马来西亚_综合百科

马来西亚(Malaysia)

东南亚国家。由西马来西亚（亦称半岛马来西亚）和东马来西亚两个地区组成，中间隔有南海，相距约650公里。西马来西亚地居马来半岛南半部，北与泰国接壤。东马来西亚地处婆罗洲岛西北部，包括沙巴和沙劳越两部分。面积330,442平方公里。人口约22,602,000（2001）。首都︰吉隆坡。由於位於海上交通繁忙的麻六甲海峡上，该国人口组成十分多元化，以马来人和华人占多数，其他较小的民族有印度人、巴基斯坦人和坦米尔人。语言︰马来语（官方语）、华语和印欧语言。宗教：伊斯兰教（国教）、佛教、道教、儒教和印度教。货币︰林吉特（RM）。西马来西亚以山地为主；东马来西亚的地势由沿海平原渐升至丘陵，再升高到内陆山区。大部分陆地为雨林所覆盖。乔木作物是国家最重要的经济作物，尤其是橡胶和棕榈油；稻米是主要的粮食作物。石油钻探和生产，以及锡矿开采业很重要，橡胶制品、水泥和钢铁产品等制造业也占重要地位。政府形式为君主立宪国，两院制。国家元首是「最高统治者」，政府首脑为总理。

至少在6,000～8,000年前马来亚已有人类居住，西元2或3世纪已有一些小王国存在，当时有一些印度的探险家来此。约1400年苏门答腊流亡者建立了麻六甲城邦，後来成为一个商业和伊斯兰教的中心，直到1511年为葡萄牙人占领。1641年荷兰人夺占麻六甲。1819年英国人在新加坡岛建立殖民地，到1867年建成海峡殖民地（包括麻六甲、新加坡和槟榔屿）。19世纪末，中国人开始移民马来亚。1941年日本人入侵马来亚，1942年夺取新加坡。战後由於反对英国统治，1946年成立了马来亚民族统一组织，1948年马来半岛和槟榔屿结成联邦。1957年马来亚终於脱离英国，取得独立。1963年建立马来西亚联盟。1970年代末经济大为扩张，但在1990年代中期遭到席卷该区的经济风暴影响。

English version：

Malaysia

Country, S.East Asia. It is composed of two regions—Peninsular or West Malaysia and East Malaysia—separated by 400 mi (650 km) of the China Sea. West Malaysia occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula, and is bordered on the north by Thailand. East Malaysia occupies the northwestern part of the island of Borneo and consists of the states of Sarawak and Sabah. Area: 127,584 sq mi (330,442 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 21,770,000. Capital: Kuala Lumpur. Because it lies on the heavily traveled Strait of Malacca, the country's population is a very diverse mix, in which ethnic Malays and Chinese form the largest groups. Smaller ethnic groups include Indians, Pakistanis, and Tamils. Languages: Malay (official), Chinese, Indo-European languages. Religions: Islam (official), Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism. Currency: ringgit. West Malaysia is largely mountainous; East Malaysia has coastal plains rising to hills and then to a mountainous core. Much of Malaysia is covered by rain forest. Tree crops, notably rubber and palm oil, are the country's most important cash crops; rice is the chief staple crop. Petroleum drilling and production and tin mining are important, as is the manufacture of rubber goods, cement, and iron and steel products. It is a constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; the chief of state is the Paramount Ruler, and the head of government is the prime minister. Malaya has been inhabited for 6,000-8,000 years, and small kingdoms existed in the 2nd-3rd century AD, when adventurers from India first arrived. Sumatran exiles founded the city-state of Malacca c. 1400, and it flourished as a trading and Islamic religious center until its capture by the Portuguese in 1511. Malacca passed to the Dutch in 1641. The British founded a settlement on Singapore island in 1819, and by 1867 they had established the Straits Settlements, including Malacca, Singapore, and Penang island. During the late 19th century Chinese began to migrate to Malaya. Japan invaded Malaya in 1941 and captured Singapore in 1942. Opposition to British rule led to the creation of the United Malaya National Organization (UMNO) in 1946, and in 1948 the peninsula was federated with Penang. Malaya gained independence from Britain in 1957, and the federation of Malaysia was established in 1963. Its economy expanded greatly from the late 1970s, but it suffered from the economic slump that struck the area in the mid-1990s.

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