World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Malaysia

Environment

The Federation of Malaysia is made up of 13 states separated by the South China Sea. The majority lie on the Malay peninsula, apart from Sabah and Sarawak in the north-east and north of the island of Borneo, and the federal territory of Labuan - a group of islands off the Borneo coast near Brunei. Its geographic position on the main shipping routes between the Indian, Arab and European civilizations on one side, and the Chinese and Japanese on the other, has also made Malaysia a meeting ground of cultures for thousands of years.

History

Malaysia was for millennia a central part of the Malay world, with many Hindu or Buddhist kingdoms already known to exist in the second century AD. Prior to the arrival of the Malays were other communities who remain to this day: the Negritos are thought to be peninsular Malaysia's first remaining inhabitants, and may have been present in this part of Asia for perhaps 10,000 years or more. Some 4,000 years ago, another group of people moved in from what is generally thought to be south China: these are known as the first Malay people - or Proto-Malays. There may also have been some Mon-Khmer speaking groups moving into the peninsula some 4,000 years ago, who appear to have mixed with the Proto-Malays.

Today's Malays are in the main the descendants of a later Malay influx around 2,300 years ago. More advanced technologically than the Proto-Malays, they appear to have come across the sea, perhaps from Borneo, and displaced or mixed with the Negritos, Proto-Malays and other groups inhabiting the peninsula or Sabah and Sarawak. There are records of Chinese involvement in trade in the peninsula and the region going back to the Tang dynasty. It is clear that by the fifteenth century there were small Chinese settlements, though large-scale Chinese immigration occurred as a result of British colonial rule in the nineteenth century.

It is likely that Islam first arrived in the region with Arab traders before the tenth century. The first known Malay ruler to convert to Islam in the twelfth century was Sultan Muzaffar Shah I of Kedah. Islam's progress from this point on accelerated, with the state of Terengganu becoming the first Islamic Malay state in 1303. The conversion in 1414 of the Hindu prince Parameswara (who thus became Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah) of Malacca - perhaps one of the most powerful Malay states - was a further milestone in the Islamification of Malaysia.

The European presence became marked in the sixteenth century, with Malacca captured by the Portuguese in 1511 and by the Dutch in 1641. The arrival of the Europeans shattered the political cohesion of the Malay world, which broke up into clusters of sultanates lining the coastal plains of present-day Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines.

British control in the peninsula started with its first colony in Penang in 1786, and progressed with their gaining control of Malacca by 1824. The entire peninsula would eventually fall under British colonial rule by the end of the nineteenth century. It was during British rule - with the development of tin mining and rubber and other plantations - that the authorities encouraged large-scale Chinese and Indian immigration, particularly from 1880 to 1930. While support for independence grew after the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, there was opposition to British suggestions that Singapore and Malaya should be joined, partially due to opposition from some Malays to recognizing citizenship for ethnic Chinese; the scale of the influx of new migrants until 1930 had resulted in the Malay population representing close to or less than 50 per cent by that point.

It was also immediately after the Second World War that a rebel movement, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Malaya and, according to some, a large number of Chinese, began a guerrilla war to force the British out of Malaya. This insurgency was to continue until 1960, though the Federation of Malaya gained independence in 1957. It was renamed Malaysia when the British territories of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak joined it in 1963, though Singapore was to leave within less than two years in 1965. Singapore's departure thus ensured that Malays were a majority in the remaining Federation of Malaysia. Ethnic tensions remained high in the early years of independence, as resentment over the Chinese minority's control over parts of the economy was deeply felt by some Malays.

Demonstrations following strong electoral gains by political opposition parties associated with Indians and Chinese minorities in 1969 ran out of control and led to what are known as the 13 May race riots, in which almost 200 people were killed, most of whom were Chinese. This official figure is deemed too low by some observers. The riots were seen as occurring partly because of the economic disempowerment felt by the Malay majority, hence the Malaysian government adopted an 'affirmative action programme' - the New Economic Policy - designed to increase the share of control of the economy by the Bumiputeras ('sons of the Earth'). In the context of Malaysia, this is generally understood to mean ethnic Malays and indigenous groups, though there is some uncertainty as to whether the Orang Asli should or should not be included as Bumiputeras.

Various programmes have since been put in place and most continue to this day, though in more recent years there have been suggestions that some of them - including the position of the Malay language in education - may need to be revised. The various affirmative action programmes, not all of which were part of the New Economic Policy, include quotas for Malays in admission to state universities and granting of scholarships, positions in public employment and a statutory share of 30 per cent of corporate equity for Bumiputeras, preferential permits for automobile imports, etc.

In addition, the movement towards using Malay, the official language, as medium of instruction in state schools and universities to the exclusion of English in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in disadvantaging, and even excluding, many minorities, especially the Chinese and Indians. While it had the effect of creating a larger Malay professional class, it also tended to disadvantage minorities, who were often not sufficiently fluent in the official language to study at Malay-language universities. As a result, those minority students with the resources and opportunities to study abroad, facing the double obstacles of quotas and language, tended to seek university degrees overseas, especially in Australia and the UK, often emigrating in the process.

While the National Economic Policy expired in 1990, many aspects have been retained in the New Development Policy, and various other measures favouring Bumiputeras over other groups in Malaysia remain.

Overall, Malaysia has experienced strong economic growth through much of the last few decades.

Peoples

Main languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects, Tamil

Main religions: Islam (official), Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Sikhism, animism

Main minority groups: (total population: 23,266,000). Chinese 7 million (US State Department, 2006), Indians 1.8 million, Dayak- Iban 600,000, Kadazan-Dusun 490,000, Bajau 450,000, Bidayuh 167,000, Orang Asli 130,000 (National Census of Malaysia, 2000)

Malaysia is ethnically diverse as a result of the long-established human presence in the region as well as its location as a passage for people moving south from ancient times. Ethnic Malays constitute today just over half of the population, estimated in 2006 to be about 24 million people. The Chinese constitute the country's largest minority, with somewhere in the vicinity of 30 per cent, followed by a multitude of indigenous groups which include the Orang Asli and Indians.

The vast majority of Malays are Sunni Muslims of the Shafi'i school of thought, while many of the indigenous groups from Sabah and Sarawak are Christians or Muslims. For their part, most though not all Indians are Hindus, while the Chinese are generally Buddhists or Christians.

Governance

Malaysia is a federal state with a parliamentary system of government. While it holds relatively free multi-party elections - despite a degree of gerrymandering to ensure the political domination of ethnic Malays - the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has led a coalition of political parties and been in power since 1957. It has a well-developed judiciary and a constitution which protects a number of basic human rights, at the same time entrenching the 'special' position and rights of the Malay population and Islam as the country's official religion. While freedom of expression and the media is in theory legally protected, in practice the government does exert some restrictions and journalists often exercise a degree of self censorship.

Human rights tend to be interpreted through the lens of these constitutional provisions, resulting in non-Muslim and non-Malay minorities and indigenous populations in Sabah, Sarawak and peninsular Malaysia experiencing restrictions and disadvantages in areas such as religion, language, employment, education and land rights. Many aspects of the various affirmative action programmes and favouritism based on religious, ethnic or linguistic background may also be discriminatory in international law. The Constitution itself may be discriminatory and violate freedom of religion, as it defines all Malays as necessarily being Muslims and speaking the Malay language.

In practice, a number of state policies clearly seek to discourage non-Muslim religious activity and promote conversion to Islam, particularly of indigenous peoples. This has at times taken the form of denying permits to build churches and temples, or a refusal to make burial land available to non-Muslims. Conversions to Islam can also take place by force of law; if a non-Muslim marries a Muslim, the former must convert.

National cultural policy is based on Malay and Islamic traditions. This has created tension with Chinese and Indians and with indigenous communities in Sabah and Sarawak, who wish to promote and retain their own languages and cultures.

Although non-Bumiputera minorities continue to suffer significant levels of disadvantage and even discrimination because of the 'special rights' of the Bumiputera, the country's high rate of economic growth has allowed the state to loosen some of its most objectionable affirmative action policies and allowed the larger minorities such as the Chinese and Indians to prosper economically. The strong security apparatus of the state and its frequent use of the Internal Security Act have also ensured that minority rights advocates are kept under control, though there is not the same level of repression that minorities may experience in other neighbouring countries.

Minorities

• Chinese
• Indians
• Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in Sabah
• Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in Sarawak
• Orang Asli

Resources

Minority based and advocacy organisations

General

Aliran Kesedaran Negara
Tel: +60 4 6585251
Email: alirankn@hotmail.com
Website: www.aliran.com

Asian Centre for Human Rights
tel: +91 11 2562 0583 (In)
Email: suhaschakma@achrweb.org
Web site: www.achrweb.org

Asian Human Rights Commission
Tel: +852 2698 6339 (Ch)
Email: ahrchk@ahrchk.org
Website: www.ahrchk.net

Borneo Project
Tel: +1 510 547 4258 (U.S.)
Email: borneo@borneoproject.org
Website: www.borneoproject.org

HAKAM National Human Rights Society
Tel: +603 2693 8828
Email: hakam@hakam.org
Website: www.hakam.org

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Tel: +603 7784 3525
Email: suaram@suaram.net
Website: www.suaram.net

Transparency International Malaysia
Tel: +603 2273 8581
Email: admin@transparency.org.my
Website: www.transparency.org.my

Women's Aid Organization
Tel. +603 7956 3488
Email: wao@po.jaring.my
Website: www.wao.org.my

Chinese

Malaysian Chinese Association
Tel: +603 2161 8044
Email: info@mca.org.my
Website: www.mca.org.my

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Tel: +603 7784 3525
Email: suaram@suaram.net
Website: www.suaram.net

United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia
Tel: +603 8736 2337
Email: ucscam@djz.edu.my
Website: www.djz.edu.my

Orang Asli Aliran

Centre for Orang Asli Concerns
Tel: +603 5634 0988
Email: coac@streamyx.com
Website: www.coac.org.my

Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli Association
Website: www.temiar.com/poasm.html

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in Sabah

Kadazandusun Cultural Association
Tel: +608 871 3696
Email: koisaan@kdca.org.my
Website: www.kdca.org.my

Kadazandusun Language Foundation
Tel: +60 (88) 724852
Email: rita96@tm.net.my
Website: www.klf.com.my

Keruan Association
Tel: +60 88 725 963
Email: komeok@tm.net.my

PACOS/Partners of Community Organizations
Tel: +60 88 712 518
Email: pacos@tm.net.my
Website: www.sabah.net.my/PACOS

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in Sarawak

Bruno Manser Fonds
Tel. +41 61 261 94 74
Email: info@bmf.ch
Website: www.bmf.ch

Sarawak Campaign Committee
Tel: +81 033341 7699 (Japan)
Fax: +81 03 5367 8379

Sarawak Dayak Iban Association
Tel: +60 6 303 475
Email: sadiahq@gmail.com
Website: www.sadia.cdc.net.my

Tun Jugah Foundation
Tel: +82-239672
Email: jrn@po.jaring.my
Website: www.tunjugahfoundation.org.my

Sources and further reading

General

Castellino, J. and Domínguez Redondo, E., Minority Rights in Asia: A Legal Comparative Analysis, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Chin, Ung-Ho (Chin, J.), Chinese Politics in Sarawak, New York, Oxford University Press, 1996.

Colin, N., The Orang Asli of Peninsula Malaysia, Malaysia, Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), 1997.

Gatsiounis, I., 'Malaysia moving backward on human rights', Asia Times Online, 20 July 2006, URL: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/HG20Ae01.html

Hong, E., Natives of Sarawak: Survival in Borneo's Vanishing Forests, Penang, Institute Masyarakat, 1988.

Human Rights in Malaysia: http://www.aliran.com/oldsite/hr/index.html

Jesudason, J.V., Ethnicity and the Economy: the State, Chinese Business and Multinationals in Malaysia, Singapore, Oxford University Press, 1989.

King, V.T. and Parnwell, M.J. (eds), Margins and Minorities: The Peripheral Areas and Peoples of Malaysia, Hull, Hull University Press, 1990.

Lee, R., Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations in Malaysia, De Kalb, Northern Illinois University Press, 1986.

Somers Heidhues, M. et al., The Chinese of South-East Asia, London, MRG, 1992.

Hefner, R. (ed.), The Politics of Multiracialism: Pluralism and Citizenship in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2001.

Thomas, T., 'Human rights in 21st-century Malaysia', Insaf, The Journal of the Malaysian Bar, vol. 30, no. 2, June 2001, pp. 91- 106, URL: www.aliran.com/oldsite/hr/tt4.html

Wong, S., 'Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore', Helium, URL: www.helium.com/tm/81482

Zubaidah Rahim, L., 'Minorities and the state in Malaysia and Singapore', paper for the UN Working Group on the Rights of Minorities, UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.5/2003/WP.12, 5 May 2003, URL: http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/e06a5300f90fa0238025668700518ca4/1fe99cab7bce1386c1256d25004c0787/ $FILE/G0314161.pdf

Chinese

Chin, Ung-Ho (Chin, J.), Chinese Politics in Sarawak, New York, Oxford University Press, 1996.

Chin, Ung-Ho, The Chinese of Southeast Asia, London, Minority Rights Group, 2000.
Heng, Pek Koon, 'The New Economic Policy and the Chinese community in peninsular Malaysia', The Developing Economies, vol. 35, no. 3, 1997, pp. 262-92, URL: www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/De/pdf/97_03_03.pdf

Heng, Pek Koon, Chinese Politics in Malaysia: A History of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1998.

Jesudason, J., Ethnicity and the Economy: the State, Chinese Business and Multinationals in Malaysia, Singapore, Oxford University Press, 1989.

Kua, Kia Soong, A Protean Saga: The Chinese Schools of Malaysia, 3rd edn, Selangor, Dong Jiao Zong Higher Learning Centre, 1999 (first published 1985).

Lee, K.H. and Tan, C.B. (eds), The Chinese in Malaysia, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000.

Ling, Liong Sik et al., The Future of Malaysian Chinese, Petaling Jaya, Pelanduk Publications, 1988.

Ling, Liong Sik, The Malaysian Chinese: Towards Vision 2020, Petaling Jaya, Pelanduk Publications, 1995.

Purcell, V., The Chinese in Southeast Asia, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1981.

Somers Heidhues, M. et al., The Chinese of South-East Asia, London, MRG, 1992.

Tan, Chee-Beng, Chinese Minority in a Malay State: The Case of Terengganu in Malaysia, Singapore, Eastern University Press, 2003.

Ye, Lin-Sheng, The Chinese Dilemma, Kingsford, NSW, East West Publishing, 2003.

Indian

Ampalavanar, R., The Indian Minority and Political Change in Malaya 1945-1957, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1981.

Arasaratnam, S., Indians in Malaysia and Singapore, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1979.

Jain, R., Culture and Economy: Tamils on the Plantation Frontier in Malaysia Revisited, 1998/99, New Delhi, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2000, URL: www.tamilnation.org/diaspora/malaysia/ravijain.pdf

Kuppuswamy, C.S., 'Ethnic tensions in Malaysia: a wake-up call for the Malaysian Indian Congress', South Asia Analysis Group Paper no. 213, 20 March 2001, URL: http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper213.htm

Kuppuswamy, C.S., 'Malaysian Indians: the third class race', South Asia Analysis Group Paper no. 618, 28 February 2003, URL: http://www.saag.org/papers7/paper618.html

Schiffman, H., 'Language shift in the Tamil communities of Malaysia and Singapore: the paradox of egalitarian language policy', Special Issue on Language Loss and Public Policy (G. Bills, ed.), Southwest Journal of Linguistics, vol. 14, nos 1-2, 1996, URL: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/haroldfs/540/handouts/sparadox/sparadox.html< /a>

Spaeth, A., 'A heritage denied: decades of official discrimination have turned Malaysia's ethnic Indians into a disgruntled underclass', TimeAsia, 21 August 2000, URL: www.time.com/time/asia/features/ontheroad/malaysia.dilemma.html

Stenson, M., Class, Race and Colonialism in West Malaysia: The Indian Case, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 1980.

Tamil Diaspora Malaysia: www.tamilnation.org/diaspora/malaysia.htm

Orang Asli

Asian Indigenous and Tribal People's Network (AITPN) 'Orang Asli's rights: Malaysia's federal court faces acid test', Indigenous Rights Quarterly, vol. 1, no. 1, April-June 2006, URL: http://www.aitpn.org/Issues/II-03-06 -Orang.pdf

Baer, A. et al., Orang Asli Women of Malaysia: Perceptions, Situations and Aspirations, Subang Jaya, Center for Orang Asli Concerns, 2006.

Gomes, A., Looking for Money: Capitalism and Modernity in an Orang Asli Village, Subang Jaya/Melbourne, Center for Orang Asli Concerns/Trans Pacific Press, Melbourne, 2004.

Jennings, S., The Senoi Temiar, London, Routledge, 1995.

Nicholas, C. and Williams-Hunt, A., 'Orang Asli', in J. K. Sundram and S.K. Ng (eds) Malaysia's Economic Development: Policy and Reform, Petaling Jaya, Pelanduk Publications, 1996.

Nicholas, C., 'The Orang Asli of peninsular Malaysia', Center for Orang Asli Concerns, 1997, URL: http://www.magickriver.net/oa.htm

Nicholas, C., The Orang Asli and the Contest for Resources: Orang Asli Politics, Development and Identity in Peninsular Malaysia, Copenhagen/Subang Jaya, International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs/Center for Orang Asli Concerns, 2004.

Orang Asli Archives: www.keene.edu/library/orangasli

Santharamohana, M., Knowledge, culture and beliefs of the Semelai people in Tasek Bera, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Wetlands International, 2002.

Temiar Web: www.temiar.com

Weber, G., 'The Negrito of Malaysia: the Semang', 2006, URL: www.andaman.org/BOOK/chapter35/text35.htm

Yong Ooi Lin, C., Flowed Over: The Babagon Dam and the Resettlement of the Kadazandusun in Sabah, Petaling Jaya, Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, 2003.

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in Sabah

Devasish Roy, R., Traditional Customary Laws and Indigenous Peoples in Asia, London, MRG, 2005, URL: http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=1018

Ibrahim, Z., Voices of the Crocker Range Indigenous Communities Sabah: Social Narratives of Transition in Tambunan and its Neighbours, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 2001.

Waddington, R., 'The Bajau', Indigenous Peoples of the World Foundation, URL: www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Bajau

Kadazandusun Information Portal: www.kadazandusun.net

Lasimbang, C., 'Indigenous peoples of Sabah: traditional resource management, indigenous rights', in the Commonwealth Project, South and South-East Asia Regional Expert Meeting, India International Centre, New Delhi, 2002, URL: www.cpsu.org.uk/downloads/Claudia_.pdf

Lasimbang, J., 'The Indigenous Peoples of Sabah', in C. Nicholas and R. Singh (eds), Indigenous Peoples of Asia: Many Peoples, One Struggle, Chiang Mai, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, 1996.

Lasimbang, J., 'Malaysia report on indigenous peoples and protected areas', submitted to Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Protected Areas, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 2006, URL: http://www.aippfoundation.org/documents/Malaysia%20Report%20on%20IPs%20and%20PAs%5BFINAL%5D.pdf

Sadiq, K., 'When states prefer non-citizens over citizens: conflict over illegal immigration into Malaysia', International Studies Quarterly, vol. 49, 2005, pp. 101-122, URL: http://www.cri.uci.edu/pdf/ISQ2005FinalCopy.pdf

Sather, C., The Bajau Laut: Adaptation, History, and Fate in a Maritime Fishing Society of South-Eastern Sabah, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1997.

The People of Sabah: www.sabah.org.my

Yamamoto, H., 'The emergence of Bajau identity in British North Borneo (Sabah)', Southeast Asia: History and Culture, 31 May 2002.

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in Sarawak

Buma, M., Iban Customs and Traditions, Kuching, Borneo Publications, 1987.
Cramb, R.A. and Wills, I.R., 'Private property, common property, and collective choice: the evolution of Iban land tenure institutions', Borneo Research Bulletin vol. 29, 1998, pp. 57-70.

Davis, W., MacKenzie, I. and Kennedy, S., Nomads of the Dawn: The Penan of the Borneo Rain Forest, San Francisco, CA, Pomegranate, 1995.

Devasish Roy, R., Traditional Customary Laws and Indigenous Peoples in Asia, London, MRG, 2005, URL: http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=1018

Endicott, K., 'Indigenous rights issues in Malaysia', in B. Dean and J.M. Levi (eds), At the Risk of Being Heard: Identity, Indigenous Rights, and Postcolonial States, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2003.

Hong, E., Natives of Sarawak: Survival in Borneo's Vanishing Forest, Penang, Institut Masyarakat, 1987.

'Iban of Sarawak': www.archaeolink.com/iban_of_sarawak_indigenous_asia_.htm

King, V., 'Indigenous peoples and land rights in Sarawak, Malaysia: to be or not to be a Bumiputra', in R.H. Barnes, A. Gray and B. Kingsbury (eds), Indigenous Peoples of Asia, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1995.

Phoa, J., 'The Dayaks and Orang Ulu of Sarawak', in C. Nicholas and R. Singh (eds), Indigenous Peoples of Asia: Many Peoples, One Struggle, Chiang Mai, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, 1996.

Postill, J., 'The mediated production of ethnicity and nationalism among the Iban of Sarawak, 1977-1997', Borneo Research Bulletin, 2002, URL: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199- 1565310_ITM

Rengah Sarawak - Sarawak News: www.rengah.c2o.org

'Sarawak - Orang Ulu Fight Logging', Cultural Survival Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 4, 31 December 1987, URL: www.cs.org/publications/Csq/csq-article.cfm?id=747

Sarawak Peoples Campaign: www.rimba.com/spc/spcpenanmain1.html

Sutlive, V. and Sutlive, J. (eds), The Encyclopaedia of Iban Studies, Iban History, Society, and Culture, Tun Jugah Foundation and Borneo Research Council, 2001.

Coalition of Concerned NGOs on Bakun (Gabungan) Malaysia, 'The resettlement of indigenous people affected by the Bakun Hydro- Electric Project, Sarawak, Malaysia, Cape Town, South Africa, World Commission on Dams, December 1999.