Peninsular Malaysia
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From Johor Bahru Directory
For other uses, see Malaya.
Peninsular Malaysia (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia), also known as Malaya or West Malaysia, is the part of Malaysia that lies on the Malay Peninsula, sharing a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore, while across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra. East Malaysia (on the island of Borneo) is, as its name implies, to the east across the South China Sea.
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2. Peninsular Malaysia has an area of 50,810 square miles (131,598 square kilometers). With a population of 21 million people, it accounts for roughly 80% of the total population of Malaysia, as well contributing a large part to its economy. Peninsular Malaysia consists of the following 11 states and two federal territories (starting from the North going to the South):
- Northern Region: Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak;
- East Coast Region: Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang;
- Central Region: Selangor, federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya; and
- Southern Region: Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor.
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3. The alternative name, Malaya, is derived from the name of a river in Sumatra. It is also a Filipino word (the Philippine national language), meaning "free or freedom". Until 1946 and for some time afterwards, the term "Malaya" included Singapore. Nevertheless, this definition is still used in Singapore legislation, although its definition of the term, "States of Malaya", does not include Singapore. The use of the word 'Malaya' in Malaysia, however, is now becoming obsolete, due to its connotations of the British colonial era. Even so, it can still be found in many institutional titles, such as the High Court of Malaya, the University of Malaya, Malayan Railway, etc., as well as in legal contexts in such phrases as the "States of Malaya" (Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu), which should not be confused with the Malay states.
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4. The term "Peninsular Malaysia" is used more often than West Malaysia in order to avoid the idea that West and East Malaysia are separate countries like what East Germany and West Germany used to be until 1990. The distinction between East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) and West Malaysia, however, is significant beyond the sphere of geography because apart from having a different court structure, the eastern states have more autonomy as compared to the original States of Malaya, e.g. maintaining restrictions on immigration from the peninsula.
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5. The term, East Coast, is particularly used in Malaysia to describe either one of the following three states in Peninsular Malaysia, facing the South China Sea: (1) [Kelantan]]; (2) Pahang; (3) [Terengganu]]. On the other hand, the term, West Coast, refers informally to a collection of states in Peninsular Malaysia situated on the western coast, generally facing the Strait of Malacca. Unlike the East Coast, the West Coast is partitioned further into three regions as follows:
- the Northern Region: Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak;
- the Central Region: Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya; and
- the Southern Region: Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.
