Malays in Singapore - Migration of Malays To Singapore After 1819

Migration of Malays To Singapore After 1819

When Raffles came to Singapore, there were already hundreds of indigenous Malays living there. The waters of Telok Blangah, the Kallang River and other rivers had been home to the Orang Laut or Sea Nomads for a very long time. Here were also Malay settlements along the Kallang River Basin and the Singapore River. Turnbull reported that there was an estimated 1,000 people living in Singapore. There were about 500 Orang Kallang, 200 Orang Seletar, 150 Orang Gelam, 100 Orang Lauts, 20-30 Malays who were the followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman and about 20-30 Chinese.

In the first census taken in 1824, it was revealed that the Malays (including the Bugis) then made up 60.9 per cent of the total population of 10,683.