Introduction

Malaysian consists of two distinct geographical regions, Peninsular Malaysian and East Malaysian. Malaysian was formed when the Feredation Of Malaya merged with North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore(seceded 1965) in 1963, and cultural differences between Peninsular and East Malaysia still remain. During the formation of Malaya, executive power was vested in the Perikatan (later Barisan Nasional) coalition of three racial-based political parties, namely, United Malays Nasional Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). UMNO has dominated the coalition from its inception until the present. Although Islam is the official state religion, the Constitution Malaysian guarantees freedom of religion.