Difference between revisions of "Peninsular Malaysia"

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(note: this article is relating to Malaysia. for full article, please refer to wikipedia.)
 
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'''Peninsular Malaysia''' ({{lang-ms|'''Semenanjung Malaysia'''}}), also known as '''West Malaysia''' (formerly '''Malaya'''), is the part of [[Malaysia]] which lies on the [[Malay Peninsula]]. Its area is 131,598 square kilometers (50,810 square miles). It shares a land border with [[Thailand]] in the north. To the south is the island of [[Singapore]]. Across the [[Strait of Malacca]] to the west lies the island of [[Sumatra]]. [[East Malaysia]] (on the island of [[Borneo]]) is to the east across the [[South China Sea]]. With an estimated population of 21 million, it accounts for the majority (roughly 80%) of Malaysia's population and economy.
'''Peninsular Malaysia''' (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia), also known as West Malaysia (formerly Malaya), is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is 131,598 square kilometres (50,810 sq mi). It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). East Malaysia (on the island of Borneo) is to the east across the South China Sea. As of 2012, its population is roughly 23.5 million, Peninsular Malaysia accounts for the majority (roughly 80%) of Malaysia's population and economy.<br>


== States and territories ==
== External Links ==
It consists of the following 11 [[States of Malaysia|state]]s and two federal territories (starting from the North going to the South):
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_Malaysia Wikipedia article]
*''Northern Region'': [[Perlis]], [[Kedah]], [[Penang]], [[Perak]]
*''East Coast Region'': [[Kelantan]], [[Terengganu]], [[Pahang]]
*''Central Region'': [[Selangor]], federal territories of [[Kuala Lumpur]] and [[Putrajaya]]
*''Southern Region'': [[Negeri Sembilan]], [[Malacca]], [[Johor]]
 
== Origin of name ==
The name "[[Malaya (disambiguation)|Malaya]]" is derived from the name of a river of a similar name found in [[Sumatra]].
 
The name "[[Malaysia]]" was vaguely used in the 19th century by some British colonists as an alternative name describing the [[Malay Archipelago]].  In 1963, the name was adopted by the new federation uniting the [[Federation of Malaya]], [[Sabah]], [[Sarawak]] and [[Singapore]]. At the time, the [[Philippines]] had been contemplating adopting the name as well.
 
Peninsular Malaysia is also known as West Malaysia (''Malaysia Barat'') or Malaya (''Tanah Melayu''). The term "Peninsular Malaysia" is used more often than "West Malaysia" (to avoid the idea that West and East Malaysia are separate [[country|countries]] like [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]] used to be until 1990), or "Malaya" (which is now becoming [[Obsolescence|obsolete]] due to its connotations of the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[colony|colonial]] era).
 
Nonetheless, all three terms are correct, and the older term "Malaya" can still be found in many institutional titles, e.g. the [[High Court of Malaya]], the [[University of Malaya]], [[Malayan Railway]], etc., as well as in legal contexts in the phrase the "States of Malaya" (''Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu''), which should not be confused with the [[Malay states]]. In current everyday usage the word Malaya is almost always used jocularly, e.g. "''Gempar satu Malaya!''" which roughly means "(This news) shakes the whole of Malaya!"
 
==Singapore==
 
Note that until 1946, and for some time afterwards, the term Malaya included [[Singapore]]. In Singaporean law, the term "Malaya" includes Singapore, but the term "States of Malaya" does not.
 
==Demographics==
{{Further|Demographics of Malaysia}}
The majority of people on Peninsular Malaysia are [[ethnic Malays]], predominantly [[Muslim]]. Large [[Chinese people|Chinese]] and [[Tamil people|Tamil]] populations exist.
 
== Other features ==
=== East Coast and West Coast ===
The term '''East Coast''' is particularly used in Malaysia to describe the following states in Peninsular Malaysia facing the [[South China Sea]]:
 
*[[Kelantan]]
*[[Pahang]]
*[[Terengganu]]
 
The term '''West Coast''' refers informally to a collection of states in Peninsular Malaysia situated towards the western coast generally facing the [[Strait of Malacca]], as opposed to the East Coast. Unlike the East Coast, the West Coast is partitioned further into three regions (as seen in [[#States and territories]]), including:
 
* The ''Northern Region'': [[Perlis]], [[Kedah]], [[Penang]] and [[Perak]].
* The ''Central Region'': [[Selangor]] and the [[Federal Territory (Malaysia)|federal territories]] of [[Kuala Lumpur]] and [[Putrajaya]].
* The ''Southern Region'': [[Negeri Sembilan]], [[Malacca]] and [[Johor]].
 
Even though Johor has a coastline facing the South China Sea, it is not generally regarded as an East Coast state.
 
=== West and East Malaysia ===
The distinction between West and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) is significant beyond the sphere of [[geography]], because as well as having a different court structure, the eastern states have more [[Self-governance|autonomy]] than the original States of Malaya, for example, maintaining restrictions on [[immigration]] from the [[peninsula]].

Latest revision as of 19:55, 9 December 2013

Peninsular Malaysia (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia), also known as West Malaysia (formerly Malaya), is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is 131,598 square kilometres (50,810 sq mi). It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). East Malaysia (on the island of Borneo) is to the east across the South China Sea. As of 2012, its population is roughly 23.5 million, Peninsular Malaysia accounts for the majority (roughly 80%) of Malaysia's population and economy.

External Links[edit]

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