Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 411

cakes. he culinary standard might not
be very high, but a filling one-plate meal
only costs a couple of dollars.
Inexpensive restaurants are found in all
cities. Many offer cheap lunchtime deals.
In larger cities - and particularly in Kuala
Lumpur - you can find excellent hai,
Italian and other international food.

generally fine. Sweet condensed milk is
usually added to tea and coffee unless you
ask for it without. In city centres, look
out for the sweetened soy milk, coconut
milk and sugar-cane juice touted on
street corners.
Malays are big tea and coffee drinkers;
tea is locally grown in the Cameron
Highlands (see p.433), while most of
the coffee comes from Indonesia. Coffee
tends to be strong and sweetened with
condensed milk, but you can specify
kurang manis (less sugar), tak mahu manis

6

DRINKING
Tap water is said to be safe to drink in
Malaysia, though it's wise to stick to
bottled water. Using ice for drinks is

PEOPLES OF MALAYSIA
With a pivotal position on the maritime trade routes between the Middle East, India and China,
Malaysia has always attracted immigration. The region also had many indigenous tribes ,
Orang Asli (“the first people”). On the Peninsula, the Malays form just over fifty percent of the
population, the Chinese nearly 38 percent, Indians ten percent and the Orang Asli around one
percent; in Sarawak and Sabah, the indigenous tribes account for around fifty percent of the
population, the Chinese 28 percent, with the other 22 percent divided among Malays, Indians
and Eurasians. Although many of Malaysia's ethnic groups are now nominally Christian or
Muslim, many of their old animist beliefs and ceremonies still survive.
THE MALAYS
The Malays first moved to the west coast of the Malaysian Peninsula from Sumatra in early
times, but the growth in power of the Malay sultanates from the fifteenth century onwards
- coinciding with the arrival of Islam - established Malays as a significant force. They
developed an aristocratic tradition, courtly rituals and a social hierarchy that still has an
influence today. The main contemporary change for Malays in Malaysia was the introduction
after independence of the bumiputra policy, which was designed to make it easier for the
Malays, the Orang Asli of the Peninsula and other indigenous groups to compete in economic
and educational fields against the high-achieving Chinese and Indians. Malays now hold most
of the top positions in government and in state companies.
THE CHINESE AND STRAITS CHINESE
The first significant Chinese community established itself in Malacca in the fifteenth century.
However, the ancestors of the majority of Chinese now living in Peninsular Malaysia emigrated
from southern China in the nineteenth century to work in the tin-mining industry. In Sarawak
and Sabah, the Chinese played an important part in opening up the interior. Chinatowns
developed throughout the region, and Chinese traditions became an integral part of a wider
Malayan culture. The Malaysian Chinese are well represented in parliament. One of the few
examples of regional intermarrying is displayed in the Peranakan or “Straits-born Chinese”
heritage of Malacca and Penang. When male Chinese immigrants married local Malay women,
their male offspring were termed “Baba” and the females “Nyonya” (or Nonya). Baba-Nyonya
society adapted elements from both cultures: the descendants of these sixteenth-century
liaisons have a unique culinary and architectural style.
THE INDIANS
The first large wave of Tamil labourers arrived in the nineteenth century. But an embryonic
entrepreneurial class from North India soon followed and set up businesses in Penang. Although
Indians comprise only ten percent of Malaysia's population, their impact is felt everywhere.
THE ORANG ASLI
The Orang Asli are the indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, thought to have
migrated here around fifty thousand years ago. They mostly belong to three distinct