Peninsular Malaysia[], also known as Malaya or West Malaysia, is the part of Malaysia which occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula and the surrounding islands. Its area is, which is nearly 40% of the total area of the country; the other 60% is East Malaysia. For comparison, it is slightly larger than England. It shares a land border with Thailand to the north. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra and across the South China Sea to the east lies the Natuna Islands. At the southern tip across the Strait of Johor lies the island and country of Singapore. Peninsular Malaysia accounts for the majority of Malaysia's population and economy; as of 2017 its population is roughly 26 million.
Peninsular Malaysia is also known as West Malaysia or the States of Malaya.
Demographics
The majority of people on Peninsular Malaysia are ethnic Malays, predominantly Muslim. Large Chinese and Indian populations exist. The Orang Asli are the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia; they number around 140,000 and mostly live in inland parts of the region.
The term East Coast is particularly used in Malaysia to describe the following states in Peninsular Malaysia facing the SouthChina Sea, a component of the Pacific Ocean:
Kelantan
Pahang
Terengganu
The term West Coast refers informally to a collection of states in Peninsular Malaysia situated towards the western coast generally facing the Strait of Malacca which is a component of the Indian Ocean, as opposed to the East Coast. Unlike the East Coast, the West Coast is partitioned further into three regions, including:
The Northern Region: Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak.
The Central Region: Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
The Southern Region: Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.
Even though Johor has a coastline facing the South China Sea on the Pacific Ocean, it is not generally regarded as an East Coast state, since the main coastline of the state is located on the Straits of Johor of the Indian Ocean.
The distinction between West and East Malaysia goes beyond the sphere of geography. Being separate regions administratively before the formation of the Malaysia, there exists more autonomy than the original States of Malaya, e.g. in having a different judicial courtstructure and separate immigration regulations. These rights were granted as part of Sarawak's 18-point agreement and Sabah's 20-point agreement with the Federation of Malaya during the formation of expanded federation.
