Physical Geography of Malaysia

Malaysia is located just north of Ecuador and includes Peninsular Malaysia, which is the southernmost tip of Asia, and the Malaysian states Sabah and Sarawak, East Malaysia called on the island of Borneo.

Among the major rivers in Peninsular Malaysia, Sungai Perak are rivers (390 km), Sungai Selangor (80 km) and Sungai Muar (190 km), flowing into the Straits of Malacca and Sungai Kelantan river (250 km) and Sungai Pahang (500 km), flowing into the South China Sea. In East Malaysia, the two main rivers are Sungai Rajang in Sarawak and Sungai Kinabatangan in Sabah. The longest river in Malaysia, Sungai Rajang is (760 km), and the second longest river in Sungai Kinabatangan is (560 km), which drains much of the state of Sabah. The Golok River serves as the international border between Malaysia and Thailand, while some other rivers, including Perak, Selangor and Pahang Malay form boundaries between states.

In general, rivers in Malaysia are flowing as a result of high rainfall and still retain a primitive and natural in most of its route, especially in the upstream reaches. Typically, the sources of the rivers originate in mountainous forest areas, and along its course, the rivers exhibit distinct changes ranging from high-energy fluvial systems to systems of low-energy meander.

Area source typical mountain river (photo by Firuza Begham Mustafa).

Area of low energy estuaries Sungai Kelantan River (photo by Firuza Begham Mustafa)