Trace and Tell your Family's Empire Stories
Research guide
Britain's influence in Malaysia dates from the late eighteenth century and rapidly expanded. The East India Company established a trading centre on the island of Penang in 1786. When Britain acquired Malacca from the Dutch in 1824, these three ports became known as the 'Straits Settlements' and were administered by the East India Company until the Colonial Office took direct control in 1867.
Many websites contain message boards and surname indexes of people trying to trace their family history in Malaysia. These are worth looking at to see if anyone is researching the same areas as you, and you can also post messages and join mailing lists specific to your research.
'Rootsweb' gives a good overview of what is available, as well as surname indexes.
http://boards.rootsweb.com/lo
calities.asia.malaysia.general
/mb.ashx
'Genforum' has a message board where you can post and answer questions about any areas of Malaysia research.
http://genforum.genealogy.com
/malaysia/
Newspapers are a great resource for tracing your ancestors, as not only will they provide you with a rich picture of life at the time, but in most cases will contain notices of births, marriages and deaths. It can be a lengthy search, but if you know dates of events then they can be very useful and reliable. ABZ Newspapers has links to newspapers from around the world, and although these mainly cover more recent history, some sites include archived stories too.
http://www.abyznewslinks.com/
malay.htm
There are also a number of physical collections of records which can help you in your search. You will need to visit these in person. Some of them are in Malaysia.
Some records relating to Dutch and British activity in Malaya from c1685-1835 are held in the India Office, part of the Asia, Pacific and Africa Collection in the British Library. These come from the administration of the Orphan Chamber (Weeskamer) and the Council of Justice (Raad van Justitie) in Malacca in the period 1785-1825, and are for the most part in Dutch. Further information on the collection is contained on the British Library's website. If you are planning on visiting, make sure you phone ahead as some of the documents are held off site and take a few days to deliver.
http://www.bl.uk/collections/
asiapacificafrica.html
The British Library Newspaper Collection: Colindale Avenue, London, NW9 5HE Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7353
The British Library Newspaper Library has over 52,000 British and overseas newspaper and periodical titles, including an extensive holding of colonial newspapers from Malaysia.
http://www.bl.uk/collections/
newspapers.html
Government Gazettes for the Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) hold important genealogical information that is not always found in newspapers. The Gazette is essentially a newspaper and one was published by the government of each colony. It can provide a wide range of information on civil servants such as notification of appointments, promotions, transfers, leave, resumption of duty, and retirement. They may also give lists of public servants such as parish constables, doctors and midwives. The amount of information available in the Gazette can vary according to the date and some time periods don't hold as much information as others.
Unfortunately the Gazette is not available on the web. For much of the nineteenth century, Gazettes had no contents page and are not indexed, so be prepared to spend some time looking through these records. The National Archives reference is CO 930 for Gazettes from 1948 to 1980.
http://www.nationalarchives.g
ov.uk/searchthearchives/
The School of Oriental and African Studies: Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG. Telephone +44 (0)20 7637 2388
The SOAS library contains records relating to all aspects of Asian study, including Malaysia, and as a college of the University of London, has impressive secondary sources and collections which may be of interest. If you wish to use the collections, you need to contact the SOAS before you go.
http://www.soas.ac.uk/library
/index.cfm?navid=1481
National Archives of Malaysia: Jalan Dutta, 50568, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +60 (3) 6201 0688
Records are legally required to be made available for public consultation 25 years after their creation. This is the place to contact if you are looking for records of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and other government records. In order to get permission to consult archive materials, letters of introduction and other papers of recommendation may be necessary. These need to be letters confirming your address, and possibly your reasons for visiting. If you are a student, a letter from your university will be sufficient. However, it's best to contact the archives directly to find out exactly what they need.
http://www.tanap.net/content/
archives/archives.cfm?ArticleI
D=208
Registrar General of Births and Deaths: Registration Department Headquarters, No. 2 Jalan 52/4, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, West Malaysia, Malaysia. Phone: +60 (3) 756 8500.
Contact the Registrar General of Births and Deaths for copies of birth and death certificates.
National Registration Department: Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara, Ministry of Home Affairs, Wisma Pendaftaran, Jalan Persiaran Barat, 46551 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: +60 (3) 7968 3200. Contact the National Registration Department for copies of marriage certificates dating from the mid-1800s. The website is in both Malay and English.
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Family Records Centre, Islington
As in many countries, the birth, marriage and death records for Malaysia aren't complete, as not everyone completed the returns. To trace civil registration documents in Malaysia, the best thing to do is contact the National Archives of Malaysia directly.
If your ancestors were of British origin but were born in Malaysia, the civil registration documents may possibly be available in the UK. The National Archives, Kew holds some of the records kept by British consulates abroad and at sea. From the nineteenth century they were obliged to send their records to the General Register Office of England and Wales. The army also kept its own registers for personnel at home and abroad.
The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) has microfilmed copies of surviving birth, christening, marriage and death records for many countries. Search the online database to locate the records. The LDS have many family history libraries all over the world, and you can order in copies of the microfilms to view in your nearest LDS family history centre. Use the website to locate your nearest centre.
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frame
set_fhc.asp
The Registrar General of Births and Deaths is happy to undertake searches on your behalf. It will be more helpful and quicker if you have some idea of the area in which the birth or death you are researching was registered: Petaling Jaya for West Malaysia, Kuching for Sarawak and Kota Kinabalu for Sabah. They charge for their services, and fees can vary, so the best thing to do is to contact the Registrar General of Births and Deaths for more information.
Marriage registration has been in place in Malaysia since the late 1800s. If the marriage in question took place after the mid-1800s, then you may be able to get a copy of the marriage record by contacting the National Registration Department.
Certified copies of civil marriages for those marriages contracted in the state of Sabah and Sarawak, may be obtained from the Superintendent Registrar of Marriages in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and Kuching, Sarawak, respectively.
In addition, there are records on microfilm that have originated from the Roman Catholic St. Peter's Church in Malacca, namely, marriage registers (1768-1838) and burial registers (1787-1827). There are likely to be copies of these registers available in the India Office at the British Library.
If you are looking for a record of a divorce, copies of civil marriage certificate with endorsement of divorce particulars are obtainable at the Marriage Registry at the National Registration Department.
Certified copies of Islamic divorce decrees may be obtained from the Mahkamah Syariah Court in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/reciprocity/Country%
20Folder/M/Malaysia.htm
If your ancestors were born in the UK, you can trace their birth, marriage and death records using the General Register Office website.
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
You can also search in person at the Family Records Centre, Islington, London. However, copies of certificates need to be ordered and there are fees involved. It costs 23 pounds for a certificate to be delivered to the Family Records Centre in 24 hours, or 7 pounds for a four-day delivery time.
If you pay the subscription fee you can search the indexes online at 'Ancestry.com'. 'Free Births Marriages and Deaths' also has some of these records. They aren't yet complete but are being constantly updated.
For wills proved after 1858, you need to visit the Probate Search Rooms: First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP.
