Government
Malaysia practises a system of government based on parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy at the federal and state levels. At the federal level, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong is the head of the state and the federal government is governed by the Prime Minister and his cabinet of ministers who report to the Parliament which comprises two houses, namely a house of Representatives and a Senate. At the State level, the head (Ruler) of state is either the Sultan, Raja or Yang Di-Pertua Besar, while Yang Di-Pertua Negeri is the head of the state where there is no ruler.

In keeping with the concept of Parliamentary Democracy which forms the basis of the government administration in Malaysia, the Federal C

onstitution (the supreme law of the nation) underlines the distribution of governing powers among the Executive, Judicial and Legislative Authorities. The Executive branch is headed by the Prime Minister, Honourable Datuk Seri Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi.

Parliamentary general elections are held every fi ve years to elect the members of Parliament or the people's representatives.
In this system of constitutional monarchy, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the King or Supreme Head of State as provided by the Constitution. The King performs his official duties with the advice of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet as provided for by the Constitution. His Majesty also holds the position of the Islamic Religious Head for the States of Penang, Malacca,Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territories. As Malaysia's Supreme Head of State, the King is also the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces. His Majesty, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is elected out of nine hereditary rulers (or Sultans) every five years by the Conference of Rulers. Malaysia is the only country in the world to have a rotating system of Kings.

Independence : 31st August 1957

Population Estimated : 26.1 million (in 2005)

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

People :
Dubbed as 'Mini Asia', Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic country where the majorities are the Malays, Chinese and Indian. In addition, there are some 29 ethnic groups including the majority groups of Dayaks (in Sarawak) and Kadazans (in Sabah). (It is estimated that 66.2% of the population are made up of Malays, Malayrelated and aboriginal people; 25.1% are Chinese; while Indians make up 7.4% and another 1.3% comprisesother races).

Language :
Bahasa Melayu is the national language, although English is widely used and spoken. The Mandarin language and Chinese dialects, particularly Cantonese and Hokkien, as well as Indian dialects like Tamil and Hindi are common among the Chinese and Indian communities respectively.

Religion :
Islam is the official religion of the nation. However, the Malaysian Constitution guarantees freedom of worship and as such, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism make up the other primary religions embraced by the Malaysian society.

Currency & Exchange Rate :
All transactions in Malaysia are carried out using the offi cial Malaysian currency of Ringgit (RM), which is in the form of notes, in the denominations of RM1, RM2, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100, and Sen, which is in the form of coins that include 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen. As at 16th of August 2006, the exchange rate is US$1 = RM3.71 and all major currencies can be exchanged for the Ringgit.

Time Difference :
The standard Malaysian time is 8 hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time and 16 hours ahead of the United State Pacific Standard time.

Climate :
Malaysia has a pleasant tropical climate and is generally warm all the year round with temperatures ranging from 21°C to 32°C. The general weather is humid with annual rainfall varying from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.

Natural Resources :
Tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.

Trade & Economy :
Malaysia is today the leading producer and exporter of manufactured products such as semiconductors, audio-visual products, electrical & electronics goods, palm oil-based products, timber-based products and rubber-dipped products in the world. Malaysia also stands out as one of the largest producers of palm oil, natural rubber, tin, timber, cocoa beans, pepper and liquefi ed natural gas in the world. Malaysia is ranked the 26th most competitive economy in the world according to the Global Competitive Report 2006-2007, released by the World Economic Forum. In the just released World Bank report entitled "Doing Business 2007”, Malaysia emerged as the 25th most business-friendly nation in the world out of the 175 economies surveyed. The Globalisation Index 2006 undertaken by the US-based Foreign Policy Magazine and A.T.Kearney has ranked Malaysia as the world's 19th most globalised country. Kuala Lumpur city is being rated as the least expensive city in the world on food, electronic goods, clothes, public transport, hotel rates and entertainment for Western visitors, in a recent surveyed of 71 cities worldwide by Swiss banking giant, UBS The per capital GNP for the year 2005 is RM18,891 (US$5,105and is projected to exceed RM20,000 by year 2007.

Food
With its delightful varieties of cultures and traditions, Malaysia is undeniably a food haven providing a delicious and sumptuous range of cuisines although the staple food of Malaysia is rice. Malaysians love their food, and they will swear that there is no other country in the world that has as much variety of food that tastes so good. The price of the food is so affordable that you can eat-out most of the time during your stay in Malaysia.

The local Indian, Chinese and Malay dishes are easily available at most restaurants and hawker stalls, whilst other international restaurants serving American, European, Middle Eastern, Thai, Mongolian, Italian and Korean cuisines as well as fast-food outlets such as McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the numerous pizza parlours can be found all over the place. Halal food is available everywhere and there are ample eateries offering vegetarian food. Eating out in major cities is convenient as many restaurants are open 24 hours. The culinary traditions of the Malays, Chinese and Indians as well as other Malaysian communities have made Malaysia a paradise for food lovers. Below are some cuisines of local cultural groups which are wor th trying:

Malay Cuisine :
One of the characteristics of the traditional Malay food is their distinctive spicy and aromatic fl avours. Rich coconut milk is often used to give a creamy texture to Malay dishes and ingredients normally used to give that irresistible fragrance include gingerbuds, pandan leaves and cinnamon. Nasi lemak, satay and rendang are examples of popular Malay favourites. Sambal which is a hot paste of pounded chillies, prawn paste and lime juice is a favourite condiment to a normal Malay meal. The Malay cuisine includes a wide range of sweet and savoury cakes. One example is the tasty banana fritters which are a favourite tea-time item.

Chinese Cuisine :
The Chinese cuisine comes in many styles, ranging from Cantonese, Szechuan, Teochew, Hokkien to Hainanese. Despite the wide variety, the Chinese fare is mostly stir-fried and best savoured when it is still hot. The Chinese like to serve their vegetables crunchy and retaining their original fl avour. Lunch usually consists of rice, with several meat and vegetable dishes. Another type of traditional favourites are the noodles which may be served in the forms of fried noodles, soup noodles and curried noodles among others.

Indian Cuisine :
The Indian cuisine, which is spicy, fl avourful and piquant, can be broadly classifi ed into two distinct types, the northern and southern fare. The Indian northern cuisine includes favourites like the briyani rice and naan, a bread variety. The Indian southern cuisine includes rice, curry, side dishes and yoghurt served on a banana leaf. Other favourites of this fare are thosai, chappati and poori.

Mamak Cuisine :
The Mamaks, of Indian Muslim origin, normally cook thick, spicy dishes. Their favourites include murtabak, teh tarik, fi sh head curry, nasi kandar and fried noodles which also can be found in hawker stalls (popularly known as “mamak stalls” all over the country.

Nyonya (Peranakan) Cuisine :
The Peranakan race originated from the marriages between the Chinese and Malay during the old days and the offsprings of these marriages are known as the Baba and Nyonya (Peranakan). Their cuisine is a nice blend of the Chinese traditional ingredients and herbs mixed with the Malay spices and herbs.