48 Interesting Facts about Malaysia

by Wak on 2010-03-22, 13:35

1. TUNKU Abdul Rahman first announced the date of Malaya's Independence at Padang
Pahlawan in Bandar Hilir, Malacca, on Feb 20, 1956.

2. MALAYSIA'S first experiment with national service was in 1962, during the Indonesian
Confrontation. Youths between 21 and 28 were eligible for a two-year call-up.

3. LEMBAH Bujang in the foothills of Gunung Jerai is believed to be the location of an old
Malay Langkasuka empire, holding ruins that may date back 1,500 years.

4. "TUN" is the most senior federal title and there can be no more than 25 living recipients at any
one time.

5. THE village of Wang Kelian in Perlis is the only place in the world where large-scale cave tin-
mining was conducted.

6. THE largest cave chamber in the world is the Sarawak Chamber in Gunung Mulu National
Park in Sarawak, which can easily accommodate a Boeing 747-200.

7. MALAYSIA shares with Qatar the world's lowest death rate of respiratory diseases, at 7.5
death per annum per 100 000 people.

8. TANJUNG Piai in southern Johor is the southernmost tip of continental Asia.

9. SABAH is home to the Rafflesia, the lagest flower in the world.

10. The Malaysian flag was adopted on Sept 16,1963. The flag was designed by Mohamed
Hamzah, a 29-year old Public Works Department architect in Johor Baru who entered a design
competition with two designs.

11. KUALA Kangsar district office is the site of the last surviving rubber tree from the original
batch H. N. Ridley brought from London's Kew Gardens in 1877.

12. CHINESE documents written as far back as the 6th century refer to Kelantan as "Ho Lan
Tan" and other names like "Tan-Tan" or "Chich Tu"

13. MALAYSIA has 65,877 km of highway. This is more than the Earth's circumference of
40,075 km.

14. There are more than 60 sub-ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak.

15. CINEMA came to Malaya in 1933 with the screening of Laila Majnum, based on a Sanskrit
play of two ill-fated loves, directed by B.S. Rajhans and produced by the Singapore-based
Motilal Chemical Company.

16. BURSA Malaysia, formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, dates back to
1930 when the Singapore Stockbroker's Accociation was set up to deal in securities in Malaya.

17. THE Belum rainforest has more Malayan tigers per square kilometer than any other animal
sanctuary here.

18. THE largest insect egg in Malaysia comes from the 15 cm Malaysian Stick Insect
(Heteopteryx dilitata), which lays eggs that measure 1.3 cm, making them larger than a peanut.

19. TUN Abdul Razak Hussein and Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia's second and third prime
ministers respectively, were among the more well known students of Seni Silat Gayong.

20. PENANG Free School is the oldest English school in Southeast Asia, founded by Rev.
Sparke Hutchings in 1816.

21. NASI Kandar, a dish unique to Malaysia and brought my the immigrating Indian Muslims, is
the favourite food of many Malaysians. The best is in Penang and everyone has their favourite
dishes. Among the top raned outlets are the Kampong Melayu Flats in Air Hitam, Line Clear in
Penang Road and opposite the market in Jelutung.

22. THE Bintagor trees, found only in Sarawak, is believed to contain properties that could help
fight the virus that causes AIDS.

23. MALAYSIA produces a meagre 15 feature films annually but churns out 300 to 400
televsion dramas and serials. There are 250 movie theatres and cineplexes nationwide.

24. ONLY 0.85% of 218,004 people in Malaysia use broadband services.

25. THE largest undivided leaf in the world, Alocasia macrorrhiza, comes from Sabah. A
specimen found in 1966 was 3.02 metres long and 1.92 metres wide.

26. The life expectancy of Malaysian men and women in 1957 was 55.8 years and 58.2 years
respectively. Today, it is 71 for men and 74 for women.

27. MALAYSIA is home to 14,500 species of flowering plants and trees, more than 200 species
of mammals, 600 species of bids, 140 species of snakes and 60 species of lizards.

28. LOCAL time has been adjusted on several occasions. On Dec 31, 1932, clocks were
advanced by 20 minutes to "lengthen" daylight; Sept 1, 1941, sped up another 10 minutes; 1942,
fast forwarded two hours to follow Tokyo time; 1945, reverted to the time observed in 1941, and
on Jan 1, 1982, pushed forward 30 minutes so that Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula followed
Malaysian Standard Time.
29. SIPADAN Island off Sabah is one of the worlds top diving spots.

30. MALAYSIA has 18 ports : Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan,
Lahad Datu, Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, George Town, Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan,
Sibu, Tanjung Berhala, Tanjung Kidurong and Tawau.

31. KOTA Baru was the landing point for the Japanese invasion of Malaya during World War II
in 1941. Riding bicyles, Japanese soldiers took an amazing 45 days to reach Singapore.

32. AT 421 metres high, the Kuala Lumpur Tower is the fourth tallest in the world and tallest in
Southeast Asia.

33. PENANG'S St. George Church, built in 1818, is the oldest Anglican church in Southeast
Asia.

34. CAPTAIN Tristram Speedy, who was acting British Resident for Perak, was responsible for
bringing in the first batch of 110 Sikhs to Malaya in 1873.

35. THE first railroad in Malaya was between Port Weld (now Kuala Sepetang) and Taiping,
built by the British in 1885 and covering a distance of 13.6 km.

36. MANY global brands are produced in Malaysia, including Intel Pentium chips and Brooks
Brother's shirts.

37. BANK Negara (Malaysia's Central Bank) has been managed by six governors since its
establishment in 1959.

38. The spiritual pop group Raihan holds the record for the best-selling local album, 700,000
units of their Puji-Pujian album in 1996.

39. THE longest King Cobra in the world, measuring 5.54 metres, was captured alive in Port
Dickson in April 1937 but later grew to 5.71 metres in captivity in London Zoo.

40. THE Penang Bridge is the third longest in Asia at 13.7 km

41. DR. Mani Jegathesan became the first Malaysian to win the Asian Games gold medal in the
1962 Games in Jakarta.

42. THE country's only Jewish cemetery is in Penang, in Jalan Zainal Abidin, with 120 graves.

43. THE Sungai Besi airport (now an RMAF base) was the county's first international airport.

44. The first five general elections after the Barisan Nasional's frmation were always held in a
World Cup year: 1974 (Germany), 1978 (Argentina), 1982 (Spain), 1986 (Mexico) and 1990
(Italy). This tradition ended at the next polls/tournament.
45. The word ringgit means "jagged" in Malay, and originally referred to the seperated edges of
Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the region.

46. KELANTAN holds the record for the largest number of flood evacuees : 33,000 in 1982.

47. SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Kok Shoo Yin became the first Malaysian citizenship certificate
holder when he received the document on Nov 14, 1957.

48. The Mapping and Survey Department has been maintaining the Sultan Abdul Samad Clock
Tower for 108 years.

Malaysia is one of the most beautiful southeast Asian countries populated with a
few of the warmest and welcoming people. The place interestingly is a mix of
numerous Asian cultures, making the punch line Malaysia, truly Asia quite apt for
the country. The country not only bursts with modern constructions, including a few
modern day architectural wonders but it also preserves its enriching legacy in the
form of old monuments and heritage sites. This place has its own brand of culture
which has emerged from the customs and traditions of the settlers from different
parts of Asia. So polite and humble are these people that if you invite someone to
your home it is quite rare that you will hear no for an answer. With an assortment of
some of the exquisite cuisines in the world to delight its people and guests with, the
experience remains, for each, an unforgettable one. But the platter is huge with
much more on offer for each and everyone. Continue reading through the section to
know more about Malaysia.

Fast Facts

Official Name: Federation of Malaysia

Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Official Language: Malay (Bahasa Malaysia)
National Language: Malay (Bahasa Malaysia)
Other Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan,
Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Thai
Demonym: Malaysian
Religion: Islam (predominant), Buddhism, Hinduism, Christian, Confucianism,
Taoism and Others
Legislature: Bicameral Parliament
Independence: 31 August 1957
Constitution: 31 August 1957
Area: 329,847 sq km
Population: 27.9 million (UN, 2010)
Currency: Malaysian Ringgit
National Animal: Malayan Tiger

Interesting And Amazing Facts On Malaysia

o Malaysia, a former British colony, became an independent nation on
31st August 1957 when it was set free from the British rule. It was in
the year 1963 that Malaysia expanded to include Sabah and Sarawak
into the federation of Malaysia.

o The judicial system and the government is still run in the manner it
used to during the British rule and the reforms which take place in
England are adopted here too.

o The capital city of the country is Kuala Lumpur which is the Malaysian
word for a Muddy Estuary. The capital which used to be a tin mining
town now is now a dream destination.

o The tallest twin towers of the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, are
located in Kuala Lumpur. These towers are 88 storeys high. But this
never means that the people of Malaysia have forgotten their roots, as
the colonial architecture is still preserved amidst the multi-storied
architectural wonders.

o Though Malaysias official language is Bahasa Malaysia, but because of

multitude of cultures and ethnicities, you will find a number of dialects
and languages being spoken here.

o Malaysia is a mix of a number of ethnic flavours but still, each

community holds its distinct culture and tradition. Cultures are deeply
related to cuisines and hence Malaysia is also popular as Food paradise
of southeast Asia.

o Interestingly, the country is not only famous for its distinct culture but
is also popular for its natural wealth, like the worlds biggest flower,
Rafflesia, is found in abundance at Sabah.

o The cinema came to Malaysia quite late, which is during 1933. The first
film to be screened in the country was Laila Majnu. It was a black and
white movie based on a Sanskrit play.

o The Belum rainforest has the largest Tiger population in Malaysia,

which is much more than that of any animal sanctuary in the country.

o Penang Free School was set up in Malaysia in the year 1816 by

Reverend Sparke Hutchings and it is now the oldest English School in
southeast Asia.

o Bintangor trees, which are indigenous to Malaysia, supposedly have

the properties which can help in preventing the virus which causes
AIDS (research in progress).
o There is a plant in Malaysia which is quite famous for its leaf. The name
of the plant is Alocasia Macrorrhiz and has the largest undivided leaf in
the world. It is found in abundance in Sabah.

o Malaysia is also popular for its clear water beaches, the most popular
being at the Sipadan Island, which is also one of the most favourite
diving spots, because of the presence of beautiful coral reefs.

o The Kuala Lumpur tower located in Kuala Lumpur comes fourth in the
list of the tallest towers of South-east Asia.

o Penangs St. George Church, which was built in 1818, is an Anglican

church which has the honour to be the oldest Anglican Church in entire
South-east Asia.

o The Penang Bridge is the third longest bridge in Asia, measuring a

staggering 13.7 km in length.

o As known, the currency of Malaysia is called ringgit, which is Malay for

the word jagged and was primarily used for the separated edges of
Spanish silver coins which were quite popular in Malaysia during the
older times.

o Malaysia has a staggering coastline of 4,675 km and has as many as

two hundred islands.

o The largest cave chambers which are found in world are in Malaysia.
These are named the Sarawak Chamber and are located at Gunung
Mulu National Park in Sarawak.

o Malaysia boasts of the oldest rainforest, which are home for the trees
which tower up to the height of over 100 metres.

o A major chunk of Malaysias GDP comes from the tourism industry. The
country plays host to over 20 million tourists every year from all parts
of the world.

o Rice is the staple food in Malaysia and hence is produced in

abundance. Most of the delicious dishes in Malaysia are accompanied
by rice in one way or another.

o TUN Abdul Razak Hussein and Tun Hussein Onn, which were the second
and the third prime ministers of Malaysia, were masters of Malay
martial art form known as Silat Seni Gayong.

o Japanese soldiers invaded Malaysia during the Second World War in the
year 1941. These soldiers landed at the port of Kota Baru and from that
 point, these soldiers cycled their way to reach Singapore. This journey
took forty five days.

o Malaysia was the first country in southeast Asia to get a formula one
circuit by the name Sepang International Circuit at Sepang.

o An interesting practice followed here is that whenever you enter a

Malay household, you are supposed to remove your shoes outside; it is
similar with a number of traditional shops too