Outsiders often mistakenly refer to things
Malaysian
as simply "Malay,"
reflecting only one of the ethnic groups in the society.
Malaysians refer to their national culture
as kebudayaan Malaysia in the national language.
History:
The name Malaysia comes from an old term for the entire Malay archipelago.
A geographically truncated Malaysia emerged out of the territories
colonized by Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Religious Beliefs:
Nearly all the world religions, including
Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity are present in Malaysia.
Religion correlates strongly with ethnicity,
with most Muslims Malay, most Hindus Indian, and most Buddhists Chinese.
Culture:
Within Malaysian society there is
a Malay culture,
a Chinese culture,
an Indian culture,
a Eurasian culture,
along with the culture of the indigenous groups of the peninsula and north Borneo.
^_^
