An overview of the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, East Timor, and Brunei.

1. Malaysia, Indonesia, &
Singapore
Heading South

2. Malaysia
● Malaysia is a mix of the modern world and a
developing nation. With its investment in the high
technology industries and moderate oil wealth, it
has become one of the richer nations in Southeast
Asia.
● West Malaysia shares a border with Thailand, is
connected by a causeway and a bridge 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's flag is based on that of the
United States, a country whose
democratic ideals the young nation
sought to emulate upon gaining
independence from Great Britain in
1957. The 14 stripes represent
Malaysia's states, while the square in
the upper left contains the moon and
sun of Islam.

3. Malaysia

4. ● The Government of Malaysia is a
Constitutional Monarchy.
● The Capital is Kuala Lumpur.
● The current population is slightly more
than 31 Million.
● Malay is the official language of the
country but English and Chinese are also
commonly found.
● As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has
profited from higher world energy prices.
● The country is also moving into an age of
more multinational finance and high-tech
commercialism.
Government & People
The Petronas Towers are a landmark of Kuala
Lumpur, and from 1998-2004 were the worlds
tallest towers at 1,483 feet high. The towers are
connected by a pedestrian sky bridge on the
41st floor.

5. ● Malaysia’s are comes in at just under
205,000 square miles.
● Malaysia is slightly larger than the state
of New Mexico.
● The terrain is one of coastal plains along
the oceans which rise to hills and
mountains.
● Malaysia has a tropical climate which is
affected by the monsoon seasons.
● Malaysia is close to the equator,
therefore warm weather is guaranteed
with an average daytime temperature at
just under 90 degrees.
Geography & Climate

6. ● More than fifteen hundred years ago a Malay kingdom
in Bujang Valley welcomed traders from China and
India.
● With the arrival of gold and silks, Buddhism and
Hinduism also came to Malaysia.
● A thousand years later, Arab traders arrived in
Malacca and brought with them the principles and
practices of Islam.
● Perhaps the easiest way to begin to understand the
highly complex cultural interaction which is Malaysia
is to look at the open door policy maintained during
religious festivals.
● Although Malaysia's different cultural traditions are
frequently maintained by seemingly self-contained
ethnic communities, all of Malaysia's communities
open their doors to members of other cultures during
a religious festival--to tourists as well as neighbors.
Culture & Religion
One of the significant characteristics of
Malaysian culture is its celebration of
various festivals and events. The year
is filled with colorful, exhilarating and
exciting activities. Some are religious
and solemn but many others are
vibrant, joyous events.

7. ● 2,500 years before Christ a much more technologically advanced group
migrated to the peninsula from China. Called the Proto-Malays, they were
seafarers and farmers.
● Early writings from India speak of a place called Savarnadvipa -- the Land of
Gold.
● Blown across the Bay of Bengal by the reliable winds of the southwest
monsoon, they arrived in Kedah sometime around 100 BC. and it is certain
that the sailors considered the trip lucrative.
● The Indians also brought a pervasive culture. Hinduism and Buddhism swept
through the land, bringing temples and Indian cultural traditions.
● At the beginning of the 16th century the competing European powers,
painfully aware of the need for an open trade route to India and the Far East,
sought to establish their own trading ports at the source.
History

8. ● The Portuguese constructed a massive fort in Malacca - A Famosa - which the Dutch
captured in turn in 1641.
● This would give the Dutch an almost exclusive lock on the spice trade until 1785, when
the British East India Company convinced the Sultan of Kedah to allow them to build a
fort on the island of Penang.
● The British were mainly interested in having a safe port for ships on their way to China,
but when France captured the Netherlands in 1795, England's role in the region would
amplify.
● While the European powers played their regional chess game, the local Malay sultanates
continued on their own affairs.
● Britain ruled over what was then called Malaya until the Japanese invaded and ousted
them in 1942.
● When W.W.II ended, Britain resumed control again, but Malaya's independence
movement had matured and organized itself in an alliance under Tunku Abdul Rahman.
● Britain granted Malaysia its independence in 1957.
History

9. ● Indonesia is composed of seventeen thousand
islands that stretch over five thousand miles
along the equator.
● The Malay peninsula and Indochina are situated
to the north-west, and the continent of Australia
lies due south. Northward lie the Philippines and
Micronesia.
● Unity in Diversity, the national motto of
Indonesia, is a term that strikes deep into the
heart of this dynamic and attractive Southeast
Asian nation. Few places offer such cultural
variety and geographical complexity as
Indonesia.
Indonesia

10. Indonesia

11. Government & People
● The government of Indonesia is a Federal
Republic.
● The capital is Jakarta.
● The population is approximately 253.6
Million people.
● There are more than 700 languages spoken
in Indonesia with the most common being
Javanese. The official language is Bahasa
and English and Dutch are spoken as well.
● Its industries include petroleum and
natural gas while farming includes the
production of rubber and forest products.

12. Geography & Climate
● The world's largest archipelago, Indonesia's
constellation of islands straddles the divide between
the Asian and Australian continental plates.
● The islands contain a variety of topographies and
ecologies.
● Mist-shrouded volcanoes and mountains, unexplored
rain forests, thousands of miles of beaches, and
endless offshore reefs support an abundance of
wildlife.
● There are two discernible seasons in Indonesia: the
dry season, which extends from June to October,
and the rainy season, which lasts from November to
March. Both are hot.
● The coastal regions, however, are often cool, and in
the mountains the air is often chilly
Mount Gamalama spews volcanic ash
as it erupts on Ternate Island, eastern
Indonesia.

13. Culture & Religion
● The name Indonesia derives from the Greek words
Indós and nèsos, which means "island".
● Indonesia has about 300 ethnic groups, each with
cultural identities developed over centuries, and
influenced by Indian, Arabic, Chinese, and European
sources.
● Traditional Javanese and Balinese dances, for
example, contain aspects of Hindu culture and
mythology; however, Chinese, Arab, and European
architectural influences have been significant with
Indian being the dominant design.
● the government officially recognizes only six religions:
Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Confucianism, though Indonesia’s
constitution stipulates religious freedom.
Borobudur Temple, Indonesia

14. History
● As early as the seventh century, powerful Buddhist and Hindu empires
challenged each other for supremacy in Indonesia.
● In the thirteenth century, the Hindu Majapahit of Java faced a strong
challenge from Muslim forces, which spread south from the Malay
peninsula. Slowly losing ground, the Hindus retreated to Bali, where they
remain today.
● The rest of the islands became Muslim, and various sultanates were
established.
● The sixteenth century marked the arrival of the Portuguese, the first
Europeans in Indonesia. Although the Portuguese broke the Islamic hold
on Indonesia, they were eventually displaced in turn by the Dutch, who
named the area the Dutch East Indies.
● Dutch rule continued until W.W.II and invasion by the Japanese.

15. At the war's end a liberation movement led to a bloody war of
independence against the restored Dutch rule.
The war dragged on for four long years, from 1945-1949, but the
independence movement was ultimately victorious.
Turmoil characterized the first decade of Indonesian independence, until in
1957 Sukarno unified power in his own person.
An attempted coup against Sukarno in 1965 brought renewed turmoil;
however, the army led by General Suharto restored order and initiated a
purge of communists.
Eventually Suharto eased Sukarno out of the presidency and assumed office
himself. Suharto's rule ushered in a period of stability and economic
development that exists today.
History

16. ● Officially known as the Republic of
Singapore,
● is a sovereign city-state and island country in
● Southeast Asia.
● It lies off the southern tip of the Malay
Peninsula.
● Before becoming the city known today,
Singapore was just a humble fishing village,
inhabited by an indigenous settlement.
● Singapore has a land area of about 442 square
miles, making it one of the smallest countries
in the world and the smallest in the region.
Singapore

17. ● Singapore is just about 3.5 times the size of
Washington, DC.
● The government is a Parliamentary Republic.
● The climate of Singapore is tropical; hot,
humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons,
Northeastern monsoon (Dec. to March) and
Southwestern monsoon (June to Sept.).
● Today, Singapore has a highly developed
market economy, based historically on
extended entrepôt trade.
● Singapore is one of the original Four Asian
Tigers along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and
Taiwan.
Singapore

18. ● Singapore soon attracted migrants and merchants
from China, the Indian sub-continent, Indonesia,
the Malay Peninsula and the Middle East.
● Today, the ethnic Chinese form 74.2% of the
Singaporean population, with the country’s
original inhabitants, the Malays, comprising 13.3%.
● Almost everyone in Singapore speaks more than
one language, with some speaking as many as
three or four. Most children grow up bilingual from
infancy, learning other languages as they become
older.
● With the majority of the literate population
bilingual, English and Mandarin are the most
commonly used languages in daily life.
● English is the main language taught in schools.
Culture
Chinese New Year’s celebration in
Singapore.

19. ● Buddhism is the most widely practised religion in Singapore.
● The next-most practised religion is Christianity, followed by Islam,
Taoism, and Hinduism.
● Buddhism 34%
● Christianity 18%
● None 16%
● Muslim 14%
● Other 10%
● Hindu 5%
Religion

20. ● Temasek ('sea town'), a second century outpost
of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, is the
earliest known settlement on Singapore.
● In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the
settlement and the island sank into obscurity
for the next two centuries.
● In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived and
signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah of
Johor, on behalf of the British East India
Company, to develop the southern part of
Singapore as a British trading post.
● In 1824, the entire island became a British
possession under a further treaty with the
Sultan.
History

21. ● During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army
invaded British Malaya, culminating in the Battle
of Singapore and the defeat of the British.
● The British repossessed it in September 1945,
after the Surrender of Japan.
● On August 31st, 1963, Singapore declared
independence from the United Kingdom.
● It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but
separated two years later and became
independent.
● Singapore gained independence as the Republic
of Singapore on August 9th, 1965.
History
With the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942,
Britain suffered the worst humiliation in its military
history. The photograph sums it up: General
Arthur Percival, the British commander in Malaya,
and his fellow officers, walking forlornly towards
the Japanese commanders to sign the dismal
surrender. With their baggy shorts, knee-length
socks and tin helmets, one carries the Union Jack
while another holds the white flag of surrender.

22. ● East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, and
was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization
of the country.
● In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence but later
that year was invaded andoccupied by Indonesia and was
declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year.
● In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-
determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory,
and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st
century on May 20, 2002.
● At just over 9200 square miles it is slightly larger than
Connecticut.
● The climate is tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry
seasons and the terrain is mountainous.
● Population is slightly more than 1.2 million
● The primary religion is Roman Catholic at 97% of the population.
● The government is a Presidential Republic.
East Timor

23. ● The small country of Brunei Darussalam is situated on
the northwestern edge of the island of Borneo, an
island which is also a part of Indonesia and Malaysia.
● In fact, it once controlled much of Borneo, as well as
the southern Philippines. Its regional influence
peaked by the end of the 17th century.
● Government is a Constitutional Sultanate.
● Approximately 3,500 square miles; slightly smaller
than Delaware.
● The climate is tropical; hot, humid, & rainy.
● Muslim is the dominant religion
● Malay, English, & Chinese are the primary languages,
● Population is 422,675.
Brunei