Conventional Long Form Name: none
Capital City: Kuala Lumpur
Type of Government: constitutional monarchy
Date of Independence: 31 August 1957 (from the UK)
National Holidays: 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 (selected on 13 December 2011; installed on 11 April 2012
Picture of Chief of State:
Capital City: Kuala Lumpur
Type of Government: constitutional monarchy
Date of Independence: 31 August 1957 (from the UK)
National Holidays: 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 (selected on 13 December 2011; installed on 11 April 2012
Picture of Chief of State:
Head of Government: Prime Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul Najib Razak (since 3 April 2009
Picture of Head of Government:
Picture of Head of Government:
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; election last held on 14 October 2011 (next to be held in 2016); 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; the position of the king is primarily ceremonial but he is the final arbiter on the appointment of the prime minister
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of the Senate or Dewan Negara (70 seats; 44 members appointed by the king and 26 indirectly elected by 13 state legislatures; members serve 3-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (222 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
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; Federal Court justices appointed by the monarch on advice of the prime minister; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Court of Appeal; High Court; Sessions Court; Magistrates' Court
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote): 21 years of age; universal
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S: Ambassador AWANG ADEK Bin Hussin (since 21 May 2015)
Location of THEIR embassy(Chancery) in the U.S.: 3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.: Los Angeles, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Ambassador Joseph Y. YUN (since 2 October 2013)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE: none
Name of THEIR representative to UN: H.E. Dato' Ramlan Ibrahim
Picture of the flag:
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of the Senate or Dewan Negara (70 seats; 44 members appointed by the king and 26 indirectly elected by 13 state legislatures; members serve 3-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (222 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
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; Federal Court justices appointed by the monarch on advice of the prime minister; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Court of Appeal; High Court; Sessions Court; Magistrates' Court
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote): 21 years of age; universal
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S: Ambassador AWANG ADEK Bin Hussin (since 21 May 2015)
Location of THEIR embassy(Chancery) in the U.S.: 3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.: Los Angeles, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Ambassador Joseph Y. YUN (since 2 October 2013)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE: none
Name of THEIR representative to UN: H.E. Dato' Ramlan Ibrahim
Picture of the flag:
Description 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 Anthem:
National Anthem:
National Symbols: tiger, hibiscus; national colors: red, white, blue, yellow
Description of International Disputes: while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; 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; in 2008, ICJ awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh/Horsburgh Island) to Singapore, and Middle Rocks to Malaysia, but did not rule on maritime regimes, boundaries, or disposition of South Ledge; land and maritime negotiations with Indonesia are ongoing, and disputed areas include the controversial Tanjung Datu and Camar Wulan border area in Borneo and the maritime boundary in the Ambalat oil block in the Celebes Sea; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; per Letters of Exchange signed in 2009, Malaysia in 2010 ceded two hydrocarbon concession blocks to Brunei in exchange for Brunei's sultan dropping claims to the Limbang corridor, which divides Brunei; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait
Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees: 93,866 (Burma) (2014)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: 0 (2015)
Quantity of Stateless Persons: 40,000 (2014); note - Malaysia's stateless population consists of Rohingya refugees from Burma, ethnic Indians, and the children of Filipino and Indonesian illegal migrants
Description of current human trafficking issues related to Malaysia: Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; Malaysia is mainly a destination country for foreign workers who migrate willingly from countries including Indonesia, Nepal, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, and Vietnam but subsequently encounter forced labor or debt bondage at the hands of their employers in the domestic, agricultural, construction, plantation, and industrial sectors; a small number of Malaysian citizens were reportedly trafficked internally and abroad for commercial sexual exploitation in 2013; refugees are also vulnerable to trafficking; some officials are reportedly complicit in facilitating trafficking
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously, including enforcement of the death penalty; heroin still primary drug of abuse, but synthetic drug demand remains strong; continued ecstasy and methamphetamine producer for domestic users and, to a lesser extent, the regional drug market
Description of International Disputes: while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; 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; in 2008, ICJ awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh/Horsburgh Island) to Singapore, and Middle Rocks to Malaysia, but did not rule on maritime regimes, boundaries, or disposition of South Ledge; land and maritime negotiations with Indonesia are ongoing, and disputed areas include the controversial Tanjung Datu and Camar Wulan border area in Borneo and the maritime boundary in the Ambalat oil block in the Celebes Sea; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; per Letters of Exchange signed in 2009, Malaysia in 2010 ceded two hydrocarbon concession blocks to Brunei in exchange for Brunei's sultan dropping claims to the Limbang corridor, which divides Brunei; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait
Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees: 93,866 (Burma) (2014)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: 0 (2015)
Quantity of Stateless Persons: 40,000 (2014); note - Malaysia's stateless population consists of Rohingya refugees from Burma, ethnic Indians, and the children of Filipino and Indonesian illegal migrants
Description of current human trafficking issues related to Malaysia: Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; Malaysia is mainly a destination country for foreign workers who migrate willingly from countries including Indonesia, Nepal, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, and Vietnam but subsequently encounter forced labor or debt bondage at the hands of their employers in the domestic, agricultural, construction, plantation, and industrial sectors; a small number of Malaysian citizens were reportedly trafficked internally and abroad for commercial sexual exploitation in 2013; refugees are also vulnerable to trafficking; some officials are reportedly complicit in facilitating trafficking
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously, including enforcement of the death penalty; heroin still primary drug of abuse, but synthetic drug demand remains strong; continued ecstasy and methamphetamine producer for domestic users and, to a lesser extent, the regional drug market