The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gained independence.
A literal English translation of the title is "He who is made Lord". However, common alternatives are "King", "Supreme Ruler", "Paramount Ruler", or "Supreme Head of State". Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected monarch as head of state. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected to a five-year term by and from among the nine hereditary rulers of the Malay states. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is one of the few elected monarchs in the world.
In Malaysia's constitutional monarchy, the role of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is largely ceremonial. The constitution specifies that the executive power of the Federal government is vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and is exercised by him on the advice of the federal Council of Ministers. The latter is headed by the Prime Minister, appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from among the elected members of Parliament.
The current Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah.
➜ Continue reading "Malaysia, Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah"
Location State of Sabah, Malaysia
Coordinates N6 15 0 E116 30 0
Property 75,370 ha
Date of Inscription 2000
Brief Description (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1012 )
Kinabalu Park, in the State of Sabah on the northern end of the island of Borneo, is dominated by Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m), the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea. It has a very wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and scrub on the higher elevations. It has been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia and is exceptionally rich in species with examples of flora from the Himalayas, China, Australia, Malaysia, as well as pan-tropical flora.
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Location northern Sarawak, island of Borneo, Malaysia
Coordinates N4 7 59.988 E114 55 0.012
Property 52,864 ha
Date of Inscription 2000
Brief Description (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1013 )
Important both for its high biodiversity and for its karst features, Gunung Mulu National Park, on the island of Borneo in the State of Sarawak, is the most studied tropical karst area in the world. The 52,864-ha park contains seventeen vegetation zones, exhibiting some 3,500 species of vascular plants. Its palm species are exceptionally rich, with 109 species in twenty genera noted. The park is dominated by Gunung Mulu, a 2,377 m-high sandstone pinnacle. At least 295 km of explored caves provide a spectacular sight and are home to millions of cave swiftlets and bats. The Sarawak Chamber, 600 m by 415 m and 80 m high, is the largest known cave chamber in the world.
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Location Melaka and George Town, Malaysia
Coordinates N5 25 17 E100 20 45
Date of Inscription 2008
Property 219 ha
Brief Description (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1223 )
Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.
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