MALAYSIAStudent: Mirela DANA

Specialty: Security StudiesYear: II, semester: II

Content1. Introduction2. Geography

3. History4. Society

5. Malaysia in the Commonwealth

6. Bibliography

1. Introduction

Prime Minister of Malaysia

• Malaysia, located in Southeast Asia, has been an active member of the Commonwealth since 1957. The Commonwealth serves as a useful platform for exchanging information, ideas and experiences and promotes better understanding amongst its member states.

• Like the Commonwealth itself, Malaysia is a family of diverse cultures, multiple ethnic groups and faiths. Unity and harmony amongst our diverse communities has helped make Malaysia one of the most vibrant and dynamic countries in Asia.

• To build on these strengths, a national initiative called 1Malaysia was recently introduced. It calls on all Malaysians to achieve unity through diversity and work together to become a high-income economy and achieve developed nation status by 2020.

2. Geography

• Lying north of the equator in central South-East Asia, above Singapore and south of Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia is separated by about 540km of the South China.

• The Federation of Malaysia comprises three federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan) and 13 states (Sabah, Sarawak and the 11 states of Peninsular Malaysia).

International relations: 

Malaysia is a member of:

Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation Association of Southeast Asian Nations Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional

Cooperation Non-Aligned Movement Organisation of Islamic Cooperation United Nations and World Trade Organization

2. History of Peninsular Malaysia

• In 1786 the Sultan of Kedah granted the island of Penang to the British East India Company for use as a trading post; less than a decade later, the British took Malacca from the Dutch.

• In 1819 the British also acquired Singapore. • Penang, Malacca and Singapore were ruled directly

by Britain as the Straits Settlements.• The Japanese occupied the country from 1941–45.• Malay nationalists campaigned for independence. • The United Malays’ National Organisation (UMNO, the

principal Malay party) was formed in 1946.

• The Federation of Malaya, comprising 11 peninsular states, was established in 1948. A communist-led insurrection in that year was suppressed by the UK (although guerrilla warfare continued in the north of the peninsula and Borneo and the last insurgents only surrendered in 1989).

• A delayed general election took place in 1955. This was won by the Alliance Party, formed out of UMNO, the Malayan Chinese Association and the Malayan Indian Congress.

• On 31 August 1957 the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation and joined the Commonwealth. Penang and Malacca became states of the Federation.

4. Society• Population: 80% lives in Peninsular Malaysia, 73%

in urban areas and 9% in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million people;

• The society is multiracial with : Malays, Chinese, indigenous peoples and Indians.

• Other ethnic groups in Malaysia include Europeans and Eurasians

• Language: The national language is Malay (Bahasa Malaysia), but English is widely spoken.

• Religion:  Muslims 60%, Buddhists 19%, Christians 9% and Hindus 6%.

• Islam is the official religion;

• Education: University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur (1905) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Skudai, Open University Malaysia (private).

• Media:  English-language dailies include: The Star, The Sun, Malay Mail and Business Times. 

5. Malaysia in the Commonwealth

did you know?

• Malaysia has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1957

• Malaysia became an independent country on the 31st of August 1957

• Malaysia has been competing in the Commonwealth Games since 1966, and has won 128 medals over this period of time

• Scholarships and fellowships are awarded by Malaysia to citizens of other Commonwealth countries under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan

• Malaysia receives more tourists each year than any other Commonwealth country, other than Canada and the UK

Senior Commonwealth officers

• Mohd Shafie Apdal - Chair of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

• Mohamed Sidek Hassan- member of the Board of Directors, Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management

• Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan - President and Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth of Learning 1995-2004

• Dr Omar bin Abdul Rahman- Chair, Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management

• Professor Dato’ Abdullah Malim Baginda - Joint Honorary President, Common Wealth Network for People Centred Development International

Commonwealth meetings hosted

• 1989 CHOGM, resulting in the Kuala Lumpur Statement: Southern Africa: The Way Ahead, and the Langkawi Declaration on Environment: the first Commonwealth statement specifically to include environmental protection as a vital factor in development

• 1998 Third Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting• 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur• 2004 First Commonwealth Tourism Ministers Meeting• 2009 Seventeenth Conference of Commonwealth

Education Ministers held in Kuala Lumpur

Commonwealth Projects

• Export-Oriented & Institutional Strengthening (2007/08) This Commonwealth Secretariat commissioned project provided assistance to the Government of Malaysia in improving the competitiveness of the Malaysian Professional Services Development Corporation (PSDC). The PSDC strategic orientation was redefined to take account of operational and human resources priorities. The project also focussed on building the capacity of the PSDC to develop a marketing plan for the promotion of Malaysia professional services.

• Marketing Plan for Professional Services (2000) Assistance was provided (courtesy of the Commonwealth Secretariat) to the Government of Malaysia to formulate a strategic plan for the expansion and diversification of exports of professional services.

• Expert in Tissue Culture, Malaysian Cocoa Board (2000) The Commonwealth Secretariat commissioned an expert to assist the Malaysian Cocoa Board develop suitable micro propagation techniques for multiplication of cocoa clonal materials.

• Export Market Plan for the Promotion of Professional Services (2000)The objective of this Commonwealth programme was to assist the Government of Malaysia in formulating policies and devising implementation strategies and a national plan for an export development programme, designed to assist the expansion and diversification of exports of professional services.

• Workshop of Project Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation for Points of Contact (1997) The objective of this project was to create awareness among participants in the management of technical assistance projects and to enhance their understanding of approaches and techniques used.

6. Bibliography

• http://thecommonwealth.org/• http://

www.commonwealthofnations.org/country/Malaysia/