Malaysia is a young country, having attained nationhood in

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.