This publication is a response to the need for better understanding of the Malaysian student population studying U.S. institutions of higher education. Part 1 is an introduction to Malaysia, with two articles giving background information. The first is a history of Malaysia and the development of its education system, by Fatimah Hamid-Don of Ohio University. The second is a concise description of the Malaysian education system today, by Joann Stedman of Columbia University. Part 2 describes the parameters of educational exchange between Malaysia and the United States in three chapters. The first outlines demographic factors of the population of Malaysian students coming to the United States, written by Dr. Marti Thomson of the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange. The second chapter is the text of a policy speech delivered in 1985, by the Secretary General of the Malaysian Ministry of Education, Tan Sri Dato Haji Othman bin Abdul Malek. The third chapter describes Malaysia's presence in this country via its student departments, written by Baharom Othman of the Malaysian Embassy in the United States. Part 3 deals with the students themselves, the customs and traditions of each of Malaysia's three major ethnic groups, as well as an analysis of Malaysian students' cultural characteristics as they affect the students' adjustment to American campuses and lifestyle. Part 4 contains a selective bibliography of 30 references and a listing of addresses of Malaysian Student Departments and organizations concerned with Malaysian-American educational exchange. Contains 25 references. (GLR)