8.2  The Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indigenous communities of Sabah
       and Sarawak and the Aborigines

Presentation

1. The Malays
   The Malays are the original inhabitant of Malaysia. Their number is greater today due to the immigration of various Malay groups from other countries such as Indonesia. Before the colonization era, the Malays dominated the economic activity that was trade. The trade took place along the main rivers in the Malay states. There were also Malays who engaged in fishing and farming. In general, the Malay economy was based on trade and self-sufficing economy like farming, fishing, livestock and collecting forest produce.
   However, their domination in economy declined during the British colonization. Do you know what the reasons of the decline are? The reasons are:
   1. The policy of the British to bring in the Chinese and Indians to work in the economic sector became the main reason of the decline. The mass immigration of those races had altered the economic structure of the Malay community.
   2. The British policy to ensure the Malays remained in self-sufficing economy like farming, fishing and others. The Malays were not encouraged to involve in modern economy. The British also alleged that the Malays were lazy and reluctant to work under supervision of others.
   In politics, the Malays are strong in the political sense. The Malays are the prime movers in politic. UMNO and PAS are the main political parties that represent the Malays. However, both parties are rivals to each other.
   In economy, the Malays are weak. Many of them are still under poverty rate. However, the poverty among the Malays is connected to the British policies. First, the British left the Malays in rural areas and engaged in traditional economic activities. Second, the British denied the Malays from involving in modern economic activities but let the immigrants to engage in the modern economic activities.

8.2  The Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indigenous communities of Sabah
       and Sarawak and the Aborigines

2. The Chinese
   The Chinese are originally immigrant. The majority of the Chinese in Malaysia today are descendents of the Chinese immigrants. Before the colonization era, there was small number of Chinese who had come to the country as trader before the colonization and resided here. During the era of Malacca Kingdom, the ties between Malacca and China had brought small number of them to the country.
   Most of the Chinese came from Fukien, Kwangtung and Kwangsi of South China. They entered the country through contract system arranged by agents. The Chinese are of various clusters. The main clusters are Hokien, Hakka, Teochew and Hailam. They have different dialect, customs, economic specialization and living place. They are even hostile towards one another.
   The British government had encouraged the Chinese to migrate to Malaya to become labours here by approving several related laws. For an instance, in 1877, the British had approved the Chinese Immigrants and the Crimpling Ordinance.
   Historically, most of the Chinese became merchants, businessmen and craftsmen. They were recognized as people most actively involved in business. This business minded remains until today in the mind of the most Chinese. No wonder, the Chinese are strong economically.
   In politics, the Chinese also play a very important role. They form several political parties but the main is Malaysian Chinese Party (MCA).

8.2  The Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indigenous communities of Sabah
       and Sarawak and the Aborigines

3. The Indians
   At the beginning, most Indians who came to Malaya were from Tamil Nadu of the South India. During the era of Malacca Kingdom, they came to Malacca as traders and Muslim missionaries. At that time also, Tamil-Islam group played important roles in the ruling system. When the British occupied Penang Island in 1786, Indian labourers migrated to the island to work in sugar cane plantations and as domestic help.
   The huge number of Indian immigrants came to Malaya when coffee plantations were opened in 1880s in Malaya. The Indians came to Malaya in many ways. Some were brought in by the Contract Labour System in which they had to work for periods ranging from one to three years. Later, the contract system was changed to Kangany System in which supervisors of plantations brought in Indians from their village in India. Under the system, there was no contract that bound the labourers but they had to pay back the expenses of bringing them to Malaya. There were also Indians who came to Malaya in individual arrangement.
   The Indians are of various ethnicities. The largest is the Tamils with 90% of the Indian population, 7% Malayalees and 4% is Telegu. Most of them worked as labourers in estates. There were also Indians who worked with government departments in the early 20th century. Towards 20th century, Sikhs from Punjab started migrating to Malaya. They initially worked in the police force and railway service as well as security guards.
   Economically, the majority of Indians have low income and living in estates and plantations. However, today many of them succeed in other fields such trade and business. In fact, one of the richest men (millionaire) in Malaysia is an Indian. Do you know who is he? Check it out!

8.2  The Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indigenous communities of Sabah
       and Sarawak and the Aborigines

4. The Indigenous Races of Sabah and Sarawak
   From Lesson 7, you have come across a brief discussion on the indigenous races of Sabah and Sarawak. In Sabah and Sarawak, the population is also varied. In Sabah, there are 23 tribal communities; the largest groups are Kadazan-Dusun (18.4%), Bajau (17.3%), Malays (15.3%), Murut, Sulu and Brunei people. While in Sarawak, there is also diversity of tribal communities. Among the well-known tribes are Malays, Melanau, Iban, Bidayuh, Penan and Kelabit. 70% of the population is Bumiputras. The largest group is the Iban followed by Bidayuh.
5. Aborigines
   Beside all the above races, there also group of people known as the aborigines. They can be divided into three groups i.e Senoi, Negrito and Orang Asli. From these three groups, there are 18 tribal communities with 12 different languages. Their economic activities are still based on subsistence and agriculture. Most of them engage in farming activities such as growing paddy, millet, tapioca, banana and others. They also engage in hunting animal and fishing.