James Baquet

One could say, “All of Malaysia is divided into two parts” — though it used to be more. Today there is the peninsular portion, which could almost be considered by some “Malaysia proper,” since both the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and the relatively-new (1999), purpose-built seat of the federal government, Putrajaya, are located there. Peninsular (or western) Malaysia also has the lion’s share of the nation’s population, roughly 80 percent, though occupying only about 40 percent of the country’s area. Its northern border is with Thailand; otherwise it is surrounded by water except for Singapore (once briefly part of the Malaysian federation) at its southern tip. Prior to the arrival of the British in the 18th century, the peninsular area was comprised of a number of separate kingdoms, which became British colonies. No moves were made toward unification, however, until 1946.

The “other Malaysia,” called East Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo, has the remaining 60-plus percent of the area, but only about 20 percent of the population. It is located on the island of Borneo, separated from Peninsular Malaysia by the South China Sea. East Malaysia is made up of the former British Crown Colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak, which, with the peninsular area (the former Federation of Malaya) and Singapore, were joined in 1963 to form Malaysia (with Singapore being expelled two years later). East Malaysia surrounds Brunei on the north coast of Borneo; the southern half of the island makes up the Kalimantan portion of Indonesia.

Malaysia is a most unusual monarchy whose king is up for election every five years. The world’s only other true elective monarchies — Cambodia and the Vatican — elect their monarchs for life. The Malaysian king is chosen by the other candidates from among nine traditional rulers from the Malay States (eight of whom inherited the throne, and one of whom was elected). As the king is effectively limited to one five-year term, there are no long reigns.

Malay (also called Bahasa Melayu) is the official language, but English proficiency is the second highest in Asia (after Singapore), and the 13th best globally.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. as the result of voting

2. established location of something

3. in the strictest sense

4. passed from parent to child

5. periods of rule

6. largest amount

7. constructed for a specific reason

8. skill, expertness

9. kicked out (of)

10. made up, composed