MALAYSIA

Official name: Malaysia
Location: South East Asia
International organisations: The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum, The Association of South East Asian Nations, The Commonwealth of Nations, The Non-Aligned Movement, The Organisation of Islamic Conference, The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation
Borders: Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand
Coastline: Strait of Malacca, South China Sea, Sulu Sea
Land area: 329,750 Km2
Population: 22,600,000
Ethnicity: Malays and related peoples constitute a majority (58%) of the population. There is a large (24%) Chinese minority, and smaller Indian (8%) and other minorities. (These figures are disputed. Some sources put the Chinese minority as high as 30% of the population.)
Languages: Bahasa Melayu is the official language, but is spoken by less than 60% of the population as their first language. At least 10% speak Chinese languages, mainly Yue (Cantonese), as their first language. Indian languages and Thai are also spoken. English is widely used in government, business and the media.
Religion: Islam is the state religion but freedom of religion is guaranteed. About 60% of the population are Sunni Moslems, 14% are Buddhists, 10% follow other Chinese religions and about 6% are Hindus. There is a small Christian minority.
Form of government: Constitutional monarchy, federal parliamentary democracy. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and two federal districts. The states have elected legislatures and retain considerable autonomy. The two eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak have greater local autonomy than the states of Peninsular Malaysia.

Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Constitution: The Constitution of Malaysia came into effect on 16 September 1963.
Head of state: Malaysia has a unique system of rotating monarchy. The hereditary rulers of the federal states serve in turn as head of state, for a term of five years. The ruler is called the Supreme Head of State (Yang di-Pertuan Agong). The current Head of State, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, Raja of Perlis, took office on 12 December 2001.
Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the Head of State. The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is accountable to it.
Legislature: Malaysia has a bicameral legislature, the Parliament, although only one chamber is elected by the people. The House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) has 193 members, elected for five-year terms from single-member constituencies. The Senate (Dewan Negara) consists of 26 representatives of the States, chosen for six year terms, and 43 appointed members.
Electoral authority: The Election Commission Malaysia administers national elections.
Freedom House rating: Political Rights 5, Civil Liberties 5

Political history

The various independent Sultanates of the Malay Peninsula were brought under British rule between 1786 and 1914. Singapore was founded as a British colony in 1819. North Borneo was brought under British rule in 1888. Sarawak became the private property of the Brook family, known as the "White Rajahs," before being brought under British supervision in 1888.

In 1942 all these territories were overrun by the Japanese, and although the British returned in 1945 this disaster caused great damage to British prestige. Agitation for self-government and eventual independence led to the formation of the Federation of Malaya in 1948, with an elected Legislative Council. Constitutional development was hampered by ethnic rivalries, and also by a Communist insurgency which was not fully defeated until the 1960s.

Malaya became internally self-governing in 1956 and fully independent in 1957. In 1963 the Federation of Malaysia was formed, uniting Malaya with Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo, which was renamed Sabah. In 1964, however, Singapore, which has a Chinese majority, peacefully seceded from the federation.

The dominant issue of Malaysian politics since independence has been the relations between the rural Malay majority and the urban Chinese minority. The United Malays National Organisation, UMNO, which has been in power throughout Malaysia's history, has sought to transfer economic power to the Malays. The principal Chinese party, the Malaysian Chinese Organisation, has protected Chinese interests by collaborating with UMNO in a perpetual coalition called the National Front. The Malaysian Indian Congress and several minor parties also belong to the front.

Although Malaysia has prospered mightily under forty years of UMNO rule, it has become something close to a one-party state. The government has shown increasing authoritarian tendencies, particularly since Dr Mahathir bin Mohamed became Prime Minister in 1981. The press is restricted, public protests are illegal and the courts are used to suppress dissent. In 1999 Mahathir had his main rival within UMNO, Anwar Ibrahim, jailed on trumped up charges.

The only significant opposition parties are the Democratic Action Party, a social democratic party based in the Chinese community, and the Islamic Party of Malaysia, which has growing support among rural Malays, particularly in the north. These two parties have formed an alliance despite their incompatible ideologies. But there is little chance they will ever be able to defeat UMNO and its allies in national elections.

Amnesty International commented in its 2002 Report on Malaysia:

"The ruling National Front coalition continued to dominate the political scene. Peaceful public assemblies and demonstrations were forcibly dispersed by police throughout the year [2001]. From April, after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad stated that the government would break from international human rights norms to preserve national stability, a series of opposition activists and suspected Islamic "extremists" were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

"A coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups formed to campaign against the detentions. Following the attacks in the USA on 11 September, the government justified past use of the ISA and announced it may amend it and other laws to combat "terrorism."

The ISA allows the detention without trial for up to two years, renewable indefinitely, of any person considered by the authorities to be a potential threat to national security or public order. ISA detainees reported that they were subjected to intimidation and intense psychological pressure, at times amounting to torture. In the initial period of police investigation, detainees were held in solitary confinement and denied access to lawyers, family members and independent doctors. Isolated and induced to fear for the well-being of their families, the detainees were threatened with indefinite detention unless they cooperated and "confessed."