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Visitors and tourists to Malaysia can obtain information they require from Tourism Malaysia (www.tourism.gov.my), the various State Tourism Action Councils, hotels, travel agents and numerous publications on Malaysia.

Tourist Police

Visitors who encounter unforeseen problems and difficulties can seek the Malaysian Tourist Police Unit for assistance. They often patrol tourist spots and will render assistance, as well as safeguard tourists' security.

Kuala Lumpur Tourist Police:

Emergency Telephone numbers:

Hotline (HQ): (+603) 2149 6590

Police (general)/ Ambulance:999

Enquiries:

(+603) 2149 6593

Fire/ Rescue:

994

The Time

Malaysia is eight hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and is 16 hours ahead of the U.S.Pacific Standard Time. It shares the same time zone as Singapore, Brunei, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The Currency

Ringgit Malaysia (RM) is the country’s currency unit. Available in notes of RM1, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100 and coins in denominations of 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and 50 sen, the Ringgit is exchangeable with most currencies as well as travellers’ cheques. Exchange rates can be checked with the local and international banks, local and international hotels, post offices and moneychangers.

Credit cards such as the American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are commonly accepted in the restaurants, shopping malls and hotels. They can also be used to withdraw cash from automated teller machines at all bank branches, shopping centres and airports throughout the country.

Airport Tax

An airport tax of RM5 and RM40 is charged upon departure for all domestic and international flight passengers respectively.

Telephone

Local calls can be made from public phones, whether coin or card operated. International calls can be made from phone booths with card phone facilities or at any Telecom offices. Most hotels are equipped with IDD services with a minimal service charge. - Useful Phone Directory

Tipping

The custom of tipping is not practised in Malaysia. To tip or not depends entirely on you. Most hotels and large restaurants have already included a 10% service charge in addition to the 5% government tax to the bill (indicated by the ++ sign on menus and rate cards) so tipping is unnecessary.

Bookstores and Libraries

Bookstores are located at almost every corner and mall while major towns has at least one public library each. Popular Bookstores for the cost-conscious readers, the family-friendly MPH, the well-known UK bookstore, Borders and the stylish Kinokuniya that specialises in arts and Japanese publications dominate the local reading scene.

Each state has its own municipal library and the National Library is located in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Housed in a stately building along Jalan Tun Razak and almost directly opposite the National Heart Institution (IJN), the National Library is open from Tuesdays to Sundays and closed on Mondays and public holidays. The British Council and Lincoln Cultural Centre are the two main foreign libraries that welcome both members and non- members.

Banks, Government Officers and Private Companies

There are numerous local and international banks with branches all over the country. Among the local banks are Malayan Bank Berhad, Public Bank Berhad and Bumiputra-Commerce. International banks include Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of America, Bank of Tokyo, Bank of China and Citibank. The operation hours for banks are from 9.30am to 3.30pm / 4pm from Mondays to Fridays.

Government offices are open from 8.15am to 4.45pm from Mondays to Fridays. Lunch break is from 12.45pm to 2pm from Mondays to Thursdays and from 12.15pm to 2.45pm on Fridays. However, selected post offices are open to the public on second and forth Saturdays of each month.

Private companies in this country generally operates from 8.30am / 9am to 5.30pm / 6pm from Mondays to Fridays. Some of them are open on Saturdays for half a day, from 8.30am / 9am to 12.30pm / 1pm.

The above applies to all states except for Kedah, Trengganu and Kelantan. Business operations for these three states are from Saturdays to Wednesdays, half day on Thursdays and off on Fridays.

Transportation

Detailed travel information and how to get there and getting around in each state will be available when you click to zoom into each of the states in Malaysia.

Generally, modes of transportation available are by land (cars, taxis, motorcycles, buses and trains), by air (domestic charters) and by sea (cruises, motorboats).

Road

Buses are an inexpensive way to travel in Malaysia. Most, if not all buses in Kuala Lumpur (KL) are air-conditioned but there are still non-air-conditioned buses in smaller towns around the country. Buses plying routes within towns and cities typically charge fares according to the distance covered while interstate buses have fixed rates.

Taxis in major cities are usually fitted with meters. In KL, the rate is currently RM2 for the first two kilometres and 10 sen for every subsequent 200 metres. However, a surcharge of 50% will be levied between midnight and 6am. Interstate and smaller town taxis charge a fixed rate and it’s best to settle on a price before getting into the taxi.

Air

Malaysia’s primary gateway is the state-of-the-art Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). It is located in Sepang, which is about 50km (less than an hour’s drive via highway) south of Kuala Lumpur.

Visitors can take flights from KLIA to all major cities and towns in the Peninsula as well as Sabah and Sarawak. Domestic airlines like Air Asia, Pelangi Air, Berjaya Air and Mofaz Air ply popular holiday routes such as KL-Pulau Tioman, KL-Pulau Langkawi and so on. However, the country’s very own international carrier is Malaysia Airlines (MAS), which flies to over 100 destinations across six continents.

From KLIA, visitors are able to get to the heart of KL by bus, limousine taxi, KLIA Ekspres or rent-a-car services available.

Air travel is popular in Sabah and Sarawak because of the states’ mountainous and lush terrain. It’s quite normal to catch a flight from Sabah to Sarawak and vice versa, as well as to hire helicopters to get around within either state.

Sea

There are several ports of entry in Malaysia, namely Penang, Port Klang, Kuantan, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Coastal ferries sail frequently between Penang and Butterworth, carrying both passengers as well as vehicles from the mainland to the island. Apart from that, there are many ferry/ boat services available for mainland-to-island and island-to-island travel around the country.

Fast boats and small river crafts are a popular way of getting about in Sabah and Sarawak especially to the more isolated settlements.

There are also sea cruises and river-cruises run by local tour agents. For sea travel within the country there are services available from Port Klang (Selangor) to Kuantan (Pahang) and to Sabah or Sarawak. Besides that, there are also holiday cruises that take passengers to neighbouring countries.

Rail

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) has an impressive railway network across Malaysia – one that travels the breadth and width of the Peninsula, providing the country with regular passenger services. These tracks take travellers across the Peninsula to neighbouring countries like Thailand in the north and Singapore in the south.

There’s also the KTM Komuter, a suburban railway service that runs outside Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. This fully air-conditioned service provides visitors with comfortable and speedy inter-city travel within the country.

If you don’t fancy driving within KL, try the efficient, comfortable and congestion-free STAR and Putra Light Rail Transit (LRT) services that make getting around KL a breeze. Transits between the KTMB train, Komuter and LRTs can be done at KL Sentral – Malaysia’s primary rail transportation hub.

Furthermore, there is the KLIA Ekspres – a nonstop service from KLIA to KL Sentral in about 30 minutes!

As for Sabah and Sarawak, there’s only one railway connecting Kota Kinabalu to Tenom on the west coast of Sabah. There are no rail services in Sarawak.

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