Malaysia

Nicholas Harding, Scott Norton

Malaysia media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=5.484768,107.094727&spn=26.362899,46.362305&t=h&z=5&output=embed" width="425" height="350"

Political Information The crescent moon and star are symbols of Islam, the national religion of Malaysia. The 14 stripes and the 14 points of the star represent the 14 states in Malaysia. The deep blue field of the canton symbolozes the unity of the country; yellow is the color of royalty in Malaysia.
 * The sovereign of Malaysia is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who was sworn in on December 13th, 2006.
 * The Prime Minister of Malaysia is Najib Razack.
 * The government of Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy.

The Malayan tiger is the national animal of Malaysia, and to Malaysians it signifies bravery and strength.
 * The legal system in Malaysia is based on English common law, and Islamic law is applied to Muslims in matters of family law and religion.
 * The sufferage age in Malaysia is 21 for everyone

Social Information
 * Malaysia's total population is 25,715,819 people.
 * The average life expectancy is 73 years of age.
 * The HIV/AIDS rate is .5%

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Malaysia's national dish is nasi lemak, which is rice cooked in coconut milk (knotted pandanus leaves and even ginger or a stalk of lemon grass may be tossed into the pot to add fragrance), nasi lemak is available on almost every street corner and in almost every local-themed restaurant, served with everything from chicken to beef to cuttlefish.
 * Malaysia's literacy rate is 88.7% (92% male and 85.4% female)
 * Malaysia's official language is Bahasa Malaysia but English, Chinese, Tamil, Telugu, Panjabi, and Thai are also spoken

Economic Information
 * Malaysia's currency is the ringgit
 * 1 ringgit= .30 USD/ 1 USD= 3.32 ringgit
 * The poverty rate is 5.1%
 * Malaysia's major industries in malaysia are rubber, palm oil, and light processing and manufacturing
 * Malaysia's exports are electronic equipment. petroleum, and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, and textiles
 * Malaysia's natural resources are gold, iron, fuel, tropical hardwood, rubber, and palm oil
 * Malaysia's GDP per capita is $14,700

[] Malaysian authorities arrest 93 Rohingya boys and men, ages between 16 and 50.

[] The Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, is supposedly being targeted by terrorists. This information was given by Singapore’s navy on March 4, 2010. An advisory the IFC, or Singapore Navy Information Fusion Centre said,” The terrorists' intent is probably to achieve widespread publicity and showcase that it remains a viable group”. The navy did not name any groups or indicate how the tip was obtained. Every day, roughly 15 million barrels of oil are move through the strait, making it very important to Malaysia, as oil is one of its leading exports. I feel that the defense of the strait is important to Malaysia’s economy. I also feel that if the strait is being targeted by terrorists, some other nations should become involved and help too. If oil tankers are destroyed, Malaysia’s economy will be harmed, as well as marine life in the strait and the ocean. media type="custom" key="5712767"

National Holidays
New Year’s Day is the first day of the year. It’s a public holiday for all states except Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis & Terengganu.
 * __New Year's Day__**

__**Chinese New Year**__
Chinese New Year is the major and longest celebration of the Chinese, also known as the “spring festival”. The celebration normally falls between the month of January and February.

**__Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday__**
Prophet Muhammad’s birthday is being celebrated in the month of February. Prophet Muhammad is a respectable icon in the Muslims society. However, some Muslims do not approve of celebrating the birthday, and regard doing so as a religious innovation.

__**Labor’s Day**__
Labor’s Day also known as Hari Buruh is celebrated every 1st May. This day is celebrated as a day of commemoration and appreciation of labors, workers and the unions.

__**Wesak Day**__
Wesak Day or Buddha’s birthday is normally celebrated in the month of May by the Buddhists. The celebration is meant to bring happiness and joy to the less unfortunate. Also, the devotees are served with vegetarian food in the temple.

__**Yang di-Pertuan Agong Birthday**__
Yang di-Pertuan Agong birthday is celebrated on the first Saturday of June. In Malaysia, Yang di-Pertuan Agong refers to King. As part of the celebration, the King honors titles to the outstanding members of the public.

__**National Day**__
National Day also known as “Hari Merdeka” or “Independence Day” celebrated annually on August 31st. National Day is the celebration of free from the colonization of the British. As part of the celebration, there will be a parade and performances from various organizations.

__**Hari Raya Puasa**__
Hari Raya Puasa is the festival of “Forget and Forgive” celebrated by the Muslims. On the first day, the Muslims will put on new clothes and pray in the mosque as well as visiting the grave of the relatives. Then, there will be “open house” serving all kinds of delicacies to the guests.

__**Deepavali**__
Deepavali is the “Festival of Light” celebrated between the month of October and November by the Hindus. As a new start, they perform the oil bathing rituals to wash away sins and bad luck of the past year. This is a National holiday except in Labuan and Sarawak.

__**Hari Raya Haji**__
Hari Raya Haji is one of the important celebration of the Muslims as a remembrance of willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an obedience to God. On this day, dosmetic animals such as cow or goat will be sacrifice by each family. The meat will divide equally to the family, relatives or friends and the poor.

__**Awal Muharram**__
Awal Muharram also known as Ma’al Hijrah marks the beginning of new year in the Islamic calendar. This is the time where Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims migrated to the city, Madina.

__**Christmas**__
Christmas is the birth of Christ, celebrated by the Christians annually on December 25th. On the Christmas eve, the Christians dress up in their new clothes for the midnight service. On the Christmas day, is time for the family members to gather around. There would be a feast and also gift exchange from friends

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