Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia (or Semenanjung Malaysia in the Malay language) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. It is connected via a causeway and bridge to the island of Singapore to the south, and across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra. East Malaysia (on the island of Borneo) lies to the east across the South China Sea.

It consists of the following 11 states and two federal territories (starting from the North going to the South):

• Northern Region: Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak
• East Coast Region: Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang
• Central Region: Selangor, federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya
• Southern Region: Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor

Peninsular Malaysia is also known as West Malaysia (Malaysia Barat) or Malaya (Tanah Melayu). The term Peninsular Malaysia is used more often than West Malaysia (to avoid the idea that West and East Malaysia are separate countries like West Germany and East Germany) or Malaya (which to many has connotations of the British colonial era). Nonetheless, all three terms are correct and can be found in many institutional titles, e.g. the High Court of Malaya, the University of Malaya, Malayan Railways, etc. Note that until 1946, the name Malaya was often used to included Singapore.

The distinction between West and East Malaysia is significant beyond the sphere of geography, because as well as having a different court structure, the Eastern states have more autonomy than the states of Malaya, controlling e.g. immigration from the peninsula.

See also:

• Federation of Malaya
• Malayan Union
• Malaysia