Malaysia’s pretty cheap, not quite on the beaten track though and certainly not an essential place to visit, they have lots of temples a growing economy and lots of space as well as a fair few cultures making a go of it together. Malaysia celebrates 50 years of independance this year in August so there might be some good stuff to see then, otherwise Penang is nice, Kl worth seeing and if you do go there get to the Petronas towers early in the morning so you can get a free ticket to go across the skybridge, otherwise there is a telecom tower you can go up which gives you a higher and better view of the city.