15 Nations Global Tour: Malaysia (Stop #6)

Surnames/tags: Notables 15 Nations Tour Malaysia

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Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 History 4 Resources 5 Notable Malaysians

Geography

Located in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is divided into two regions by the South China Sea. Peninsular Malaysia, which makes up about 40% of the nation's total land mass, is part of mainland Asia and borders Thailand and Singapore. About 400 miles away at its closest point, East Malaysia is located on the northern portion of island of Borneo and borders Indonesia and Brunei. Malaysia also has maritime boundaries with Vietnam and the Philippines. Around these two primary regions of Malaysia are numerous small islands, the largest being Banggi, followed by Bruit, Langkawi, and Penang.

Demographics

Malaysia's current population is estimated at about 33 million people. Malaysian citizens are divided along local ethnic lines, with nearly 70 per cent considered bumiputera. The largest group of bumiputera are Malays, who are defined in the constitution as Muslims who speak Malay regularly, practice Malay customs, and lived in or have ancestors from Malaysia, Brunei, or Singapore. Bumiputera status is also accorded to the non-Malay indigenous groups of Sabah and Sarawak. Additionally, there are indigenous or aboriginal groups in much smaller numbers on the peninsula, where they are collectively known as the Orang Asli. Laws over who actually gets bumiputera status varies from state to state. Another 23 per cent of the population are Malaysian Chinese, while 7 per cent are Malaysian Indian, mostly of Tamil descent. Due to the rise in labor-intensive industries, the country is estimated to also have over 3 million migrant workers, equal to about 10 per cent of the population. Malaysia hosts a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 171,500. Of this population - approximately 79,000 are from Burma, 72,400 from the Philippines, and 17,700 from Indonesia.

Malaysia contains speakers of 137 living languages; however, the official national language of Malaysia is Malaysian Malay. The National Language Act 1967 specifies the Latin script as the official script of the national language, but does not prohibit the use of the traditional Jawi script. English is an active second language, with its use allowed for some official purposes . Historically, English was the de facto administrative language. Iban is the main tribal language in Sarawak, while Dusunic and Kadazan languages are spoken by the natives in Sabah. Chinese Malaysians predominantly speak Chinese dialects from the southern part of China, as well as Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hokkien. The Tamil language is used by the majority of Indian Malaysians.

The Malaysian constitution grants freedom of religion and makes Malaysia an officially secular state, while establishing Islam as the "religion of the Federation". Approximately 64% of Malaysians practice Islam, 19% practice Buddhism (predominantly the Chinese population), 9% Christianity, 6% Hinduism (primarily the Indian population), and 1% practice Confucianism, Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions. About 32% of the population practice other religions or no religion at all.

History

Evidence of modern human habitation in Malaysia dates back 40,000 years. Traders and settlers from India and China arrived as early as the first century AD, establishing trading ports and coastal towns in the second and third centuries. The Kingdom of Langkasuka arose around the second century in the northern area of the Malay Peninsula, lasting until about the 15th century. Between the 7th and 13th centuries, much of the southern Malay Peninsula was part of the maritime Srivijaya Empire. By the 13th and the 14th century, the Majapahit Empire had successfully wrested control over most of the peninsula and the Malay Archipelago. In the early 15th century, the Malacca Sultanate was established and soon became an important commercial center, attracting trade from around the region. The spread of Islam increased following the Sultan's conversion to that religion.

In 1511, Malacca was conquered by Portugal, and in 1641 it was taken by the Dutch. In 1786, the British Empire established a presence in Malaya, when the Sultan of Kedah leased Penang Island to the British East India Company. The British obtained Singapore in 1819. In 1824, the Treaty of London officially gave Malaya to England, while Indonesia was given to the Netherlands. By 1826, the British officially established Malay as the crown colony of The Straits Settlements.

By the 20th century, the states of Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan, known together as The Federated Malay States, had British residents appointed to oversee the Malay rulers. The remaining five states on the peninsula, known as The Unfederated Malay States, while not directly under British rule, also accepted British advisers. Between 1877 and 1878, the area that is now Sabah also came under British control as North Borneo. In 1946, Sarawak became a crown colony after having been ruled as independent kingdom under the "White Rajahs" since 1842.

During the Second World War, the Japanese Army invaded and occupied Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore for over three years. This led to increased ethnic tensions and a rise in nationalism. Popular support for independence rose after Malaya was reconquered by Allied forces. In 1946, The Malayan Union, was established and consisting of all the British possessions in the Malay Peninsula with the exception of Singapore. But it failed quickly and was replaced on 1 Feb 1948 by The Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection. It was during this time that the mostly Chinese Malay rebels, under the leadership of the Malayan Communist Party. launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) involved a long anti-insurgency campaign by Commonwealth troops in Malaya.

An agreement was reached on 8 Feb 1956 for the Federation of Malaya to become independent from Britain, and a proclamation of independence was implemented on 31 Aug 1957. On 16 Sep 1963, the Federation was reconstituted as "Malaysia" when it united with the British territories of Singapore, Sarawak, and North Borneo (which joined as Sabah). Singapore was expelled from the Federation in 1965.

In the 1980s, a controversial New Economic Policy was launched which led to a period of rapid economic growth and urbanization. The economy shifted from being primarily agriculturally based to one based on manufacturing and industry.

Resources

This resource page is part of the 15 Nations Malaysia project.

RESOURCES

• Wikipedia: Malaysia
• Wikipedia: States and Federal Territories of Malaysia
• Wikipedia: Culture of Malaysia
• Wikipedia: Demographics of Malaysia
• Wikipedia: History of Malaysia
• Wikipedia: Religion in Malaysia
• Wikipedia: Index of Malaysia-related articles

• Family Search: Malaysia Genealogy
• Malaysia Record Finder: Malaysia Record Finder

• Ancestry.com: No titles containing "Malaysia" in its current card catalog.

• Cindy's List: Resources for all of Asia and the Pacific

• Mapper: Key Facts about Malaysia

• National Archives of Malaysia This link to the Archives is found on multiple websites, but none seem to be currently working.

The is also a brief primer on Malaysian names and titles available Malaysian Names and Titles

Notable Malaysians

In the below list, columns can be sorted by clicking on the arrow button in any category heading box. A "C" in the final column denotes a Notable who has been successfully connected to the Big Tree. "N/C" stands for Not Connected.

Notable	Born	Died	Claim to Fame	Photo	C
Munshi Abdullah	1796	1859	The "father" of modern Malay literature.		N/C
Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan	1895	1960	1st Paramount Ruler of the Federation of Malaya		C
Tunku Abdul Rahman	1907	1990	1st Prime Minister of Malaysia		C
P. Ramlee	1929	1973	Actor / Filmmaker / Composer / Singer		C
Anthony Soter Fernandez	1930	2020	1st Malaysian Cardinal		N/C
Tengku Ampuan Afzan	1932	1988	Queen of Malysia		C
Anwar bin Ibrahim	1947	LIVING	Current Prime Minister of Malaysia		N/C
Jimmy Choo	1948	LIVING	Fashion Designer		C
Tan Aik Mong	1950	2020	Badminton Player		N/C
Mokhtar Dahari	1953	1991	Footballer		N/C
Sudirman Arshad	1954	1992	Singer		N/C
Yasmin Ahmad	1958	2009	Filmmaker		N/C
Michelle Yeoh	1962	LIVING	Academy Award Winning Actress		C
Dr. Shiekh Mustapha Shukor	1972	LIVING	Astronaut		N/C
Shuba Jay	1976	2014	Actress lost on Malaysia Flight 17 over Ukraine		N/C

Dr. Wu Lien-ten was originally a member of our 15 Malaysian Notables roster. However, it was quickly discovered that he already has a WikiTree prolife that was missed as his name was entered in his native Chinese. Since his profile is already well-developed and connected to the Global WikiTree, we have removed him from the list, but have kept the link to his profile here for anyone wishing to visit it.

Notable	Born	Died	Claim to Fame	Photo	C
Wu Lien-ten	1879	1960	1st Malaysian Nobel Prize nominee		C