o     Creation of Malaysia
Malaysia was created in 1963 through the merging of Malaya (independent in 1957) and the former British Singapore, both of which formed West Malaysia, and Sabah and Sarawak in north Borneo, which composed East Malaysia. The first three years of independence were marred by hostilities with Indonesia. Singapore separated from the union in 1965.

o     GeographicaI Location
Located between 20º and 7º north of the Equator, Peninsular Malaysia is separated from the states of Sabah and Sarawak by the South China Sea. To the north of Peninsular Malaysia is Thailand while its southern neighbour is Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak share a common border with Indonesia while Sarawak also shares a border with Brunei Darussalam. Area 329, 758 sq km; Population 25 million

o     Climate
Tropical climate with warm weather all year round with temperatures ranging from 21ºC to 32ºC. Annual rainfall varies from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.

o      Religion
Islam is the official religion but other religions are practiced freely.

o     Language
Bahasa Melayu (Malay) is the national language. While English is widely spoken here in Malaysia, the locals are more comfortable with Bahasa. The ethnic groups also speak various languages and dialects including Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Tamil and Hindi.