Malaysian Indian - Geographic Distribution

Geographic Distribution

The close correspondence between the ethnic and occupational divisions of the South Asian community was inevitably reflected in the community's geographical distribution in Malaya. The South Indian Tamils were the majority throughout the country, on the rubber estates and railways, though a significant proportion found employment on the docks in Penang and Singapore. The Malayali were located predominantly in Penang, Lower Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, parts of Negeri Sembilan,and Johor where they were usually in the estates or in the civil service in the earlier days. The Telugus were concentrated in lower Perak, northern Selangor, Negeri sembilan, Kulim and Sg Petani in Kedah and Pahang. While the business communities, the Gujaratis, Sindhis, Chettiars, and Tamil Muslims, were concentrated in the urban areas, principally Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, and Singapore. The Ceylon Tamils were also mainly an urban community, though some were found in rural areas working as staff on the estates as well being well known in dominating the railways. In Sabah and Sarawak, the Indian population is concentrated around the major cities and towns in both states, with representations from the Tamil Muslims, Punjabis, Malayali, Sindhis, Ceylonese, South Indian Tamils and other Indian ethnic groups, taking up careers in the private and government sectors or running businesses.

Source: National Census 2010, Department of Statistics Malaysia.