_____ _____
Global Sourcebook for International Data Management
by Graham Rhind
For supplementary information, see links to post office home pages here , to postal code pages here and to other personal name and addressing issues pages here .
33 379 500 (2023 estimate) [1]
Note: This section last updated 12th December 2020
1,234.45
(where . indicates the decimal separator and , the thousands separator)
38 languages are spoken on Peninsula Malaysia, a further 54 are spoken in Sabah and 45 in Sarawak. The official language, Bahasa or Malay, is spoken by about 47% of the population. There are large numbers of Chinese -, English - and Tamil -speakers.
This is written Untuk perhatian in Malay.
Chinese Malays write their names in the Chinese order, that is
family name+given name+generational name
The generational name is one shared by siblings and sometimes first cousins in the paternal line, though it is not always used.
Muslims use Islamic naming conventions. Often they do not have surnames. Bin indicates “son of”, and binti “daughter of”. If Ahmad bin Yusef (“Ahmad, son of Yusef”) has a daughter, her full name might be Norhaini binti Ahmad (“Norhaini, daughter of Ahmad”). If she married Zakaria bin Kassim, her son’s name might be Muhamed bin Zakaria (“Muhamed, son of Zakaria”) and so on.
When a person has two given names, the second one is the one usually used.
The word Haji is added before the name of a man who has been on the pilgrimage to Mecca. His form of address then becomes Tuan rather than Encik. Tuan is used for older and more respected males. The female equivalent is Puan.
Tables of names can be acquired: given names , surnames/family names , family name prefixes , forms of address , job titles
The following company type may be found:
Sdn Bhd – Sendirian Berhad – limited liability company Bhd - Berhad - stock corporation
Comprehensive tables of these strings can be acquired – see http:www.grcdi.nl/addresses.htm
Note: This section last updated 16th August 2020
Addresses for street address deliveries in Malaysia are formatted:
Recipient’s name {House number{[ ]Lot number{[ ]Floor[ ]}}}Building name Street name[ ]District postal code[ ]Postal town State
or
Recipient’s name {House number{[ ]Lot number{[ ]Floor[ ]}}} Street name District postal code[ ]Postal town State
for example:
Addresses for deliveries to post office boxes take this format:
Recipient’s name {Company name} [Peti Surat ]post office box number[, ]District[ ]postal code[ ]Postal town
or
Recipient’s name {Company name} [Peti Surat ]post office box number postal code[ ]Postal town
for example:
For locked bag deliveries the format is:
Recipient’s name {Company name} [Locked bag ]locked bag number[,] postal code[ ]Place name State
for example:
Locked bag is Beg berkunci in Malay.
Batu followed by a number is an address block indicates a milestone number.
Addresses written in a non-native language will usually be written in English. Jalan is the Bahasan word for ‘Street’ or ‘Road’.
Certain abbreviations may be used in Malaysian addresses. These, together with other strings commonly found in addresses, are:
String | Abbreviation | Meaning |
Bagian | BHG | division, section, zone |
Bangunan | building | |
Bukit | BKT | hill |
Cangkat | hillock | |
Jabatan | JAB | department |
Jalan | JLN | road, street |
Kawasan | KAW | area, zone |
Kementerian | KEM | |
Kampung, Kampong | KG | village |
Leboh, Lebuh | LBH | square |
Ladang | LDG | estate, farm, plantation |
Lembaga | LEM | board, governing body |
Lengkok | curve, bend | |
Lingkungan | encirclement, enclosure | |
Lorong | LRG | lane, path |
Menara | tower | |
Padang | PDG | field |
Pant | ditch, drain | |
Persiaran | PSN | |
Pusat | centre | |
Rumah | house | |
Sungai | SG | river |
Simpang | SPG | junction |
Tanjung | TG | cape |
Teluk | TK | bay |
Taman | TMN | park, garden |
Wisma | house |
Comprehensive tables of these strings can be acquired – see http:www.grcdi.nl/addresses.htm
A table containing information about the relevant position of elements within address blocks can be acquired
Note: This section last updated 16th August 2020
This is written Peti Surat in Malay. Post office box deliveries may be to G.P.O. Box or to Locked Bag. Locked bag is Beg berkunci in Malay.
Note: This section last updated 24th April 2020
Known as Poskod in Malay. The postal code consists of a block of 5 digits. The first two digits specify the main delivery office, the last three the delivery area.
Metadata containing postal code formatting rules, exceptions and regular expressions can be acquired
n/a.
\A\d{5,5}\Z
Note: This section last updated 19th January 2017
Refer to Exonyms in Malaysia for full lists of place names in Malaysia in other languages.
Malaysia is a federal state consisting of the following 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 3 federal territories (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah persekutuan) (shown in the list below with an asterisk). The names of these territories are used in addresses:
Postal code ranges. * indicates shared codes | |
Johor (JHR) | 14*, 79-86 |
Kedah (KDH) | 05-09, 14*, 34 |
Kelantan (KTN) | 15-18 |
Labuan * (LBN) | 87 |
Melaka (Malacca) (MLK) | 71*, 73*, 75-78 |
Negeri Sembilan (NSN) | 70, 71*, 72, 73* |
Pahang (PHG) | 11, 25-28, 39*, 47*, 49, 52*, 69 |
Perak (PRK) | 30-33, 34*, 35-36, 39* |
Perlis (PLS) | 01-02 |
Pinang (Penang) (PNG) | 10, 11*, 12-13, 14* |
Putrajaya * (PJY) | 62 |
Sabah (SBH) | 88-91 |
Sarawak (SRW) | 51*, 53*, 54*, 55*, 63-64, 68 |
Selangor (SGR) | 40-46, 47*, 48 |
Terengganu (TRG) | 20-24 |
Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur * (KUL) | 50, 51*, 52, 53*, 54*, 55*, 56-60 |
This regions/postal code data can be acquired as a data file
Malaysian fixed line numbers have a full length, when called from abroad, of 8-10 digits. Mobile numbers have area codes commencing 1 and a length of 10 digits.
Every effort is made to keep this resource updated. If you find any errors, or have any questions or requests, please don't hesitate to contact the author.
All information copyright Graham Rhind 2024. Any information used should be acknowledged and referenced.