MY-279572 Sabah on the island of Borneo

Sabah is Malaysia's easternmost state on the island of Borneo. It borders Sarawak on its southwest and it shares a maritime border with the Federal Territory of Labuan on the west and with the Philippines to the north and northeast. In the south, Sabah borders the province of North Kalimantan of Indonesia. Sabah has an autonomous law especially in immigration which differentiates it from the rest of the Malaysian Peninsula states. The capital of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton. Sabah is often referred to as the "Land Below The Wind", a phrase used by seafarers in the past to describe lands south of the typhoon belt.

The population of Sabah is 3.1 million as of the last census in 2010 which showed more than a 400 percent increase from the census of 1970. Sabah has one of the highest population growth rates in the country as a result of legal and purportedly state-sponsored illegal immigration and naturalisation from elsewhere in Malaysia, Indonesia and particularly from the Muslim-dominated southern provinces of the Philippines who were awarded Malay stock and granted citizenship. As a result, the Bornean Sabahan, most of whom are non-Muslim, have become minorities in their own homeland and this problem has become the main cause of ethnic tension in Sabah. Source: Wikipedia

This postcard came from Cikgu D. (8 October 2015) Postcrossing.

MY-282137 Malaysian cuisine

Malaysian cuisine is principally Malay, Chinese and Indian food.  There is little fusion and generally one can identify the origin of the various dishes.  This ad card uses the slogan "Butterworth your time" making a play on the "worth" in "Butterworth" the principal town of Seberang Perai in the state of Penang.

This postcard came from Philip K. (6 October 2015) Postcrossing.

WC 89-517 “Boy on a Bike” street art in Penang

“Boy on a Bike” is is painted on the sidedoor of a shophouse a mural along Ah Quee Street, in George Town, Penang. The painting is the work of E. Zacharevic who was commissioned by the Penang Island Municipal Council in conjunction with the 2012 George Town Festival.

This postcard came from Violet K. (22 July 2015) Swap-bot.

MY-256723 The Flag of Malaysia

The 14 stripes of the Malaysian flag represent the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government, while the 14 points of the star represent the unity between these entities.

The current flag was introduced in September 1963 and the 14 stripes and points on the star at that time represented the 11 states of Malaya and the three new states (when Malaysia was formed) of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.  When Singapore left to become an independent country in 1965, the flag was not modified even though there were only 13 states left.

When Kuala Lumpur was designated a Federal Territory on 1 February 1974, the additional stripe and the point in the star were appropriated to represent this new addition to the federation. Eventually, with the addition of two other federal territories — Labuan in 1984 and Putrajaya in 2001 — the fourteenth stripe and point in the star came to be associated with the federal government in general.

This postcard came from Melissa (8 june 2015) Postcrossing.

MY-212730 Penang Bridge

The Penang Bridge is a dual carriageway toll bridge connecting George Town on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Malaysia. The bridge is also linked to the North-South Expressway in Prai and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang. It was officially opened to traffic on 14 September 1985. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km (8.4 mi) making it the second longest bridge in Malaysia and the fifth-longest in Southeast Asia.

Currently, Penang Bridge handles 65,000 vehicles daily and has a capacity of handling 85,000 vehicles daily.  Tolls are charged for vehicles entering Penang Island but not on vehicles leaving the island.

This postcard of Penang Bridge has this text “longest in Asia and third in the world” but obviously this was true a long time ago as Penang Bridge is at best, currently in the 36^th spot on the list of the world’s longest bridges.  As for Asia, most of the top 10 longest bridges are in China.

This postcard came from 微娜 (16 July 2014) Postcrossing.

SW V-035 Low's Peak, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Mount Kinabalu (Gunung Kinabalu) is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. Kinabalu is the highest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the highest mountain in the Malay Archipelago. Mount Kinabalu is also the 20th most prominent mountain in the world by topographic prominence. In 1997, a re-survey using satellite technology established its summit (known as Low's Peak) height at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) above sea level.

Low's Peak can be climbed quite easily by a person in good physical condition and there is no need for mountaineering equipment at any point on the main route. The majority of climbers begin the ascent on day one of a two-day hike from Timpohon gate at 1,866 metres (6,122 ft), reaching this location either by minibus or by walking, and then walk to Laban Rata. Most people accomplish this part of the climb in 3 to 6 hours. Since there are no roads, the supplies for the Laban Rata Resthouse are carried by porters. Hot food and beverages are available at Laban Rata. The last 2 kilometres (6,600 ft), from the Laban Rata Resthouse at 3,270 metres (10,730 ft) to Low's Peak (summit) at 4,095.2 metres (13,436 ft), takes between 2 and 4 hours. The last part of the climb is on naked granite rock.

 

This postcard was sent by Vivien Dumpangol (viviened) Swap-bot (3 April 2014).

MY-196382 and MY-207574 Two postcards of Langkawi, Malaysia

This first postcard shows Burau Bay which is located in Langkawi, Malaysia.  Langkawi is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. By far the largest of the islands is Pulau Langkawi with a population of some 64,792, the only other inhabited island being nearby Pulau Tuba.   Many tourists flock to Langkawi for a variety of purposes.  Scuba-diving is a popular pasttime here.

This postcard was sent by健美 (27 March 2014) Postcrossing.

This second postcard shows fishing boats anchored at Teluk Baru.  I received this postcard on (29 June 2014)from Jessica Postcrossing.

 

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Rambutans - a tropical fruit of Malaysia

The rambutan (taxonomic name: Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The fruit produced by the tree is also known as rambutan.

It is popularly believed that rambutan is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. The fruit is a round to oval single seeded berry, 3–6 cm (rarely to 8 cm) tall and 3–4 cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10–20 together.

The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name rambutan, derived from the Malay word ‘rambut’, which means hairs. The fruit flesh, which is actually the aril, is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor very reminiscent of grapes.
 

Rambutans are a non-climacteric fruit—that is, they ripen only on the tree.



This interesting postcard came from Nor Asma (jarijoget) of Malaysia (24 March 2014) Swap-bot.  The postcard depicts rambutans being carried on the back of a motorcycle.

MY-173802 SW CV-231 MY-256189 Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A landmark of Kuala Lumpur

 

The Petronas Towers (Menara Petronas) are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 until surpassed by Taipei 101.

The Petronas Towers have 88 floors each and even though the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and the World Trade Center towers were each constructed with 110 occupied floors, the Petronas Towers are considered taller because of their pinnacles standing an additional 73.5 metres high.

I have received three great postcards of this structure.

 

Each Tower is set back five times in its ascent to maintain the vertical axis and tapering of the design. The walls of the uppermost floors are also sloped inward to taper and meet the pinnacle. The Towers feature multi-faceted walls of 33,000 stainless steel and 55,000 glass panels.

The Towers feature a Skybridge.  This is the world's highest double-decked bridge and it provides a view of Kuala Lumpur. The Skybridge links the Towers at levels 41 and 42.

 

The first postcard came in November 2013 from Jenny (Postcrossing)

The second postcard came from Swap-bot (15 Aug 2014) Nurul.

 

 This third postcard came from KKKhor (24 April 2015) Postcrossing.

The Istana Negara along Jalan Istana, KL, Malaysia

The Istana Negara along Jalan Istana was the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Supreme King) of Malaysia. It stands on a 13 acre (50,000 m²) site.  In 2011, the role of the Istana Negara as the official residence of the King was replaced by a new palace. In 2013 it was converted into the Royal Museum.