A nation in the heart of Southeast Asia

Malaysia is a young country, having attained nationhood in 1957. It is located just north of the equator in the heart of Southeast Asia.

A strong stable economy, the country began as a two-commodity economy concentrating on generating wealth from its rich resources in tin and rubber. But over the last four decades, the country has grown by quantum leaps, which has taken the economy from agriculture-based to export-focused.

And now it is setting in motion initiatives to transform itself into a knowledge-based economy.

Within Southeast Asia, Malaysia is among the most stable economies having weathered recession of the 1980s and the currency crisis of the mid-1990s, emerging more dynamic and resilient.

Its total land area of 330,000 square kilometers is enveloped in green tropical rain forests and plantations. The climate is equatorial and mild with an average temperature that ranges from 21 degrees Celsius to 32 degrees Centigrade throughout the year.

The country is sheltered from adverse climatic occurrences like typhoons, while earthquakes and volcanoes are nonexistent. The towns and cities provide interesting contrasts of five-star opulence and modern infrastructure that coexist with well- preserved colonial architecture and a multiracial lifestyle.

Harmony is the key to Malaysia's success. Continued political stability assures its future. Multilingual, multicultural and multireligious, the nation is a melting pot of diverse cultures. Malay, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese, Arab, English and Dutch -- all have left imprints of their unique identities since the 15th century.

Tribal communities known as the Orang Asli or Original People represent the oldest element in the population. In East Malaysia, which comprises the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the multiethnicity of the various indigenous tribes provide an interesting mix of cultures.

Malay or Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of the country.

English is widely spoken and has proven to be an added attraction to foreigners who conduct their businesses or vacation here.

Although Islam is the official religion, Malaysians are given freedom of worship and it is not unusual to see a mosque, temple and church on a single street.

Public holidays also reflect the racial tolerance as the different races celebrate important festivals. In fact this has become part and parcel of the unique Malaysian lifestyle.

Malaysia is made up of 13 states and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan. Nine of the states have sovereign monarchs or sultans.

Every five years, a unique system of rotation allows the nine sultans to elect a King, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong -- from among themselves.

Malaysia has practiced democracy as a constitutional monarchy since Independence. The four nonroyal states are each headed by a Yang Dipertuan Negeri, federally appointed for four years.

Malaysia has a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Elections to the 180-member strong House of Representatives are held every five years on the basis of universal adult suffrage, each constituency returning one member.

The King and the state legislatures appoint the 70 members of the Senate. The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister and consists of members of the legislature and is collectively responsible to Parliament.

Since Independence, the leadership of the country has stayed uninterrupted with one coalition party -- The National Front or Barisan Nasional. The National Front comprises 14 component parties ensuring representation of the various communities living in Malaysia.

Malaysia has long been a leading producer and exporter of commodities such as natural rubber, palm oil, cocoa, timber, pepper and tin, and is a net exporter of petroleum and natural gas.

Today Malaysia is one of the world's leading exporters of electronic semiconductors, room air conditioners, audiovisual equipment and products based on the country's natural resources such as rubber products (gloves, threads, catheters), palm oil products (soaps, margarine, aleochemicals) and timber products (plywood, moldings furniture).

For the past 30 years the Malaysian economy has been growing between 7 percent and 8 percent on a sustained basis. The strategy is to attract foreign direct investment, which brings in technology.

This enabled goods produced in Malaysia to remain competitive worldwide. The strategy has been so successful that many developing countries are emulating the Malaysian approach.

This has prompted Malaysia to upgrade and transform its economy to become more knowledge-based as its next phase of wealth creation.

Malaysia is currently spearheading the next technological leap into the new millennium through the introduction of the National Information Technology Agenda (NITA) in 1996 to provide the country with direction and the way forward with IT.

NITA has spelled out a three-pronged strategy aimed at developing a knowledge society through building and developing the appropriate IT structure, the creation and development of IT- based applications and human development effort.

The National Information Technology Council (NITC) was established to guide the country toward knowledge empowerment of Vision 2020.

The government's commitment toward the creation of a knowledge-based economy is also evident through the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project.

The MSC was mooted in 1994 and has since attracted giant multinational companies to locate their R&D within.