Violence has flickered in the south ever since Thailand annexed the region, which was formerly an independent sultanate, in 1902 and began trying to assimilate its mainly Malay-speaking Muslim people into a Thai-speaking, Buddhist nation.

ECONOMIST: Thailand

Its acid-bright houses are home to the city's Cape Malay community - descendants of people from India, Malaysia and other South East Asian countries who settled the area as early as the 17th century - and the cuisine is a spicy, aromatic, and sometimes strange, mix of Asian, European and Mediterranean flavours.

BBC: The perfect trip: South Africa

In Singapore, where there are large numbers of people from Chinese, Malay and Indian backgrounds, all three ethnic groups have seen a dramatic rise in short-sightedness.

BBC: Massive rise in Asian eye damage

Thanks to the good times -- and the fact that the Malay champion has always been ready to criticize his own people -- relations among the races are probably the most relaxed they have ever been.

CNN: Mahathir Mohamad

Papuan separatists in eastern Indonesia, meanwhile, are fighting to break away from central rule in Jakarta, while an ethnic-Malay Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand has killed more than 5, 000 people since 2004 as guerrillas rebel against the annexation of the old Pattani sultanate by what was then Siam in 1902.

WSJ: Malaysia Flare-Up Illustrates Volatility

The origins of Ati-Atihan date back to the 13th Century, when a group of lighter skinned Malay immigrants from Borneo chose to show their respect for the local Ati people by painting their faces black and singing and dancing in thanks for the land and food that was offered to them.

BBC: Ati-Atihan festivites on Philippine shores

That's a tough question, but many people love the Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa in Kampung Bahru, a predominantly Malay area in the heart of the city, cluttered with roadside stalls and al fresco food courts.

CNN: The Best Food

Voters in Malaysia's eastern state are far removed from discontent in the Malay peninsula, where the sacking and trial of the former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, have rallied many people against the prime minister.

ECONOMIST: Malaysia��s incomplete democracy