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Malaysia
has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the
area which, from the 18th century, became subject to
the British Empire. The first British territories were
known as the Straits Settlements. Peninsular Malaysia,
then known as Malaya, was first unified under the commonwealth
in 1946, before becoming the Federation of Malaya in
1948. In 1963, Malaya unified with Sabah, Sarawak, and
Singapore. In 1965, Singapore opted out of the federation
and became an independent city state. Since its independence,
Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in
Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for the first
50 years of independence. The economy of the country
has, traditionally, been fuelled by its natural resources,
but is now also expanding in the sectors of science,
tourism, commerce and medical tourism.
The
capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the
seat of the federal government. The population stands
at over 25 million. The country is separated into two
regions Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo by
the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia,
Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. The country is
located near the equator and experiences a tropical
climate. Malaysia's head of state is the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong (conventionally referred to as 'the King' or 'the
Agong') and the government is headed by a Prime Minister.
The government is closely modeled after the Westminster
Parliamentary System. Malaysia as a unified state did
not exist until 1963. Previously, a set of colonies
were established by the United Kingdom from the late-18th
century, and the western half of modern Malaysia was
composed of several separate kingdoms.
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