Country in South-east Asia, consisting of a federation of 13 states, 11 of which form West Malaysia in the Malay Peninsula at the southernmost tip of the South-east Asian mainland (see fig.), while the two states of Sarawak and Sabah, which surround Brunei in the north of the island of Borneo (formerly British North Borneo), comprise East Malaysia, situated some 650 km across the South China Sea. For map of Brunei and East Malaysia,see fig.. Philip Stott Both parts of Malaysia are dominated by high mountains and heavy tropical rain forest, with habitable lowland largely confined to the coastal zone, where small rivers have built up a fringe of deposits. In northern Borneo these tend to form mangrove swamps, which give way inland to low hills backed by east–west fold mountains, rising to the granite peak of Mt Kinabalu (4101 m)—Malaysia’s highest mountain—in Sabah. Towards the end of the 20th century Malaysia became one of the richest countries of South-east Asia, as the world’s leading producer of natural rubber, a major exporter of tin and pepper, and as a result of economic diversification through palm oil, pineapples, and oil production and tourism. Situated on the east coast of the Straits of Malacca, West Malaysia has long benefited from its position on this major trade route between the Indian Ocean and South-east Asia and, in consequence, has been influenced by many cultures....