The nation of Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with about half its territory located on the Malay Peninsula and the other half positioned along the northeast coast of the island of Borneo on the other side of the South China Sea. From ancient times, Malay Kingdoms and empires have dominated the straits of Malacca and had much influence over and profit from the vigorous sea trade that has long streamed through those straits. In ancient times, China’s path to Africa and India lay through Malay waters, and in modern times, nations from across the globe frequent them.
After independence from Britain in 1957, Malaya united with Singapore and with Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo to form Malaysia. Though Singapore was expelled by a unanimous vote two years after joining (they demanded a different economic policy), yet the “-si” in the nation’s name that was added to “Malay-” to represent Singapore’s presence in the union has never been dropped.
Malaysia had developed from an agrarian economy to an industrialized one by the 1980’s and has a per capita GDP of nearly $15,000- a level of economic health unequaled by most Asian nations. Its 6.5 percent or so annual economic growth rate has been sustained across the last five decades, and it was quick to recover from the Asian Financial Crisis of ’97. Some of the main industries are: oil, natural gas, tin, rubber, palm oil, and tourism. Commerce is always central to Malaysian economics due to the Malacca Strait route that keeps Japan, China, Taiwan, etc. well-supplied with oil and other important imports.
Malaysia’ infrastructure system is one of the best in all Asia, but there are major disparities between the east and west. This has led to recent efforts to upgrade the more backwards transport system on Borneo to the standards of the Malay Peninsula.
The nation has 144,000 km (90,000 mi) of roads, the longest of them (North-South Expressway) stretching from the border with Thailand to Singapore. There are 1,850 km (1,150 mi) or rail lines, including the Asian Rail Express from Kuala Lumpur (the capital) to Bangkok. The nation also has 118 airports, 38 with paved runways.
If you are in need of transporting freight into or out of Malaysia, one of our agents who has long experience with the transit system and customs policies of that nation can assist you in arranging the most logistically sound shipment plan. Contact us today, and we will get started on saving you money, worry, and valuable time.
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