Conventional Long Form Name - None
Capital City - Kuala Lumpur Type of Government - Constitutional Monarchy Date of Independence - August 31, 1957 National Holiday(s): Independence Day 31 August (1957) (independence of Malaya); Malaysia Day 16 September (1963) (formation of Malaysia) Chief of State - King Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Picture of Chief Head of Government - Prime Minister Mohamed Najib bin Abdul Najib Razak Description of Executive Branch/Powers - king elected by and from the hereditary rulers of 9 states for a 5-year term; election is on a rotational basis among rulers of the 9 states;; prime minister designated from among members of the House of Representatives; following legislative elections, the leader who commands support of the majority of members in the House becomes prime minister Description of Legislative Branch/Powers - bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate or Dewan Negara and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat Description of Judicial Branch/Powers - Federal Court (consists of the chief justice, president of the Court of Appeal, chief justice of the High Court of Malaya, chief judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak and 7 judges); note - Malaysia has a dual judicial hierarchy of civil and religious (sharia) courts Suffrage - 21 years of age; universal Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S. - Awang Adek Bin Hussin Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S. - Washington, DC Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S. Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM - Joseph Y. Yun |
Description of the Symbolism of flag - 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow 14-pointed star; the flag is often referred to as Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory); the 14 stripes stand for the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government; the 14 points on the star represent the unity between these entities; the crescent is a traditional symbol of Islam; blue symbolizes the unity of the Malay people and yellow is the royal color of Malay rulers
National Symbol(s) - tiger, hibiscus; national colors: red, white, blue, yellow Descriptions of International Disputes - Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; land and maritime negotiations with Indonesia are ongoing; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities;piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait. Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees - 77,573 (Syria) Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons 25,000 Quantity of Stateless Persons - 40,000 Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country - Malaysia is a destination, and to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to conditions of forced labor, and women and children subjected to sex trafficking Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use - Drug abuse is a complex issue and has been a serious public health problem in Malaysia. The number of registered drug users is about 250,000 in a 2008 report, and is expected to reach half a million by 2015. |