Government type: constitutional monarchy note: Malaya (what is now Peninsular Malaysia) formed 31 August 1957; Federation of Malaysia (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore) formed 9 July 1963 (Singapore left the federation on 9 August 1965); nominally headed by the paramount ruler and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; Peninsular Malaysian states - hereditary rulers in all but Melaka, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak, where governors are appointed by the Malaysian Government; powers of state governments are limited by the federal constitution; under terms of the federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.
g. the right to maintain their own immigration controls);Sabah - holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government; Sarawak - holds 28 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government Economy - overview: Malaysia made a quick economic recovery in 1999 from its worst recession since independence in 1957. GDP grew 5%, responding to a dynamic export sector, which grew over 10% and fiscal stimulus from higher government spending.The large export surplus has enabled the country to build up its already substantial financial reserves, to $31 billion at yearend 1999.
This stable macroeconomic environment, in which both inflation and unemployment stand at 3% or less, has made possible the relaxation of most of the capital controls imposed by the government in 1998 to counter the impact of the Asian financial crisis. Government and private forecasters expect Malaysia to continue this trend in 2000, predicting GDP to grow another 5% to 6%.While Malaysia's immediate economic horizon looks bright, its long-term prospects are clouded by the lack of reforms in the corporate sector, particularly those dealing with competitiveness and high corporate debt. Ethnic groups: Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 26%, Indian 7%, others 9% Religions: Islam, Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi,Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83. 5% male: 89.
% female: 78. 1% (1995 est. ) Telephones: main lines in use: 4. 4 million (1998) Telephones - mobile cellular: 2. 17 million (1998) Telephone system: international service good domestic: good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations international: submarine cables to India, Hong Kong, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) Radio broadcast stations: AM 56, FM 31 (plus 13 repeater stations), shortwave 5 (1999)Radios: 9. million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 27 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (1999) Televisions: 3.
6 million (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (1999) Merchant marine: total: 361 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,000,706 GRT/7,393,915 DWT ships by type: bulk 61, cargo 119, chemical tanker 34, container 55, liquified gas 19, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 57, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off 6, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 (1999 est. ) Airports: 115 (1999 est. ) Airports - with paved runways: total: 32 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 6 (1999 est. )
