| PEOPLE Main populations of Kedah are Malay (70%), Chinese (18%), Indian (8%) and others races. Malay Kedahans have lived in this fertile land for many decades. They are the pillar in politic and the driving force in the state developments. Kedah has produced many great achievers like Tunku Abdul Rahman (1st PM), Datuk Seri Mahathir Mohamad (existing PM) and Daim Zainuddin (former Finance Minister). Some Malays have ancestral traces of Thai, Achenese, Arab and Hindu. Today's Chinese Kedahans are mostly the first or second generation local born. Most are the decendants of the China immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong provinces in South-east China. The biggest migrations started in 1860s. Indian Kedahans are mostly the descendant of the immigrant from the South Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Northern Indian descendants formed a very close-knit, small community here. In the past, SP's population was predominantly Chinese of Hokkien and Teochew dialect groups. As SP has been growing rapidly since early 1980s, there is a better mixed of ethnic groups. Religions All Malays are muslim. About half of the Chinese are taoist while the rest are Buddhists, Christians and Catholics. Indian are mostly Hindus and small numbers of Christians and Catholics. |
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