Malaysia
In Southeastern Asia; coastal plains rising to hills and mountains. 329,847 km2 (slightly > NM), 5% arable.
Capital Kuala Lumpur (pop est. 1.5M)
Population 25.7M (77.9/km2)
Life expectancy 73 years
HIV/AIDS 0.5%
Literacy 89%
Lang(s) Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
Religions Muslim 60%, Buddhist 19%, Christian 9%, Hindu 6%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 3%, other or unknown 2%
Ethnic Groups Malay 50%, Chinese 24%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7%, other 8%
Gov’t Constitutional Monarchy
GDP/cap $14,700
PCVs 1962 – 1983, health and education (4067 volunteers served)
Nat’l holiday Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957)
Books
Crossroads: A Popular History of Malaysia and Singaporeby Jim Baker
Book Description
Baker's thrilling book profits from his refusal to separate Singapore s history from Malaysia's. What we get is a broad story filled with surprising details drawn from his own experiences and from other scholarly works, and told in an easy and captivating style.
Kids' Books
The bee treeby Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn; with illustrations by Paul Mirocha.
El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press, 2007.
Ages 7 to 11.
Music
Melissa IndotElecticism
Music from Malaysia
Films
Talentime (Yasmin Ahmad, 2009)Recipes
Laksa Lemak/Laksa with Shrimp and TofuTeh Tarik/Pulled Tea
