{malaysia}

I will be dedicating each of the remaining weeks of 2016 to a country I will be visiting in 2017. There are only EIGHT MORE WEEKS! Each week I will post information about the specific country and specific prayer requests. I am excited for the unique differences that each country will bring to the table. As a way to prepare my heart, I will be learning and praying. Come learn and pray with me!

The Country of The Week…

{MALAYSIA}

Fun and Interesting Facts You Might Want To Know About…

Malaysia: “Land of The Malays” 

Official Name: Malaysia 

Capital: Kuala Lumpur  

//Geography//

• Located in Southeast Asia

• Malaysia is situated on a peninsula and the island of Borneo {Peninsular (West) Malaysia on the Kra Peninsula of mainland Asia (PM), and East Malaysia (EM) consisting of the territories of Sarawak and Sabah on the northern third of the island of Borneo}

• Comprising the territories of Malaya, Sarawak, and Sabah, Malaysia stretches from peninsular Malaysia to northeastern Borneo 

• Central mountains divide peninsular Malaysia (Malaya) separating the narrow eastern coast from the fertile western plains, with its sheltered beaches and bays

• Sarawak and Sabah share the island of Borneo with Indonesia and Brunei, where swamps rise to jungle-covered mountains

• Malaysia is bordered on the north by Thailand, Brunei, and the South China Sea; on the south by Indonesia and Singapore; on the east by the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea; and on the west by the Strait of Malacca and Indonesia 

• Strategic location along the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea

• Slightly larger than New Mexico 

• 329,847 square kilometers (127,355 square miles)

• The terrain includes coastal plains that rise to hills and mountains

• Highest Point: Gunung Kinabalu (4,100 meters – 13,451 feet) 

• Natural hazards include flooding, landslides, and forest fires

• The climate is tropical and includes monsoons: Annual monsoons from April to October in the southwest and annual monsoons from October to February in the northeast

• Average temperature in April is 90° with 19 rainy days that produce over 9 inches of rainfall 

• Contains well-watered, tropical rain-forests

• Malaysia’s Taman Negara (literally, “national park”) is one of the oldest rain-forests on Earth (older than the tropical rain-forests of the Amazon and the Congo Basins). This rainforest supports more than 10,000 species of plants, 1,000 types of butterflies, 140 types of animals, 350 bird species, 100 kinds of snakes, and 150,000 kinds of insects

• The largest flower on earth, the Rafflesia, is located in Malaysia. Its bloom can be up to 3-feet wide and weigh 15 pounds

• Malaysia has the largest cave chamber on the planet – The Sarawak Chamber. It is often claimed that the corridor of Deer Cave, a 1-mile long passage of the caves in The Sarawak Chamber, can house five rows of eight Boeing 747 jetliners parked nose to tail!

//People// 

• Population: 30,949,962 – 237 people per square mile 

• Annual Growth: 1.72%

• Urbanites: 74.7%

• UN Human Development Report Rank: 66 of 182 

• Peoples: 186 People Groups  (83 Groups – 44.6% Unreached)

• Malays make up half the population, and almost all Malays are Muslims

• Ethnic Chinese constitute a quarter of Malaysia’s people, and Indians some 7 percent—both groups are concentrated on the peninsula’s west coast

• Official Language: Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) 

• The number of individual languages listed for Malaysia is 136. The three main languages are Standard Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and English

• Life Expectancy: 75 

• Literacy Rate: 94.6% 

• Diet: The national dish is Nasi Lemak, a fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk, often served wrapped in a banana leaf, and usually eaten for breakfast; The national drink is a hot milk tea called Teh Tari

• Internet Users: 21.684 million – 71.1% of Population 

• Malaysians are the friendliest people in the world…at least on Facebook! According to a 2010 survey conducted by international firm TNS, Malaysians have an average of 233 friends – the most in the world

• Electricity: 99.5% of Population has Electricity (100,000 without) 

• Kuala Lumpur, the nation’s capital, anchors the new Multimedia Super Corridor, Asia’s equivalent of the U.S.’s Silicon Valley

• It is generally considered rude to point at people or things with the index finger; instead, a bent index finger or thumb is used to point—or, rather, to knuckle—in the right direction

• Some buildings in Malaysia do not have a fourth floor, they are replaced by “3A” as the sound of four (sì) is similar to the sound of death in Chinese (si )

• The world´s biggest roundabout is located here and is over 2 miles in diameter

• The government, a federal democracy with a ceremonial king, has ambitious plans to make Malaysia a leading producer and developer of high-tech products, including software

//Economy//

Malaysia, a middle-income country, has transformed itself since the 1970s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. After a long period of economic growth starting in the 1970s, Malaysia—like many countries—was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Under current Prime Minister NAJIB, Malaysia is attempting to achieve high-income status by 2020 and to move farther up the value-added production chain by attracting investments in Islamic finance, high technology industries, biotechnology, and services. NAJIB’s Economic Transformation Program is a series of projects and policy measures intended to accelerate the country’s economic growth. The government has also taken steps to liberalize some services sub-sectors. Malaysia is vulnerable to a fall in world commodity prices or a general slowdown in global economic activity. Malaysia is one of the world’s largest exporters of semiconductors, electrical goods, and appliances.

 

Malaysia’s economy is the fourth largest in Southeast Asia and is one of the most competitive in the world

1. Industry: Rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, logging, petroleum production and refining
2. Agriculture: Rubber, palm oil, cacao, rice {Peninsular Malaysia – palm oil, rubber, cocoa, rice; Sabah – palm oil, subsistence crops; rubber, timber; Sarawak – palm oil, rubber, timber; pepper}
3. Exports: Electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil {Export Partners: Singapore 13.9%, China 13%, Japan 9.5%, US 9.4%, Thailand 5.7%, Hong Kong 4.7%, India 4.1%}

Currency: Malaysian Ringgit 

Population Below the Poverty Line: 3.8% 

//History//

• During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia 
• In the mid-19th century the United Kingdom began importing Chinese to work the tin mines of Muslim sultanates on the Malay Peninsula; by the turn of the century new rubber plantations employed transported Indian laborers
• The longest King Cobra, the largest species of venomous snake on the planet, was caught in Malaysia in 1937 at over 18 feet long
• The Japanese invaded Malaysia on December 6, 1941, the same day they bombed Pearl Harbor
• These colonies and protectorates were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945
• In 1948, the Britished-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula, except Singapore, formed the Federation of Malaya
• The Federation of Malaya gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1957
• Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore, as well as Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo, jointhe Federation
• The first several years of the country’s independence were marred by a communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore’s withdrawal in 1965
• During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to the development of manufacturing, services, and tourism
• The Petronas Towers in the capital were the world’s tallest buildings from 1998-2004 (now ranked 8th tallest) with a height of 1,483 feet and a walkway connecting the two at the 44th floor
• Prime Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul Razak (in office since April 2009) has continued pro-business policies

//Religion//

In the 10/40 Window 

Religion: Islam {Official} (62.6%), Buddhist (19.8%), Christian (9.2%), Hindu (6.3%), Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions (1%) (Estimation)

Largest Religion: Islam (62.6%) {Official Religion}

Religion                                      Pop %                    Annual Growth

Christians – 2,632,289                  9.43                       1.9

Evangelicals – 1,207,985                4.3                        2.9

Muslims – 17,476,94962.61

//Prayer//

I ask that you would join me in praying for Malaysia. 

UNITY ~ peace ~ FrEeDoM ~ SECURITY ~ safety ~ LOVE ~ employment ~ God-fearing Church Leaders ~ HOPE ~ SoUnD DoCtRiNe ~ The Church ~ OPPORTUNITY ~ messengers ~ Missionaries ~ BOLDNESS ~ light in the dark ~ wItNeSs to mUsLiMs ~ Reception of the TRUTH ~ breaking BARRIERS ~ The MALAY people ~ enCouRagEmeNt ~ strength ~ Full Religious Liberty ~ The Persecuted ~ EnD to ThE pressure TO adopt shari’a LaW ~ the removal of restrictions on Christian gatherings ~ ALL TO SEE AND COME TO KNOW THE ONE TRUTH GOD – Father, Son, and Spirit ~ May people know —

JESUS

To God Be The Glory 

Forever…AMEN!

Click the link below to watch a video on how you can pray for Malaysia: 

Prayercast: Malaysia

Let Heaven Come. 

 On Earth As It Is In Heaven. 

To God Be The Glory! 

Amen!  

// Your Peace-FILLED daughter //

LoVe, 

Cary  

Information Gathered From: 

CIA World Factbook

National Geographic Travel

Operation World 

Joshua Project

Ethnologue

Prayercast