Peninsular Malaysia

Not to be confused withMalay Peninsula.

Landsat false-colour mosaic of Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia,historically known asMalaya,also known asWest Malaysiaor the"Malaysian Peninsula",is the western part ofMalaysiathat comprises the southern part of theMalay PeninsulaonMainland Southeast Asiaand thenearby islands.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 northand 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.

Map of Peninsular Malaysia

States and federal territories

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 / Achievement	State	Capital	Royal Capital	Area (km²)	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

See also:Malaysia § Etymology

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.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

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.

Malay Peninsulacomprises thesouthern tipofMyanmar,Peninsular Malaysia, andSouthern Thailand.

Demographics

Further information:Demographics of Malaysia

Ethnicity in Peninsular Malaysia (2020)

Bumiputera (Malay) (66%)

Chinese (24%)

Indian (9%)

Indigenous (Aslian) / Non-Malay Bumiputera (0.3%)

Others (0.7%)

Religion in Peninsular Malaysia – 2020 est.
Religion			Percent
Islam			67%
Buddhism			21.4%
Hinduism			7.6%
Christianity			3.2%
Chinese folk religion			0.9%
Others			1.7%

The majority of people in Peninsular Malaysia areethnic Malays,predominantlyMuslims.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.

Economy

As of 2012, Peninsular Malaysia oil production stood at 520,000barrel of oil equivalentper day.

Other features

East Coast and West Coast

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:

• Kelantan
• Pahang
• Terengganu

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
  • Kuala Lumpur(federal territory)
  • Putrajaya(federal territory)
  • Selangor
• Northern Region
  • Kedah
  • Penang
  • Perak
  • Perlis
• Southern Region
  • Johor
  • Melaka
  • Negeri Sembilan

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

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

• East Malaysia,theBorneanportion of Malaysia
• Geography of Malaysia
• Golden Chersonese
• Malaya (disambiguation)
• Malayan dollar

External links

Media related toPeninsular Malaysiaat Wikimedia Commons

• Peninsular Malaysiatravel guide from Wikivoyage