The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. It runs approximately north-south and contains the most southerly point of the Asian mainland. Its narrowest point is the Isthmus of Kra. The south-west coast is separated from the island of Sumatra by the Straits of Malacca. To the east across the South China Sea lies the island of Borneo. The south coast is separated from the island of Singapore by the Straits of Johor. Singapore is not part of the Malay peninsula as it is an island. Image File history File links Map of SE Asia with the Malay Peninsular highlighted. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in Kerala, India. ... Peninsula A peninsula (from Latin paene insula, almost island) is a geographical formation consisting of an extension of land from a larger body, surrounded by water on three sides. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Asia is the largest and most populous region or continent depending on the definition. ... The Kra Isthmus is the narrow landbridge which connects the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Asia. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the 3rd largest island of Indonesia after Kalimantan and New Guinea. ... The Straits of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. ... The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans The South China Sea is a marginal sea, part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². It is the largest sea body after the five... Borneo and Sulawesi. ... Geography The Straits of Johor (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Johor Strait, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is a narrow stretch of water that separates Johor state, Malaysia from Singapore. ...

The area is divided politically: Political geography is the scientific study of power relations in space and space implications on them. ...

• the northwest is the extreme south part of Myanmar
• the central region and northeast is the south part of Thailand
• the south is the part of Malaysia called Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia (which should not be confused with the larger Malay Peninsula).

The Malay term Tanah Melayu is still occasionally used in political discourse to describe uniting all Malay people on the peninsula under one Malay nation, although this ambition was largely realized with the creation of Malaysia. There however remains a Malay majority in southern Thailand, as the area was formerly part of the Pattani kingdom, a Malay kingdom. There is also a Malay minority in the predominantly Chinese island of Singapore, which the British leased from the Sultanate of Johor in 1819. Southern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus. ... Map of Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia (or Semenanjung Malaysia in the Malay language) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. ... Malays (Dutch, Malayo, ultimately from Malay: Melayu) are a diverse group of people inhabiting the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia. ... The Kingdom of Pattani was a Malay state approximately covering the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. ... The Sultanate of Johor (or sometimes Johor-Riau) was founded by Malaccan Sultan Mahmud Shahs son, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah in 1528. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The west coast of the peninsula was especially popular among seafaring Bugis, Chinese and Indian as a stopover, leading to increased migration of the people to set up visible coastal settlements in the thirteenth century.

See also

• Malay archipelago
• Titiwangsa Mountains