Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections: House of Representatives—last held 2-3 August 1986 (next to be held by August 1991); results—National Front 57.4%, DAP 20.8%, PAS 15.6%, independents 3.3%, others 2.9%; note—within the National Front, UMNO got 35% and MCA 14% of the vote; seats—(177 total) National Front 148, DAP 24, PAS 1, independents 4; note—within the National Front, UMNO got 83 seats and MCA 17 seats
Communists: Peninsular Malaysia—about 1,000 armed insurgents on
Thailand side of international boundary and about 200 full time inside
Malaysia surrendered on 2 December 1989; only about 100 Communist
insurgents remain in North Kalimantan and Sabah
Member of: ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, Association of Tin Producing Countries,
CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC,
ITC, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Albert S. TALALLA; Chancery at 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 328-2700; there are Malaysian Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York; US—Ambassador Paul M. CLEVELAND; Embassy at 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur (mailing address is P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur); telephone [6] (03) 248-9011
Flag: fourteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US
- Economy Overview: In 1988-89 booming exports helped Malaysia continue to recover from the severe 1985-86 recession. Real output grew by 8.7% in 1988 and about 7.7% in 1989, helped by vigorous growth in manufacturing output and further increases in foreign direct investment, particularly from Japanese and Taiwanese firms facing higher costs at home. Malaysia has become the world's third-largest producer of semiconductor devices (after the US and Japan) and the world's largest exporter of semiconductor devices. Inflation remained low as unemployment stood at about 8% of the labor force and as the government followed prudent fiscal/monetary policies. The country is not self-sufficient in food, and a majority of the rural population subsists at the poverty level. Malaysia's high export dependence (merchandise exports are 63% of GDP) leaves it vulnerable to a recession in the OECD countries or a fall in world commodity prices.
GDP: $37.9 billion, per capita $2,270; real growth rate 7.7% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7.9% (1989 est.)