Kuala Lumpur Travel Information and Travellers Guide
 Population |
 The
estimated population of Kuala Lumpur is 1.8 million. The continuing
decline in the birth rate for Kuala Lumpur has resulted in the decline
in the proportion of young people below 15 years old from 33% in
1980 to slightly less than 27% in 2000. On the other hand, the working
age group of 15-59 increased from 63% in 1980 to 67% in 2000. The
elderly age group, 60 years old and above has increased from 4%
in 1980 and 1991 to 6% in 2000.
Based on the census of the Department of Statistics, the percentage
of Bumiputera population was around 38% in 2000 while the Chinese
population comprised 43% and Indians 10%. A phenomenon has been
the increase in the presence of foreign residents in Kuala Lumpur,
who now constitute about 9% of the city's population.
Kuala Lumpur when combined with the neighboring suburban areas
in the Klang Valley region, notably Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Subang
Jaya, Ampang, Selayang, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya has an estimated
total of 6.9 million residents.
| Education |
According to government statistics, Kuala Lumpur has a literacy
rate of 97.5% in 2000. In Malaysia, Malay is the language of instruction
for most subjects while English is a compulsory subject and is used
as the language of instruction for mathematics and the natural sciences.
There are also schools which provide Mandarin and Tamil as languages
of instruction for certain subjects.
There are several well-known schools located in the city center
which are already more than 100 years old such as St. John's Institution,103;
Victoria Institution,114; Convent Bukit Nanas,108; and Methodist
Boys' School, 110.
The city is home to several universities such as University of
Malaya, International Medical University, University of Technology
Malaysia, Open University Malaysia, Universiti Kuala Lumpur and
Wawasan Open University.
The most unique university in Kuala Lumpur is National Defense
University which established to be a major centre for military and
defense technology studies. This intitutions covered the army, navy,
and air force field. It is located at Sg Besi Army Base at the southern
part of Kuala Lumpur.
| Language |
Malay is the official language but English is widely spoken in
the city especially in business and is a compulsory subject in all
schools. Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hakka, Hokkien,
Hainan) and some Indian languages (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi,
Pashtu) as well as the languages of migrant workers (Indonesian,
Nepalese, Vietnamese, etc) are also spoken in the city.
| Religion |
The city has many places of worship catering to the multi religious
population. Islam is practised primarily by the Malays and the Indian
Muslim communities while other religions include Buddhism, Confucianism
and Taoism (mainly among Chinese), Hinduism (among Indians) and
Christianity.
| Culture |
Kuala Lumpur is multi cultural comprising a mixture of indigenous
Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasians as well as Kadazan, Iban and other
indigenous races from East Malaysia. There are also significant
Indonesian, Nepalese, Burmese, Thai, Bangladeshi and Vietnamese
communities.
| Climate |
Protected by the Titiwangsa Mountains in the east and Indonesia's
Sumatra Island in the west, Kuala Lumpur has a year-round equatorial
climate which is warm and sunny, along with plentiful rainfall,
especially during the southwest monsoon from September to April.
Travellers Guide
Currency Ringgit Malaysia (RM)
Time GMT/UTC + 8 hours
Electricity
220-240V, 50Hz
Weights & Measures Metric
All Major credit cards are accepted at most hotels, shops and restaurants.
If you have a credit card with a personal identification number(PIN)
attached, you can obtain cash advances from ATMs. Banks in Malaysia
are linked to international baking networks., which allow you to
withdraw money from overseas savings accounts through ATMs. Check
with you bank at home to see if you can withdraw money from you
home account while in Malaysia. Tipping is not customary in Malaysia.
All hotel rooms are subject to a government tax, though many cheaper
hotels quote a price inclusive of this tax. Bargaining is commonplace
in markets and in many tourist shops.
Local taxis in Malaysia are metered.
Travellers Diarrhoea
Travellers diarrhoea may pose a problem. Care in what one eats and
drinks remains the most important means of preventing travelers
diarhea. Some of the preventive measures are as follows:
Patronize restaurants which are reputable. Some restaurants have
ratings which are exhibited and can be used as a guide.
A void street vendors that are unhygienic and have no supply of
treated piped water.
Eat cooked food. Do not consume food that has been exposed for
a long time.
Be careful about eating partially cooked food.
Drinking Water
The quality of drinking water supplied to the public is regularly
monitored by the Ministry of Health against the National Standards
for Drinking Water Quality which is based on the World Health Organisation
(WHO) guidelines. Overall, the drinking water quality in Malaysia
meets the National Standards and it is safe for consumption.
Smoking
Malaysia has specific regulations with regards to the sale and use
of tobacco products. Under the regulations, it is an offence to
smoke any tobacco in public places and liable to a compound not
exceeding RM 1,000.00 Failure to pay the compound the offenders
are liable to a fine not exceeding RM 5,000 or imprisonment for
a term not exceeding 2 year.
The public places that have been gazetled as non-smoking areas
as follows:-
1. Amusement centre or theatre
2. Hospital or clinic
3. Public lift
4. Air conditioned eating house
5. Public transport
6. Air conditioned shop
7. Airport
8. Government premise
9. Hall / Stadium
10. Institute of Higher Learning
11. Kindergarden
12. Nursery
13. Public Transport Terminal
14. School / Sport Complex
15. Services Counter
16. Bank / Petrol kiosks
17. Tenaga Nasional Berhad
18. Telekom Malaysia Berhad
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