Significant Malay presence in Sri Lanka dated as early as 13th century, when Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja a Malay of Tambralinga managed to occupy northern part of the island in 1247, nonetheless the followers of Chandrabhanu would mostly assimilate to the local population. Many of the ancestors of present-day Sri Lankan Malays coming from soldiers posted by the Dutch which later continued by the British for colonial administration to Sri Lanka, who decided to settle on the island. Other immigrants were convicts or members of noble houses from Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia) who were exiled to Sri Lanka and who never left. The main source of a continuing Malay identity is their common Malay language. Many Sri Lankan Malays have been celebrated as courageous soldiers, politicians, sp