Malaysia

Malaysian licence plates are black and generally have two white sections. These are visible even when blurred.

NOTE: Indonesian licence plates are also black, but they will have three white sections.

Malaysia frequently uses double white centre lines on its two-lane roads. It is the only Southeast Asian country to do so.

These thick yellow bars are also almost exclusive to Malaysia.

NOTE: You can very rarely see similar patterns in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Electricity poles in Malaysia often have black or white stickers on them.

Sometimes you will also find red-and-white or red-and-blue stripes below the black sticker.

BERHENTI stop signs and BERI LALUAN yield signs are both unique to Malaysia.

Malaysian bollards will often have the colours black, white, grey and red. Here are three examples of typical Malaysian bollards.

NOTE: There can be multiple varieties of these bollards, but the layout is mostly the same.

This is a typical Malaysian directional sign. Hexagonal yellow highway shields are unique to Malaysia.

Malaysian kilometre markers have a unique white-and-blue colour scheme. Note that the hexagon shields are often visible.

The Malay language uses the Latin script. It is very closely related to Indonesian. These two languages are practically indistinguishable for people who do not speak either.

In contrast to neighbouring Indonesia, Chinese characters are often seen in Malaysia. In fact, 24.6% of the Malaysian population is of Chinese descent.

Signposts in Malaysia almost always have black-and-white stripes.

NOTE: Within Asia, these posts are also found in Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Make sure to check other clues before guessing.

Black-and-white curbs are commonly found in Malaysia.

NOTE: Many other countries in Asia can also have black-and-white curbs.

Each Malaysian state, excluding the three federal territories, has its own road numbering system with a unique letter at the start of the road number.

NOTE: Sabah also has A roads, but only the A2 and A7.

Black pole stickers are only found on electricity poles in mainland Malaysia.

Black stickers with the text ‘TEL TNB’ at the bottom, are only found in Johor.

White pole stickers are only found on electricity poles on the island of Borneo, in Sarawak.

Lamp posts with two small circles on the support are mainly found on mainland Malaysia.

Lamp posts with a triangular metal support are mainly found on mainland Malaysia.

Electricity poles on the Borneo side typically have a 2-1 insulator configuration, and a long diagonal wooden support. They are exclusive to the Sarawak region of the island.

NOTE: Indonesian poles can look similar, but they are usually not made of wood, and use smaller or no diagonal supports.

Thin metal poles with two parallel pole tops are exclusive to the Sabah region of Borneo.

This lamp post with a supporting piece of sheet metal resembling a boomerang is found in Sarawak.

NOTE: It is more common in cities other than Kuching.

Trash bins with a logo resembling an ‘S’ are found in the states of Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor.

Trash bins with a logo resembling leaves are found in Perlis and Kedah.

Trash bins with this logo featuring a sunny landscape, saying ‘Alam Flora’ are found in Pahang, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The logo will occasionally be absent, and it will just say ‘Alam Flora’.

Yellow street name signs are specific to the state of Johor.

NOTE: This arrow-shaped street sign, regardless of its colour, is exclusive to Malaysia.

Green street signs that form an arrow shape and have a yellow hexagonal symbol with the letters JKR on the left side are found in Sabah.

Assuming you are on Borneo: the state of Sabah is very mountainous, and much of the coverage is on mountain roads like this one.

NOTE: Sarawak generally has flatter roads. Even if you see mountains, they will usually be at a distance.

These isolated rock formations, rising abruptly from an otherwise flat landscape, can be found near the Thai border in Perlis state.

Urban areas in Labuan are dotted with blue cylindrical containers.

This unique grey car with a long front antenna can be found in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak.