Malaysia – Truly Asia

Malaysia is a multiracial country, well-known as Truly Asia. It is known as Truly Asia because it has almost all the cultures in Asia that tourists are able to see in Malaysia itself without visiting any other country. It has a diversity of races, religions and cultures such as Malay, Chinese, Indian and also Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhalese. That’s not all… There are also Kadazan, Iban, Dayak, Melanau and much more.  Wow it’s amazing!! Where would you ever find this many cultures in any other country in the world?  This is why there are a lot of tourists that like to visit Malaysia.

Malaysia has a population of around 23 million people. I am proud to say they live in harmony. There are many religions in Malaysia. The biggest groups are Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhist. All of them respect other religions. The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur. The national flower is red hibiscus. The national animal is the tiger.  Just like Sri Lanka, Malaysia is popular with tourists because it has so much to visit and see, from the tallest building in Asia to the many multi-cultural places, from the natural flora and fauna to the biggest development areas and from the biggest mountains to the beautiful, deep blue sea. 

Talking about food to eat, it has amazing cuisines. Malaysia has many types of food from Malay, Chinese, Indian and the popular Sri Lanka cuisine. It’s truly Asian food.

Malaysia has a lot of historical places to visit and many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Many historical schools were built during the colonial era. You can visit them mainly in Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur. Those historical heritage buildings are still standing strong and being taken care for tourists to visit.

Malaysia has 13 states, Penang’s capital city is George Town and it is popular with tourism and food. Selangor is popular for limestone and the Batu Cave Temple for tourism, the capital city of Selangor is Shah Alam. Johor’s capital city Johor Bahru is well known for beaches and rainforests. The capital city of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu and is well known Mount Kinabalu. Sarawak’s capital city is Kuching, well known for beaches along South China Sea. Perak’s capital city is Ipoh, well known for British colonial landmarks such as the railway station, town hall and schools. One of the popular school’s in Ipoh is Methodist Girls’ School which is 122 years old. Kedah’s capital city is Alor Setar. It is popular with places like Langkawi Island. Pahang’s capital city is Kuantan, very popular for its highlands, tea plantations and resorts. Kelantan’s capital city is Kota Bahru, well known for handicrafts and batik. Malacca’s capital is Malacca City, well known for its 16^th century Portuguese, 18^th century Dutch and British historical landmarks. Terengganu’s capital city is Kuala Terengganu, popular for its beaches. Pahang’s capital city is Seremban, well known for beaches near Port Dickson. Lastly Perlis the smallest state’s capital city is Kangar that is a border to Thailand.

During festive seasons, Malaysia is very colourful, with many amazing celebrations.

To visit Malaysia is very convenient. In all the main cities we can find tourism offices to provide assistance to tourists. It has up-to-date transport, where tourists can reach their destinations on time.

Lakshmita Vigneswaran (9 years)

Methodist Girls’ School, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia