Malays continue to be drawn to Singapore…

Malays continue to be drawn to Singapore from all over the archipelago, and will reach a population of thirty-six thousand by 1901.

Malay traders and merchants lose out in the commercial competition with Chinese and Europeans, and most Malay immigrants become small shopkeepers, religious teachers, policemen, servants, or laborers.

The leadership positions in the Malay-Muslim community go to the Jawi-Peranakan, because of their facility in English, and to wealthy Arabs.

In 1876 the first Malay-language newspaper of the region, Jawi Peranakan, had been published in Singapore.

Several other Malay-language journals supporting religious reform will begin in the early twentieth century, and Singapore will become a regional focal point for the Islamic revival movement that will sweep the Muslim world at that time.