Media & Culture

Media and Telecommunications
The English-language dailies in Peninsular Malaysia are Business Times, The Edge, Malay Mail, Malaysiakini, New Straits Times and The Star. The prominent newspapers in Sabah are Borneo Mail, Daily Express and Sabah Times while Borneo Post is the main newspaper in Sarawak.

The state broadcaster Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) operates TV1 and TV2 while the commercial networks are TV3, ntv7 and 8TV. RTM also operates around 30 radio stations across the country, plus an external service. The private networks are Time Highway Radio and Era FM.

The primary telecom provider is Telekom Malaysia Bhd which offers fixed and mobile telephony, internet broadband access and several other multimedia services. The other companies, providing cellular services, are Celcom (M) Bhd, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Maxis Communications Bhd and Telekom Cellular Sdn Bhd (wholly owned by Telekom Malaysia). The major internet service providers are Jaring, TMNet, MaxisNet and PutraNet.

Art and Culture
Malaysia has a multicultural society with Malays, Chinese, Indians and indigenous tribal cultures. The largest community is the Malays followed by Chinese and Indians with a small number of Eurasians and indigenous tribes make up the remaining population.

Malaysian society has a strong tradition of dance and dance dramas, some of which are of Thai, Indian and Portuguese origin. The music is heavily influenced by Chinese and Islamic forms of music although effects of Indonesian, Thai and Filipino cultures can also be seen. An integral part of traditional music is the gendang (drum) while percussion instruments, flutes, trumpets and gongs are also used extensively. Lately, international music is becoming popular. Other artistic forms include wayang kulit (shadow-puppets), silat (a stylised martial art) and crafts such as batik, woodcarving, weaving and silver and brass work. Kite making is also a part of the traditional crafts of the country along with boat making, keris and rattan weaving.

Bahasa Melayu is the national and official language, and English is widely spoken while other languages such as Chinese (Cantonese and Hokkien), Iban and Tamil are also spoken. Islam is the official religion and practised by the majority of population. The other prominent religions are Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism and Animism.

Sports and Recreation
Soccer, horse racing and car racing are popular sports followed by cricket, squash and field hockey. The country has produced international champions in badminton and ping-pong. Kite-flying is a popular traditional sport that comes from the ancient times of Melakan court. The other popular traditional sports are silat (a Malaysian art of self-defence), sepak takraw, and wayang kulit performed by puppets, also known as shadow play.

Sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving and golf are popular recreational sports. The country hosts various major international sporting events including Formula 1 racing at the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur, power boat racing, horse jumping, squash, motor bike racing, yachting and world cup golf.