Malaysia's
population is approximately 24 million. Around half of the population of
Malaysia is Malays; the second largest group is the Chinese (33%).
Indians constitute nearly 10% of the population, while Orang Asli-the
original people of Malaysia or aborigines-are present in very small
number. Official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Melayu, also known as Bahasa Malaysia. Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow) Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Punjabi is spoken by the respective ethnic groups. English is the language of business and also facilitates communication between different language groups. In East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, major among them are Iban and Kadazan.