninsula was superseded by written literature. This tradition was influenced both by oral traditions and Islamic literature from the Middle East. The literary traditions of the Malay sultanates were distinct in that scribes were hired to record the significant events of the time, one important work of this period was Sejarah Melayu, which was written during the era of the Malacca Sultanate, rewritten in 1536 and revised in 1612. A surge of new, modern writers gave the birth of what considered as a novelty then, in the form of novel, the colonialism and the increasing numbers of intellectuals mainly educated in MPSI or MCKK had such profund impact throughout the development of the two forms. First developed by Abdullah Munshi in his Hikayat Pelayaran, it is developed more by the end of the 1920s, in every sense, their novels often melancholic and portrayed the Malay proletariat class in an idealistic manner, much driven with realism as well as romanticism. Writers during this period were Abdul Rahim Kajai, Harun Aminurrashid and to a lesser extent, during the Japanese Occupation, literature were mainly driven with such fervor of the Emperor of Japan and were published in magazines. Most of the works centered about the strength of the Japanese Army and their successes, not much of the novel, short story nor poetry were written during this period, only a few remained from the 1930s such as Ishak Haji Muhammad and Abdul Rahim Kajai. Traditional Malay poetry was used for entertainment and the recording of history, there are three forms of traditional Malay poetry, the mantera, the pantun and the syair
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Politics of Malaysia
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Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. Federal legislative power is vested in the parliament and the 13 state assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, though the executive maintains a level of influence in the appointment of judges to the courts. The Constitution of Malaysia is codified and the system of government is based on the Westminster system, whereas, the Parliament consists of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat. Malaysia has had a multi-party system since the first direct election of the Federal Legislative Council of the Malaya in 1955 on a first-past-the-post basis, the ruling party since then had always been the Alliance Party coalition and from 1973 onwards, its successor, the Barisan Nasional coalition. The Barisan Nasional coalition currently consists of the United Malays National Organisation, Malaysian Chinese Association, the opposition are made up of the newly formed pact, the Coalition of Hope, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, the Socialist Party of Malaysia and other smaller parties. Although Malaysian politics has been stable, critics allege that the government, ruling party. However, since the 8 March 2008 General Election, the coverage on the countrys politics has noticeably increased. Early organised political movements in Malaysia were organised along regional and ethnic groups and were not political parties in the modern sense and these in turn were primarily influenced by the Egyptian Islamic reform magazine, al-Manar published in Cairo by Rashid Rida from 1898 to 1936. While these publications were concerned with the Islamic religion, it also touched extensively on the social, political. One of the first such movements was the New Hope Society that was established in Johor Bahru in 1916, the Sultan Idris Training College for Malay teachers in Tanjung Malim was fertile ground for the exchange of ideas. This magazine allowed for the discussion of larger issues as well political issues. Eunos himself was a Justice of Peace, a member of the Muslim Advisory Board set up by the administration during World War I. In his capacity as the chairman of the KM, he became the first Malay member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements, one of the first issues championed by the KM was the appeal for land to be set aside for a Malay settlement. The appeal was granted and a sum of $700,000 was set aside for the KM to purchase and this settlement has evolved and is now part of the Eunos neighbourhood in Singapore. The KM also became the catalyst for the establishment of similar organisations in the states of the British Malaya such as the Penang Malay Association. People associated with the KM included the first President of Singapore, the KM survived World War II and entered into a political coalition with the United Malays National Organisation and the Malayan Chinese Association to form the Singapore Alliance Party. It however eventually faded away with the defeats of the Alliance in the 1955 legislative elections in Singapore
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Religion in Malaysia
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Malaysia is a multicultural and multiconfessional country. The remainder is accounted for by other faiths, including Animism, Folk religion, Sikhism, numbers of self-described atheists in Malaysia are few, the state has come under criticism from human rights organisations for its discrimination against atheists. Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafii version of Sunni theology, Islam was introduced by traders arriving from Arabia, China and India. It became firmly established in the 15th century, the constitution makes Malaysia a secular country and guarantees freedom of religion, while establishing Islam as the religion of the Federation to symbolise its importance to Malaysian society. The king is seen as the defender of the faith in the country and members of the royal family may lose certain privileges if they leave Islam. Malaysian Chinese practice various faiths, Mahayana Buddhism and the Chinese traditional religion, Hinduism is practised by the majority of Malaysian Indians. Christianity has established itself in some communities, especially in East Malaysia and it is not tied to any specific ethnic group. Other religions, such as the Bahai Faith and Sikhism also have adherents in Malaysia, relations between different religious groups are generally quite tolerant. Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Deepavali have been declared national holidays alongside Islamic holidays such as Muhammads birthday etc, various groups have been set up to try to promote religious understanding among the different groups, with religious harmony seen as a priority by Malaysian politicians. However, Muslims are prevented from converting to other religions by law, restrictions on religious freedom exist, especially for Muslims who are not allowed to legally convert to other religions, and are often forced into rehabilitation camps if they attempt to. All the worlds religions have substantial representation in Malaysia. The Population and Housing Censuses figures shows approximately these proportions of the following these religions. Most Malaysian Chinese follow Mahayana Buddhism or Chinese traditional religions, statistics from the 2010 Census indicate that 83. 6% of Malaysias ethnic Chinese identify as Buddhist, with significant numbers of adherents following Taoism and Christianity. Actually, the percentage of practitioners of the Chinese folk religions may be higher, Christianity is the predominant religion of the non-Malay Bumiputra community with an additional 40. 4% identifying as Muslims. Many indigenous tribes of East Malaysia have converted to Christianity, although Christianity has made inroads into Peninsular Malaysia. No ethnic Malay is allowed to leave Islam, while non-Malay Muslims seeking to require permission from a sharia court. Holidays have been declared for days in numerous religions, although only Islam has more than one national holiday. Whether a religion obtains approval of the government is determined by the Registrar of Societies, only upon approval do they qualify for government benefits
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Sport in Malaysia
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Sports in Malaysia are an important part of Malaysian culture. Sports in Malaysia are popular from both the participation and spectating aspect, Malaysians from different walks of life join in a wide variety of sports for recreation as well as for competition. Other most popular sports are bicycling, swimming, climbing, camping, bowling, hiking, fishing and scuba diving. In the spectating aspect, the six sports with most fans are association football, field hockey, rugby union, badminton, volleyball, handball, basketball. Malaysia has hosted major sports events including the Commonwealth Games in 1998. Most Malaysians live in housing areas with such as public parks, pedestrian zone, health clubs. Other most popular sports are bicycling, swimming, climbing, camping, bowling, hiking and fishing, scuba diving is another recreation, particularly around the southeastern region of Sabah. The Malaysia national badminton team has won 6 silver medals and 2 bronze medals in badminton in the Olympic Games since the sport was first introduced to the Olympics in 1992, in 1992 Razif Sidek and Jalani Sidek won the bronze medal in mens doubles. In 1996, Rashid Sidek won the medal in mens singles while Cheah Soon Kit. Lee Chong Wei won three medals in mens singles each in 2008,2012 and 2016. In 2016, Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying won silver medals in mixed doubles while Tan Wee Kiong, the Malaysia national badminton team is ranked world number 6 in the BWF World Team Ranking. Malaysia has won the Thomas Cup, the mens team trophy. Malaysia also holds its own international badminton tournament, the Malaysia Open. Squash in Malaysia is governed by the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur Open and Malaysian Open are annual squash tournaments held in Malaysia. The Malaysia mens national team has reached the quarterfinal stage at the World Team Squash Championships six times. The mens team has won the Asian Squash Team Championships three times, the Malaysia womens national squash team has won the silver medal once and bronze medal at the World Team Squash Championships four times. The womens team has won the Asian Squash Team Championships seven times, nicol David is an eight-time world champion and ranked world number 1 in woman squash since 2006. Her compatriots Low Wee Wern and Delia Arnold are ranked world number 7 and 28, male squash players Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan and Ong Beng Hee are ranked world number 32 and 34, respectively in the PSA World Rankings
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Transport in Malaysia
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Transportation in Malaysia started to develop during British colonial rule, and the countrys transport network is now diverse and developed. Malaysias road network is extensive, covering 144,403 km, the main highway of the country extends over 800 km, reaching the Thai border from Singapore. The network of roads in Peninsular Malaysia is of high quality, the main modes of transport in Peninsular Malaysia include buses, trains, cars and to an extent, commercial travel on aeroplanes. The official airline of Malaysia is Malaysia Airlines, providing international, most of the major cities are connected by air routes. The railway system is state-run, and covers a total of 1,849 km, popular within the cities is Light Rapid Transit, which reduces the traffic load on other systems, and is considered safe, comfortable and reliable. Malaysias road network covers 144,403 kilometres, of which 116,169 kilometres is paved, the longest highway of the country, the North-South Expressway, extends over 800 kilometres between the Thai border and Singapore. The road systems in Sabah and Sarawak are less developed and of quality in comparison to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Recently, the construction of Pan-Borneo Highway is approved under 2015 Malaysian Budget, the highway project span 1,663 km mostly mirror the existing trunk road, and it involves the widening of the present three-metre wide single-carriageway into a dual-carriageway. Driving on the left has been compulsory since the introduction of vehicles in Federated Malay States in 1903 during British colonial era. The railway system is state-run, and covers a total of 1,849 kilometres, most of the railway lines are consisted of ballasted setup, along with concrete sleepers, which serves better in wet and humid tropical condition, compared to wooden sleepers which can rot over time. As early as 1980s, due to the need for local suppliers of such products,1,792 kilometres of it is narrow gauge, while 57 kilometres is standard gauge. 767 kilometres of narrow gauge tracks and all of the standard gauge tracks are electrified, intra-city travel is through relatively inexpensive elevated Light Rapid Transit systems and KTM Komuter are used in some cities, such as Kuala Lumpur. Currently, Malaysia is extending the existing LRT1 & LRT2 lines and work on new LRT3, Malaysia already approved her first Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail project spanning 375 km between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. This rapid development had spurred growth of local Malaysian rail service Companies which caters these niche needs, Malaysia has 118 airports, of which 38 are paved. The national airline is Malaysia Airlines, providing international and domestic air services, major cargo airlines include MASkargo and Transmile Air Services. Kuala Lumpur International Airport is the main and busiest airport of Malaysia, in 2014, it was the worlds 13th busiest airport by international passenger traffic, recording over 25.4 million international passenger traffic. It was also the worlds 20th busiest airport by passenger traffic, of this,3,200 kilometres are in Peninsular Malaysia,1,500 kilometres are in Sabah, and 2,500 kilometres are in Sarawak. Malaysia is strategically located on the Strait of Malacca, one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, port Klang is Malaysias busiest port, and the 13th busiest port in the world in 2013, handling over 10.3 million TEUs
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Women in Malaysia
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Women in Malaysia receive support from the Malaysian government concerning their rights to advance, to make decisions, to health, education and social welfare, and to the removal of legal obstacles. The Malaysian government has ensured these factors through the establishment of Ministry of National Unity and this was followed by the formation of the Womens Affairs Ministry in 2001 to recognise the roles and contributions of Malaysian women. 47% of Malaysian women are in the workforce, the issue of womens rights in the country is subject to ideological disagreements between conservative and liberal interpretations of Islam, and between more secular forces. Non-Muslim women, and Muslim women in four states, enjoy equal parental rights, there may be employment discrimination against women, but not due to any Islamic ruling. In Kedah State, women performers can appear only before female audiences, sexual harassment is common, and since 2010 trains on the Malaysian Railway have included pink-coloured women-only cars as a means of cutting down on it. There are also buses in Kuala Lumpur since 2010. In 2011, the government launched a women-only taxi service in the greater Kuala Lumpur area, the taxis have women drivers, and operate on an on-call basis. Female genital mutilation is practiced in Malaysia, with an estimated of more than 90% of women from Muslim families having undergone the practice, reasons cited for the performance of FGM include religious obligation, hygiene, cultural practices, and the belief that it prevents pre-marital sex. However, the form of FGM practiced in the country is not as severe as in parts of the world, such as Northeast Africa. Women in Malaysia have certain protections from domestic violence, including the Domestic Violence Act 1994, under the Penal Code, women may charge their husbands for acts of abuse such as physical violence or threats - the only criminal offense with a marital exemption is Rape. According to one study, in Malaysia, 39% of women above 15 years of age have been abused by their partners. Domestic violence is seen as a public issue, Women’s Aid Organisation has introduced a SMS helpline for victims of DV. There is controversy as to what acts constitute DV, either under the Domestic Violence Act 1994 or under the Penal Code, the debate is on what type of coercion may a husband use to compel his wife to perform her duties. The approach to DV in Malaysia has been criticized as weak, Women in Malaysia have restrictions in marriage, although some of their rights are protected. Under the Islamic Family Law, the maintenance by her husband is conditioned by her obedience. However, some rights of the wife are protected by the Married Women Act,1957,4 - Capacity of married women. The literacy rate is lower for females compared to males - estimates as of 2010, for population aged 15, Malaysia, has, in recent years invested in the education of both sexes, and as a result, more girls are now studying at the university level. Mahathirs remarks were made in response to a new Islamic law that enables men to divorce or take up to four wives, the law also granted husbands more authority over their wives property
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Kuala Lumpur
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Kuala Lumpur, officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, or more commonly called KL is the national capital of Malaysia as well as its largest city. Being rated as an Alpha world city, Kuala Lumpur is the global city in Malaysia which covers an area of 243 km2 and has an estimated population of 1.73 million as of 2016. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an agglomeration of 7.25 million people as of 2017. It is among the fastest growing regions in South-East Asia, in terms of population. Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia, the city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they were moved to Putrajaya in early 1999. Some sections of the judiciary still remain in the city of Kuala Lumpur. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is situated in Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur is the cultural, financial and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a key city. Kuala Lumpur is one of three Federal Territories of Malaysia, enclaved within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Since the 1990s, the city has played host to international sporting, political and cultural events including the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Kuala Lumpur has undergone rapid development in recent decades and it is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, which have become an iconic symbol of Malaysias futuristic development. Kuala Lumpur means muddy confluence, kuala is the point where two rivers join together or an estuary, and lumpur means mud. One suggestion is that it was named after Sungai Lumpur, it was recorded in 1824 that Sungei Lumpoor was the most important tin-producing settlement up the Klang River. It has also proposed that Kuala Lumpur was originally named Pengkalan Lumpur in the same way that Klang was once called Pengkalan Batu. Another suggestion is that it was initially a Cantonese word lam-pa meaning flooded jungle or decayed jungle, there is however no firm contemporary evidence for these suggestions other than anecdotes. It is also possible that the name is a form of an earlier. It is unknown who founded or named the settlement called Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur was originally a small hamlet of just a few houses and shops at the confluence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang before it grew into a town. The miners landed at Kuala Lumpur and continued their journey on foot to Ampang where the first mine was opened
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Teluk Cempedak
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Teluk Cempedak or Teluk Chempedak is a beach in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. It is located 5 kilometres east from the centre in Kuantan and is situated in close proximity to the Royal Pahang Golf Club. The white sandy beach and the beautiful casuarinas and pine trees line the coast, all these combined to make the beach serene and at the same time delightful. The boats of the fishermen at sea can be seen during the day, the fishing village of Tanjung Api and Beserah is only about 5 kilometres away on either side of Teluk Chempedak. Artocarpus - Jackfruit Batu Hitam Cempedak Cherating Kuantan Pahang
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Perhentian Islands
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The Perhentian Islands are islands in Besut District, Terengganu, Malaysia. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil, the small, uninhabited islands of Susu Dara, Serengeh and Rawa lie off Kecil. Like Besut, people generally speak Kelantanese Malay, however English is widely spoken. The Perhentian Islands have become a travel destination for families. The name Perhentian means stopping point in Malay, referring to the traditional role as a waypoint for traders between Bangkok and Malaysia. The islands were inhabited by fishermen for centuries, although tourism now accounts for most economic activity. The Perhentian Islands appear on maps of the nineteenth and twentieth century as The Station Islands. This arises from the British colonial period, as an English translation of stopping point, Pulau Perhentian was one of the islands where Vietnamese refugees or boat people landed during the 1970s. Nature tourism provides the base for the islands. Both the islands have palm-fringed white coral sand beaches and turquoise blue sea, popular tourist activities include scuba-diving, snorkeling, and swimming. On most beaches, the water is shallow with many rays, for diving, there are dozens of dive sites around both main islands, as well as several off-shore sites. Apart from these, activities like camping, canoeing, fishing, jungle trekking, the tropical waters around the Perhentians are clear with turquoise hues. The designated marine park in the island has corals and fish life is quite excellent, during peak season, the waters are calm which is excellent for learning to dive with one of the dive centres on the island. In contrast to the islands of Lang Tengah and Redang. Most of the accommodation can be found on both the Perhentian Besar, the island and Perhentian Kecil, the smaller island. The Perhentian islands has a climate with temperatures steadily around 30 °C and frequent. A rise in tourism in Kuala Besar has led to the expansion of many different resorts and it is possible to get PADI certified at various locations and take advantage of the various wrecks and coral reefs. The Perhentian islands are home to different species of monitor lizards, poisonous spiders
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Singapore
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. Singapores territory consists of one island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan, after early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub, the country has also been identified as a tax haven. Singapore ranks 5th internationally and first in Asia on the UN Human Development Index and it is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing, but does not fare well on the Democracy index. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied, 38% of Singapores 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four languages on the island, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil. English is its language, most Singaporeans are bilingual. Singapore is a multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Peoples Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, however, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island, Sang Nila Utama, the Srivijayan prince said to have founded and named the island Singapura, perhaps saw a Malayan tiger. There are however other suggestions for the origin of the name, the central island has also been called Pulau Ujong as far back as the third century CE, literally island at the end in Malay. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama and these Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was part of the Johor Sultanate. The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period, in 1824 the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, prior to Raffles arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations
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Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde
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China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
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Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
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Brunei
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Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is surrounded by the state of Sarawak. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang, Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo, the remainder of the islands territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Bruneis population was 408,786 in July 2012, the maritime state was visited by Spains Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in the 1578 Castille War. During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline, the Sultanate ceded Sarawak to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906, after the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962, an armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British. Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984, Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei has the second-highest Human Development Index among the Southeast Asian nations, after Singapore, according to the International Monetary Fund, Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. The IMF estimated in 2011 that Brunei was one of two countries with a debt at 0% of the national GDP. Forbes also ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum, according to legend, Brunei was founded by Awang Alak Betatar, later to be Sultan Muhammad Shah. He moved from Garang, a place in the Temburong District to the Brunei River estuary, according to legend, upon landing he exclaimed, Baru nah, from which the name Brunei was derived. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei, before the rise of the Bruneian Empire under the Muslim Bolkiah Dynasty, Brunei is believed to have been under Buddhist rulers. It was renamed Barunai in the 14th century, possibly influenced by the Sanskrit word varuṇ, the word Borneo is of the same origin. In the countrys name, Negara Brunei Darussalam, darussalam means abode of peace. The people are pagans and are men of goodwill and their colour is whiter than that of the other sort. in this island justice is well administered. One of the earliest Chinese records is the 977 AD letter to Chinese emperor from the ruler of Po-ni, which some scholars believe to refer to Borneo
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India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
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South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
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Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
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Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
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Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
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Taiwan
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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia. Neighbours include China to the west, Japan to the northeast, Taiwan is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations, and the one with the largest economy. The island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, was inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before the 17th century. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty, following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROCs loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, in the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage, Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, the PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC, the PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible. There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, the former name Formosa dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means beautiful island. The name Formosa eventually replaced all others in European literature and was in use in English in the early 20th century. This name was adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbar. The modern word Taiwan is derived from this usage, which is seen in forms in Chinese historical records. Use of the current Chinese name was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture, through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as Taiwan. The official name of the state is the Republic of China and it was a member of the United Nations representing China until 1971, when it lost its seat to the Peoples Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become known as Taiwan. In some contexts, especially ones from the ROC government
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Vietnam
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
36.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
37.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
38.
Alor Setar
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The city is home to the Central State Administration Centre and is the administrative centre of Kota Setar District. Alor Setar is unique for Malaysia because the government sector and schools in tip of Malaysia city here operate from Sunday to Thursday every week and its location along the main travel route from Malaysia to Thailand has long made it a major transportation hub in the northern Malay Peninsula. At present, the city covers a area of 666 square kilometres. At the local government level, Alor Setar is administered by the Alor Setar City Council, the city is served by the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, which began operations in 2006. The city is connected to parts of Peninsular Malaysia by the North-South Expressway, the Shahab Perdana Bus Station. The citys Kuala Kedah Jetty is served by linking the city with the popular resort island of Langkawi. Alor Setar is the birthplace of two Prime Ministers, YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysias first Prime Minister, and Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the name came from the combination of two Malay words, Alor and Setar, a tree which is related to mango. The citys name was changed to Alor Star during 21 December 2003 ceremony proclaiming it a city, the citys previous name was restored on 15 January 2009. Alor Setar was founded in 1735 by Kedahs 19th Ruler, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II and is the eighth administrative centre since the establishment of the Kedah Sultanate in 1136. The earlier administrative centres were located in Kota Bukit Meriam, Kota Sungai Emas, Kota Siputeh, Kota Naga, Kota Sena, Kota Indera Kayangan, Alor Setar had been granted as a city – the ninth in Malaysia, on 21 December 2003. The proclamation ceremony to declare the Kedah capital a city was held at Dataran Tunku, the ceremony was also witnessed by civilians and tourists. Alor Setar is located in the part of Peninsular Malaysia. The Kota Setar district includes the city of Alor Setar with a population of more than 366,787 people in Kedah and it also borders the districts of Kubang Pasu, Pokok Sena and Pendang. Located at Coordinates 6 ° 7N100 ° 22E, Alor Setar is located at the edge of the Malacca Strait which separates Malaysia from Indonesia. The city once encompassed an area of 666 km², however, Alor Setar is surrounded by important river systems such as the Kedah River, River Langgar, Tajar River, Anak Bukit River, Alor Malai and Alor Merah. As with nearly all parts of Malaysia, Alor Setar features a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification, Alor Setar has a very lengthy wet season. As is common in regions with this climate, precipitation is seen even during the short dry season. Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year, with high temperatures around 32 degrees Celsius
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Kedah
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Kedah also known by its honorific, Darul Aman, or Abode of Peace is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a area of over 9,000 km². The mainland has a flat terrain, which is used to grow rice. Langkawi is an archipelago of islands, most of which are uninhabited, Kedah was called Kadaram by ancient and medieval Tamil people and Syburi by the Siamese when it was under their influence. To the north, Kedah borders the state of Perlis and shares a boundary with the Songkhla and Yala provinces of Thailand. It borders the states of Perak to the south and Penang to the southwest, the states capital is Alor Setar and the royal seat is in Anak Bukit. Other major towns include Sungai Petani, and Kulim on the mainland, archaeological evidence found in Bujang Valley reveals that a Hindu–Buddhist kingdom ruled ancient Kedah possibly as early as 110 A. D. The discoveries in Bujang Valley also made the ancient Kedah as the oldest civilisation of Southeast Asia, reference to ancient Kedah was first mentioned in a Tamil poem Paṭṭiṉappālai written at the end of the 2nd century A. D. It described goods from Kadaram heaped together in the streets of Chola capital. Other than Kadaram, Kedah was known with different names at varying times in Indian literature, Kataha-Nagara, Anda-Kataha, Kataha-Dvipa, according to Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa or the Kedah Annals, Kedah was founded by a Hindu king named Merong Mahawangsa. According to the further, the Sultanate of Kedah started in year 1136 when King Phra Ong Mahawangsa converted to Islam. In the 7th and 8th centuries, Kedah was under the control of Srivijaya. In 1025, the city was conquered by Rajendra Chola, the Chola king from Coromandel in South India, a second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola of the Chola dynasty who conquered Kedah in the late 11th century. During the reign of Kulothunga Chola I Chola overlordship was established over the Sri Vijaya province Kedah in the late 11th century and it was later under Siam, until it was conquered by the Malay sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. In the 17th century, Kedah was attacked by the Portuguese after their conquest of Malacca, in the hope that Great Britain would protect what remained of Kedah from Siam, the sultan handed over Penang and then Province Wellesley to the British at the end of the 18th century. The Siamese nevertheless invaded Kedah in 1821, and it remained under Siamese control under the name of Syburi, in 1896, Kedah along with Perlis and Satun was combined into the Siamese province of Monthon Syburi which lasted until transferred to the British by the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909. In World War II, Kedah was the first part of Malaya to be invaded by Japan, the Japanese returned Kedah to their Thai allies who had it renamed Syburi, but it returned to British rule after the end of the war. Kedah was a reluctant addition to the Federation of Malaya in 1948, since 1958, the hereditary Sultan of Kedah has been Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah
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George Town, Penang
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George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang, is located at the northeastern tip of Penang Island.5 million. One of the oldest cities in Malaysia, George Town, along with Malacca, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Established by Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company in 1786, together with Singapore and Malacca, George Town was governed under the Straits Settlements, which later became a British crown colony in 1867. It was subjugated by the Empire of Japan during World War II, shortly before Malaya attained independence from the British Empire in 1957, George Town was declared a city by Queen Elizabeth II, the first city in the countrys modern history. In 2015, the entire Penang Island was also granted city status and it also gained a reputation as Malaysias gastronomic capital, due to its unique and ubiquitous street food. Moreover, the city hosts intangible cultural heritage, such as that of the Peranakan, additionally, George Town is Malaysias most vital medical tourism hub, receiving approximately half of Malaysias medical tourists, many from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Singapore. It also serves as the financial hub within northern Malaysia, with numerous Malaysian, an enduring legacy from the British colonial era is the Port of Penang, which still serves the northern region of Malaysia by connecting George Town with over 200 ports worldwide. George Town is also connected to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia via a ferry service, George Town was named after King George III, who was the reigning British monarch when Captain Francis Light first set foot on Penang Island in 1786. The promontory where George Town is now located was known as Tanjung. The name was derived from the name of the place. Light subsequently landed on Penang Island on 17 July 1786, later, Fort Cornwallis was erected at the spot where Light first set foot. For Light, Penang Island was a convenient magazine for trade, at the time, Penang Island was part of the Kedah Sultanate, which was threatened with imminent Siamese and Burmese invasions. After an agreement was sealed between Light and the Sultan, Light returned to Penang Island on 11 August. Upon his arrival, the Union Jack was raised, signifying the formal possession of the island by the British East India Company in the name of His Britannic Majesty, King George III. Penang Island was renamed the Prince of Wales Island after the heir to the British throne, the new settlement of George Town was built out of a swamp. As Fort Cornwallis was being constructed, Light encouraged immigrants to the new settlement by firing silver coins into the jungles and he also introduced George Town as a free port, enticing traders from Dutch ports in the region. The number of incoming vessels rose from 85 in 1786 to 3,569 in 1802, in its early years, George Town was developed in a haphazard manner, as buildings and streets were created on an ad hoc basis. The new settlement was bounded by four streets - Light Street, Beach Street, Chulia Street, Captain Francis Light died from malaria in 1794 and was buried within the Old Protestant cemetery at Northam Road
41.
Penang
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Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts, Penang Island, where the city, George Town, is located. Penang is bordered by Kedah to the north and the east, known as the Silicon Valley of the East for its industries, Penang is also one of the most urbanised and economically-important states in the country. George Town, which was founded by the British in 1786, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Penang has the third highest Human Development Index in Malaysia, after the State of Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Its heterogeneous population is diverse in ethnicity, culture, language. A resident of Penang is colloquially known as a Penangite, Penang Lang or Penangkaran, the name of Penang comes from the modern Malay name Pulau Pinang, which means the island of the areca nut palm. The name Penang may refer either to Penang Island or the state of Penang, Penang is also known as the Pearl of the Orient, 东方之珠 and Pulau Pinang Pulau Mutiara. Penang is shortened as PG in English, or PP in Malay, early Malays called Penang Island Pulau Ka-Satu, meaning The First Island, because it was the largest island encountered on the trading sea-route between Lingga and Kedah. The Siamese, then the overlord of the Kedah Sultanate, referred to the island as Koh Maak, in the 15th century, Penang Island was referred to as Bīnláng Yù in the navigational drawings used by Admiral Zheng He of Ming China in his expeditions to the South Seas. The 16th-century Portuguese historian Emanuel Godinho de Eredias map of the Malay Peninsula in his Description of Malacca in 1613 referred to the island as Pulo Pinaom, archaeological evidence shows that Penang was inhabited by the Semang-Pangan of the Juru and Yen lineage. Both of these are now considered extinct cultures and they were hunter-gatherers of the Negrito stock having short stature and dark complexion, and were dispersed by the Malays as far back as 900 years ago. The last recorded aboriginal settlement in Penang was in the 1920s in Kubang Semang, the first evidence of prehistoric human settlement in what is now Penang were found in Guar Kepah, a cave in Seberang Perai in 1860. Based on mounds of sea shells with human skeletons, stone implements, broken ceramics, and food leftovers inside, other stone tools found in various places on Penang Island pointed to the existence of Neolithic settlements dating to 5,000 years ago. One of the first Englishmen to reach Penang was the navigator, sailing from Plymouth for the East Indies, James reached Batu Ferringhi in June 1592, remaining on Penang Island until September of the same year and pillaging every vessel he encountered. In the early 18th century, ethnic Minangkabaus from Sumatra opened up a settlement on Penang Island, Haji Muhammad Salleh, known as Nakhoda Intan, anchored at Batu Uban and built a seaside settlement in 1734. Later, the Arabs arrived and settled mainly at Jelutong, the Arabs then intermarried with the Minangkabau, this gave rise to the Arab-Minangkabau admixture now described as Malay, as they have assimilated into the local Malay community. However, the history of Penang only began in 1786. On 17 July that year, Captain Francis Light, an English trader-adventurer of the British East India Company, landed on Penang Island, Fort Cornwallis was later built at the site where he first set foot
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Penang cuisine
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Penang cuisine is the cuisine of the multicultural society of Penang, Malaysia. Most of these cuisine are sold at stalls, known as hawker food. It is popular among locals and tourists alike, local Penangites typically find these hawker fares cheaper and easier to eat out at due to the ubiquitousness of the hawker stalls and that they are open for much of the day and night. On February 22,2013, Penang was ranked by CNN Travel as one of the top ten street food cities in Asia, Penang has also been voted by Lonely Planet as the top culinary destination in 2014. Made from coffee beans specially roasted with palm oil margarine, Penang white coffee is arguably Penangs most famous export, apom - Indian styled pancake with a thin skin. It is crispy on the side while it is soft and thick in the middle, unlike apom balik, it has no fillings. Appalam -a thin, crisp disc-shaped cracker typically based on a dough made from black gram. Flours made from other such as lentils, chickpeas, rice, or potato. Papadams are typically served as an accompaniment to a meal, or eaten on its own as a snack. Samosa - fried or baked pastry with a filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, macaroni, noodles. The most famous bhajji in Penang is Banana Bhajji that available in Woodlands Restaurant, Chai kuih - Steamed vegetable dumplings consists of a stuffed vegetable filling which is usually turnip, carrots or chives wrapped in a transparent skin. Eu Char Kuih - Chinese style deep fried bread sticks usually eaten with congee or almond cream, heo Pheah - Chinese pastry with brown sugar filling usually sold in Chinese biscuits shop. Hum Chin Peng - Deep fried yeast dough traditionally eaten during supper or breakfast, also known as the Chinese doughnut, hum chin peng comes in two varieties, the salted version without any filling, and the one with red bean paste filling. Jiu Hoo Eng Chai - Cuttlefish and water mixed in a spicy shrimp paste. Lok-lok is a variant of the meal, except that the food served is skewered. This is then dipped into a variety of sauces provided for you, a wide selection of food is served, ranging from seafood and meats to vegetables. The food is eaten off the skewer, lor Bak - Marinated minced pork, then roll in thin soybean sheets and then deep fried. Usually served with small bowl of Loh and chili sauce, or Kuih - Savoury yam cake topped with dried shrimp, fried shallots, spring onion and sliced red chilli
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Ipoh
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Ipoh /ˈiːpoʊ/ is the capital city of the state of Perak, Malaysia and also the third largest city in the country. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur and 130 km south of Penang on the North-South Expressway and it is bordered by Batu Gajah in the west, Cameron Highlands in the east and Simpang Pulai in the south. Ipoh is the city in Malaysia to be listed, at sixth place. Ipoh grew out from the Malay village of Palau along the banks of the Kinta River in the 1880s and its geographic location in the rich tin-bearing valley of the Kinta River made it a natural centre of growth. The Great Fire of Ipoh in 1892 destroyed over half the town, Ipoh was subsequently rebuilt in time for the second tin rush and grew rapidly as a result of the booming tin mining industry, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s. A local Hakka miner, millionaire Yau Tet Shin, started developing a large tract of the town in the early 1930s, today known as the New Town, in 1937, Ipoh was made the capital of Perak, replacing Taiping. Ipoh was invaded by the Japanese on 15 December 1941, in March 1942, the Japanese Civil Administration or Perak Shu Seicho was set up at the St. Michaels Institution. After the liberation of Malaya by British forces, Ipoh remained the capital of Perak to this day, the decline of the tin mining industry during the latter half of the 20th century caused the growth of Ipoh to stagnate. With the closure of the tin mines, its population was forced to seek employment in other cities within Malaysia. In spite of this, Ipoh remains one of the largest cities in Malaysia in terms of population, Ipoh gained Municipal status in 1962, and in 1988, was declared a city by the then Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah. Ipoh is in the state of Perak, which is in the part of Peninsular Malaysia. The city is in the middle of the Kinta Valley, on the bank of the Kinta River, the city is surrounded by limestone hills, which can be found around suburban areas to the northeast, east and southeast. The Kledang mountain range stretches from the north to the west of the city and this range runs parallel to the Bintang mountain range with the Perak River flowing on its left bank and the Kinta River to its right. This range is interrupted to the north of Ipoh by a tributary of the Perak River called the Pelus River, which is sourced from the Titiwangsa mountain range, Ipoh features a tropical rainforest climate. Temperatures are about the same throughout the year, showing little variation, the citys average temperature is 28 °C. Ipoh sees high precipitation throughout the year with an average of 200 mm of each month. The wettest month is October where on average 297.2 mm of rain is seen, Ipohs driest month is January which has 132.3 mm of rain fall on average. Kek Lok Tong is a temple that lies on the other side of the same hill as Sam Poh Tong
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Perak
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Perak also known by its honorific, Darul Ridzuan, or Abode of Grace, one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the fourth largest state in the country. It borders Kedah at the north, Thai Yala Province to the northeast, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor to the south, and the Straits of Malacca to the west. The states administrative capital of Ipoh was known historically for tin-mining activities until the price of the metal dropped, the royal capital, however remains at Kuala Kangsar, where the palace of the Sultan of Perak is located. The states official name is Perak Darul Ridzuan, Perak means silver in Malay, which is probably derived from the silvery colour of tin. In the 1890s, Perak, with the richest alluvial deposits of tin in the world was one of the jewels in the crown of the British Empire, however, some say the name comes from the glimmer of fish in the water that sparkled like silver. Darul Ridzuan is the states Arabic honorific, and can either land or abode of grace. Legend tells of a Hindu-Malay Kingdom called Gangga Negara in the northwest of Perak, archaeological discoveries indicate that Perak was inhabited since prehistoric times. The modern history of Perak began with the fall of the Malacca Sultanate, Raja Muzaffar Shah, fled the Portuguese conquest of 1511 and established his own dynasty on the banks of the Sungai Perak in 1528. Being rich in tin ore deposits, the dominion was under almost continuous threat from outsiders, the Dutch attempted to control the tin trade in the 17th century, and built defensive forts at the mouth of the Perak River and on Pulau Pangkor. Early history recorded the arrival in Perak of the Dutch in 1641, however, the Dutch attempt to monopolise the tin-ore trading in Perak by influencing Sultan Muzaffar Syah failed. This did not go well with the aristocracy of Perak. In 1651, Temenggung and the people of Perak attacked and destroyed the Dutch plant, the Dutch were forced to leave their base in Perak. The Dutch sent a representative to Perak in 1655 to renew the earlier agreement and to seek compensation for the loss of their plant. The Perak government however did not honour the treaty and was surrounded by the Dutch, in retaliation, the people of Perak, Aceh. In 1670, the Dutch returned to Perak to build Kota Kayu, now known as Kota Belanda, Perak agreed to the construction because of news that the Kingdom of Siam would be attacking the state. Nevertheless, in 1685, Perak once again attacked the Dutch on Pangkor Island, forcing them to retreat, the Dutch attempted to negotiate for a new treaty, but failed. In the 19th century, the Bugis, Acehnese, and the Siamese all attempted to invade Perak, the Perak Sultanate was unable to maintain order as it was embroiled in a protracted succession crisis. In her book The Golden Chersonese and The Way Thither, Victorian traveller and adventurer Isabella Lucy Bird describes how Raja Muda Abdullah turned to his friend in Singapore, Tan, together with an English merchant in Singapore, drafted a letter to Governor Sir Andrew Clarke which Abdullah signed
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