Bangladeshis in Malaysia

The Bangladeshi Malaysians consists of people of full or partial Bangladeshi descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia. Bangladeshis in Malaysia form a large proportion of Malaysia's foreign labour force. When both legal and illegal residents are included, their population was estimated to total 500,000 persons, roughly one-sixth of all the foreign workers in Malaysia as of 2009. Currently,Bangladeshis are the fastest growing race in Malaysia and will Overtake Malaysian Indians As 3rd Biggest Race In Malaysia. AS,Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has agreed to send 1.5 million workers to Malaysia, pushing the future Bangladeshi population to 2.1 million workers.

Migration history

Bengali people have long established in Malaysia, history record demonstrated that the traders from the Bay of Bengal had been involved in commercial activities in the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th-16th century.

During the colonial era, both British Malaya and the Strait Settlements received Bengali-speaking communities bought by the British from the Bengal Presidency that constitute modern-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. The mass arrival from Bengal correlated with the larger migration from British India to work with the colonial government and companies. Many of them consist of traders, policemen, coolies, plantation labourers and colonial soldiers. This pioneer migration are largely taken place from the late 18th century to the 1930s. Today, there are estimated that around 230,000 people of Bengali ancestry in Malaysia. Among the legacy of the pioneers is the Bengali Mosque in Penang which was built in 1803.

Malaysia

Coordinates: 2°30′N 112°30′E / 2.500°N 112.500°E / 2.500; 112.500

Malaysia (ⁱ/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or ⁱ/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə; Malaysian pronunciation: [məlejsiə]) is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. Located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species.