Malaysia
Updated: Sep 29, 2022
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Country Name
Malaysia.
Location
Malaysia is located in southeastern Asia. It is bordered by Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, and the South China Sea. Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam.
Capital
Kuala Lumpur.
Reason for Naming
The name "Malaysia" is a combination of the word "Malay" and the Latin-Greek suffix "-sia"/ which can be translated as "land of the Malays".
The origin of the word 'Melayu' is subject to various theories.
It may derive from the Sanskrit "Himalaya", referring to areas high in the mountains, or "Malaiyur-pura", meaning mountain town.
Another similar theory claims its origin from the Tamil words "malai" and "ur" meaning "mountain" and "city, land", respectively.
A final suggestion is that it comes from a Javanese word meaning "to run", from which a river, the Sungai Melayu ('Melayu river'), was named due to its strong current.