But don't dare utter a word against the country's known environmental problems. Critics could face deportation. Offenders are hanged. The beaches are a tropical paradise. The mountains hover over the palmfringed landscape and the gods seem a lot closer on Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia.
Orangutans still swing through the jungles and elephants and rhinoceroses roam the plains.
And descendants of the Orang Asli, the region's original inhabitants, have not forgotten the art of hunting with a blowpipe. At the same time, the ancient rain forests form the country's most fragile environment. Each day the forest shrinks as giant trees are felled to make way for progress and economic growth. Tropical lumber, tin, oil, rubber and palm oil products are Malaysia's chief exports. But tourism is rapidly becoming an important source of hard currency.