Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A City of Immigrants
The very birth of KL coincided with an influx of Chinese immigrants, mainly Hakka and
Hokien. They were followed by Cantonese, Swatow, Hainanese and, from India and the
subcontinent, Tamils, Punjabis, Bengalis, Sikhs, Sinhalese and more, each bringing with
them their own dialects and customs. What they all shared was a desire to build a new and
more prosperous life.
That process is ongoing. KL continues to be a magnet for economic migrants from
Malaysia and across the region (in particular Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and
Myanmar). Wander around Chinatown on a Sunday or Bukit Bintang on any night of the
week and it's almost as if you've touched down in a convention of the United Nations.
For all the city's seeming harmony, underlying ethnic and religious tensions are a fact of
life: many KLites openly acknowledge the lack of integration between the principal Malay,
Chinese and Indian communities. There are also worries that Malaysia's tolerant brand of
Islam is becoming more conservative, impacting the lives of KLites across the board.
Many of the people you'll encounter in KL don't actually live here: of the Greater KL/Klang Valley popula-
tion of around 6 million, only 1.6 million live within the city boundaries; the rest are residents of satellite
cities such as Petaling Jaya (PJ).
