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Thursday, October 13, 2011

Malaysia

Until recent times Malaysia was said by Europeans to be in the East Indies. Now that part of the world is called South East Asia, SEA.

I bet that the word 'Malay' is of ancient southern India origin. Although Malaysia may be best know for its seagoing and trading past,the origin of the word 'Malay' may mean something like 'mountainous' which much of the interior of Malaysia is.

To me much of the Malay language and people seem related to Polynesia people. The fact is that they are related to that great mixture of people making up the cultures of South East Asia. India has long been a strong influence there. China to has had long standing influence and that influence increased during the rise and fall of European empire building in the area. Many Chinese were brought to Malaysia as workers during that time.

I suspect that the Malay language is spoken as the first language of just over half the population. Chinese speakers are next in number. Several other languages are popular including English.

Sunni Islam is the largest religious group and includes over 60& of the population. Buddhism is next and is practiced by less than 20% of the population. There is religious freedom, but Islam is the state religion.

Education is good and is open to a wide portion of the population.

Malaysians can play a good game of soccer even though Americans may be the only people to call it soccer.

The title of the elected ruler is, I think, Yang de Pertuan Agong. You may call him Lord and, in the third person, refer to him as His Majesty. The UNMO rules.

Malysias neighbors include Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and the Philippians.

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