Peninsular Malaysia
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Peninsular Malaysia,[a]historically known asMalaya,[b]also known asWest Malaysiaor the"Malaysian Peninsula",[c]is the western part ofMalaysiathat comprises the southern part of theMalay PeninsulaonMainland Southeast Asiaand thenearby islands.[1]Its area totals approximately 132,490 km2(51,150 sq mi), which is nearly 40% of the total area of the country; the other 60% is inEast Malaysiaon the island ofBorneo.
It shares a landborderwithThailandto the north[2]and a maritime border withSingaporeto the south. Across theStrait of Malaccato the west lies the island ofSumatra,and across theSouth China Seato the east lie theNatuna IslandsofIndonesia.At its southern tip, across theStrait of Johor,lies theisland countryofSingapore.Most of Peninsular Malaysia's interior is forested, mountainous and rural; the majority of Malaysia's population and economy are concentrated on the coastal western half, which is where the country's prominent urban areas are located.
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States and federal territories
[edit]Peninsular Malaysia consists of 11 out of the 13states,and two out of the threefederal territoriesof Malaysia, which includes the national capital ofKuala Lumpur.The states are listed as the following:
Flag Emblem /
AchievementState Capital Royal Capital Area (km²)[3] Office of Head of State Current Head of Government Johor Johor Bahru Muar 19,166 Sultan Menteri Besar Kedah Alor Setar Anak Bukit 9,492 Sultan Menteri Besar Kelantan Kota Bharu Kubang Kerian 15,040 Sultan Menteri Besar Malacca Malacca City — 1,712 Yang di-Pertua Negeri
(Governor)Chief Minister Negeri Sembilan Seremban Seri Menanti 6,658 Yang di-Pertuan Besar
(Grand Ruler)Menteri Besar Pahang Kuantan Pekan 35,965 Sultan Menteri Besar Penang George Town — 1,049 Yang di-Pertua Negeri
(Governor)Chief Minister Perak Ipoh Kuala Kangsar 21,146 Sultan Menteri Besar Perlis Kangar Arau 819 Raja Menteri Besar Selangor* Shah Alam Klang 7,951 Sultan Menteri Besar Terengganu Kuala Terengganu Kuala Terengganu 12,958 Sultan Menteri Besar
- *Twofederal territoriesare embedded withinSelangor,which areKuala LumpurandPutrajaya.
Etymology
[edit]Originally comprising the states and territories of theFederation of Malaya,the then Federation under theMalaysia Agreementmerged with theCrown Colony of North Borneo,theCrown Colony of Sarawak,and the self-governingState of Singaporeto form the new Federation calledMalaysia.The merger was initially proposed in order to reunify Singapore with its hinterland in the Federation as they were originally associated underBritish Malayabut later separated and were governed separately after the formation of theMalayan Union.Even when the Malayan Union transformed into the Federation of Malaya, Singapore was not a part of it. Although politically distinct, Malaya was then seen geographically as comprising the States of the Federation of Malaya in the Peninsula and Singapore. In order to facilitate the merger, the Borneo States (which initially also includedBrunei) were brought in as well as it was believed that with the inclusion of the various ethnic groups in Borneo, the racial arithmetic would be offset such that the influx of ethnic Chinese from Singapore would not politically overwhelm Malaya, satisfying theMalay ultras.
Ultimately, both Malaysia and Singapore agreed that after a merger, Singapore would retain autonomy in labour, education and health, among others, unlike the other states in the Federation of Malaya. In exchange, Singapore received an underproportioned representation in theHouse of Representatives of Parliament.Singapore within Malaysia was seen as having a special status (similar toNorthern Irelandin theUnited Kingdom) and was thus not grouped with the other non-autonomous states in the Peninsula. Although this arrangement was brief and Singapore was ultimately expelled from the Federation two years later in 1965, becoming a fully sovereign country, the Interpretation Act 1965 of the Parliament of Singapore still defines Malaya as comprising the States of Malaya and Singapore in a geographical sense.[4]Today, the States of Malaya are colloquially referred to as Peninsular Malaysia and West Malaysia, excluding the Borneo States andSingapore.The term should also not be confused with theMalay Peninsula,which includes lands that are a part ofMyanmarandThailand.
Terminology
[edit]Peninsular Malaysia (States of Malaya)comprises the states ofJohor,Kedah,Kelantan,Malacca,Negeri Sembilan,Pahang,Penang,Perak,Perlis,Selangor,andTerengganu,as well as the federal territories ofKuala LumpurandPutrajaya.
Malayacomprises Peninsular Malaysia and theRepublic of Singapore.[citation needed]
Malay Peninsulacomprises thesouthern tipofMyanmar,Peninsular Malaysia, andSouthern Thailand.
Demographics
[edit]Ethnicity in Peninsular Malaysia (2020)
The majority of people in Peninsular Malaysia areethnic Malays,predominantlyMuslims.[5]Large Chinese and Indian populations exist. TheOrang Asliare the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia; in 2022, they numbered around 209,575 and mostly lived in inland parts of the region.[6]
Economy
[edit]As of 2012, Peninsular Malaysia oil production stood at 520,000barrel of oil equivalentper day.[7]
Other features
[edit]East Coast and West Coast
[edit]The termEast Coast(Malay:Pantai Timur;Jawi:ڤنتاي تيمور) is particularly used in Malaysia to describe the following states in Peninsular Malaysia facing theSouth China Sea,amarginal seaof thePacific Ocean:
The termWest Coast(Malay:Pantai Barat;Jawi:ڤنتاي بارت) refers informally to a collection of states in Peninsular Malaysia situated towards the western coast generally facing theStrait of Malaccawhich is a component of theIndian Ocean,as opposed to the East Coast. The West Coast is partitioned further into three regions:
- Central Region
- Northern Region
- Southern Region
Although Johor has a coastline facing theSouth China Seaon thePacific Ocean,it is not generally regarded as an East Coast state, since the main coastline of the state is located on theStraits of Johorof theIndian Ocean.
West Malaysia and East Malaysia
[edit]The distinction between West andEast Malaysia(Sabah and Sarawak) goes beyond the sphere ofgeography.Being separate regions administratively before the formation of the Malaysia, there exists moreautonomythan the original States of Malaya, e.g. in having a different judicial court structure and separate immigration regulations. These rights were granted as part of Sarawak's18-point agreementand Sabah's20-point agreementwith theFederation of Malayaduring the formation of expanded federation.
See also
[edit]- East Malaysia,theBorneanportion of Malaysia
- Geography of Malaysia
- Golden Chersonese
- Malaya (disambiguation)
- Malayan dollar
Notes
[edit]- ^Malay:Semenanjung Malaysia;Jawi:سمننجوڠ مليسيا;Chinese:Malaysia bán đảo khu vực;Tamil:தீபகற்ப மலேசியா
- ^Malay:Tanah Melayu;Jawi:تانه ملايو
- ^Inphysical geography,the "Malaysian Peninsula" does not exist, it is the southern part of theMalay Peninsula,apeninsulawhich contains territories of threeSoutheast Asiancountries (Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand).
References
[edit]- ^"Earth from Space: Separation by Sea".European Space Agency.5 May 2006.Retrieved15 July2022.
- ^"Peninsular Malaysia".Travelfish.Retrieved15 July2022.
- ^"Laporan Kiraan Permulaan 2010".Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia. p. 27. Archived fromthe originalon 27 December 2010.Retrieved24 January2011.
- ^"Interpretation Act 1965 - Singapore Statutes Online".sso.agc.gov.sg.Retrieved2022-10-07.
- ^Siddique, Sharon (1981). "Some Aspects of Malay-Muslim Ethnicity in Peninsular Malaysia".Contemporary Southeast Asia.3(1): 76–87.doi:10.1355/CS3-1E.JSTOR25797648.
- ^"Carta Taburan Etnik Orang Asli Mengikut Negeri".Laman Web Rasmi Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli(in Malay).Retrieved2023-05-31.
- ^"Petronas Sees Growth Slowdown until 2014".The Star Online.6 March 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 1 September 2019.Retrieved1 September2019.
External links
[edit]Media related toPeninsular Malaysiaat Wikimedia Commons
Peninsular Malaysiatravel guide from Wikivoyage