The Federation of Malaysia is situated in South East Asia, adjacent to Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The total land surface area is approximately 330,000 square kilometres and is home to approximately 28 million inhabitants. The region is divided in two by around a thousand kilometres of the South China Sea. The Western section shares a boundary Thailand on the Eurasian continent, the Eastern section being predominantly the island of Borneo.

Having achieved full independence in 1957, Malaysia underwent substantial political turmoil in its early years, but has enjoyed a more stable period of government in recent decades. It enjoys a modern and diverse economy and is regarded as one of the stronger economies in the region. The main industries are centred on the availability of natural resources such as minerals, rubber and palm oil. The government has a clear plan to diversify from this basis, achieving success in electronics components, such as computer disk drives, pharmaceuticals, car manufacturing, and tourism.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation. Languages include Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai and several indigenous languages. Malays are the most numerous group, but the minority Chinese hold a disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth. Significant racial and religious tension continues to exist, fuelled by economic and religious differences, particularly between Muslim and Non-Muslim (Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, and Hindu) peoples.

Government is provided through a bicameral Parliament based on the Westminster System. Voting in elections is compulsory for all nationals over 21 years of age.

While the country has had periods of strong economic growth, it has suffered in recent times due to financial instability, firstly in the Asian financial market crash, and later in the world financial market crash. In an effort to avoid recession, in 2009, the government embarked upon a 16 billion dollar spending stimulus.