Malaysia Brief

Malaysia is a country that consists of 13 states and 3 federal territories in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of 329,847 km2. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 25 million. The country is separated into 2 regions - Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo (Sabah & Sarawak) - by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate. Malaysia's head of country is the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (conventionally referred to as 'the King') and the government is headed by a Prime Minister.
Malaysia as a unified country did not exist until 1963. Previously, a set of colonies were established by the United Kingdom from the late-18th century, and the western half of modern Malaysia was composed of several separate kingdoms. This group of colonies was know as British Malaya until its dissolution in 1946, when it was reorganized as the Malayan Union. Due to widespread opposition, it was reorganized again as the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and later gained independence on 31 August 1957. Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and the Federation of Malaya joined to form Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Singapore separated and became an independent republic on 9 September 1965.
The Malays from the majority of the population. Some Malays are of Arab descent and there are sizable Chinese and Indian communities. Islam is the largest as well as the official religion of the federation. The Malay language is the official language, Mandarin and Tamil also using widely by the communities. Same as other countries which under British colonial, English language is well established in Malaysia.