Migration to Kuala Lumpur: The Minangkabau cultural tradition of out-migrating and trading

Merantau or inter-island migration is one of the most important aspects of social and economic history of the Malays. Studies on immigration in the Malay Peninsula in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries have been written by many scholars. However, their attentions have been mainly focused on the Chinese and Indians due to the large contribution made by these communities to the economic development of the then Malaya. The contributions of the people of the Malay stock who have migrated into the peninsula during these centuries have attracted less attention. This article tries to reveal the role of Minangkabau migrants and traders in the early history of Kuala Lumpur. In this study their migration will be seen through the cultural tradition of the Malay world, the merantau or inter-island migration. The term merantau here is associated with the Minangkabau tradition of leaving their homeland to seek their fortunes in a new land. The Minangkabaus will be the forcus of this study because they make the largest single group of “orang dagang” (migratory traders) in the early history of Kuala Lumpur. They were also considered to be one of the most important groups of people who were widely involved in the early commercial development of Kuala Lumpur. This study revolves around two major issues, namely, the role of the Minangkabaus in the economic, social and political development of Kuala Lumpur and the merantau tradition which formed the context within which the inter-island migration from Sumatera to Malaya of the Minangkabau migratory traders.