CATEGORY

INTRODUCTION At first glance there seems little to link Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, not even geographical proximity. Six hundred kilometres of the South China Sea separates Peninsular Malaysia (also called West Malaysia or the Malay Peninsula) from the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah (also called East Malaysia) in the north of Borneo. And Bangkok is as close to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore as is the Bruneian capital Bandar Seri Begawan. But all three countries are born of a common history and ethnic composition that links the entire Malay archipelago, from Indonesia to the Philippines. Each became an important port of call on the trade route between India and China, the two great markets of the early world, and later formed the colonial linchpins of the Portuguese, Dutch and British empires. However, Malaysia has only existed in its present form since 1963, when the federation of the eleven Peninsular states, along with Singapore and the two Bornean territories of Sarawak and Sabah, became known as Malaysia. Singapore left the union in 1965, gaining independence in its own right; Brunei, always content to maintain its own enclave in Borneo (it decided not to join the Federation of Malaysia in 1963), only lost its British colonial status in 1984.

Since then, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei have been united in their economic dominance of Southeast Asia. While the tiny Sultanate of Brunei is locked into a paternalistic regime, using its considerable oil wealth to guarantee its citizens an enviable standard of living, the city-state of Singapore has long been a model of free-market profiteering, transformed from a tiny port with no natural resources into one of the world's capitalist giants. Malaysia is the relative newcomer to the scene, though it has an ambitious manifesto by which it aims to achieve First World status by 2020. This will involve doubling the size of the economy and increasing personal income fourfold by that time, with tourism massively expanding in the process. The most ambitious part of this project is the building of the Multimedia Super Corridor, a belt of hi-tech development stretching 50km south from the capital Kuala Lumpur, and including a new, purportedly paperless, administrative city, Putrajaya.

Though Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei don't have the grand ancient ruins of neighbouring Thailand, their rich cultural heritage is apparent, with traditional architecture and crafts thriving in the rural kampung (village) areas, and on display in cultural centres and at exhibitions throughout the modern cities. The dominant cultural force in the region has undoubtedly been the Malay adoption of Islam in the fourteenth century, while in Singapore, Buddhism and Taoism together hold sway among half the population. But it's the commitment to religious plurality - there are sizeable Christian and Hindu minorities - that is so attractive, often providing startling juxtapositions of mosques, temples and churches. What's more, the region's diverse population, a blend of indigenous Malays, Chinese and Indians, has spawned a huge variety of annual festivals as well as a wonderful mixture of cuisines.

As well as a rich cultural life, the region has astonishing natural beauty. With parts of Thailand starting to suffer from overexposure to tourism, it comes as a welcome surprise to discover Peninsular Malaysia's unspoiled east-coast beaches, while both the Peninsula and the Bornean states have some of the world's oldest tropical rainforest. The national parks are superb for cave exploration, river-rafting and wildlife-watching, and provide challenging treks, including that to the peak of one of Southeast Asia's highest mountains, Mount Kinabalu in Sabah.