Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador GHAZZALI bin Sheikh Abdul Khalid
chancery: 3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
FAX: [1] (202) 572-9882
telephone: [1] (202) 572-9700
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Marie T. HUHTALA embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur mailing address: P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur; American Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152 telephone: [60] (3) 2168-5000 FAX: [60] (3) 2142-2207
Flag description:
14 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 Malaysia
Economy - overview:
Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971
through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an
emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven
by exports - particularly of electronics - and, as a result Malaysia
was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the
Information Technology (IT) sector in 2001. GDP in 2001 grew only
0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a
substantial fiscal stimulus package mitigated the worst of the
recession and the economy rebounded in 2002. Healthy foreign
exchange reserves and relatively small external debt make it
unlikely that Malaysia will experience a crisis similar to the one
in 1997, but the economy remains vulnerable to a more protracted
slowdown in Japan and the US, top export destinations and key
sources of foreign investment.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $198.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4.1% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12% industry: 40% services: 48% (2001)
Population below poverty line: 8% (1998 est.)