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"During the Mesozoic, Gondwanaland split into several plates .... The western belt of Peninsular Malaysia broke off from the Australia-Antarctic landmass and drifted north to become attached to the Asian continent." (Tjia, The Environment, Encyclopedia of Malaysia, Archipelago Press, Singapore, 1998)
Peninsular Malaysia is the southern part of the Kra Peninsula extending from Bangkok to Singapore. The entire peninsula including the Malaysian portion is formed of north-south trending hilly belts, in places mountainous. Most of the land is too rugged either for agriculture or urban settlement, except for a low saddle crossing southern Thailand, coastal plains of varying breadth, river valleys, and a few small patches in the highlands.
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Peninsular Malaysia has a population of about 18 million, similar to New York State, but with 75% greater land area than New York State. Land use has changed greatly since indepencence from the British in 1957. While the area of irrigated rice fields has increased marginally, that of rubber plantations has declined. The extent of oil palm plantations has dramatically increased. As industrial production has overtaken agriculture, the urban population has grown to reach almost 50% of the total population. Changes in landuse have resulted in much concern about environmental hazards including pollution. Beginning in 1974, when the Environmental Quality Act became law, interest in environmental conservation increased so that over 40 environmental-related laws are now administered by state and federal authorities. (Sham Sani, The Environment, Encyclopedia of Malaysia, 1998) From 1948 to 1960 a State of Emergency was in force to counter local communist rebels. Restrictions placed on topographic maps have never been lifted. These web pages are a brief introduction to alternative tools for studying the Malaysian environment, in particular Landsat and ASTER imagery, with brief reference to Malaysian geological and topographic maps. |
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