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Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. It consists of two regions about 650 kilometres apart, which are separated by the South China Sea. The regions are Peninsular (formerly West) Malaysia, and Sarawak and Sabah (formerly East Malaysia), on the northern part of the island of Borneo. Peninsular Malaysia borders on the north with Thailand.
Malaysia is a tropical land, much of which is covered by dense rainforests. It is the world's largest producer of natural rubber and palm oil (vegetable oil from palm tree nuts). Malays and Chinese people make up most of the country's population. Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia's capital and largest city.
The nation of Malaysia was formed in 1963, when Malaya, Sarawak, Sabah,
and Singapore united. Malaya was an independent nation that occupied what
is now Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak and Sabah were separate colonies of
the United Kingdom (UK) that covered what is now the Malaysian region of
Sarawak and Sabah. Singapore was a UK colony, south of Malaya. Singapore
withdrew from Malaysia in 1965.
People
Population and ethnic groups. For Malaysia's total population, see the Malaysia in brief table with this article. About three-fifths of the people live in rural areas. More than 80 per cent of the people live in Peninsular Malaysia.
Malaysia's largest population groups are, in order of size, the Malays, Chinese, and Indians. Malays make up about 50 per cent of the population, Chinese about 35 per cent, and Indians about 10 per cent. A number of other ethnic groups who live chiefly in Sarawak and Sabah make up the rest of the population. The largest groups in Sarawak and Sabah are the Dayaks and the Kadazans.
Malaysia's ethnic groups speak separate languages or dialects, and, in many areas, have different ways of life and hold different religious beliefs. Malays make up the most powerful group in Malaysian politics, but the Chinese control much of the nation's economy. Despite differences between the major ethnic groups which have led to friction and, sometimes, violence, Malaysia is a model of racial harmony.
Languages. Bahasa Malaysia, the Malay language, is used by the Malay people and Malaysians generally in everyday life. It is the country's official language.
Most Chinese speak the Chinese language, and most Indians speak Tamil. Many Malaysians also understand English, which is widely used in business.
Way of life. Peninsular Malaysia includes many crowded cities as well as large rural regions. Sarawak and Sabah has several large towns along the coast and rivers, but the interior is chiefly a rural area.
The majority of the country's Malays live in rural areas on the peninsula. Most of them work as farmers and live in settlements called kampungs. Many houses in rural areas are made of wood. Most have thatched roofs, but some have roofs made of tiles. Some houses are raised above the ground on stilts. Most Malays who live in cities work in industry or in government jobs.
Most of Malaysia's Chinese people live in cities. Large numbers of them work in shops, business offices, and factories. Chinese people own a large proportion of Malaysia's businesses. Wealthy and middle-class Chinese live in suburban homes or high-rise blocks of flats in central city areas. In the cities, some low-income Chinese as well as Malays and Indians live in crowded, run-down areas.
Large numbers of Malaysia's Indians work on rubber plantations. Many others hold city jobs.
Most people of Sarawak and Sabah live in small settlements in rural areas. Several families often live together in long houses along rivers. Many of these families struggle to produce enough food for their own use.
Clothing. Traditional costumes are not often worn in the towns and cities. The men tend to wear Western shirts and trousers outside their homes, adding ties and coats for official functions. Bushjackets are also worn, mostly by government officials. For casual wear, Western styles are preferred, particularly by young people.
Few Chinese women wear the cheongsam, a traditional highcollared, tightly fitting dress with slits at the sides. Older women prefer the more comfortable samfoo, which consists of a jacket and trousers. Many Indian women like to wear saris.
At home, many Malay men still relax in sarongs. A sarong is a length of cloth, the two sides of which are sewn together to form a very loose sheath. A man wears it wrapped around his body and secured by a double-fold at the waist. It reaches to his ankles. He may wear a shirt or a singlet with it or he may prefer to go around with a bare chest. In rural areas on hot days, some older women sit around their homes wearing sarongs tied just under their arms. Younger women wear sarongs in this way only when they bathe at the river or well.
Most Malaysian men reserve traditional dress for religious or ceremonial occasions. Many women wear their various traditional costumes very often, and some every day. Quite a number of women experiment with modified versions of dress that embody traditional designs from other local and foreign cultures.
Malay traditional dress for men consists of a baju--a roundnecked or highcollared longsleeved shirt. They also wear seluar (trousers) with a sarong wrapped smartly around the waist and hips, and a black songkok (boat-shaped velvet cap) or a tanjak (elegant cloth headdress) for special occasions. Some Malay men wear sarongs to the mosque, and instead of songkoks they may wear ketayaps (white skull caps) for such occasions. Many men who have been on a pilgrimage to Mecca wear serban haji (pilgrims' turbans). A number of Muslim men of all races wear robes and turbans.
For Malay women, the traditional costumes most widely worn are the sarong, the baju kurung, and the baju kebaya. The baju kurung is like the baju for men. It is tied with gathers on one side, and the outfit is completed with a selendang (shawl) or tudung (scarf) around the shoulders or on the head. Some Malay women who have gone on a pilgrimage to Mecca wear special headdresses similar to those worn by male counterparts.
Food. Multicultural Malaysia has a variety of delicious cuisines (styles of cooking). People in the cities can dine at French and Italian restaurants as well as eating local Malay, Chinese, or Indian food.
Chinese cuisine in Malaysia comes from different provinces of China, and is extremely varied. But boiled rice is the basis of the daily diet of most Chinese.
Most Indians like highly spiced food. Rice is the main food of people from south India. Wheat flour is the main food of families from north India.
Malay cooking varies from state to state but the main dish is rice, usually boiled and eaten with vegetables, fish or other seafood, chicken, or meat. Pork is forbidden by Islam, the religion of most Malays. Chillies, coconut milk, onions, spices, and tamarind are frequently used in Malay cooking. Popular dishes from different states include the asam pedas (fish with hot chillies and sourish gravy) of Johor and the ayam percik (chicken in thick coconut-milk gravy) of Kelantan. One Malay appetizer is ulam--shoots, leaves, or fruit dipped in or eaten with sambal (pounded chillies and shrimp paste).
Rice, after being boiled, is often fried with chillies, onions, and ikan bilis (anchovies) to make nasi goreng (fried rice). Other variations on plain boiled rice include nasi lemak (boiled rice in coconut milk and eaten with sambil tunis, a preparation of chillies, anchovies, and coconut milk); nasi ulam (rice mixed with herbs and salted fish); and nasi dagang (rice mixed with thick gravy and fish) of Terengganu. Rice is sometimes boiled in small cases woven out of coconut-leaves to make ketupat. This is eaten with rendang (beef or chicken cooked over a slow fire in coconut milk, with chillies and certain condiments until the gravy thickens and dries into a delicious coating), or at any time with satay (small pieces of chicken or meat skewered on bamboo sticks and baked over a charcoal fire). Satay is coated with thick peanut gravy. Many Malays like satay dipped in chilli sauce.
Religion. Islam is the national religion but the Malaysian Constitution guarantees freedom of worship. The number of different religions in Malaysia is proof of religious tolerance in the country. As well as mosques (Islamic places of worship), there are many Hindu and Buddhist temples and Christian churches throughout Malaysia. In fact, the main religions of the world, with their rituals, customs, and festivals are dominant features of Malaysia's multiracial culture.
About a dozen national holidays are governed by the Muslim calendar which varies from year to year in relation to the Western calendar. The main holidays of the Chinese and Christian years are also observed.
The majority of Malays are Muslims, belonging to the Sunni sect of Islam. Regular daily prayers and mosque attendance is an important feature of Islam. Muslims also have a religious duty to pay alms to help the needy.
Hari Raya Puasa is the major Muslim festival. It marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, a time of strict observances, when eating and drinking in daylight hours are forbidden. Every year, thousands of Muslim Malays perform the haj (pilgrimage) to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
The majority of Malaysian Indians are Hindus. There is a small Sikh community. The two main Hindu festivals are Deepavali (Festival of Lights) and Thaipusam. Deepavali commemorates the overthrow of a tyrant king named Naragasuran. Thaipusam is a colourful festival connected with the fulfilment of vows.
Buddhism has a substantial following among the Chinese. Wesak Day is an important festival commemorating the three great events in the life of Buddha, namely his birth, enlightenment, and death.
The main Christian denomination is Roman Catholicism. In addition there are small numbers of Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, and other denominations. Christian missions played a leading role in educating the people during the time when Peninsular Malaysia was a British colony.
Education. The system of formal education in Malaysia consists of four levels graded according to the age of the students. The four levels are primary, secondary (lower and upper), post-secondary, and tertiary.
Children in Malaysia begin primary education at the age of 6 and continue for 6 years. There are three types of primary schools. The national primary school uses Malay as the language of instruction. Chinese and Tamil schools use Chinese and Tamil respectively as the basic language. More than 90 per cent of children of primary school age complete primary education.
In lower secondary school the main subjects are Bahasa Malaysia (the Malay language), art, English, general science, geography, history, health and physical education, living skills, and moral or Islamic education.
After three years students sit for the Lower Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (Certificate of Education) examination. Successful students, who continue for two years of Upper Secondary education, take the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education) or the Sijil Pelajaran Vokasional Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Vocational Education). Students who wish to go to university then study for two more years and sit the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (Malaysian Higher School Certificate) examination.
Malaysia has seven universities. The oldest is the University of Malaya. It was founded in Kuala Lumpur in 1959 although it can trace its origins back to the King Edward VII College of Medicine, established in 1905, the Raffles College which began in Singapore in 1929, and the University of Malaya, in Singapore, which began in 1949. The University of Technology Malaysia and the University of Agriculture Malaysia, founded in the early 1970's, also originated from earlier institutions.
The University of Science in Penang opened in 1969 and the Universiti Kebangsaan (National University) in Bangi began in 1970. In 1982, the government assisted in founding the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (International Islamic University) in Petaling Jaya. In 1984, the Universiti Utara (Northern University) opened in Kedah.
Two other important institutions for higher education are Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) (Trust Council for the Indigenous People) Institute of Technology, and Tunku Abdul Rahman College. They offer a wide range of semi-professional and professional courses, leading to certificates or diplomas. They also offer degree-level courses jointly with universities in the United States. The Ministry of Education also runs a number of polytechnics and 27 teacher training colleges. Total student enrolment in the universities and colleges in Malaysia is about 80,000. The government bears over 95 per cent of the cost of university education in Malaysia.
National celebrations. August 31 is celebrated as Malaysia's national day to mark the country's independence. Parades and exhibitions are held to celebrate this event. Another important national celebration is held to mark the birthday of the yang di-pertuan agong (king of Malaysia) on June 5.
Several important religious festivals are celebrated nationwide by all Malaysians. But most have special significance for the particular ethnic group.
The Malays who are Muslims celebrate festivals of the religion of Islam throughout Malaysia. Ramadan is marked each year by fasting from sunrise to sunset.
The Hindus of Malaysia celebrate the festivals of Deepavali and Thaipusam. Chosen people walk on paths of fire with no apparent ill effects. Others have their skin pierced with long needles. They carry heavy religious ornaments over great distances into the temples. The Batu Caves, just outside Kuala Lumpur, are the main centre for the annual Thaipusam festival.
The main Chinese religious festival is held to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year. It usually falls in late January or early February. The celebrations start on the first day of the new moon after the winter solstice . Families pray together. They thank the gods for the year gone by. They also celebrate with noisy rejoicing and feasting. The Chinese exchange gifts wrapped in red paper. They consider red a lucky colour. They let off firecrackers, light candles, burn joss sticks, and pray for their ancestors.
Another important event in the Chinese year is the moon festival. The celebrations begin on the 15th day of the 8th moon of the year. City dwellers join in the celebrations. But it is essentially a time of thanksgiving for the harvest. They eat moon cakes and other delicacies at this festival time.
Christmas is a special time for both Christians and non-Christians in Malaysia. Hotels and shopping complexes have Christmas trees and other decorations.
Sports and pastimes. Sports played in Malaysia range from archery to windsurfing. Malaysia has produced world champions in badminton and hockey. Basketball, table tennis, golf, squash, and tennis are also popular. The most popular sport is soccer.
Malays also enjoy many traditional sports. A favourite game is sepak raga, in which the players kick and head the raga (a ball woven from strips of rattan) so that it moves from one player to another without touching the ground. The loser is the player who fails to keep the ball in the air.
Wau (kite flying) is particularly popular on the east coast of Malaysia. People build elaborate kites and hold contests to see whose kites can fly highest and stay longest in the air. In other parts of Malaysia, main gasing (top spinning) is a popular sport. Teams of adults compete with each other to see which team can keep most tops spinning for a long period.
Another popular Malay sport is pencak or silat. It is a traditional combination of dancing and self-defence.
Arts and crafts. The traditional arts of Malaysia include folk dances
which represent scenes of adventure, battles, or love. These dances are
accompanied by percussion instruments including drums, gongs, and a bamboo
instrument called an anklong. Other instruments include the suling (a bamboo
flute) and the rebab (a two-string violin). Dances include the joget, which
is probably the most popular dance in Malaysia. This dance is performed
at cultural festivals, wedding celebrations, and other social functions.
Its origins can be traced back to Portuguese folk dances that were introduced
to Melaka during the era of the spice trade in the 1500's. The joget is
performed by couples who combine fast hand and leg movements.
The tarian inang is also performed at social functions. The dancers move quickly and wave colourful scarves.
Other performing arts include dance dramas, shadow puppet plays, and performances by orchestras of Malay instruments.
The wayang kulit (shadow puppet play) is an ancient theatrical form. Puppets made from buffalo hide are held between a white cloth screen and an oil-lamp light source, casting a dark shadow seen by the audience on the opposite side of the screen.
The Mak Yong dance drama is a comprehensive theatrical form, combining dance, opera, drama, and comedy. Its origins go back several hundred years.
Competitions are held at the end of harvest time to test the skills of musicians beating the rebana ubi (giant drum), made out of a hollow log about 0.6 metre in diameter. Points are awarded on timing, rhythm, and style of the drummer, as well as the tone of the rebana itself.
Handicrafts in Malaysia include wood carving, silverwork, and working with textiles. The states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Sarawak, and Sabah are particularly rich in handicraft tradition. The people of Kelantan are expert at the dyeing process called batik.
Land
Malaysia comprises Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Sabah. It covers an area of 330,433 square kilometres. The country lies in a strategic position for sea and air transport between Europe and the Far East. It is also free from earthquakes, volcanoes, and typhoons. The landscape consists of broad plains, mountain ranges, spectacular limestone outcrops and caves, swamps, sandy beaches, and meandering rivers.
Peninsular Malaysia is divided into two by the mountain range, Barisan Titiwangsa. The range runs from the Thai border along more than half the length of the peninsula. Several peaks rise to 2,000 metres, and there are upland resorts in the Cameron Highlands, Fraser's Hill, and Genting Highlands. The northern half of the peninsula contains several short mountain ranges on both sides of the main range. On one of these is Gunung Tahan (2,187 metres), the highest peak in the peninsula.
Sarawak and Sabah covers most of northern Borneo. Sarawak has a series of mountain ranges which form a physical barrier separating it from the Indonesian province of Kalimantan. These ranges extend northeastward into Sabah, where the Crocker Range stretches along the west coast. Mountains and ridges crisscross the interior of Sabah, and produce a rugged and inaccessible landscape. Mount Kinabalu (4,101 metres) in Sabah is the highest mountain in Malaysia. Other peaks include Mount Trus Madi (2,598 metres) and Mount Tambuyukon (2,579 metres).
Land features. Limestone outcrops form massive towers in many parts of the country. Many of the outcrops contain limestone caves. In Peninsular Malaysia, people have converted some caves into Chinese or Hindu temples. In Sarawak and Sabah, several caves yield a rich harvest of birds' nests for export as delicacies. The Gomantong Caves in east Sabah are the home of millions of young swifts. People climb as high as 90 metres, up bamboo ladders, to reach the nests on the cave walls.
The largest Malaysian rivers are in Sarawak and Sabah. The longest are the Rejang in Sarawak (563 kilometres) and the Kinabatangan in Sabah (563 kilometres). Other rivers include the Pahang and the Perak in Peninsular Malaysia and the Baram in Sarawak. Malaysia has a long coastline measuring 1,930 kilometres in the peninsula, and 2,253 kilometres in Sarawak and Sabah.
Climate. The Malaysian climate is equatorial. It is hot and humid throughout the year. Daytime sea level temperatures average 26 °C, and the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures is small. Temperatures in the hills average about 18 °C. Temperatures in the lowlands may fall below 20 °C at night, especially after a heavy shower of rain.
Rainfall is generally high, but its distribution becomes more seasonal northward. Much of the rainfall occurs during the monsoon season. The northeast monsoon between November and March carries moisture-laden winds from the South China Sea and brings heavy rains to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and the northern coast of Sarawak and Sabah. Floods occur in certain parts of the east coast states. The southwest monsoon between May and September is relatively dry.
Animal life and vegetation. The equatorial climate of Malaysia supports a rich plant and animal life. The forests range from casuarina trees to mountain oaks and moss. The tropical rainforests cover a large part of the uplands. They have evolved over the past 130 million years and represent the oldest and richest forests, and the most complex and diverse ecosystems in the world. They contain over 6,000 species of trees and more than 9,000 species of other plants. The tropical rainforests also contain 8,000 species of flowering plants and 200 species of mammals.
Some of these species are unique and rare. The rafflesia produces one of the biggest flowers in the world. It is a parasite without stem, root, or leaf and grows in the forests of Sabah, Perak, and Pahang. The plant life also includes a variety of the common Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the national flower of Malaysia. The rainforests contain trees of the dipterocarp family, some of which measure 60 metres high, and also a large variety of bamboos, creepers, ferns, orchids, palms, and vines. The government has reserved 12 million hectares as the permanent forest estate of the country. Of this area, 3.8 million hectares are protected virgin forests.
Laws protect many forms of wildlife. Among the most famous protected species are the orangutan in Sabah, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the leopard, the clouded leopard, the leopard cat, the flat-headed cat, the marbled cat, the golden cat, and the bay cat. Seven of these live in Peninsular Malaysia, and five in Sarawak and Sabah. Protected birds include 18 species of pheasant and several species of hornbill.
National parks. The largest national park is Taman Negara which covers 4,300 square kilometres. Established in 1939, it was the first in Malaysia. This park lies in the mountainous and forested border area of Pahang, Kelantan, and Terengganu.
Sarawak has seven parks covering 830 square kilometres, and three wildlife sanctuaries covering 1,700 square kilometres. Gunong Mulu National Park has the largest cave passage (Deer Cave), the world's largest natural chamber (Sarawak Chamber), and the longest cave in Southeast Asia (Clearwater Cave). The Niah Caves National Park is famous for its prehistoric relics. The Bako National Park, near Kuching, is the first and oldest national park in Sarawak.
Sabah has six national parks. The Kinabalu National Park is famous for its granite massif (upland plateau) which forms Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. This park is rich in plant life, with over 1,000 species of orchids, 27 species of rhododendrons, nine species of Nepenthes (pitcher plants), 450 species of ferns, as well as rafflesia. Pulau Tiga National Park consists of three small islands of mud volcanoes in Kimanis Bay off the Klias Peninsula. It has clear water for viewing coral reefs. Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (consisting of the islands of Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik, Manukan, and Sulug off Kota Kinabalu) contains some of the most diverse coral reefs and marine life in the world. Turtle Islands Park consists of the small islands of Gulisan, Selingaan, and Bakungan Kecil. It is the breeding ground of green and hawksbill turtles which come up the beach to lay eggs.
Economy
Malaysia's economy once depended heavily on the production of petroleum, rubber, timber, and tin. Now, the country also produces a variety of farm crops and manufactured goods. Malaysia had low inflation and nearly full employment in the 1990's, as well as a high rate of economic growth.
Agriculture. The agricultural sector plays a major but declining role in the Malaysian economy. Its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) decreased steadily during the 1980's and 1990's. Nearly one-third of the population work in agriculture.
Malaysia is one of the world's largest producers of natural rubber, and the largest producer of palm oil. The country produces more than half the world's palm oil. Malaysia is also a major producer of cocoa. Cocoa is a relatively new crop, first planted on a commercial scale in the 1950's. It is now the second largest crop in Sabah and there are significant plantations in Perak. Other important crops are wet rice, coconuts, pepper, tobacco, pineapples, tea, and many tropical fruit.
Rubber was introduced from Brazil by way of Kew Gardens in London in 1876. Malaysia's own research institute has made possible increases in yield and improvements in processing and marketing. Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR) is now the international standard by which natural rubber is judged. Oil palm, first planted commercially in 1917, has developed rapidly since the 1970's.
Timber and timber products such as sawn logs, sawn timber, plywood and veneer, wood mouldings, and furniture are the leading nonmineral primary products. In the 1990's, however, the government imposed restrictions on logging and the export of timber to prevent depletion of Malaysia's forests.
Mining. Tin mining was the first driving force behind the economic development and settlement of Malaysia. In recent years this industry has declined.
The petroleum and natural gas industries have developed rapidly. Other minerals mined in Malaysia include bauxite, copper, iron, and gold.
Manufacturing. The sector's share of GDP rose sharply from about 20 per cent in the early 1980's to about 33 per cent in the mid-1990's.
The most important manufacturing activities in Malaysia are electronics, food products, and rubber. Other large parts of the manufacturing sector include chemicals, petroleum refining, wood, and motor vehicles.
During the 1970's, American and Japanese electronics companies set up factories in Malaysia to take advantage of the country's social and political stability, efficient workforce, and favourable economic climate. The industry is now the country's largest. The electronics industry produces components such as semiconductors, silicon wafers, capacitors, speakers, telephones, radios, tape recorders, stereo equipment, and clocks.
Malaysia is the first Southeast Asian country to produce a national car, the Proton Saga. The Heavy Industry Corporation of Malaysia manufactured the Saga in cooperation with Mitsubishi of Japan. Malaysia now exports these cars to other parts of the world.
Foreign trade. Malaysia is the second largest trading nation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Singapore.
The pattern of foreign trade changed substantially in the 1970's and 1980's. Malaysia's major trading partners are the ASEAN countries (especially Singapore), Japan, the U.S.A., and the European Union. These partners account for about three quarters of the total value of trade. Other important trading partners include Australia, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Transport. Malaysia's transport system consists of roads, railways, shipping, and airlines. The road network in Peninsular Malaysia is fairly dense, with 27,000 kilometres of municipal, federal, and state roads. The present network has a north to south trunk road along the length of the west coast, a similar one along the east coast, and two major east to west trunk roads across the central mountain range at the middle and northern sections of the peninsula.
A motorway network is under construction to accommodate the increasing traffic and freight. A 790-kilometre North-South Highway from Johor Bahru to Bukit Kayu Hitam at the Malaysian-Thai border was completed in 1993. There is a new motorway in the Kelang Valley from Port Kelang to Kuala Lumpur.
The road network in Sarawak and Sabah is relatively undeveloped and poor in quality. River transport on the Kinabatangan River and shipping on the coast are important. In Sarawak, the size of the state, the existence of rivers, and the sparse population have made road construction difficult and uneconomic.
Domestic air transport is widely used in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Sabah. The national airline maintains scheduled flights within and between the states as well as to remote villages in Sarawak and Sabah.
Communication between Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak and Sabah is made possible by a submarine cable between Kuantan and Kuching. An earth satellite station in Kota Kinabalu provides telephone channels between Sabah and Sarawak, and allows them to receive television programmes from Peninsular Malaysia. Malaysia's first digital satellite began television transmission in 1996.
In 1995, the government announced plans for the "multimedia super corridor"
(MSC) near Kuala Lumpur, a development zone for information technology
companies. Investment in this zone was encouraged by tax incentives and
a powerful telecommunications network. However, work on this and other
big projects was slowed down by an austerity budget in 1997. Also in 1995,
the government announced plans to build a new national capital city south
of Kuala Lumpur. The city, to be called Putrajaya, would serve as the country's
administrative capital. Parliament would remain in Kuala Lumpur.