Posted by Malaysia is known for many things — we’re the home of the world’s most popular coastal tourism, food heaven, and plethora of shopping malls. But that’s all too mainstream. This nation is not that vast, but it has a lot more sneaky wonders up her sleeve. Read on to find out every nook and cranny facts about Malaysia.
1. The name “Malaysia” is a combination of the word “Malay” and the Latin-Greek suffix “-sia”/-σία. The word “Melayu” in Malay may derive from the Tamil words “malai” and “ur” meaning “mountain” and “city, land”, respectively.
2. Politicians in the Philippines contemplated renaming their state “Malaysia” before the modern country took the name.
3. North-South Expressway is Malaysia’s first long-distance expressway as well as Malaysia’s longest expressway.
4. Kuala Lumpur International Airport(KLIA) is the world’s 23rd-busiest airport by total passenger traffic.
5. Putrajaya Botanical Gardens is the biggest botanical garden in Malaysia, covering an area over 92 hectares.
6. The Putrajaya Roundabout is the world’s largest roundabout with a diameter of 3.5km(2.2miles).
7. The Strait of Malacca, located between Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, is one of the most important thoroughfares in global commerce, carrying 40% of the world’s trade.
8. Sabah’s most iconic landmark Mount Kinabalu, is the tallest mountain in Malaysia whereas Sarawak holds the Mulu Caves, the largest cave system in the world.
9. Malaysia is estimated to contain 20% of the world’s animal species and includes some of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
10. The world’s largest monkey, the Proboscis monkey, can be found in Malaysia.
11. The world’s largest cattle species, the Gaur also called the Indian bison or in local terms “Seladang” can be found in Malaysia as well.
12. Malaysia forest host many members of the genus Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world.
13. Pulau Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia and it’s the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world.
14. Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. The Borneo island is shared between Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Indonesia.
15. The word ringgit is an obsolete term for “jagged” in Malay and was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of silver Spanish dollars which circulated widely in the area during the 16th and 17th-century Portuguese colonial era.
16. Kok Shoo Yin became the first non-Bumiputera in Malaysia to be granted citizenship in 1957.
17. St. George’s Church, Penang is the oldest purpose-built Anglican church in Southeast Asia. The church was commissioned in 1818 by the British East India Company.
18.”Negaraku” the national anthem of Malaysia was originally used as the regional anthem of Perak, which was adapted from a popular French melody titled “La Rosalie.”
19. 1 Utama Shopping Centre is the largest shopping mall in Malaysia and the 7th largest in the world.
20. Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world. The two buildings are joined by a sky bridge at levels 41, which are 558 feet (170 m) off the ground.
21. Genting’s First World Hotel currently holds the title for the largest hotel in the world featuring over 7,351 rooms.
22. Founded in 1816, Penang Free School is the oldest English-medium school in Southeast Asia.
23. Taman Negara has a total area of 4,343km and it is one of the world’s oldest deciduous rainforests, estimated to be more than 130 million years old.
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You Jing is a content writer who writes career and lifestyle contents to inspire job seekers and employers alike on their journey to work-life balance, empowerment and transformation in their career path.
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