Analysis of Malaysian Economy

1. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Malaysia is situated in Southeast Asia on the South China Sea about 2.30 north and 112.30 E. Malaysia’s total area (329, 794 square km) is about half the size of Zambia. It is divided into two regions namely West/Peninsular Malaysia (131,794 square km), comprising the southern portion area south of Thailand and north of Singapore, and East Malaysia (198,000 square km), comprising the northern part of the island of Borneo also known as Kalimantan. Altogether, Malaysia has 13 states and 3 federal territories which form the federation. Both West and East Malaysia consist of rugged forested mountainous interiors, which descend to coastal plains. Malaysia's highest peak is Mount Kinabalu at 4,100 meters in East Malaysia. Malaysia's climate is hot (up to 34°C) and humid and there is usually an average of 2 to 4 meters of rain annually compared to an average of 1 meter in Zambia.

2. POPULATION

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Malaysia's population was 28.95 million as of 2012. The country's ethnic groups include Malay and indigenous people (67.4 per cent), ethnic Chinese (24.6 per cent), ethnic Indians (7.3 per cent) and others (0.7 per cent). Sunni Islam is the predominant religion but a range of religions are represented, including Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. The official language is Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) but English is widely used, as are Chinese and Tamil dialects within the Chinese and Indian communities respectively.

3. POLITICAL OVERVIEW

Under the British protection, 11 States of Malaysia were united to form the Malayan Union in 1946. The States later became known as the Federation of Malaya in February 1948. That year also saw an armed communist offensive which was stamped out by 1960. Malaya was granted independence by Britain on 31st August, 1957.

Since independence, ethnic disputes have dominated Malaysian politics and the supremacy of Chinese and Indians in the economic arena. In the...