Malaysian Australians

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Malaysian Australians
Total population
(33,620 (by ancestry, 2011)[1])
Regions with significant populations
Melbourne, Sydney, Perth[2] and Christmas Island (More than 90%)[3]
Languages
Australian English, Malaysian English, Malaysian Mandarin, Malaysian Tamil, Cantonese, Malay, Indian Languages
Religion
Christianity (43%), Buddhism (26%), Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam (5%)[4]
Related ethnic groups
Various ethnic groups of Malaysia, Singaporean Australians, Cocos Malays

Malaysian Australians refers to Australians who have migrated from Malaysia, or are of Malaysian descent. This may include Malays as well as overseas Chinese, Indian, mixed Malaysians and other groups. There are also ethnic Malays in Australia who came to Australia prior to the establishment of Malaysia, or who have come from other regional countries including Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.

Demography

People born in Malaysia as a percentage of the population in Sydney divided geographically by postal area, as of the 2011 census.

At the 2006 Census 92,335 Australian residents stated that they were born in Malaysia.[5] 64,855 Malaysian born Australian residents declared having Chinese ancestry (either alone or with another ancestry), 12,057 declared a Malay ancestry and 5,848 declared an Indian ancestry. The proportion of Malaysian-born individuals in Australia who claim Chinese ancestry is 70.2%, which is markedly different from the proportion of Malaysians in Malaysia who claim Chinese ancestry (22.9%). The proportion of Malaysians in Australia that claim Indian ancestry (6.3%) is similar to the proportion in Malaysia (7.1%). Taken together with the marked difference in the proportion who cite Islam as their religion (60% in Malaysia, 5% in Australia), it is clear that migration from Malaysia to Australia has not reflected a cross-section of Malaysia, but rather, is heavily skewed towards the Chinese community and to a lesser extent the Indian community.[4]

Malaysian Australians are well established in Australia. Slightly more than half (46,445) had Australian citizenship,[4] and 47,521 had arrived in Australia in 1989 or earlier.[4] 32,325 spoke English at home, 24,347 spoke Cantonese, 18,676 spoke Mandarin and 5,329 spoke Bahasa Melayu.[4] Malaysian Australians were resident in Melbourne (29,174), Sydney (21,211) and Perth (18,993).[2]

Although Malaysia has a 60% Muslim population, only 5% of Malaysian-born Australians cited Islam as their religion in the 2006 Census, the largest religions were Christianity (43%) and Buddhism (26%).[6]

History

Malay labourers were brought over to Australia to work mainly in the copra, sugarcane, pearl diving and trepang industries. In the case of Cocos Islands, the Malays were first brought as slaves under Alexander Hare in 1826, but were then employed as coconut harvesters for copra. However, there were no historical facts that prove that the Malays settled in mainland Australia and the east coast until the late 19th century, where they not only worked in the trepang or pearl diving industry, but also in sugarcane plantations.

In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Malay pearl divers were recruited through an agreement with the Dutch. By 1875, there were 1800 Malay pearl divers working in Western Australia itself. Most of them returned home when their contract expired. The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 severely curtailed the growth of this community.

Number of permanent settlers arriving in Australia from Malaysia since 1991 (monthly)

From the 1950s onwards Malaysians came to Australia to study under the Colombo Plan, with many choosing to stay in Australia after graduation. Their numbers increased following the end of the Immigration Restriction Act in 1973. As Malaysia's affluence increased, more students came to study as self-financed students.[citation needed]

Notable Malaysian Australians

name Born - Died Notable for Connection with Australia Connection with Malaysia
Che'Nelle[7] 1983- singer lives in Australia born Kota Kinabalu[8]
Remy Hii 1986/87- actor lives in Australia of Malaysian descent[9]
Nick Kyrgios 1995- Professional tennis player lives in Australia of Malaysian descent[10]
Kamahl[11] 1934- singer lives in Australia; immigrated 1953 born Kuala Lumpur[12]
Brendan Gan[13] 1988- football (soccer) player lives in Australia of Malaysian descent
Matthew Davies 1995- football (soccer) player lives in Australia of Malaysian descent
Adam Liaw[14] 1978- lawyer, author and television chef lives in Australia; immigrated 1980 born in Penang[15]
Cheong Liew[16] chef lives in Australia; immigrated 1969 born Kuala Lumpur[16]
Chong Lim[17] musician, music director lives in Australia born Ipoh[18]
Guy Sebastian[19] 1981- singer lives in Australia; immigrated as child born Klang[20]
Pria Viswalingam[21] 1962- documentary and film maker works in Australia born Malaysia
James Wan[22] 1977- producer, screenwriter, and film director brought up in Australia and studied there born Kuching[23]
Penny Wong[24] 1968- politician lives in Australia; immigrated 1977[25] born Kota Kinabalu[26]
Poh Ling Yeow[27] 1973- artist and television chef lives in Australia grew up in Kuala Lumpur[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 ABS Census - ethnicity
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2013/07/raw-emotion-the-key-for-remy-hii.html
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • Cleland, Bilal. The Muslims in Australia: A Brief History. Melbourne: Islamic Council of Victoria, 2002.
  • JPS Bach, 'The pearlshelling industry and the "White Australia" policy', Historical Studies, Australia and New Zealand, vol. 10, no. 38, May 1962, pp. 203–213
  • Bilal Cleland, Muslims in Australia: A Brief History, www.icv.org.au/history.shtml
  • Nahid Kabir, Muslims in Australia: Immigration, Race Relations, and Cultural History, Kegan Paul, London, 2004
  • Nahid Kabir, 'Muslims in Western Australia, 1870-1970', Journal of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, vol. 12, part 5, 2005, pp. 550–565
  • L Manderson, 'Malays' in James Jupp (ed.), The Australian People, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1988, pp. 691–93
  • Daniel Oakman, Facing Asia: A History of the Colombo Plan, Pandanus Press, Canberra, 2004
  • Gwenda Tavan, The Long, Slow Death of White Australia, Scribe, Melbourne 2005

External links

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