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Malaysia
Relevant information about Malaysia.The country is located in the southern east region of Asia and even though its capital is Kuala Lumpur, its capital city is Putrajaya. The country is divided in two by the Chinese sea: the Malayan Peninsula in one side and Easter Malaysia in other, located in an island.
It is an interesting tourist destination because of its tropical climate (the country is situated near the Ecuador), it´s amazing geography (regions of coastal plains that turn into hills, mountains and jungle), their many national parks, biological reserves and other protected areas.
Malaysia, with 27 million habitants, is the 43º most populated country in the world. Malaysian´s population compromises several ethnic groups. Malays constitute over 50% of the population, indigenous groups (like Sabah and Sarawak) the 11%, almost 24% is Chinese descent and 7% Indian. There´s also a big group of British descendants that response to the colonial history of the country. Lots of Cambodians and Vietnamese immigrate during the Vietnam War. Population distribution is very uneven: almost 20 million people lives in the peninsula area while less than 5 million lives in the island. According to the World Refugee Survey 2008, in the country there are about 155,700 refugees and displaced persons, of whom about 70,500 are from the Philippines, Burma 69,700, and 21,800 from Indonesia. The Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in the United States included Malaysia in its list of the Ten Worst Places for Refugees. This is dewed to the discriminatory policies. Malaysia national language is Malay, although English is spoken by most of the locals. It is a multi religious society, but Islam is the official religion. In the 2000 census, over 60% practiced Islam, near a 20% Buddhism, 10% were Christians and a 6% practiced Hinduism. Sikhism is another strong religion, with almost a 1% of the population practicing it. Even though freedom of worship is guaranteed in the Constitution, non muslims have to deal with differetns problems to build Churches and Temples and even to celebrate some festivities. Muslims must follow the decisions of Islamic courts in matters such as marriage, inheritance , apostasy, conversion or custody. The main sport is football, even though the country haven´t conquered notorious achievements. Motors sports are also very popular and of international relevance. A good example is the Malayan Grand Prix that they held every year.
Malay Peninsula, along with Southern Asia in general, have been for centuries an area on intense commerce. In the XVII century Malaysia was divided in several states. While the British Empire ruled the region, the states were unified under the British Malaysia. It was then when they stood as the world´s largest producer of rubber trees, palm oil, and tin. The British, instead of relying in the local population decided to bring Chinese and Indian workers to perform mines, fields and qualified tasks. In the 1970 decade, Malaysia started copying the 4 Asian Tigers methods: they passed from a mining and agriculture centered system, to a tertiary sector dependent economy. In the 20 following years GDP grew up to 7% each year. This economic boom came with an enormous demand of workers, so a new immigrant wave arrive the country. 1997 Asian financial crisis impacted all sectors of the national economy. Its currency, the ringgit, was the victim of speculation and foreign direct investment suffered a dramatic fall. The exchange rate with the dollar went from 2.50 to 4.80. Although the effects of the crisis were profound, the economy rebounded better than neighbors, a decade after reaching levels above those prior to the crisis. Malaysia is a regional educational and health center which is recognized as a new industrial economy. Today is one of the main production sites computer components, as well as major banking and financial centers of the Islamic world. Tourism has also become increasingly important in recent decades.
Best places to visit includes: Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor Bahru, Kota Bahru, Alor Setar, Kangar, Victoria, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Sibu, Miri, Lahad Datu, Gunung Mulu National Park (it houses the largest known underground chamber in the world, surrounded by a mountain rain forest) and Kinalabu National Park (has been designed South East Asian Botanical Diversity Center)and Petronas Towers (which have been the world tallest towers from 1998 to 2004)
First, because Malaysia has always been a highly desirable tourist destination. Second, the Government is making an enormous effort to turn the country into a medical tourist destination. Hospitals are very well qualified medical professionals have been educated and trained in Western countries. The medical community has joined in an association of private hospitals to promote tourism related to medical treatments, and many medical facilities are concentrated to achieve health accreditations granted by the organizations that accredit these institutions. The specialties of this country are heart disease and cardiac surgery.
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