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Malaysia is a modern nation of 24 million people and is well serviced with air, road and rail services. Located in Southeastern Asia, Malaysia borders Thailand and the northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea.
The weather is tropical and the terrain varies from coastal plains rising to hills and mountains. It is popular with visitors, the main attractions being the beaches of Penang and Langkawi Islands, the busy capital Kuala Lumpur and the wilderness areas of Malaysian Borneo.
Hotelz Asia has a great coverage of Malaysia, with Hotel Reservations available in 26 cities, towns and resort islands across the country.
Peninsular Malaysia
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957.
Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965.
Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990's from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics.
Malaysian Borneo
As a result, Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a substantial fiscal stimulus package equal to US $1.9 billion mitigated the worst of the recession and the economy rebounded in 2002 with a 4.1% increase.
The economy grew 4.9% in 2003, notwithstanding a difficult first half, when external pressures from SARS and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community. Growth topped 7% in 2004. Healthy foreign exchange reserves, low inflation, and a small external debt are all strengths that make it unlikely that Malaysia will experience a financial crisis similar to the one in 1997.
The economy remains dependent on continued growth in the US, China, and Japan, top export destinations and key sources of foreign investment.
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HOTEL RESERVATIONS 
