Chinese Malaysians, also commonly called locally as Malaysian Chinese, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese ethnicity. They form the second-largest ethnic group, after the Malay majority, and are 22.8% of the Malaysian population. Most of them are descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants who arrived in Malaysia between the early 19th and the mid-20th centuries. Malaysian Chinese form the second largest community of Overseas Chinese in the world, after Thai Chinese. Malaysian Chinese are traditionally dominant in the business sector of the Malaysian economy.
Ethnic Chinese in traditional samfu attire with umbrella, c. 1945.
A Chinese junk in the Kinabatangan District of northern Borneo, photographed by Martin Johnson c. 1935
1860–1900 photograph of Bukit Cina (Chinese Hill) in Malacca, one of Malaysia's oldest Chinese cemeteries
The Hai San Secret Society's "Captain China" with his followers in Selangor, June 1874
Malaysian Malays are Malaysians of Malay ethnicity whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in the Malay world. According to the 2023 population estimate, with a total population of 17.6 million, Malaysian Malays form 57.9% of Malaysia's demographics, the largest ethnic group in the country. They can be broadly classified into two main categories; Anak Jati and Anak Dagang.
Malay children playing Tarik Upih Pinang, a traditional game that involves dragging a palm frond
The remains of an ancient folk temple in Bujang Valley. It was believed that the area was home to an early civilisation dating from 553 BC.
Portuguese illustration of Malays, 1540.
The bronze mural of the legendary Malay warrior, Hang Tuah with his renowned quote Ta' Melayu Hilang Di-Dunia (Malay for "Never shall the Malays vanish from the face of the earth") written on the top. The quote is a famous rallying cry for Malay nationalism.
