Some Americans get confused when dialing phone numbers outside the US, but there’s really no need to. Calling Malaysia from the United States is just as easy as calling any phone number in America – there’s just a few more numbers to press, that’s all.
Whether you’re calling Malaysia from America to speak to a friend, a family member or on a business call, follow these easy instructions and you’ll be connected in no time.
Get a Calling Card – Over the many years I’ve had friends and family call me in Malaysia, I’ve always told them not to call using their AT&T or Sprint accounts. Many American phone companies gouge you on international calls, calls that would cost just a few cents a minute if you only knew who to sign up with.
If you’re planning on calling Malaysia more than once, I recommend you buy a calling card from a site like MalaysiaCallingCard or Alosmart.
Calls are as cheap as less than one cent a minute, depending on which calling card you purchase, and you can order online, get the pin number delivered to your email account and be calling Malaysia in less than five minutes. Calling cards begin at only $2.
What To Dial To Call Malaysia From the US – Now you’ve got your cheap calling card, you need to know how to dial a phone number in Malaysia. Don’t worry. It’s easy. Get the phone number in Malaysia ready, then follow these quick instructions.
Pick up the phone and dial the the code to call a phone number outside the United States – 011
Now dial the country code for Malaysia, which is 60.
Dial the city code, which is one to two digits (see examples below for specific towns codes).
Finally dial the six to eight digit phone number.
So, for example, if you’re calling a number in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, the city code is 3 so the number you’re dialing should look something like this:
011 + 60 + 3 + ???? + ????
City Codes in Malaysia
Town codes in Malaysia include Kuala Lumpur (3), Johor Bahru (7), Taiping (5) and Kuching (82). For a list of all the town codes in Malaysia, you’ll find a complete list here.
How To Dial a Cell Phone Number in Malaysia – Dialing a cell phone number in Malaysia is similar to a landline, except, there’s an extra ‘1’ in the number. So, for example, if you’re dialing your Great Aunt Nellie’s
cell phone in Kuala Lumpur, you would dial something like this:
011+ 60 + 1 + 3 + ???? + ????
Each cell phone company in Malaysia has a different code (you can find them here), so you’ll end up dialing 1 + 3 or 1 + 7, or 1 +2 etc.
Time Difference Between Malaysia and USA – One final piece of information you need if you’re going to figure out how to call Malaysia from America – make sure before you call you know exactly what time it is there, so you’re not waking someone up at 3am.
This website will give you the exact time in Malaysia, which is between 12-15 hours ahead of the United States, depending on where you are on mainland America (Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Alaska are different again).
Calling Malaysia from America is simple as long as you follow these instructions and don’t panic. After all, if you dial the numbers wrong, what’s the worst thing that can happen. You’ll end up talking to some stranger in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, and you might even make a new friend to call again after you’ve called the friend you were trying to get a hold of.
