The objective of this article is to provide an introduction to the concept of
Vegetarianism among Hindus in Malaysia. According to Malaysian population
census of 2000, Malaysian population is 23.27 million, of which 7.7% are
Indians and out of this 7.7%, 81.8% of Indians are practising Hindus.
The majority (60.4%) of the country are of Islamic faith. Buddhists make up
about 19.2%, Christians about 9.1%, Hindus about 6.3% and the other 2.9%
of the population is composed of followers of other faiths including Daoism,
Confucianism and Shamanism.
About 80 percent of Indian immigrants to Malaya were Hindus especially from
South India. During the British colonial period in late 18th century and early
19th century, Indians migrated to Malaya as labourers bringing along Hindu
practices and beliefs. Since then the Hindu religious values and belief system
have been an influencing factor.
Hinduism is known as an important marginal religion in Malaysia through the
influence of Indian migration during the British period in the late 18th Century
during the acquisition of the Straits Settlements (Penang, Malacca,
Singapore) and with the expansion of British rule over the Peninsular Malaya
which resulted in the expansion of agriculture and the demand for cheap and
submissive labour which continued till the eve of Second World War.
After the Second World War, Hindus practiced Hinduism by building temples
in rural and urban areas. Messages on religions and rituals were spread
throughout the world through temples. At the same time saints from various
countries especially from India started preaching Hinduism to Hindus. It
started off with a small group of people spreading the practice of Hinduism
and this group has grown into big organizations such as the Saiva Siddhanta
mandram and many others.