George Town, Penang in the context of "Penang Island"

East Malaysia (Malay: Malaysia Timur), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. The small independent nation of Brunei comprises two enclaves in Sarawak. To the south and southeast is the Indonesian portion of Borneo, Kalimantan. East Malaysia lies to the east of Peninsular Malaysia (also known as the States of Malaya), the part of the country on the Malay Peninsula. The two are separated by the South China Sea.

East Malaysia is less populated and has fewer developed settlements than West Malaysia. While West Malaysia contains the country's major cities (Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and George Town), East Malaysia is larger and much more abundant in natural resources, particularly oil and gas reserves. In the pan-regional style, city status is reserved for only a few settlements, including Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Miri. Various other significant settlements are classified as towns, including many with over 100,000 residents. East Malaysia includes a significant portion of the biodiverse Borneo lowland rain forests and Borneo montane rain forests.

Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is divided into two parts by the Strait of Malacca: Penang Island to the west, where the capital city George Town is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula to the east. These two halves are physically connected by the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The state shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south.

Penang is one of Malaysia's most developed economic powerhouses, with the highest GDP per capita of all states. It also ranks second among the states in terms of average wages. Penang is Malaysia's leading exporter with nearly RM495 billion (US$119.57 billion) in exports in 2024, primarily through the Penang International Airport which is also the nation's second busiest by aircraft movements.

Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements between 1826 and 1942, together with Penang and Malacca. Singapore was the capital and the seat of government of the Straits Settlements after it had been moved from George Town in 1832.

From 1830 to 1867, the Straits Settlements was a residency, or subdivision, of the Presidency of Bengal, in British India. In 1867, the Straits Settlements became a separate Crown colony, directly overseen by the Colonial Office in Whitehall in London. The period saw Singapore establish itself as an important trading port and developed into a major city with a rapid increase in population. The city remained as the capital and seat of government until British rule was suspended in February 1942, when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore during World War II. Following the war, it was officially replaced by the Colony of Singapore in 1946.

Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: Somban) is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban City Council.

Seremban gained its city status on 20 January 2020. Covering an area of 959 km², Seremban's population is 681,541 as of 2020, making it the tenth largest city in Malaysia and the fifth most populous state capital behind Johor Bahru, Shah Alam, George Town and Ipoh. It is part of the Greater Kuala Lumpur area, being situated approximately 55 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur and 37 kilometres south of the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya. Since 2015, Seremban has been the major anchor city of the Malaysia Vision Valley, Negeri Sembilan's main special economic zone spanning the state's western half.

Penang International Airport (PIA) (IATA: PEN, ICAO: WMKP) is an international airport in George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. The airport is located at the southeastern tip of Penang Island, 16 km (9.9 mi) south of the city centre, and serves the country's second largest conurbation.

As the main gateway into northwestern Malaysia, PIA is the third busiest airport in Malaysia by aircraft movements and recorded over 7.6 million tourist arrivals in 2024. It also handled the second largest cargo tonnage of all airports in the country and the highest in terms of export value, with RM365 billion in exports in 2023. Additionally, the airport is the main hub for local budget airline Firefly and one of AirAsia's operating bases.

Malaysia is home to one of the largest congregations of skyscrapers in the world. The country ranks fourth in the global list compiled by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), with 518 recorded structures built exceeding the height of 150 metres (492 ft). The country's first skyscraper was built in Kuala Lumpur in 1978, and since then the city has one of the tallest skylines in the world. Besides Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding metropolitan area, most Malaysian skyscrapers are built either in George Town or Johor Bahru. Since 2023, Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur has been the tallest skyscraper in Malaysia. Built with an architectural height of 678.9 metres (2,227 ft), it contains the tallest observatory installed in a spire and is currently the world's second tallest building or man-made structure.

Malaysia's history with skyscrapers originated from construction booms in Kuala Lumpur between the 1970s and 1980s, where architectural height records were constantly broken and surpassed. In 1971, the 28-storey Sime Bank Building (currently Takaful Building) was the first building to exceed 100 metres (328 ft). In 1978, the Bank Muamalat Building became the first skyscraper in the country under the definitions of the CTBUH. In 1985, the 65-storey Komtar in George Town became the first skyscraper to exceed 200 metres (656 ft) in height. The Petronas Towers, a pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers located in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, were the tallest skyscrapers in the world from 1998 to 2004, and remains the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world as of 2023.

Traditional Malaysian art is primarily composed of Malay art and Bornean art, is very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia, such as Bruneian, Indonesian and Singaporean. Art has a long tradition in Malaysia, with Malay art that dating back to the Malay sultanates, has always been influenced by Chinese, Indian and Islamic arts, and also present, due to large population of Chinese and Indian in today's Malaysian demographics.

Colonialism also brought other art forms, such as Portuguese dances and music. During this era, influences from Portuguese, Dutch, and the British, were also visible especially in terms of fashion and architecture in many colonial towns of Malaya and Borneo such as Penang, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Jesselton. Despite the influences of aboard, the indigenous art of Malaysia continues to survive among the Orang Asli of peninsular and numerous ethnic groups in Sarawak and Sabah.