ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Malaysia. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Malaysia. Malaysia was founded in 1963 through a merger of the former British colony of Malaya with the British colonies of Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore. The ruling National Front coalition has won at least a two-thirds majority in all general elections since 1957. Malaysia's economy notched up nearly a decade of growth averaging more than eight percent annually until 1997, when the regional financial crisis caused growth to slow sharply. Malaysians face many hurdles to changing their government through elections, as well as restrictions on many basic rights.
