_(15_of_20).jpg) Pakistani supporters in Malaysia during ahockey match between Pakistan and Malaysia. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 85,013 (2020 official govt estimate)[1] | |
| Languages | |
| Urdu · Saraiki · Punjabi · Pashto · Malay · Sindhi · English | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Islam Minority Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Pakistani diaspora,Jawi Peranakan |
Pakistanis in Malaysia form the largestPakistani diaspora community insoutheast Asia and they also make up the 6th largest group of foreign workers/nationals in Malaysia as of 30 June 2017 according to the Malaysia's home ministry.[1]
TheMalays andPakistanis share strong Muslim identity. At the time of Malaysia's independence under theFederation of Malaya Independence Act 1957, there were more than two hundred thousand Pakistanis residing in Malaysia, rather than forming a separate group under the categorised system, at the suggestion of Malays themselves, Pakistanis immersed themselves into the Malay group, thus they became part of theBumiputra elite, enriched by social ties, intermarriage, and shared economic and political aspirations.[2] They also took positions in the civil service administration and gradually rose to the upper echelons of government, by then inextricably intermixed with the Malay majority.[3]
The actual number of Pakistani people in Malaysia is generally understated, as the figure provided by the Pakistani Ministry of Labour merely assert that those who holdPakistani citizenship. An absolute number of Pakistanis people and their descendants are likely to exceed 100,000. This is heavily contributed to fact that the early settlers came fromBritish Raj (which includes present-day Pakistan) during the colonial days have obtainedMalaysian citizenship.[2] Throughout the years, most of Pakistani-Malaysians and their descendants are partially or fully assimilated with theMalay majority due to their common Islamic background, high level ofintermarriage and to receive state aid ofMalaysian affirmative action policy underArticle 153, thus registered themselves asMalays. Nonetheless, they identified their ethnic roots as Pakistani. A vast majority of Pakistanis can be considered as having South Asian racial ancestry, given their close roots to the Indo-Aryan people groups of the region. The primary languages spoken by Pakistanis in Malaysia isUrdu, as well asMalay.
According to official figures released by Malaysia's Home Ministry the number of legal foreign workers from Pakistan stood at 59,281 as of June 2017.[1] Under a 2005 agreement between Pakistan and Malaysia, as many as 100,000 Pakistanis may eventually work in Malaysia, especially in the manufacturing, construction, and plantation sectors; the Pakistani workers are intended to replace nearly 400,000illegal immigrants from Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka who departed the country under an amnesty which ended in March 2005.[4] Lt. GeneralTahir Mahmud Qazi, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Malaysia, expected that the number of Pakistanis in Malaysia would reach that figure of 100,000 by the end of 2010.[5]
Some Pakistani workers recruited by the unscrupulous employment agencies often live in bad conditions in Malaysia.[6] Social practices of victimisation and the precarious conditions in which they live make them feel insecure, alienated, and emotionally tense. Some of their fellow Pakistani friends and relatives who acted as agents and sub-agents are also being partly responsible for victimising them.[6]
In addition to the Pakistanis working in Malaysia, the country receives as many as 50,000 visitors from Pakistan each year; Pakistan'sAirblue plans has launched direct flights toKuala Lumpur in 2009 and ordered fourteenAirbus A320 planes to service the route.[7]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | ... | — |
| 1980 | ... | — |
| 1991 | ... | — |
| 2000 | ... | — |
| 2010 | ... | — |
| 2017 | 59,281 | — |
| 2020 | 85,013 | +12.77% |
| Sources:[1] | ||
Almost all figures in the list of the notable people Pakistani descent in Malaysia are of mixed descent, particularly with theethnic Malays. Mixed-marriage is a pattern which is shared with most of Pakistani descent in Malaysia (excluding to the recently arrived migrants), after settling in the Malaysian soil after generations, assimilation process and the common Islamic background.
From 2005 until 2018, a Muslim Bumiputera, Musa Aman, a Dusun-Pakistani leader, has held the position of Sabah chief minister.
Neelofa or her full name, Noor Neelofa binti Mohd Noor was born in Pasir Mas, Kelantan to parents Mohd Noor and Noor Kartini. As the third child of nine siblings, she inherits her mother's beauty, who has Pakistan and Arab blood.
