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Malaysia
Kuala
Lumpur
Hindu-Buddhist influence was strong in the centuries before the coming of
Islam. By 1400, when the Malacca Sultanate was at the height of its power, Islam
had become a major influence. By 1511, Malacca had fallen to the Portuguese.
Meanwhile, the Dutch had been establishing their influence and presence in Java.
By 1641, the Dutch had also taken over Malacca but they in turn lost it to the
British who had been slowly consolidating their hold on the Malay states
following Francis Light’s arrival in Penang in 1786. In 1815 Malacca was in
British hands and in 1819 Stamford Raffles founded Singapore. Thereafter,
through treaties, relentless political pressure and diplomacy, the
Sarawak, once part of the Sultan of Brunei’s Empire, was ruled by a
British adventurer named James Brooke and his descendants starting in 1841. In
1888, Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah) became British protectorates. By the
1920s, all the states that eventually comprised Malaysia were under British
control. The first stirrings of Malaysian nationalism were felt in the 1930s and
following the end of World War II, the momentum of nationalism picked up again,
culminating in independence for the Federation of Malaya in 1957 and the
formation of Malaysia in 1963.
Malaysia has a population of slightly over 17 million with 14 million
living in Peninsular Malaysia and 3 million in Sabah and Sarawak. They are of a
variety of racial backgrounds, with Malays, Chinese and Indians forming the
majority on the peninsula, and lban, Kadazan and Bidayuh being the main
indigenous ethnic groups in Sabah and
Malaysia’s economy is basically a developing free-enterprise economy
based on primary products steadily undergoing industrialization. Malaysia is
among the world’s largest producers of tin, rubber and palm oil. Other major
products include petroleum, timber and pepper.
Malaysia is a tropical wonderland situated in the heart of South-East
Asia just north of the Equator. It is made up of two regions: Peninsular
Malaysia which lies between Thailand and Singapore, and East Malaysia which is
situated across the South China Sea on the island of Borneo. Together, these two
regions cover an area of about 330,434 square kilometers.
The
above tour package (minimum 2 persons) includes: - SIC Round trip airport/hotel transfers - 2-day American breakfast - 2-night hotel accommodation at a hotel of your choice - A half-day SIC Countryside Tour
- A
half-day SIC City Tour |
Copyright © 2011 Tai Holidays. All Rights Reserved.
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