Capital : Kuala Lumpur

Land Area : 329,750 sq km

Head of Government : Prime Minister The Hon Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (since 31 October 2003)

Population : 23,953,136 (July 2005 est.)

Major Languages : Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan

Major Religion(s) : Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia

Date of Joining : 1957

Map

CHRI letter to Prime Minister Badawi expressing support for the immediate creation of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission

CHRI Submission to CMAG :
May 2000

Articles from CHRI Newsletter:

• Legislators and Human Rights: A Malaysian Snapshot, Edmund Bon, Advocate & Solicitor, High Court in Malaya, CHRI Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 2, Summer 2005.
• Anwar, Sodomy and Freedom, Edmund Bon, Advocate and Solicitor, High Court in Malaysia, CHRI Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 4, Winter 2004.

Articles from E-Magazine:

• Squats, Lies and Videotape: Police Misconduct in Malaysia, CHRI, Commonwealth Police Watch E-Magazine, Vol. 6, March 2006.
  
• PM to chair task force studying report on police, CHRI, Commonwealth Police Watch E-Magazine, Vol. 3, June 2005.

Articles from RTI Updates:

• Statement of Principles for Freedom of Information Legislation for Malaysia, UPDATED: Workshop calls for adoption of Freedom of Information principles, Center for Independent Journalism, 4 October 2004.

News Updates from Prison Reforms:

• Malaysia prisoners launch protest, BBC News,2 March 2004.