THE TAMIL MUSLIM community in George Town, also known as Chulias, arrived from Kedah, the main destination for Muslim traders coming from the Coromandel Coast of South India. The Chulias conducted an extensive volume of trade across the Indian Ocean, and were seen in many maritime and river ports along the Strait of Malacca. They also held key positions in the Malay Court. By the 18th century, they were handling much of Kedah’s trade.

Kedah was known for its Chulia traders, from Port Novo to closely linked ports like Nagor and Nagapattinam. It had one of the most influential Chulias in its royal court—Maharaja Khana Khan, believed to have drafted Kedah’s legal code and several treaties for the Sultan. According to historian Sinnappah Arasaratnam, a Chulia merchant named Jamal became advisor to the king with the title Datu Seri Raja. Other Chulia traders were serving as councillors, managers of trade and procurer of arms for the Kedah rulers.

For a long time, the Chulias were trade rivals to the expansion of British interest in Southeast Asia. Their perspective changed when Kedah faced political turmoil in the 1770s. In 1786, when the British settlement began at Fort Cornwallis, the Chulias decided to engage with the British in regional commerce. By then, they were the only Asian commercial interest group left in the Bay of Bengal trading areas.

Settling In George Town

The Chulias started to migrate from Kedah and other west Malayan ports to Penang. Their vessels were regulars at the port—they came from Porto Novo, Nagore. From Penang, they would sail to Mergui, Ujang Selang, Melaka, Aceh and Pedie. Their ships weighed from 100 to 300 tonnes and carried textiles, rice, tobacco and salt from India. On their return journey, they carried pepper, tin, ginger, gambier, lak, betel nuts, rattan, horses and gold dust. All vessels carried heavy guns.

The Chulias started settling in George Town after Francis Light obtained Penang Island from Sultan Abdullah of Kedah, and were allotted the area known as Chulia Street in Light’s development plan.

There were several groups of Chulias in Penang. The first were shipping agents who consigned and assembled goods for return journeys. Then, there are the pedlars who brought small quantities of goods and capital, residing for one or more seasons before returning; as semi-permanent settlers, they became shopkeepers selling supplies and provisions to ships. Another group consisted of labourers, lending services to ship owners. Francis Light documented in 1794 that Chulia vessels brought 1,500 to 2,000 men annually to work as labourers. Many settled in Penang, starting families. Independent historian Ranjit Singh Malhi notes that based on the 1833 census, there were 7,886 Chulias in Penang, and many Chulias intermarried with local Malay women and assimilated into the Malay Society.

The Chulias also contributed towards the development of early mosques on the island. Based on a 1791 map, there were two mosques at the south of Chulier Street (now Chulia Street)—the Kapitan Keling Mosque and the Chulier Mosque at the end of Queen Street. The Chulia community also built the Nagore Dargah on the land granted by the East India Company as a tradition to cherish the Sufi saint in early 1800. The mosque-building traditions of the Chulias in George Town influenced mosque architecture and development throughout Penang and other Malay states, alongside contributions from Chinese and Arab traders.

During the time of the British in Penang, Chulia traders enjoyed remarkable status and role. One of them was Cauder Mohuddeen, from the Marakkayar class, also known as Merican. He migrated to Penang with Francis Light and influenced the Kedah-based Chulia traders to relocate to the new settlement. He was appointed as the first Kapitan Keling in 1801, and according to the General Report on the Moslem Trusts and Foundations in Penang (1904), it was he who built the Kapitan Keling Mosque. He introduced the concept of family wills and endowments (waqf), likely influenced by practices from the Coromandel Coast. This may have laid the groundwork for the establishment of waqf systems in the Malay states.

Press and Politics

At the end of the 19th century, the Jawi Peranakan and Chulias (Tamil Muslims or Indian Muslims, as they are now known) in Penang were involved in Malay Language print media. The first Malay newspaper was Tanjong Penegeri. The proprietor cum editor was S.P.S.K. Kader Sahib. Other Malay language papers included Pemimpin Wira, Lengkongan Bulan, Bintang Timor and Cahya Pulau Pinang, which ran from the end of the 19th century to the early 20th century, spurred by the Jawi Peranakans and Tamil Muslims. This became the prelude to Malay press such as Utusan Melayu in 1907 and Al Imam in 1908.

At the turn of the 20th century, urban foreign educated Muslim intellectuals were organised under the banner of “Kaum Muda”. Many of them who were prominent Indian Muslims and Arab Muslims fostered Muslim solidarity and brotherhood in Penang, Singapore and Melaka. This effort was eclipsed in the 1930s with the rise of Malay nationalist political parties like Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya.

Persatuan Melayu Pulau Pinang (PEMENANG) was formed in 1927 by a coalition of Tamil Muslim and Malay elites, the Jawi Peranakans uniting all Malay associations in Penang and Seberang Perai. PEMENANG bought a piece of land in Kampung Melayu, which became the first Malay reserve land in the Straits Settlements.

Furthermore, during the Japanese occupation, PEMENANG was appointed as the Malay representative in Penang to discuss Malay affairs. It was called “Malai San Koi Kai” or the Malay Welfare Association.

When the British suggested the formation of the Malayan Union, PEMENANG prepared a memorandum to oppose it. This was sent to the United Nations, London and Moscow. When Onn Jaafar held the first Malay Congress in KL on 4 March 1946 that led to the formation of the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), PEMENANG representatives were present, and the organisation is recognised as one of the founding associations of UMNO.

Unfortunately, contributions by the Tamil Muslim community were not well recognised in Malay communal politics. In the age of ethno-nationalism, Tamil Muslims were caught between two identities—Indian and Malay—marking their social and political dilemma in Malaysia. They found themselves confused by legal concepts of “Melayu” and “Bumiputera”. This has led to a continuous search for identity among Indian Muslim political movements.

References

[1] S. Arasaratnam, Indians in Malaysia and Singapore, Institute of Race Relations, Oxford University Press, London, 1970

[2] S. Arasaratnam, Islamic Merchant Communities of the Indian Subcontinent in Southeast Asia, University of Malaya Press, 1988.

[3] Farish A. Noor, DIASPORA: The Story of the South Asian Muslim Diaspora in Southeast Asia Today, Malaysian Social Research Institute, Kuala Lumpur, 2013.

[4] Khoo Kay Kim, Tradition and Modernity in Malay Society (1830s-1930s), Intellectual Discourse, 19, 15-40, 2011.

[5] Khoo Salma Nasution, The Chulia in Penang: Patronage and Place-Making Around the Kapitan Kling Mosque 1786-1957, Areca Books, Penang, Malaysia, 2014.

[6] Ranjit Singh Malhi, “Significant contributions of Malaysian Tamil Muslims”, Areca Books online shop, January 4, 2024. [7] Wan Kamal Mujani, “The History of Indian Community in Malaysia”, Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences, 6(8): 1348-1353, 2012.