Due to its diverse cultural heritage, Malaysia offers an abundance of delicious food, cultural celebrations and interesting architecture to explore.
Malaysia is also a great place to study because of its affordability, high standard of education, and close proximity to the rest of Asia.
Malaysia is a multicultural society that embraces people of all backgrounds and religions. Its population of 30 million is made up of approximately 50 percent Malays, 22 percent ethnic Chinese, 12 per cent indigenous Orang Asli and Borneo tribes, and seven per cent ethnic Indians. There is also a significant population of expatriates that live and work in Malaysia.
The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur (KL) – a modern city with an estimated population of 1.76 million.
Kings College is conveniently located in the center of Kuala Lumpur and is serviced by an efficient network of buses, taxis, light rail and trains.
The official religion of Malaysia is Islam, however other religions such Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism are widely practiced. Bahasa Melayu (Malay) is the national language, with Mandarin and English also widely spoken.
Malaysia has a warm, tropical climate with high levels of humidity (around 80%) all year round. The temperature is remarkably consistent; hovering around the 31-32 degrees mark on most days. It has two distinct seasons – the wet and the dry. The wet is characterized by torrential rains between September and February, bought about by the northeast monsoon. The wettest time for KL is September and October. Light, airy, cotton clothing is recommended all year round, although it is often handy to have a light jacket or scarf when indoors as the air-conditioning can be cool.
Electricity is 230/240 volts. Free wifi is found at many cafes/restaurants and shopping centres. Internet cafes are also quite common, particularly in local shopping complexes.
The currency of Malaysia is the Malaysian Ringgit (RM). Below, you will find approximate costs of items in RM*:
| Approximate costs per Items | Price (MYR) |
| Dish at a street food stall/kedai kopi | 6-12 |
| McDonald’s McChicken Extra Value Meal (burger, fries, drink) | 10.35 |
| Dish at a restaurant in major shopping centre | 15-20 |
| 500ml bottle of water from supermarket | 1 |
| Loaf of white bread (12 slices) | 2.40 |
| 1 litre of milk | 6 |
| 5 pack of Maggi noodles | 4.70 |
| 1 kilo bananas | 5 |
| 1-way ticket (local bus service) | 1-2 |
| Apartment (1-2 bedroom) in city centre/month | 2,500 |
| Apartment (1-2 bedroom) outside city/month | 1,300 |
| Apartment (3 bedroom) in city centre/month | 4,300 |
| Apartment (3 bedroom) outside city/month | 2,200 |
| Adult Movie Ticket | 11 |
| Taxi (Uber is now also available) | 3 for the first km, then 0.87/km after that |
| 1kg bag of laundry – washed, dried and folded | 4 |
| Internet café for 3 hours | 5 |
As at September 2016 |
