Prior to British colonization, Tamils had been conspicuous in the archipelago much earlier, especially since the period of the powerful South Indian kingdom of the Cholas in the 11th century.

Although the bulk of these immigrants to South East Asia had assimilated with the majority Malay ethnic group, some communities such as the Malacca Chittys are remnants of these earlier Tamil migrants.

[9] During the British colonial era, Britain facilitated the migration of Indian workers to work in plantations under Kangani system.

[11] In order to wipe out cholera, Japanese forces launched huge massacres against the Indians, killing massive numbers of the Tamils daily.

According to Harold Schiffman, an American researcher into Malaysian Tamils, compared to Singapore, language maintenance is favourable in Malaysia.

[15] Malaysian Tamils had the opportunity to integrate with the expanding economy of Malaysia since 1970 under the New Economic Policy (NEP).

HINDRAF was classified as an illegal organisation on 15 October 2008 and most of its top leaders have been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

In July 2018 Malaysian police launched a probe into P. Ramasamy's, deputy chief minister of Penang, alleged ties to LTTE.