CHETTIAR DI TANAH MELAYU PADA ABAD KE-20

Abstract

A previous study on Chettiar has argued that his group of businessmen had a long tradition in the economic history of this country. Since the end of the 18th century and the early 19th century, the Chettiar played  the most important role in the moneylending sector of the Malay states. It became obvious that their acitivities were an integral part of the economic history of Malaya in general and of the Malay states in particular. Without the Chettiars, the economic history of this country could have been a different story. This article is a study on the role of the Chettiar, not only in moneylending activities but also their involvements in other economic sectors such as trading, mining and in the rubber estates from the 19th century to particularly the 20th century. The 'Chettiar networking' which started at a small town in Ramnad, Tamil Nadu, India, widely spreaded throughout Southeast Asia including Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina and the Malay states. This article also examines the relationship between the Chettiars and the Malays and how in several cases the Malays lost their lands due to debt owned to Chettiar.