Send parcel to Malaysia

Peninsula or Borneo: what changes for shipping?

Malaysia is a country split into two parts separated by the South China Sea. There is Peninsular Malaysia, home to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru and Ipoh, and there is East Malaysia on the island of Borneo, with the states of Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) and Sarawak (Kuching). It is not just geography: Sabah and Sarawak have partly autonomous customs and logistics handling compared with the peninsula, so a shipment to Kuching or Kota Kinabalu follows a different routing than one to Kuala Lumpur. When you prepare the order it is worth knowing from the start which of the two halves of the country the recipient is in, because it changes the stages the parcel goes through.

How do you write a Malaysian address, and why do the names look like three alphabets?

A Malaysian address is written entirely in Latin characters and runs from the detail to the general: recipient name, number and street ("Jalan", often abbreviated "Jln", sometimes "Lorong" for minor streets), an optional residence name or "taman" (the residential neighbourhood), a five digit postal code ("poskod"), city and state. Example with a fictitious name: "Tan Ah Kow, No. 12, Jalan SS2/24, Taman Bahagia, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA". One thing stands out when shipping for the first time: recipient names can be Malay, Chinese or Indian, because Malaysia is a multi ethnic society, and it is entirely normal to find in the same van a parcel for "Muhammad Faiz", one for "Tan Ah Kow" and one for "Ramasamy". It is not a transcription error, it is simply Malaysia. Always add the phone number with the +60 prefix, because the courier sends a message before delivery in apartment blocks and gated taman.

Who ships from Italy to Malaysia?

The first route is professional and industrial. Kuala Lumpur hosts an ecosystem of international companies, and around it move Italian professionals in engineering, energy and consulting who receive documents, spare parts and instrumentation from Italy. Penang is a globally significant electronics and semiconductor hub, generating a steady technical flow of components and samples. The second route is the Made in Italy of luxury and the table: Kuala Lumpur has a highly developed fashion and premium market around the capital's large shopping centres, and an Italian restaurant scene that regularly brings in equipment, coffee machines and consumables. The third route is family and cultural: the Malaysian community in Italy is small but active, and keeps a flow of parcels to the peninsula.

Three new year festivals and a monsoon: when Malaysia slows down

Malaysia's multi ethnic society also means more public holidays that weigh on logistics. The festival that slows things down the most is Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the Eid that closes Ramadan, with the "balik kampung", the return to home villages, which congests transport and warehouses for a little over a week. Chinese New Year is just as keenly felt given the large community of Chinese origin, and it halts many companies and suppliers for several days. Deepavali, the Indian festival of lights, adds a third, milder moment of slowdown. All three follow moving calendars, so it is worth checking them before shipments with firm deadlines. On the weather side, the north east monsoon from November to February brings heavy rain and flooding on the east coast of the peninsula (Kelantan, Terengganu) and in parts of Borneo, with possible localised delays on the final stretch.

Malaysian customs: what changes from the peninsula to Borneo

There is no European Union customs agreement between Italy and Malaysia, so every shipment goes through a full customs check, with possible duties and import taxes payable by the recipient. Commercial goods need an invoice in English with HS codes, a precise description and a realistic value, while low value gifts between private individuals generally take a simpler path. As it is a majority Muslim country, it is wise to describe honestly any foods containing alcohol or pork derivatives, to avoid disputes during customs clearance. The point to keep in mind concerns Borneo: Sabah and Sarawak handle customs entry partly autonomously from the peninsula, so a shipment to Kota Kinabalu or Kuching goes through one stage more than one to Kuala Lumpur. It is not an obstacle, just a different routing to factor in. After placing the order on europacco.com tracking covers the whole route and is particularly useful precisely on shipments to Sabah and Sarawak, where there is more than one stage.