Khek - Hakka Worldwide - in Malaysia

In Malaysia

Hakka form the second largest subgroup of the ethnic Chinese population of Malaysia. During this time, Chung Keng Quee, "Captain China" of Perak and Penang was founder of Taiping, leader of the Hai San, a millionaire philanthropist, an innovator in the mining of tin and was respected by both Chinese and European communities in the early colonial settlement. A well known Hakka man was Yap Ah Loy, a Kapitan in Kuala Lumpur from 1868 to 1885, where he brought significant economic contributions, founded Kuala Lumpur and also was an influential figure among the ethnic Chinese. There are also less significant numbers of Hakka people in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak, particularly in the town of Miri where there is a notable population of Hakka people who speak the "Ho Poh" variant of Hakka. In the district of Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, Hakka people make up more than 90% of the Chinese subgroup and the dialect itself acts as a lingua franca there. This has contributed greatly to the fact that the place is commonly known among Hakka Chinese as "Hakka Village".

The greatest concentration of Hakkas in northern peninsular Malaysia is in Ipoh, Perak and in Kuala Lumpur and its satellite cities in Selangor; however, even in areas of Hakka majority amongst the Chinese in these areas, Cantonese tends to be used as a lingua franca when conducting business or eating out whereas the Hakka language is generally only spoken locally or at home. Concentrations of Hakka people in Ipoh and surrounding areas are particularly high.