Malaysia is a country in South-East Asia, located partly on a peninsula of the Asian mainland and partly on the northern third of the island of Borneo. West (peninsular) Malaysia shares a border with Thailand, is connected by a causeway and a bridge (the 'second link') to the island state of Singapore, and has coastlines on the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca. East Malaysia (Borneo) shares borders with Brunei and Indonesia.

Malaysia was formed in the year 1957 and became independent from British Colonialisation. The Union Jack was lowered and the first Malaysian flag was raised in the Merdeka (independent) square on midnight 31st August, 1957. 6 years later, Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a merging of Malaya and Singapore, including the East Malaysian states of Sabah (known then as North Borneo) and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession in 1965. Today's Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, nominally headed by the Paramount Ruler (Yang di-Pertuan Agong), who is elected for a five-year term from among the nine sultans of the Malay states. The current king, from Terengganu, was sworn in on 13 Dec 2006. In practice, however, power is held by the Prime Minister, who is the leader of elected government. The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party and its National Alliance (Barisan Nasional) coalition have ruled Malaysia uninterrupted since its independence, and while periodic elections are contested by feisty opposition parties, the balance has so far always been shifted in the government's favor by press control and use of restrictive security legislation dating from the colonial era. Malaysia's development has been fast but uneven. Contributing to this is the Bumiputra or Malay-first policy, an affirmative action policy which stems out from the race riots in 1969, sparked by the Malays frustration over the ethnic Chinese minority economic clout. The policy favours the bumiputras in areas such as government jobs, housing, bank loans and contracts. This inequity has posed challenges in moving the multi racial country forward.The capital: Kuala Lumpur The climate in Malaysia is tropical. The north-east monsoon (October to February) deluges Borneo and the east coast in rain and often causes flooding, while the west coast (particularly Langkawi and Penang) escape unscathed. The milder south-west monsoon (April to October) reverses the pattern. The southern parts of peninsular Malaysia, including perennially soggy Kuala Lumpur, are exposed to both but even during the rainy season, thehowers tend to be intense but brief.

The terrain consists of coastal plains rising to hills and mountains.

Currency: The Malaysian currency is the ringgit, informally known as the dollar (the "$" symbol can be seen on older notes) and abbreviated RM or MYR, is divided into 100 sen. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 sen (RM1 coins ceased to be legal tender in December 2005) as well as bills of RM1, 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100. The RM2 note is becoming very rare and is usually in bad condition as new notes have ceased to be issued. 1 sen and 5 sen coins are mainly given as change in large establishments and supermarkets. 1 sen coins will cease to be minted on in 2008. Peddlers and street vendors might be reluctant to accept them.

Population: 21 mln people The Malay forms the majority of the population while there are sizable Chinese and Indian communities

Religion: Islam is the largest as well as the official religion of the federation.

Language: The Malay language is the official language.

Clothes: Clothes made of natural fabrics is recommened. Women are not recommended to wear transparent clothes.

Food: Malay food (with coco milk, vegetables), Tai, Chenese, and Indian cuisines.

Drinking water: Althought tap water is considered not to be harmful for your health, we recomment you to drink only mineral water.

Incoming regulations: Estonian citizens and citizens of the Russian federation need no visa if they stay in Malaysia no longer thank 30 days and have airplane tickets and have booked the hotel room. Period of validity of the passport for traveling abroad should be longer than 6 months when the trip ends. People with no citizenship need a vise.

Custom-house: You can import 1 liter of alcohol drinks, 1 liter of alcohol drinks (20o ), and 200 cigarettes duty free. Illegal import of drugs is followed by the death penalty. Importing pornography objects, weapons and goods made in Israeli is also forbidden.

What to buy in Malaysia: Objects made of wood, furniture made of rattan, textile, batik, and etc.