The Malays represents majority of the population and are Muslims. By the way, Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. Learn more about Islam by going to 'ISLAMIC WORLD.' Never the less, people of other faith have a high degree of religious freedom as compared to other Islamic countries.
By definition, a Malay is a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to the Malay custom. Another definition - the Malay Reservation Enactment (MRE) Federated Malay States Chapter 142, states that the"Malayan" race includes those who usually speaks in the Malay language or any "Malayan" languages and professes the Islamic religion.
However, the term Bumiputra - meaning 'children of the soil' includes the Malays, the 'Orang Asli' ('original people' in Malay) of peninsular Malaysia and the various tribes in Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia.
The Chinese form the second largest ethnic group. The Chinese have different sub-ethnic groups such as the Hokkein, Hakka, Cantonese among others depending on the dialect they speak. Most of the business in KL or for that matter in the whole of Malaysia, are run by the Chinese. So whenever you go shopping, take a Chinese friend along. Believe me, it really helps.
Here, when people talk about Indians, they mean ethnic Tamils, Malyalees and Telegu (based on the Indian languages they speak). North Indians are called Hindustanis. Punjabi's here (majority Sikhs) consider themselves distinct and its quite funny that they are known as 'Bengali' here. In fact, Bengali refers to people from Bengal whereas, Punjabi's are from Punjab. There is also a distinct group of people who are of Muslim Indian descent known as Mamaks. I was surprised to learn that many Malays in fact, have Indian blood, including some of the top Malaysian politicians. However, they also have Bumiputra status.I had a hard time convincing people here that I am an Indian because of my mongoloid features. I got tired explaining that I came from India as I didn't look like the Indians they knew. They were even more confused when they heard my name and noticed that I had a Singh title. Actually 'Singh' means 'Lion' as in 'Singapore' the 'Land of Lions'. It was hard to explain that the title Singh was not restricted to Punjabi Sikhs alone and it was common among many other Indians. On the bright side, I was able to melt into the crowd and it was easier making friends with the Chinese and Malays.
The children of mixed Indian - Chinese parentage are called 'Chindians' most of whom look like Malays. Due to my name, many assumed that I am a Chindian. "Looks like a Malay but has an Indian name - must be Chindian."
Another interesting phenomenon is the increasing number of Eurasians in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur. Born out of mixed marriages between Malaysians and Westerners. With exotic features, many have carved out a place for themselves in the local entertainment and modelling scene.
One ugly side that you might see here but which is rarely mentioned is the underlying racial tension. It is better that you do not touch topics such as NEP, Quota system or Bumiputra status.
During the Asian Crisis, we were quite worried - wondering whether the violence in Indonesia would spread to Malaysia, due to the fact that the ethnic mix here is even more explosive and also because of the political developments here. Fortunately the fears were unfounded and the economy is on the rise again. This says a lot about the people and the Government here. I have to add here that I am a great admirer of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Although many people may not agree with me, I feel that he is one of the greatest leaders of our time.