Malaysia, known as the Malaysian Federation (formerly known as Malaya) in full, is referred to as Malaysia for short. Malaysia is divided into two parts by the South China Sea: West Malaysia in the Malay Peninsula, borders with Thailand in the north, separated by Johor Straits in the south, and connects Singapore via Johor–Singapore Causeway and Malaysia–Singapore Second Link; East Malaysia is located in the north of Borneo (Kalimantan Island), connects to Indonesia in the south, with Brunei sandwiched between Sabah and Sarawak.

On August 31, 1957, the Union President Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the independence of Malaya. In 1963, Malaya, together with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak, formed the Commonwealth of Malaysia. In August 1965, Singapore withdrew from the Commonwealth of Malaysia. The capital is Kuala Lumpur, while the federal government is located in Putrajaya.

Malaysia is a founding member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, and is a member of the Central Indian Ocean Regional Alliance, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The main military operations involved are joint defense of five countries and United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multicultural country. The constitution stipulates that Islam is the state religion and protects freedom of religious belief. The government system closely modeled Westminster's parliamentary system and legal system based on the common law. The head of state is the king, known as the supreme head of state. The head of government is prime minister.

Malaysia is an emerging diversified economy. Economy in the 1990s improved by leaps and bounds, and it was known as one of the "four tigers in Asia". Malaysia has become the region's attractive diversified emerging industrial country and the world's emerging market economy. Tourism is Malaysia's third largest source of foreign exchange earnings, and knowledge economy services are also expanding accordingly.