MALAYSIA

Is a Southeast Asian country occupying parts of the Malay Peninsula and the island
of Borneo. It's known for its beaches, rainforests and mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian
and European cultural influences.
The capital, KUALA LUMPUR, is home to colonial buildings, busy shopping
districts such as Bukit Bintang and skyscrapers such as the iconic, 451m-tall
Petronas Twin Towers.

LANGUAGE
The Malaysian language (MALAY: BAHASA MALAYSIA), or STANDARD
MALAY (MALAY: BAHASA MELAYU BAKU) is the name regularly applied to
the Malay language used in Malaysia. Constitutionally, however, the official
language of Malaysia is MALAY, but the government from time to time refers to it
as MALAYSIAN. Malaysian is a standardised register of the JOHORE-
RIAU dialect of Malay. It is spoken by much of the Malaysian population as a first
language. It is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools.

ALPHABETS
The Malaysian language is normally written using a LATIN ALPHABET called
RUMI, though an ARABIC ALPHABET called JAWI also exists. Rumi is official
while efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve JAWI SCRIPT and to revive
its use in Malaysia. The Latin alphabet, however, is still the most commonly used
script in Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes.

The MODERN MALAY ALPHABET (in Brunei, MALAYSIA and Singapore,

TULISAN RUMI, literally "Roman script" or "Roman writing", in Indonesia,
"Tulisan Latin") consists of the 26 letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet without
any diacritics. It is the more common of the two alphabets used today to write
the Malay language, the other being JAWI (a modified Arabic script). The Latin
Malay alphabet is the official Malay script in Indonesia (as Indonesian), Malaysia
(as Malaysian) and Singapore, while it is co-official with Jawi in Brunei.

JAWI is one of the two official scripts in Brunei, used as an ALTERNATIVE

SCRIPT in Malaysia and Malay dominated areas in Indonesia. Usage wise, it was
the STANDARD SCRIPT FOR THE MALAY LANGUAGE but has since been
replaced by a LATIN ALPHABET CALLED RUMI, and JAWI has since been
relegated to a script used for RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL and some
ADMINISTRATIVE purposes. JAWI is still commonly used on road and building
signs, and taught in primary and religious schools in Brunei and parts of Indonesia.

Historically, various scripts such as Pallava, Kawi and Rencong were used to
write Old Malay, until they were replaced by JAWI with the introduction of ISLAM.
The arrival of Europeancolonial powers brought the LATIN ALPHABET to
the Malay Archipelago.

RELIGION
Malaysia is a multicultural and multiconfessional country, whose official religion is
Islam. As of the 2010 Population and Housing Census, 61.3 percent of the population
practices Islam; 19.8 percent Buddhism; 9.2 percent Christianity; 6.3
percent Hinduism; and 1.3 percent traditional Chinese religions. The remainder is
accounted for by other faiths, including Animism, Folk religion, Sikhism and other
belief systems. Numbers of self-described atheists in Malaysia are few; the state has
come under criticism from human rights organizations for its discrimination against
atheists.

Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafi'i version of Sunni theology and

jurisprudence. Islam was introduced by traders arriving from Arabia, China and
India. It became firmly established in the 15th century. The Federal Constitution as
the Supreme Law makes Islam as the "religion of the Federation". The king is the
defender of Islam in the country and members of the royal family may lose certain
privileges if they leave Islam and convert to another religion.

Malaysian Chinese practice various faiths: Mahayana Buddhism and Chinese

traditional religions (including Taoism). Hinduismis practised by the majority
of Malaysian Indians. Christianity has established itself in some communities,
especially in East Malaysia. It is not tied to any specific ethnic group. Other
religions, such as the Baha'i Faith and Sikhism also have adherents in Malaysia.

Relations between different religious groups are generally quite tolerant.

Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Deepavali have been declared national holidays
alongside Islamic holidays such as Muhammad's birthday etc. Various groups have
been set up to try to promote religious understanding among the different groups,
with religious harmony seen as a priority by Malaysian politicians. However,
Muslims are prevented from converting to other religions by law, despite article 11
of the constitution declaring freedom of religion. Restrictions on religious freedom
exist, especially for Muslims who are not allowed to legally convert to other
religions, and are often forced into rehabilitation camps if they attempt to.