Malaysia Culture

Political
There are 13 states and 3 Federal Territories in Malaysia. Eleven states and two
Federal Territories are found in Peninsular Malaysia and the rest is located in
East Malaysia. The states are further divided into administrative districts. In
Sabah and Sarawak, they are first divided into divisions, then further divided
into districts.
The politics of Malaysia is based on a federal constitutional monarchy, in which
the King is head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government.
Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state
governments. Federal legislative power is vested in the federal parliament and
the 13 state assemblies.
The capital and also the largest city in Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur. Kuala
Lumpur is considered as the main commercial and financial centre of Malaysia,
otherwise, Putrajaya is a planned city was constructed in 1999, 25 km south of
Kuala Lumpur, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia as
many executive and judicial branches of the federal government were moved
there to ease growing congestion within Kuala Lumpur.
Population


The population of Malaysia was 30,073,353 ( July 2014), rank in the 44nd most
populated country in the world. The majority ethnic group within the country is
Malay, account for 50.1%, Chinese – 22.6%, indigenous groups in Sabah and
Sarawak - 11.8%, Indian – 6.7% and others.
Peninsular Malaysia has an urban population of 70%. This area consists of 28
million Malaysians, and the population is mostly concentrated here.
Economy
Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the
late 1990's from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector
economy.
Malaysia has long been integrated into the global economy. Through the early

decades of the twentieth century, the Malaysia peninsula was a world leader in
the production of tin and natural rubber. Malaysia's industrialization is
dependent on imports for food and other necessities.


GDP - composition, by sector (2013):
- Agriculture: 11.2%
- Industry: 40.6%
- Services: 48.1%
Agriculture:
- Peninsular Malaysia: rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice.
- Sabah: subsistence crops, rubber, coconuts, rice
- Sarawak: rubber, pepper, timber.
Industries:
- Peninsular Malaysia: rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing,
light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting,
logging and processing timber.
- Sabah: logging, petroleum production.
- Sarawak: agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining.

Culture
Because of multi-ethnic make up, Malaysia is very unique in terms of its
culture. People of different religions, country of origin and backgrounds has
influenced its art and culture and cuisine as well. There are Malay, Chinese,
Indian and Eurasian culture, along with the cultures of the indigenous groups of
the peninsula and north Borneo. Thus, a unified Malaysian culture is something
only emerging in the country.
Music
Traditional Malay music and performing arts appear to have originated in
the Kelantan-Pattani region with influences from India, China, Thailand and

Indonesia. The music is based around percussion instruments, the most


important of which is the gendang(drum). There are at least 14 types of
traditional drums. Besides drums, other instruments (some made of shells)
include: the rebab (a bowed string instrument), the serunai (a double-reed oboelike instrument), the seruling (flute), and trumpets. Music is traditionally used
for storytelling and celebrating life-cycle events such as harvests.

Drama
One of Malaysia’s most traditional representative art form is mak yong, in
which the performers sing, dance and act out heroic legends. Mak yong was
declared as "Masterpiece Of The Oral And IntangibleHeritage Of Humanity" in
2005 by UNESCO. A performance begins by paying respect to the spirits with
an offering, followed by dancing, acting and improvised dialogues.

Puppet shows
Another popular attraction is Wayang Kulit, a traditional form of theatre using
leather puppets and shadows to relate tales about the Ramayana - epic poem of


India. Moral values are easier to absorb in the form of parables, which is
why wayang kulit has flourished.

Batik
The method of Malaysian batik production is quite different from that of
Indonesian batik as
Malaysian batik is mostly large floral motifs, light and vibrant in colouring.
Malaysian batik depicting humans or animals are rare because Islamic practices
forbid animal images and other pictures which are against sharia as decoration.

Garland Making
Another integral part of cutural heritage of Malaysia is Garland Making also
known as Bunga. Garland is a combination of flowers, holy basil and the leaves
of the margosa or mango tree. These products are used in religious event, such
as weddings, moving home, or welcoming guests.


Weaving
The art of screw pine weaving has flourished from simple to complicated form.
In traditional Malay society, a woman was not considered well prepared for life
unless she developed a skill in the art of weaving. Hence this skill formed an
integral part of character and personality development.
In gerneral, each ethnic group in Malaysia have distinct performening arts.
Beside many artworks such as weaving, woven batik, garland making. Malaysia
also famous for traditional handicrafts which contain from priceless authentic
antiques to exquisite modern hand-made crafts, songket fabrics, wooden masks
and silversmithing.

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