Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country occupying the Malaysian Peninsula and part of the island of Borneo. It’s known for its beaches, rainforests and mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European influences. The sprawling capital, Kuala Lumpur, is home to colonial buildings, busy shopping districts such as Bukit Bintang and skyscrapers including the iconic, 451m-tall Petronas Twin Towers.

Located near the equator, Malaysia’s climate is categorised as equatorial, being hot and humid throughout the year. The average rainfall is 250 centimetres (98 in) a year^[1] and the average temperature is 27 °C (80.6 °F).^[2] The climates of the Peninsula and the East differ, as the climate on the peninsula is directly affected by wind from the mainland, as opposed to the more maritime weather of the East. Malaysia is exposed to the El Niño effect, which reduces rainfall in the dry season.Climate change is likely to have a significant effect on Malaysia, increasing sea levels and rainfall, increasing flooding risks and leading to large droughts.^[3]

Malaysia faces two monsoon winds seasons, the Southwest Monsoon from late May to September, and the Northeast Monsoon from November to March. The Northeast Monsoon brings in more rainfall compared to the Southwest Monsoon,^[4]originating in China and the north Pacific. The southwest monsoon originates from the deserts of Australia. March and October form transitions between the two monsoons.^[3]

Local climates are affected by the presence of mountain ranges throughout Malaysia, and climate can be divided into that of the highlands, the lowlands, and coastal regions. The coasts have a sunny climate, with temperatures ranging between 23 °C (73.4 °F) and 32 °C (89.6 °F), and rainfall ranging from 10 centimetres (4 in) to 30 centimetres (12 in) a month. The lowlands have a similar temperature, but follow a more distinctive rainfall pattern and show very high humidity levels. The highlands are cooler and wetter, and display a greater temperature variation. A large amount of cloud cover is present over the highlands, which have humidity levels that do not fall below 75%.^[3]

The highest temperature was recorded at Chuping, Perlis on 9 April 1998 at 40.1 °C (104.2 °F). The lowest temperature was recorded at Cameron Highlands on 1 February 1978 at 7.8 °C (46.0 °F). The highest rainfall recorded in a day was 608 mm (23.9 in) in Kota Bharu, Kelantan on 6 January 1967. The highest rainfall recorded in a year was 5,687 mm (223.9 in) at Sandakan, Sabah in 2006. Meanwhile, the lowest rainfall recorded in a year was 1,151 mm (45.3 in) at Tawau,Sabah in 1997.^[5] The wettest place in Malaysia is Kuching, Sarawak with an average rainfall of 4,128 mm (162.5 in) with 247 days of rain a year. The driest place in Malaysia is in Chuping, Perlis with average rainfall of only 1,746 mm (68.7 in) a year.^[5]

Malaysia is a land of opportunities where postgraduate studies are concerned. Malaysia has embarked on an aggressive pursuit of telemedicine, online information services, electronic commerce, digital broadcasting and many other booming industries. The Malaysian government has also launched biotechnology initiatives on a big scale in terms of research and development.

Malaysia has the oldest tropical rainforest in the world which offers vast resources for research in finding treatments and cures for diseases. On top of that, Malaysia possesses impressive natural biodiversity. The fauna and fl ora, natural terrain as well as marine resources are good grounds for research in science and technology.

Abundant Choices

Postgraduate courses conducted in English are available in many fields of study at the following institutions:

• Public universities which offer research-based qualifications
• Private colleges which offer foreign postgraduate qualifications in collaboration with overseas partner universities from USA, UK and Australia
• Private universities which offer home-grown postgraduate courses
• Foreign university branch campuses which offer internationally-rated qualification

Competitive Cost of Education

The advantage of pursuing a postgraduate courses in Malaysia is the competitive education cost. The tuition fees for postgraduate courses offered by higher educational institutions throughout Malaysia are among the lowest compared to the fees charged by universities in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and other universities in this region. The cost of pursuing a master of Arts Degree (Humanities) at a public university can be as low as RM3,000 (USD 858) per academic year.

Education in Malaysia is overseen by the Ministry of Education (Kementerian Pendidikan). Although education is the responsibility of the federal government, each state and federal territory has an Education Department to co-ordinate educational matters in its territory. The main legislation governing education is the Education Act of 1996.

The education system is divided into preschool education, primary education, secondary education, post-secondary education and tertiary education. Education may be obtained from the multilingual public school system, which provide free education for all Malaysians, or private schools, or through homeschooling. By law, primary education iscompulsory. As in many Asia-Pacific countries such as the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan, standardised testsare a common feature. Currently, there are 37 private universities, 20 private university colleges, seven foreign university branch campuses and 414 private colleges in Malaysia