Malaysian Sikhs are known to be the fourth largest Malaysian Indian ethnic group. It is estimated that there are around 100,000 Sikhs in Malaysia.
Early Sikh pioneers
Sikhs were initially sent to British Malaya as political prisoners. The first few Sikhs to set foot in Malaya were Nihal Singh (better known as Bhai Maharaj Singh) and Khurruck Singh, who were deported from India due to anti-British involvement in 1849. These prisoners were sent to the Outram Road prison in what is now Singapore. In 1865, Sikhs were sent to Malaysia again as recruits in the armed forces in the British Empire mainly as police, military and guards.
Sikh community and migration
Regular Sikh migration to Malaya (Malaysia) started here in 1873. The Sikh community is the largest here among Southeast and East Asia. The earliest Sikhs settlers were Policemen. The first Sikh Gurdwara was set up in Cornwallis in 1873 inside police Lines. The first public Sikh Gurdwara was set up in 1903 in Penang. Sikhs occupied top positions in Military and Police during the British rule of Malaysia. There are as many as 15 Sikh Gurdwaras in Kuala Lumpur alone more than the number of mosques there, despite Muslims being the dominant demographic in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Sikhs are deep-rooted in Sikh culture more than Sikh diaspora anywhere in the world and are assimilated in mainstream keeping their identity intact. A group of Sikh businessmen in Malaysia has set up a network of International Sikh Entrepreneurs (NISE) to promote their products and services and generate opportunities among members.
List of Malaysian Sikhs
Melinder Bhullar - Model & Miss World Malaysia 2013 winner
Gobind Singh Deo- Malaysian politician, lawyer and former Minister of Communications and Digital Ramkarpal Singh Deo - Malaysian politician and lawyer Jagdeep Singh Deo - Malaysian politician and lawyer Satwant Singh Dhaliwal - Malaysian geneticist, academic and author Kiran Jassal - Model K. S. Nijhar - Former Malaysian MP and politician B. S. Rajhans - Malay film director Kavita Sidhu - Actor Baljit Singh - Former hockey player Baljit Singh - Hockey player Bishan Singh - Enviromentalist Karamjit Singh - Malaysian professional rally car driver Karpal Singh - Former Malaysian MP and politician Lall Singh - Cricketer Manrick Singh - Cricketer Sanjay Singh - Squash player Santokh Singh - Former Malaysian international football player Shebby Singh - Former Malaysian international football player Suresh Singh - Malaysian cricketer
Gurdwaras in Malaysia
There are a total of 119 gurdwaras throughout Malaysia. 42 of them are situated in the state of Perak, where the majority of Sikhs in Malaysia resides.