Political parties and leaders:
ruling-coalition National Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN,
consisting of the following parties: Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party
or PGRM [LIM Keng Yaik]; Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal
Demokratik - Sabah) or LDP [CHONG Kah Kiat]; Malaysian Chinese
Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or MCA [ONG Ka Ting];
Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongresi India Malaysia) or MIC [S. Samy
VELLU]; Parti Bersatu Pakyat Sabah or PBRS [Joseph KURUP]; Parti
Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]; Parti Pesaka
Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Parti
Rakyat Sarawak or PRS [James MASING]; Sabah Progressive Party (Parti
Progresif Sabah) or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sarawak United People's
Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [George CHAN Hong Nam];
United Malays National Organization or UMNO [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi];
United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (Pertubuhan
Pasko Momogun Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [Bernard DOMPOK];
People's Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia) or
PPP [M.Keyveas]; Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party or SPDP
[William MAWANI]; opposition parties: Democratic Action Party (Parti
Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KARPAL Singh]; Islamic Party of
Malaysia (Parti Islam se Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang];
People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) or PKR [WAN AZIZAH
Wan Ismael]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP [Edwin DANDUNG];
opposition coalition Alternative Front (Barisan Alternatif) or BA
consists of PAS and PKR
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ABEDA, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC,
ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK,
UNMIL, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
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 Christopher J. LAFLEUR 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 14-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. As a result Malaysia was
hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the
information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001
grew only 0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a
substantial fiscal stimulus package equal to US $1.9 billion
mitigated the worst of the recession and the economy rebounded in
2002 with a 4.1% increase. The economy grew 4.9% in 2003,
notwithstanding a difficult first half, when external pressures from
SARS and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community.
Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a 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. The Malaysian ringgit is pegged
to the dollar, and the Japanese central bank continues to intervene
and prop up the yen against the dollar.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $207.8 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.2% (2003 est.)