East and west Malaysia are separated by about 640 KM(about 400mi) of the south china sea, and together comprises an area of 329,758 sq km(127,320 sq km), with west Malaysia accounting for about 60 percent of this total. Peninsular Malaysia extends more than 800 km(500mi) from north to south and spans 330km(205mi) at its widest point. In the north lies the Main Range, a mountainous spine that separates the east and west coastal plains. The main range rises to a maximum elevation of ,2187 m(7,175ft) at Mount Tahan, west Malaysia’s highest point. The southern portion of the Peninsula is relatively flat.Numerous small Islands lie off the coast, including Langkaw(Pulau Langkawi) and pinang off the northwest coast, and Tioman , a popular tourist destination off the southeast coast. Ethnic Malays and other indigenous peoples, sometimes known as Malayan peoples, comprise 59 percent of Malaysia’s population. In Malaysia they are called bumiputera(sons of the soil). Other groups include ethnic Chinese, who constitute 26 percent of the population, and ethnic indians, who make up about 7 percent. Small numbers of Indonesians, Thai, Europeans, and Australians also live in Malaysia.
In west Malaysia nearly three-fifths of the population are ethnic Malays. Fifteen percent of the population in sabah and 40 percent of the population in sarawak. The national language is Bahasa Malaysia (also known simply as Malay), a Malay language of the Austronesian language family, English, Chinese, and Tamil(a Dravidian language of southern India) are also widely spoken. Islam is the country’s official religion, although the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. More than half the people of Malaysia are Muslims, Including nearly all ethnic Malays. Most Chinese are Buddhists,although Confucianism and Daoism(Taoism) are also important. Most Indians practice Hinduism. In Sabah and Sarawak many of the indigenous peoples are Christians although traditional beliefs are also widely practiced.