Page 32 - Malaysia by John Russel Denyes

to raise their economic and social standing in their
native village. But these returning immigrants
spread the story of the opportunities in Malaysia
and the stream is ever increasing in volume. It is
estimated that within another decade there v^ill
be nearly a million a year seeking homes in
Malaysia.
Many of the immigrants returning to their
homes find themselves cramped by the social and
religious traditions of their native lands, and they
go again to remain permanently, v^here there is
no political oppression, where the coolie can rise
to the limit of his capacity, and where the dead
hand of a religious tyranny fixes no social bar-
riers. Thus the proportion of the immigrants
who become permanent settlers is steadily in-
creasing.
These islands are practically the only place left
in the world where the overflow from India and
China is welcomed. More and more the people of
these lands are awakening to the possibilities of
freedom and comfort in these great natural store-
houses. The fear of the unknown is disappearing,
and within a relatively few years these great jun-
gle wildernesses will be the homes of populations
rivaling those of many of the smaller countries
of Europe.

From The Indians who come to Malaysia
India are mostly Tamils from the Madras Presi-
dency and Ceylon. Bishop Oldham de-
scribes them as "noisy, exceedingly talkative,
faithful, devout, obedient to orders, capable of
patiently bearing much hardship." They are of
the clinging rather than of the venturesome type.
They prefer to accept a fixed scale of wages lead-
ing to a pension, rather than to risk the uncer-
tainties of a personal business venture. The im-
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