Overview

The country of Malaysia is composed of 13 states. It is located in Southeast Asia on the Malay Peninsula, which divides the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, as well as the northern corner of the island of Borneo. The peninsular portion of the country, which lies between Thailand to the north and Singapore to the south, is referred to as Western Malaysia, and the northern portion of Borneo as Eastern Malaysia. About 400 miles (644 kilometers) of the South China Sea separates East and West Malaysia. Malaysia has a combined area of 127,320 square miles (329,758 square kilometers), slightly larger than the state of New Mexico. The country's capital was Kuala Lumpur since it gained independence beginning in 1957. However, in June of 1999, the country planned to move its capital 20 miles (32 kilometers) south to Putrajaya. Putrajaya was designed as a high-tech capital featuring buildings linked with fiber-optic cable and...