Malysia is a state in southeast Asia. It originated in 1963 from four former parts of the British Empire.
Malaysia consists of 13 states, spread over two parts of the country, the Malay Peninsula and Eastern Malaysia on parts of the island of Borneo. The two roughly equally sized parts of the country are separated by the South China Sea.
The population of Malaysia is about 31 million people, who are divided into many ethnic groups. The three largest Malaysian groups are Malay/Bumiputera, Chinese and Indian.
Malaysian cuisine is strongly influenced by the diversity of the country’s inhabitants.
A very popular dish is Nasi lemak. It traditionally consists of rice soaked in coconut milk and steamed with pandan leaves. The rice is then served with a spicy sauce, peanuts, cucumber, egg and chicken, for example. However, there are many different variations of the dish, which is usually nasi lemak eaten for breakfast.
The different ethnic groups and cultures are also reflected in the names. Depending on the culture there is a differentiating naming system. The largest group of Malay people use a personal name followed by a patronym.
The son of Mohamad named Mahathir would be called Mahathir bin Mohamad. The word bin is from the Arabic (“بن”) and means “son of”. For women, the patronym consists of the word binti (from Arabic بنت “daughter of”) and is also followed by the personal name of her father.
Malaysians of Chinese origin are the only group in Malaysia with surnames.
