The earliest known name of Malaysia is from Greco-Roman geographer Ptolemy. He called this far-off land (which he had never seen himself) Aurea Chersonesus, meaning “peninsula of gold.” Here are a few more fun facts about Malaysia:
- The name Malaysia may derive from the word Melayu, or Malay, that could come from the Sungai Melayu (Melayu River) in Sumatra. The river’s name is derived from the Dravidian (Tamil) word malai, or “hill.”
- The Sultanate of Kedah on the Malay Peninsula is one of the oldest in the world, established in A.D. 1136.
- Malaysia’s Kuala Kangsar district office is the home of the last surviving rubber tree from the original batch brought by Englishman H.N. Ridley from London’s Kew Gardens in 1877
- The Japanese invaded Malaysia on December 6, 1941, the same day they bombed Pearl Harbor. They landed at Khota Baru and stole bicycles in every town they took on their way to taking Singapore.
- Malaysia is the only place in the world where the war against Communism was won. The 12-year guerrilla warfare conducted by Communist forces was finally put down in 1960. This period was known as the Malayan Emergency
- There are nine distinct royal families, or hereditary state rulers, the highest number in the world. The Malaysian king (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) is elected from these for a five-year term as the ceremonial head of state.
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