Malaysian Australians Explained

Group:	Malaysian Australians
Pop:	180,470 (2023)
Popplace:	Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide
Langs:	Australian English, Malaysian English, Chinese (Cantonese, Min Chinese, Malaysian Mandarin), Tamil, Malay, other Languages of Malaysia, Orang Asal languages
Rels:	Predominantly Unaffiliated and Christianity, with minorities of Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism
Related:	Various ethnic groups of Malaysia, Singaporean Australians, Cocos Malays, Chinese Australians, and Indian Australians

Malaysian Australians (Malay: orang Malaysia Australia) refers to Malaysians who have migrated to Australia or Australian-born citizens who are of Malaysian descent. This may include Malaysian Chinese, Malays, Malaysian Indians, Orang Asal, mixed Malaysians and other groups.

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. Possibly the first Malay immigrant to Australia was a 22-year-old convict named Ajoup who arrived in Sydney on 11 January 1837. Ajoup, described as 'of the Malay faith', had been sentenced in Cape Town, South Africa, to 14 years transportation to New South Wales. He received his ticket of leave—that is, his freedom—in the colony in 1843.

The 1871 colonial census records that 149 Malays were working in Australia as pearl divers in northern and western Australia, labourers in South Australia's mines, and on Queensland's sugar plantations. At Federation in 1901, there were 932 Malay pearl divers in Australia, increasing to 1860 by 1921.^[1] 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 alone. Most of them returned home when their contracts expired. The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 severely curtailed this community's growth.

Demography

At the 2006 Census 92,335 Australian residents stated that they were born in Malaysia.^[2] 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%). From these statistics, it is clear that migration from Malaysia to Australia has not reflected a cross-section of Malaysia, but rather, is heavily skewed away from the Malay natives and towards the ethnic Chinese community and to a lesser extent the ethnic Indian community.

Religion

Though Islam is the major religion in Malaysia, Islam is the minority religion among Malaysians in Australia. In 2016, 11,633 people from 165,616 Malaysian Australians, or 7% of the Malaysian Australian population, identified as Muslim, up from 7,610 Muslims or 5.2% in 2016.^[3]

According to the data from Australian Bureau Statistics in 2016, 24.1% from Malaysian Australians population identifying as Buddhists, 20.9% as No religion, 12.7% as Catholic, 5.6% as Other Christian and 5.2% as Muslim.

According to Australian Bureau Statistics in 2021, 24.1% from Malaysian Australian population identifying as No religion, 23.8% as Buddhists, 11.8% as Catholic, 7.0% as Muslim and 5.9% as Other Christians.^[4]

Languages

Slightly more than half (46,445) had Australian citizenship,^[5] and 47,521 had arrived in Australia in 1989 or earlier. 32,325 spoke English at home, 24,347 spoke Cantonese, 18,676 spoke Mandarin and 5,329 spoke Malay. Malaysian Australians were resident in Melbourne (29,174), Sydney (21,211) and Perth (18,993).^[6]

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]
Eddie Woo	1985–	mathematics teacher	born in Camperdown, New South Wales	Parents migrated from Malaysia
Dr Yvonne Ho AM		public speaker, businesswoman, educator, medical specialist, philanthropist	first Malaysian-born woman to receive Order of Australia award^[9]	born in Malaysia
Chandran Kukathas	1957–	political theorist, professor and head of Department of Government, London School of Economics	studied and taught in Australia from 1970s to 2000s	born in Malaysia
Diana Chan	1988–	MasterChef Australia winner	Living in Australia	born in Malaysia
Remy Hii	1986/87–	actor	lives in Australia	of Malaysian descent^[10]
Nick Kyrgios	1995–	Professional tennis player		mother is Malaysian^[11]
Kamahl^[12]	1934–	singer	lives in Australia; immigrated 1953	born Kuala Lumpur^[13]
Brendan Gan^[14]	1988–	football (soccer) player	lives in Australia	of Malaysian descent
	1995–	football (soccer) player	born in Perth, lives in Australia	of Malaysian descent
Adam Liaw^[15]	1978–	lawyer, author and television chef	lives in Australia; immigrated 1980	born in Penang^[16]
Cheong Liew^[17]		chef	lives in Australia; immigrated 1969	born Kuala Lumpur
Chong Lim^[18]		musician, music director	lives in Australia	born Ipoh^[19]
Omar Musa^[20]	1984–	author, poet and rapper		of Malaysian descent^[21]
Guy Sebastian^[22]	1981–	singer	lives in Australia; immigrated as child	born Klang^[23]
Pria Viswalingam^[24]	1962–	documentary and film maker	works in Australia	born Malaysia
James Wan^[25]	1977–	film director, screenwriter and producer	brought up in Australia and studied there	born Kuching^[26]
Penny Wong^[27]	1968–	politician, leader of the Australian Labor Party in the Senate, former Finance Minister	lives in Australia; Australian mother; immigrated 1977^[28]	born Kota Kinabalu,^[29] Chinese Malaysian father
Poh Ling Yeow^[30]	1973–	artist and television chef	moved to Adelaide in 1982	born and raised in Kuala Lumpur^[31]
	1995–	Actress	Born in Australia	Father is Malaysian
Vivien Tan	?–	former model, 1-time actress in British-Australian TV series The Other Side of Paradise, former Channel [V] VJ, and present TV host, chef and entrepreneur	Australian mother, lived in Australia to study	Malaysian father
Lina Teoh	1976–	model, actress, TV host, former Channel [V] VJ, and former beauty queen (Miss World 1998)	born and grew up in Melbourne	Chinese Malaysian father
Ian Goodenough	1975–	politician, member of Liberal Party of Australia	migrated to Australia as a child in 1984, naturalized Australian citizen in 1987	partial Chinese Malaysian descent
Sam Lim	1961–	politician, member of the Australian Labor Party	migrated to Australia in 2005	born in Muar
Ronny Chieng	1985–	comedian and actor	performed in Australia and studied there	born in Johor Bahru

See also

• Islam in Australia
• Cocos Malays
• Australia–Malaysia relations

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

• History of immigration from Malaysia
• Muslim Journeys – Arrivals – Malays
• HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – "there was a place called 'Malay Town' set up in Cairns ..."
• Malay boy, Broome
• Web site: Malaysians . 4 October 2015 . Terri McCormack . 2008 . Dictionary of Sydney. [CC-By-SA] (History of Malaysians in Sydney)

Notes and References

1. Book: Percival Wood, Sally . 60 Years Australia and Malaysia . Moreen . Dee . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200305021118/https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/60-Years-Aust-in-Msia.pdf . 2020-03-05 . Commonwealth of Australia . 2015 . 2020-03-05 . 9781743222782 .
2. Web site: 20680-Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex – Australia. https://web.archive.org/web/20130908091538/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?breadcrumb=POLTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details&collection=Census&javascript=true&topic=Ancestry&action=404&productlabel=Ancestry%20%28full%20classification%20list%29%20by%20Sex&order=1&period=2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true&. 8 September 2013 . Microsoft Excel download . . 2006 Census. 19 May 2008.
3. Web site: 2016 People in Australia who were born in Malaysia, Census Country of birth QuickStats Australian Bureau of Statistics . 2023-04-11 . www.abs.gov.au.
4. Web site: 2021 People in Australia who were born in Malaysia, Census Country of birth QuickStats Australian Bureau of Statistics . 2023-04-11 . www.abs.gov.au.
5. Web site: 27 June 2007 . 2914.0.55.002 2006 Census Ethnic Media Package . Census Dictionary, 2006 (cat.no 2901.0) . . Excel download.
6. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/downloadformat=xls&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&areacode=0 ABS Census – ethnicity
7. News: Malaysian-born singer Che'Nelle is back with her second disk, "Feel Good". The Bajan Reporter. Air Bourne. 13 February 2010. 2 March 2010.
8. Web site: Virgin deal for Malaysian-born singer Che'nelle . https://web.archive.org/web/20071012120513/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2007%2F7%2F25%2Fnation%2F18393787&sec=nation . dead . 12 October 2007 . Chandran . Sheela . 25 July 2007 . thestar.com.my . 27 September 2010 .
9. Web site: Home . dryvonneho.com.
10. Web site: Knox . David . Raw emotion the key for Remy Hii . Tvtonight.com.au . 23 July 2013 . 20 May 2016.
11. News: LEO SCHLINK. Rod Laver says Nick Kyrgios can put pressure on Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon tonight. 2 July 2014. NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA. 1 July 2014.
12. Web site: Talking Heads – Kamahl. https://web.archive.org/web/20060522095935/http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1434728.htm. 22 May 2006. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 June 2007.
13. Web site: Kamahl – interview. https://web.archive.org/web/20100923115940/http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/thebridge/colourfulsydneyidentity/kamahl--interview.aspx. 23 September 2010. Street. Andrew P.. timeoutsydney.com.au. 27 September 2010.
14. News: Gan the face of new Sydney. 10 January 2009. theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 26 September 2010.
15. News: Network counts its takings as a cooking king is crowned. Idato. Michael. 26 May 2010. smh.com.au. 6 November 2013.
16. Web site: Masterchef: Adam Liaw (audio interview). Aedy . Richard . 4 April 2011 . Masterchef: Adam Liaw . 6 November 2013.
17. Web site: Master Chef Cheong Liew Senses Hilton Kuala Lumpur . 6 May 2010. bigboysoven.com. 26 September 2010.
18. Web site: Chong Lim. johnfarnham.info. 26 September 2010.
19. Web site: New Aussie Honour For Malaysian-born Singer . D'Cruz . Neville . 7 May 2006 . Bernama.com . 27 September 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100627004134/http://www.viweb.freehosting.net/Kamahl-news.htm . 27 June 2010 .
20. News: Omar Musa, Australia's star slam poet, brings 'in-betweener' perspective to US . 17 February 2016 . The Guardian.
21. Web site: Omar Musa . Penguin Books.
22. News: Nice guys do win. Cheah. Jason. 22 December 2003. allmalaysia.info. 26 September 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20090210231316/http://allmalaysia.info/news/story.asp?file=%2F2003%2F12%2F22%2Fmsiansabroad%2F6951322&sec=mi_msiansabroad. 10 February 2009. dead.
23. Web site: M'sian-born Idol Guy Sebastian to wed girlfriend . https://web.archive.org/web/20110622060130/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F1%2F8%2Fnation%2F19939232&sec=nation . dead . 22 June 2011 . 8 January 2008 . thestar.com.my . 27 September 2010 .
24. Web site: Pria Viswalingam. https://web.archive.org/web/20060823070521/http://www.forkfilms.com.au/aboutus.html. 23 August 2006. forkfilms.com.au. 26 September 2010.
25. Web site: James Wan Bio. tribute.ca. 26 September 2010.
26. Web site: Mortal enemy . https://web.archive.org/web/20120406114818/http://ecentral.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F3%2F26%2Fmovies%2F20735934&sec=movies . dead . 6 April 2012 . Johan . Rizal . 26 March 2008 . ecentral.my . 27 September 2010 .
27. Profile. https://web.archive.org/web/20041001153815/http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/asian-currents-archive/asian-currents-04-08.html. dead. 1 October 2004. 3 December 2007. August 2004. Asian Currents: The Asian Studies Association of Australia's E-bulletin. Asian Studies Association of Australia.
28. Web site: Penny Wong: climate change and compassion . https://web.archive.org/web/20110227221331/http://www.thetransitlounge.com.au/profiles/322-penny-wong-climate-change-and-compassion.html. 27 February 2011. Atkinson . Meera . 26 August 2008. thetransitlounge.com.au . 27 September 2010.
29. Web site: Penny Wong . https://web.archive.org/web/20100811165153/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/people-in-politics/penny-wong. 11 August 2010. Maher . Sid . theaustralian.com.au. 27 September 2010.
30. News: Poh dishes up her MasterChef secret . https://web.archive.org/web/20090713025246/http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0%2C22606%2C25767296-5006301%2C00.html . 13 July 2009 . Davies . Nathan . 11 July 2009 . news.com.au . 18 July 2009 . dead .
31. Web site: Poh-Ling Yeow. Thompson . Peter . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 September 2010 . 27 September 2010.