THE MALAY PENINSULA northern part of the Malay Peninsula falls within the King dom of Siam, but the southern part is controlled by Great Britain, either directly or indirectly. The Straits Settlements, which include Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, as well as certain other islands and coastal districts, are administered as a Crown Colony, while the Federated Malay States (Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang), the districts of Keda, Trengganu, and Kelantan in the north (recently transferred by Siam), and the State of Johor in the south, are all under British protection. The total area is about 54,000 square miles, and the population, partly Malay and partly Chinese, numbers nearly 2,700,000.
Owing to its position just north of the equator, the country has a tropical climate, and the mean annual temperature is about F. Rain F.,falls throughout the year and the total is generally over 100 inches. Timber, coconuts, gutta-percha, and gums are all obtained in the extensive forests, while on the planta tions rice, manioc, and spices are grown. Within recent years the
cultivation of rubber has made rapid progress, and the area devoted to it now amounts to nearly 300,000 acres.
Tin, which is still the most important product country, is obtained from alluvial deposits found mainly in the Federated Malay States. The bulk of the ore is sent to the Straits Settlements to be smelted, and the tin is exported from Penang and Singapore. During the three years 1909-11, over one-half of the tin mined throughout the world was produced in the region under consideration.
Singapore, which is situated on the south coast of the island of that name, at the extreme end of the Malay Peninsula, is the chief port of the region, and one of the greatest trading centres in the world, as its position makes it the meeting-place of steamship lines from all parts.