Growth of Chinese Population in Malaya

In the years following the Perak War (Perak War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)..there was great influx of Chinese into the States. By 1882, the number of Chinese miners had increased from about 9,000 in 1871 to nearly 50,000. In 1888,the total population of Pahang consisted of about 50,000 Malays and a few hundred Chinese (located mostly at Bentong),but when the British intervened in that State in that year, the Chinese began to flow in to take advantage of the consequent opening-up of the State.By 1891,the population of Perak was estimated at 215,000 of whom 100,000 were Malays and 90,000 Chinese. The story of population growth is similar for Selangor and Negeri Sembilan .

The result of British intervention in the Malay States was that order was established and the country became ripe for development.But the lack of an adequate labour force delayed the investment of British capital. Tin-mining remained largely in Chinese hands untul the first British mining company was floated in the ëighties",and as late as 1920 the Chinese still owned two-thirds of the tin-mines. But the introduction of modern methods of mining,especially by dredges which called for large capitalization and special technical skills,resulted in the British share of the mining was two-thirds and the Chinese oen-third. At the turn of the century the output of tin was greatly increased to meet the expanding world demand and Chinese flocked in to provide labour for the mines.

The theory behind the treaties of protection with the Malay Rules (www.city.com.my/malaya-history.htm ) was that the Malay States belonged exclusively to the Malays. But in spite of this theory, immigration remained completely unrestricted untul the Great Slump 0f 1929- The consequence of this was acomplete revolution in the racial pattern of Malaya. This will become clear from the following statement of population.

Between 1911 and 1941 the population of Malaya (Straits Settlement and Malay States together) more than doubled,increasing from 2,678,000 in the former year to 5,511,000in the later. In 1911, the Malays (including other Malaysians from Java,Sumatra,etc) accounted for 49.2 per cent of the total, the Chinese for 25 per cent,and the Indians for 14 per cent: in 1941,the respective percentages were 41 per cent, 43 pe cent,and 14 per cent ( the last figure,it will be noticed, unchanged). malaya,in fact ,had become a 'plural society"with the main communities living side by side without intermarrying and with quite different methods and standards of life and sentimental .