Ethnic Composition of

the Malaysian
Population
Malaysia is a plural society of
many ethnic groups

 In West Malaysia, the largest ethnic groups

are the Malays, Chinese and Indians
In Sabah and Sarawak the number of
ethnic groups is even bigger including
among them the Kadazan, Bajau. Bidayuh,
Iban, Kayan, Kenyah and Murut
These groups are categorised into
Bumiputra and non-Bumiputra where the
bumiputra far outnumber the nonBumiputra

 The differences between them are

often aligned to political, economic,
cultural and social differences
Distribution of Workforce according
to ethnicity
The primary objective of the
government is the creation of a
workforce that reflects the ethnic
composition of the countrys population

 The aim was to ensure that no one ethnic

group would dominate a particular field or
sector in line with the New Economic Policy
(NEP ) that was to restructure society
Among the steps taken was to increase
employment opportunities for the
Bumiputras at the professional and
management level positions in the
corporate sector that was previously
dominated by non-Bumiputras

Income Distribution according to

ethnic group
The governments development
policies on the restructuring of
society and the eradication of
poverty have produced results
Creating ample job opportunities
allowed all citizens regardless of their
ethnic origin to be gainfully
employed
The household income of every
ethnic group has increased

 Despite the increase, however, the

average Bumiputra household
income still remains lower than that
of the Chinese and Indian
The Malays
The Malay people regard themselves
as the early indigenous population of
Peninsular Malaysia, and this is also
the assumption of the non-Malays

 In practice, the Malays believe that they

have a special position whereby they
expect to receive special treatment as
provided for in Article 153 as a right and not
privilege
The special position of the Malays was also
recognised in the 1948 Federation of
Malaya Treaty
The principle underlying the special position
is historical and economical justification

 Most of the Malay people in Peninsular

Malaysia today were descendents of
people who originated from the
Indonesian Archipelago which was normal
migration from one Malay area to another
This migration started at the latest from
the 19th century which consisted mainly
of the Minangkabau, Javanese, Banjar,
Bugis and Boyan

 However the great migration of

Indonesians into Malaya was during
the British colonoial period as
contract and free labour in the
European- and Chinese-owned coffee
and rubber plantations
Several factors encouraged their
migration:
1. Poverty besides the variety of tax
charges imposed upon them by the

2. Political Stability and Growing

Economy in Malaya, for instance, the tin
ore industry and plantation agriculture plus
the peaceful situation attracted them
3. Indonesian Traits, for instance, the Bugis
were skilled in the field of sailing and
business customarily travelled to other
areas
4. Political Instability in Indonesia due to
pressure from the Dutch colonialists and the

hatred towards them were also push

factors
The majority of the Malays consider
Malaya as their land
Although there were poor Chinese
and Indians, the Malays were the
poorest as they were involved in the
agricultural and traditional industries
that were said to have low
productivity

 They are also allegations that the poverty

of the Malays is due to the area in which
they live (the rural areas where the living
standard is low)
The Malays are not exposed to similar
opportunities as other communities living
in urban areas
The immigrant culture among the
migrant communities emphasises the
importance of

working hard for survival in a

foreign country
The British policies had ultimately
left the Malays in the rural areas and
involved in traditional economic
activities and denied their
involvement in modern economic
activities largely participated by the
non-Malays

 In Malaysia, the Malays were strong in the

political sense but weak economically
As the Malays live in villages which is
characterised by strong social ties and
strict social control have made them
have high regard for consensus
All Malays are Muslims, but not all
Muslims are Malays

 The Malays are described as humble

people who do not impose their wishes
upon others, even-tempered and able to
control themselves
For these reasons they seldom give vent
to their feelings of anger and avoid being
frank, so it is difficult to understand their
feelings, attitude, views and convictions;
so they are always misunderstood

The Chinese
Their presence can traced back to the
period of the Malay Kingdom of Malacca
Even today, there are Chinese who have
assimilated into the Malay society where
they are known as the Baba community
The majority of the Chinese in the
country today are descendents of the
Chinese immigrants who came in the
19th century and early 20th century

 In the 1930s, immigration

requirements were tightened; the
Japanese took over China in World
War Two erupted causing the Chinese
to live on in Malaysia
They played an important role in
forming the Malayan Peoples AntiJapanese Army (MPAJA) and in
forming the communist Malayan
Races Liberation Army (MRLA)

 During the emergency, the Chinese people

living at the edge of the jungle were moved
into new villages with much better facilities
than the traditional Malay villages, thus
creating eventually a gap between them
Most of the Chinese in Malaya originated
from the Fukien, Kwangtung and Kwangsi
in South China who came here through the
contract system arranged by agents

 However, this system was eliminated in

1914; following which many Chinese
migrated individually
Many factors led the Chinese to migrate to
Malaya, classified as the push-pull factors
such as:
1. Difficulties of living in China because
of rapid increase in population, frequent
natural disasters and limited natural
resources

2. Political instability in the districts of

South China at the time , the Chinese
were against the Manchu rulers as they
were foreigners and the revolt that took
place threatened the lives of the people
3. Growth in the tin and rubber
industry in Malaya created a need for
labour was a strong pull factor, more so
when the price of tin and rubber shot up

4. Political stability of Malaya under the

British rule caused the economy to improve
and to acquire a labour force which
encouraged the Chinese to migrate to Malaya
5. Migration facilities such as steamships
and also immigration agents made it easy for
the Chinese to migrate
6. Chinese population characteristics are
said to be very hardworking and like
travelling

 The main clusters of Chinese are Hokien,

Hakka, Teochew and Hailam who differ
from one another in dialect, customs,
economic specialisation and the place in
which they live and they are even hostile
towards one another amongst them
In the 20th century, the Chinese population
in Malaya increased rapidly; as a matter of
fact in 1941, the Chinese formed the
largest

community in Malaya with 43.0 percent as

compared to the Malay community of 41.0
percent
Most of the Chinese lived in mining towns
such as K. Lumpur, Taiping, Ipoh and
Seremban and also in rubber plantations
Before World War Two, the total Chinese
population in Malaya was not stable with
their number fluctuating according to the
economic

conditions in Malaya
By 1920, only 27.0 percent of them
were born in Malaya with boys
outnumbering girls
By 1957, 74.7 percent of them were
born in Malaya
After World War Two, the total
Chinese population was more stable
as most of them had obtained
citizenship through jus soli

 In 1957, the total Chinese population in

Malaya was 2,332,963 or 37.1 percent
of the total population
Because relatively few Chinese could
acquire land for agriculture, many of
them were involved in business as
merchants, businessmen and craftsmen
which created a stereotype belief that
the Chinese are business-minded

 Although some Chinese were fishermen

and vegetable farmers, they were
generally recognised as people most
actively involved in business but they
were also the largest community of
professionals like architects and
accountants
However there were many Chinese who
were disadvantaged economically living in
squatter areas with other communities

 There were a few Chinese who were very

wealthy, controlling transportation
companies, construction and estate but
most of them were small, family
businesses based on sub-ethnic groups
During the Japanese period, the Chinese
were not allowed to be involved in politics
but the Chinese were not at all interested
in politics after the war as their main
interest was an

economy that was prosperous, but later

they felt the need to be active in politics
becaused they realised that the British
would eventually leave the country
Those who were educated in English, tried
forming unions like the MCA to protect their
interests and also for self-government, but
some wanted independence through
violence
When the Chinese, especially the poor,

became more and more politically

conscious, they began to voice their
feelings to other parties besides the MCA,
like the Labour Party, the Peoples
Progressive Party and the Peoples Action
Party
The Chinese in Malaya comprise various
dialectal communities and a uniformed
culture based on Taoism and Confucianism
could not be created despite various efforts

 From the language aspect, the

acceptance of Mandarin as the
official language was only limited to
government services and schools
In Malaysia, most of the Chinese are
Buddhists and many of the festivals
celebrated by the Chinese have their
origin in China

The Indians
The Indian presence can be traced back to
some 2,000 years ago when they were
trading in the ports in the states in Malaya
During the Malay Kingdom of Malacca,
Tamil-Islam influence played an important
role in the ruling system with an Indian
settlement in Malacca known as Kampung
Kling
The Indians were widely recognised as
propagators of Islam during that time

 During the British rule in Penang in 1786,

Indian labourers migrated to the island to
work in sugarcane plantations and as
domestic help
Indian prisoners were also brought in to
help construct buildings and roads
At the beginning, the bulk of the Indians
were brought in by agents through the
contract system of three years from South
India

(Tamil Naidu)
Development in agriculture (rubber and sugar
cane) brought in large numbers of Indians
After 1910, the contract system was changed
to the kangany system which consisted of
supervisors of plantation labourers who
brought in workers from their village in India
who were required to pay back the expenses
of bringing them to Malaya

 Meanwhile, the Indians from Punjab, better

known as Sikhs started migrating to Malaya
towards the 20th century
The factors that encouraged the migration
of Indians were:
1. Difficulties living in India as land for
agriculture and work opportunities were
scare due to increasing population. Many
farmers lost their land and were in debt
due

to occurrence of natural disasters.

For those who were educated, it was
difficult to get employment. The
caste system have restricted their
social mobility causing the lower
caste to be more inclined to migrate
2. Rapid economic development in
Malaya especially in the rubber ,
palm oil industry needed labourers

3. Encouragement from the British

government to work in the
plantations, the civil service (clerical
and technical) and construction
(building and roads)
The Indian immigrants consisted
largely of Tamils, Malayalis, Telegus
and Sikhs who came in large
numbers in the 1880s with the
opening of coffee plantations in

 The Indians left from centres such as

Chittoor, Chinglepet, Coimbatore,
Madura, Malabar, Arcot, Salem,
Tanjore, Trichinapoly and
Vizagapatam
The Indian population grew from
75,000 people in 1891 to 120,000 in
1901, to 267,159 people in 1911,
471,536 in 1921 and 621,774 in
1931

 The different Indian communities in

Malaya comprise the Sindhi,
Banggali, Gujerati, Parsis and
Marwaris are involved in business
The people from Sri Langka (formerly
known as Ceylon), normally known as
Ceylonese, also migrated to work in
hospitals as doctors and medical help
The Indians concentrated on the
west coast

of Malaya namely K. Lumpur, Ipoh,

Singapore, Penang, Klang and Taiping
and in the estate areas
In 1921, 12,0 percent of Indians
were born in Malaya, males
outnumbering females
After the war, the number of Indians
stabilised after many of them
obtained their citizenship rights
through the jus soli principle

 In 1957, the Indian population in

Malaya was 695,985 or 11.1 percent
of the total population
Although some of the Indians had
business skills and capital, they did
not manage to form a strong
business cluster
The Chettiar group provided the
Chinese the capital to do business

 There relatively few wealthy Indians because

they did not invest in Malaya, instead they
kept their capital to be brought back to India
However, among the later Indian
immigrants, many started businesses like
restaurant, hairdressing and cloth stores
The majority of the Indians in Malaysia had
low income, and were involved low-skilled or
unskilled occupations such as labourers in
the

plantation, but there were also many who

were involved in other fields, like trading,
owners of grocery, book and textile stores
with few in the medical and legal professions
The main Indian political party in Malaysia is
the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) which
shows that it is closely related to the
development of politics in India, which
means the pattern of Indian political activity
in Malay is quite

similar to those in India

The opposition by the citizens of India
against the British colonialists greatly
influenced the political activities of the
Indians in Malaya before World War One
The Indians in this country are not a
homogeneous group which can be
differentiated, not just in terms of origin,
but also language , caste and religion

 The majority of them, of South Indian

descent, speak Tamil and every group has
its own dialect and societies
The castes similarly had their own
organisations such as the Natukottai
Chetty is a society for merchants, the
Maruthuvar Sangam is a society for the
Maruthuvar caste (hairdressers), and
other societies were Vanniyar, Thevar,
Nadar, Yadhavar and

Adhi Dravidar and societies based on the

area of their origin
The Indians can also be differentiated
based on heir religion which range from
Hinduism ti Sikhism, Christianity and Islam
However, about 90 % of Indians in this
country are Hindus and speak Tamil
As such, the Tamil culture is the most
prominent and the majority of the Hindus

belong to the Saivite sect

The moist popular deities in these Saiviter
temples are Siva, Subramaya and Ganesh
Indians from North India come under the
Vaishnavite sect whose temples are
devoted to the deity Vishnu
Besides that, there are also other deities
idolised among the Hindus, namely
Muniandy, Aiyanar, Vairanvar, Mathurai
Veeran and

Mariamman
Religious festivals are also
celebrated, such as Thaipusam in
Penang and Batu Caves and
Sithraparuvam in Teluk Intan, besides
the Ponggal or New Year festival

Indigenous Population of Sabah

and Sarawak
In Sabah and Sarawak, the
population is also very varied
The communities are differentiated
according to the area they live in,
economy, society and culture
In Sabah, there are 23 tribal
communities, the largest tribes
among which are the Kadazans,
Bajau, Murut, Sulu and Brunei people

 Sarawak was also inhabited by a diversity of

tribes, each with its own characteristics
Among the well-known tribes are Malay,
Melanau, Iban, Bidayuh, Penan and Kelabit
Except for the Malays and Melanaus, most
of the indigenous tribes in Sarawak formerly
lived in the woods in either long or makeshift houses
Today, most of them have moved to areas
exposed to modern development

Aborigines
The aborigines in Malaysia can be divided into
three racial stocks, namely the Senoi, Negrito
and the Orang Asli with 18 tribes among them
In 1991, the total number of indigenous
people in Malaya was 83,453 people where 12
different languages are spoken
The language spoken by the Melayu Asli
resembles the Malay language; while the
Senoi speaks a variety of languages such as
Temiar, Semai, Mahmeri,

Che Wong, Jahut and Semaq Beri

The Negrito tribe found largely in
Kedah, Perak, Kelantan and Pahang
have a small body frame, dark
coloured skin, large nose and curly
hair whose main economic activities
are cultivation and collecting forest
products as most of them live near
the edge of the jungle and along
river banks

 The indigenous Malays found in Selangor,

Negeri Sembilan, Pahang. Malacca and
Johore are larger and taller as compared to
the Negritos, have dark-coloured skin and
straight black hair who are fishermen near
the coast or involve in inland farming and
most of their settlement are very close to
Malay villages
The Senois concentrated more in Perak,
Kelantan, Selangor, Pahang and Terengganu

are taller than the Negritos and have darkcoloured skin who practise shifting cultivation
as their main activity and their settlement are
more in the hills, away from the coast
The economy of the majority of the
aborigines is still based on subsistence and
agriculture such as farming activities,
growing paddy, millet, corn, tapioca, banana,
yam, sweet potato and various kinds of
vegetables;

hunting and fishing or collecting

forest products
Those exposed to outside lifestyles
different from their own live near to
Malay villages or towns are factory,
plantation or construction workers
Economically, they are far behind the
other ethnic groups in Malaysia

 In a 1993 research, 88.2 % of

indigenous people are categorised as
poor and 69.9 % as the poorest
Most of the indigenous people (85 %)
still practise their original religion,
that is animism. The number of
Muslims is around 10.0 %, Christians,
almost 5.0 %; and Bahai and others,
about 1.0 %

 Their education achievement is

extremely low
However, from time to time, the
government tries to bring them to
the main stream of development by
providing them with development
facilities