Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has assured all help to the Telugu community on the occasion of the Ugadi new year celebrations Tuesday.
“We will carry on helping the Telugus so that they will be able to enjoy the nation's prosperity,” he said, adding he hoped the celebrations would “strengthen unity among the people”.
Malaysia has an estimated 300,000 Telugus who trace their origin to India's Andhra Pradesh state.
The leadership of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the country's largest party that claims to speak for the nearly two million ethnic Indians, also wished the Telugus on Ugadi.
MIC president S. Samy Vellu and vice-president S. Subramaniam extended their greetings.
Subramaniam, who is the country's human resource minister, said the start of the new year meant “setting new goals”, The Star reported.
The Telugus in Malaysia believe they have their roots in the three north coastal Andhra districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.