Malaysian Chinese

Malaysian Chinese

Chung Keng Quee Lim Goh Tong Alex Yoong Michelle Yeoh Yap Ah Loy Tan Cheng Lock Jimmy Choo Nicholas Teo Amber Chia Lee Chong Wei Fish Leong James Wan
Total population
6,960,900 24.6% of the Malaysian population (2010)
Regions with significant populations
Kuala Lumpur • Penang • Johor • Perak
Languages
Malaysian Mandarin • Cantonese • Foochow Hakka • Hokkiens • Teochew Malaysian English • Malay
Religion
Buddhism • Taoism • Christianity non-religious and others
Related ethnic groups
Chinese Singaporean • Southern Chinese Peranakan • Chindian Overseas Chinese

Malaysian Chinese
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	馬來西亞華人
Simplified Chinese	马来西亚华人
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Mǎláixīyà Huárén
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	馬來西亞唐人
Simplified Chinese	马来西亚唐人
Transcriptions Min - Hokkien POJ Má-lâi-se-a-tn̂g-lâng Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping maa5 loi4 sai1 aa3 tong4 yan4
Malay name
Malay	Kaum Cina Malaysia

The Malaysian Chinese (Bahasa Malaysia: Kaum Cina Malaysia; simplified Chinese: 马来西亚华人; traditional Chinese: 馬來西亞華人; pinyin: Mǎláixīyà Huárén), or also referred to as Chinese Malaysians, are Malaysians of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the first and the mid-twentieth centuries. Malaysian Chinese constitute one group of Overseas Chinese and is home to one of the largest Chinese communities in all world regions. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. As of 2010, approximately 24.6% of Malaysian population are of Chinese origin, constituting a quarter of Malaysian citizens.

Malaysian Chinese are a well-established middle class ethnic group and make up a highly disproportionate percentage of Malaysia's educated class. Like much of Southeast Asia, Malaysian Chinese are dominant in both the Malaysian business and commerce sectors. They are also one of the biggest taxpayers contributing to almost 90% of the nations income tax.

History

See also: Chinese emigration and Peranakan

First Wave

The first wave of 15th century Chinese settlers came during the Malacca Empire in the early 15th century. The friendly diplomatic relations between China and Malacca culminated during the reign of Sultan Mansur Syah who married China Princess Hang Li Po from China. A senior minister of state and five hundred youth of noble births and handmaidens in waiting accompanied the princess to Malacca. The descendants of these people are called Baba (men) and Nyonya (women).

Second Wave

The second and much bigger wave of 19th century Chinese immigrants came during the 19th century and early 20th century as coolies. These immigrants were running away from criminal British plunderers and slavers in China due to the smugglings of Indian opium and narcotics and the fighting of the Opium Invasion in 1840. Their immigration to Malaya was encouraged by the criminal British who slavered and used Chinese as slaves and coolies to work on their rubber plantations and tin mines. The immigrants came as free labour or indentured labour on a criminal British extreme credit ticket system. Free labour meant they financed their own journey with savings or loans from their good Chinese kinsman. The British extreme credit ticket system group of early Chinese slavers and coolies are not surprisingly the most exploited by their criminal British employers. They worked long hours to pay off the high interest rates on criminal British credit ticket system.

Origins

Hokkien

The Hokkiens (福建人) are the largest Chinese dialect group in Malaysia. Chinese settlers from the southern regions of Fujian constitute the largest group, and generally identified as Hokkien. The bulk of Chinese settlers in Malaya before the 18th century came from Quanzhou, Amoy and Zhangzhou and settled primarily in Penang and Malacca, where they formed the bulk of the local Chinese populace. More Hokkiens settled in Malaya from the 19th century onwards, and dominated the rubber plantation and financial sectors of the Malayan economy. The bulk of Hokkien-speaking Chinese settled in the Malay Peninsula and formed the largest dialect group in many states, specifically in Penang, Malacca, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis. In Malaysian Borneo, the Hokkiens make up a sizeable proportion within the Chinese community, and are primarily found in larger towns, notably Kuching and Sibu.

Hakka people

The Hakka people (客家人) came from both Guangdong and Fujian provinces. They form the second largest group of people after the Hokkiens. Large numbers of Hakka settled in the western parts of Malaya and North Borneo and worked as miners in the 19th century as valuable metals such as gold and tin were discovered. Descendants of these miners formed the largest community among the Chinese in Selangor and very large communities in Perak (specifically Taiping and Ipoh), Sarawak , Sabah and Negeri Sembilan. As the gold and tin mining industries declined in economic importance in the 20th century, many turned to the rubber industry, and large numbers of Hakka settled in Kedah and Johor (principally in Kulai and Kluang). In Sabah, where the majority of ethnic Chinese are of Hakka descent, many of them were involved in agriculture. They cut down the forests to make way for tobacco, rubber and coconut plantations. In time, the Hakka community also dominated the state's industry and economy. However, even today, many Sabahan Hakkas are still involved in agriculture, especially those living in rural towns such as Tenom and Kudat where they are often the backbone of the local industry.

Cantonese people

The Cantonese (廣東人) mostly came from Guangdong province and a minority from Guangxi province. They form the third largest group of people after the Hakkas. They can be subdivided into people from area around Guangzhou (广府人) and Taishan (台山人). They settled down in Kuala Lumpur of the Klang Valley, Ipoh of the Kinta Valley in Perak, Pahang as well as Seremban in Negeri Sembilan and Sandakan of Sabah. They started the development and turn these early settlement into principal towns. Most of the early Cantonese worked as tin miners. From the late 19th century onwards as the tin mining industry declined in economic importance, the Cantonese as well as other Malaysian Chinese gradually shifted their focus to business and contribute much to the social and economic development in Malaya.

Teochew

Teochew immigrants (潮州人) from the Chaoshan region began to settle in Malaya in large numbers from the 18th century onwards, mainly in Province Wellesley and Kedah (mainly around Kuala Muda). These immigrants established were chiefly responsible for setting up gambier and pepper plantation industries in Malaya. More Teochews immigrated to Johor at the encouragement of Temenggong Ibrahim in the 19th century, and many new towns were established and populated by plantation workers from the Chaoshan region. The Teochews constitute a substantial percentage within the Chinese communities in Johor Bahru and principal towns along the coasts of Western Johor (notably Pontian, Muar and to a smaller extent, Batu Pahat) as well as selected hinterland towns in the central regions of the state., many of them being descendants of plantation workers which came to set up gambier and pepper plantations, following the administrative pattern of their countrymen in Johor. Smaller communities of Teochews can also be found in other states, notably in Sabak Bernam in Selangor, where many Teochews settled down as rice agriculturalists, as well as in the hinterlands of Malacca.

Hainanese

Chinese immigrants (海南人) from Hainan began to migrate to Malaya and North Borneo from the 19th century onwards, albeit in much smaller numbers than the aforementioned speech groups. The Hainanese were employed as cooks by wealthy Straits Chinese families, while others were engaged in food catering business or the fishery business and formed the largest dialect group in Kemaman district of Terengganu and Pulau Ketam (Selangor) as well as sizeable communities in Penang and Johor Bahru. Smaller communities of Hainanese are also found in Sarawak and Sabah, where they work as coffee shop owners and are mainly found in large towns and cities.

Hing Hua

The Henghua people (莆仙人) came from Putian. Their numbers were much smaller than the other Min Chinese from Fujian and they were mostly involved in the bicycle, motorcycle and automobile spare parts industry.

Min Dong

Min Dong (閩東人) settlers from Fuzhou (福州, also known as 'Hokchew/Hokchiu' among the Hokkiens, 'Foochow' among the Cantonese and 'Fook Tseu' among the Hakkas) and Fuqing (福清) also came in sizeable numbers during the 19th century and have left a major impact on the corporate industry in the 20th century. They speak a distinct dialect and are classified separately from the Hokkiens. A large number of Min Dongs in Malaysia are Christians. The Min Dongs form the largest dialect group in Sarawak–specifically in areas around the Rajang River, namely the towns of Sibu, Sarikei and Bintangor. They also settled in large numbers in a few towns in Peninsular Malaysia, notably Sitiawan in Perak and Yong Peng in Johor.

Demographics

An early census of ethnic groups in the British Malay states, conducted by the British in 1835, showed that ethnic Chinese constituted 8 percent of the population and were mainly found in the Straits Settlements, while the Malays and Indians made up 88 percent and 4 percent of the population respectively. Malaya's population quickly increased during the 19th and 20th centuries, although the majority of Chinese immigrants were males rather than females. By 1921, Malaya's population had swelled to nearly three million, and the Chinese constituted 30 percent of Malaya's population while the Malays constituted 54.7% of Malaya's population, whose growth was fueled by immigrants from neighboring Indonesia (the Indians made up most of the remainder). While the Chinese population was largely transient, and many coolies returned to China on a frequent basis, 29 percent of the Chinese population were local born, most of whom were the offspring of first-generation Chinese immigrants. The British government began to impose restrictions on migration during the 1930s, but the difference between the number of Chinese and Malays continued to close up even after World War II. The 1947 census indicated that the Malays constituted 49.5% of the population, compared to the Chinese at 38.4%, out of a total population of 4.9 million.

Malaysian Chinese historical demographics (%)
1957	1970	1980	1991	2000	2010
2,667,452 (45%)	3,564,400 (35%)	3,564,400 (33%)	4,623,900(31.7%)	5,691,900(25%)	6,960,900(24.6%)

By state & territory

The 2000 Population and Housing Census Report gives the following statistics (excluding non citizens) :

State	Population	% of Population
Johor 柔佛	54,920	35.4%
Kedah 吉打	12,569	14.9%
Kelantan 吉蘭丹	2,575	3.8%
Malacca 馬六甲	22,392	29.1%
Negeri Sembilan 森美蘭	22,405	25.6%
Pahang 彭亨	14,749	17.7%
Perak 霹靂	61,175	32%
Perlis 玻璃市	992	10.3%
Penang 檳城	44,323	46.5%
Sabah 沙巴	691,096	13.2%
Sarawak 砂拉越	852,198	26.7%
Selangor (including Federal Territory of Putrajaya) 雪蘭莪	166,018	30.7%
Terengganu 丁加奴	2,641	0.3%
Federal Territory	Population	% of Population
Kuala Lumpur 吉隆坡	71,819	43.5%

States with large Chinese population

As of 2008, the majority of Chinese people are mainly concentrated in the west coast states of west Malaysia with significant percentage of Chinese (30% and above) such as Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor.

Areas with significant Chinese populations(40% and above) for each state are:

Kuala Lumpur
Kepong, Cheras, Bukit Bintang, Old Klang Road, Sri Petaling, Pudu, Segambut.

Selangor
Subang Jaya/USJ, Puchong, SS2, Petaling Jaya, Damansara Jaya/Utama, Bandar Utama, Serdang, Port Klang.

Year	Total population	Malay	Percentage	Chinese	Percentage
1891	81,592	23,750		50,844
2011	5.46 Million			1.45 Million	29 %

Penang
Penang island, Bukit Mertajam

Year	Total population	Malay	Percentage	Chinese	Percentage
1812	26,107	9,854	37.7%	7,558	28.9%
1820	35,035	14,080	40.2%	8,595	24.5%
1860	124,772	71,723	57.4%	36,222	29.0%
1891	232,003	92,681	39.9%	86.988	37.5%
1970	775,000	247,000	30.6%	436,000	56.3%
1990	1,150,000	399,200	34.5%	607,400	52.9%
2005	1,511,000	624,000	41.3%	650,000	43%

Perak
Ipoh, Taiping, Batu Gajah, Sitiawan

Year	Total population	Malay	Percentage	Chinese	Percentage
1891				94,345	44.0%
1901	329,665			150,239	45.6%

Johor
Johor Bahru, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Muar, Segamat

States with medium Chinese population

These are states where the Chinese are a significant minority (10% - 29.9%) such as Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Sarawak and Sabah.

The major Chinese population areas (40% and above) for each state are

Malacca
Malacca City

Negeri Sembilan
Seremban, Rasah

Pahang
Bentong, Raub, Mentakab, Kuantan

Sarawak
Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Sarikei, Sri Aman, Marudi, Lawas, Mukah, Limbang, Kapit, Serian, Bau

Sabah
Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. Tawau, Kudat and scattered regions in the south (most notably Beaufort and Keningau) also have small but significant Chinese communities

Languages

A governmental statistic in 2000 classifies the dialect affiliation of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia:

Dialect	Population
Hokkien	1,848,211
Hakka	1,679,027
Cantonese	1,355,541
Teochew	974,573
Mandarin	958,467
Hainanese	380,781
Min Bei	373,337
Foochow	249,413

Although their ancestral origin are different but due to intermarriages between the different linguistic groups and also due to regional influences, different regions are formed each with its own defacto lingua franca to facilitate communication between the different Chinese dialects in the same region.

Furthermore, the younger generations have generally lost command of their own subdialect (e.g. Hainanese, Hing Hua) and prefer to speak the lingua franca in each region.

Hokkien

Northern Peninsular Malaysia Penang, Kedah, Perlis, East Coast, Taiping are predominantly Penang Hokkien speaking.

Klang and Malacca groups are also predominantly Hokkien speaking but the variant spoken is Southern Malaysian Hokkien which has a similar accent to Singaporean Hokkien. Thus, Sarawak Chinese speak their own accent of Hokkien in various places in Kuching.

In Sibu and Sitiawan, Fuzhou (or Foochow) is widely spoken but it is not a lingua franca.

Hakka

Hakka, specifically the Huiyang (惠陽, Hakka: Fui Yong) variant, is the main Chinese dialect in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. According to the 1991 census, 113000 Sabahans identified themselves as being of Hakka descent. This is a clear majority over the Cantonese, of whom there were 28000, making them a distant second. This makes Sabah the only state in Malaysia where Hakka is the predominant dialect among the local Chinese.

The Chinese in Ipoh and to a lesser extent the Chinese in certain other parts of Perak, are largely Hakka-speaking at home, but use Cantonese as a lingua franca when doing business and eating out, due in part to the dominance of Cantonese cuisine. This is also true in many other Hakka-populated areas throughout Malaysia meaning even in predominantly Hakka areas the language is rarely heard on the streets even though ethnic Hakkas may be in clear majority.

In other regions of Malaysia, there are significant numbers of Hakka people, for example in the town of Miri in Sarawak and in major cities in Peninsular Malaysia. However, many do not speak Hakka due to the stronger influence of Hokkien and Cantonese in Peninsular Malaysia. The variants of Hakka most widely spoken in Malaysian states other than Sabah are the Ho Poh and Moiyan (Meixian) variants, which are very seldom spoken in Sabah itself.

Cantonese

Central Peninsular Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Seremban, Ipoh & Kuantan are predominantly Cantonese speaking.

Cantonese is also the main dialect in Sandakan. The only district dominated by Cantonese dialect in Johor is Mersing.

Many Chinese of other dialect subgroups are able to understand and/or speak Cantonese at various levels due to the influence of movies and television programs from Hong Kong, which are aired on the TVB channel through the Astro pay television service. The Hakkas, especially, are able to pick up Cantonese with ease due to the similarities between the Hakka and Cantonese dialects.

Mandarin

Southern Peninsular Malaysia especially Johor are predominantly Mandarin speaking.

This is a result of influence from the Mandarin dominant media from Singapore and proximity of Johor to Singapore. Johor and parts of Malacca are able to receive Singapore's free-to-air TV.

Many Chinese educated Malaysian Chinese families have taken to speaking Mandarin with their children due to the notion that other Chinese dialects are growing increasingly redundant in an era where Mandarin is increasing in importance. This has led to the emergence of a community of young Chinese who are fluent in Mandarin but unable to speak their native Chinese dialect, understand but do not speak it, or prefer not to speak it in public.

Unlike Singapore which has a single medium of instruction, not all families send their children to Chinese medium schools so there still exists Malay or English educated Chinese who don't know how to speak Mandarin. Morever, a significant percentage of older generation regardless of education are more comfortable speaking non Mandarin dialects.

Education

Main articles: Education in Malaysia and Early Malay nationalism#Towards independence

Malaysian Chinese can be categorised to be educated in 3 different streams of education i.e. English educated, Chinese educated and Malay educated. This is due to the different era and type of education offered mentioned below.

Public education in Malaysia is free. There are two types of public schools at the primary level: the Malay-medium National schools and the non-Malay-medium National-type schools. National-type schools are subdivided into Chinese-medium and Tamil-medium schools. For the secondary level, only Malay-medium National schools currently exist. There used to be English-medium National-type schools at the primary and the secondary levels as well, however they had been assimilated to become Malay-medium National schools since the 1980s. In all schools, Malay (the national language) and English are compulsory subjects. By law, primary education is compulsory. Malaysian Chinese citizens can choose to attend any school regardless of medium of instructiion, although virtually none choose to attend Tamil-medium schools due to cultural differences.

At the tertiary level, most Bachelor's degree courses offered at public universities are taught in the national language, that is, Bahasa Malaysia, while post-graduates studies are usually conducted in English. English is used as the primary medium of instruction at most private higher educational institutions.

About 90% of Malaysian Chinese children in Malaysia today go to Mandarin-medium primary schools, while only a small group of 10% or so attend Malay medium primary schools. However, most Malaysian Chinese (more than 95%) switch to Malay medium schools for their secondary education. The rationale behind this is because Malay-medium secondary schools are free while Mandarin-medium secondary schools are fee paying.

The switch from Mandarin medium primary school to Malay medium secondary school for the majority of Malaysian Chinese has resulted in many school dropouts as students are unable to cope with the difference in the medium of instruction. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) pointed out an estimated 25% of Chinese students dropout before reaching the age of 18; the annual dropout rate is estimated to be over 100,000 and worsening. Certain dropouts become apprentices in workshops, picking up skills like plumbing or motor-repair. Others eager to make a quick buck find themselves involved in illicit trades, such as peddling pirated DVDs or collecting debts for loan sharks. However in October 2011, Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong indicated that the 25% dropout rate may not be accurate as many Chinese students choose to pursue their studies at private schools or overseas such as in Singapore, while the Malaysian government only collates student data from the national school system, giving a false impression of a high dropout rate.

During the colonial period and for years after independence, English schools originally established by the British colonial government were regarded as more prestigious than the different vernacular schools. As a result, a significant number of older Malaysian Chinese who attended school before the 1970s are English-educated. Beginning in the 1970s, English-medium teaching was replaced with Malay-medium teaching in English national-type schools, which became Malay-medium national schools. Since then, most English-educated parents send their children to Chinese primary schools while a few choose to send their children to Malay-medium national schools. Those who went to national schools would be known as Malay-educated Chinese.

The eventual objective of making Malay the main medium of instruction in schools as stated in the Razak Report (the fundamental report for the education policy of Malaysia), along with the assimilation of English national-type schools into Malay national schools, had led to Chinese education groups being vigorously protective of the Chinese education system in Malaysia. In 2003 to 2011, the Malaysian government introduced an experimental policy of using English as the language of instruction for Science and Mathematics at primary and secondary schools. The decision sparked concerns and protests among Chinese education groups. A compromise was reached that Chinese primary schools would teach Science and Mathematics in both Chinese and English. In July 2009, the education minister announced that the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics would revert back to the original languages of instruction starting from 2012.

Name Format

Main article: Chinese name

Non-Mandarin

Before Mandarin gained popularity among Malaysian Chinese in the second half of the late 20th century, Malaysian Chinese romanised their names according to the pronunciation of their Chinese names in their respective Chinese dialects. E.g.:

Male: Yap Ah Loy (Traditional Chinese: 葉亞來 Simplified Chinese: 叶亚来; Surname and given name: Hakka; Pinyin:Yè yà lái) Female: Ang Gek Kuan (Traditional and Simplified Chinese: 洪玉群; Surname and given name: Hokkien; Pinyin: Hóng yù qún)

Mandarin

In line with the rise of Mandarin as a lingua franca among Malaysian Chinese in the later half of the 20th century, younger generations tend to retain the original dialect pronunciation for the surname while using Mandarin pronunciation and romanisation for the given name. E.g.:

Male: Chan Yung Choong (Traditional Chinese: 陳永聰 Simplified Chinese: 陈永聪; Surname: Cantonese; Given name: Mandarin; Pinyin: Chén yǒng cōng)

In recent years, it has become increasingly common for given names to be romanised according to the Pinyin system, which is the official system to transcribe Chinese into the Roman alphabet. E.g.:

Female: Wee Xiao Wen (Traditional Chinese: 黄小雯 Simplified Chinese: 黃小雯; Surname: Hokkien; Given name: Mandarin, according to Pinyin romanisation; Pinyin: Huáng xiǎo wén)

English

Some Malaysian Chinese also adopt an English given name. English given names are normally written before the Chinese name, although a small minority choose to have them behind their Chinese name. E.g.:

Female: Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng (Traditional Chinese: 楊紫瓊 Simplified Chinese: 杨紫琼; Surname and given name: Hokkien; Pinyin: Yáng zǐ qióng)

Muslims

By Malaysian law, non-Muslims who marry a Muslim must convert into Islam. Such converts normally adopt a Muslim name to use in addition to their original name. As with English given names, Muslim given names are normally written before the Chinese names. E.g.:

Male: Abdullah Tan Yew Leong

Religion

Main article: Malaysian Chinese religion

Religions of Chinese Malaysians
Religion			Percent
Buddhism			75.9%
Taoism			10.6%
Christianity			9.6%
Islam			1.0%
Hinduism			0.3%
Other religions			0.2%
Folk religions			0.1%
No religion			2.3%

A majority of the Chinese in Malaysia claim to be Buddhist or Taoist, though the lines between them are often blurred and, typically, a syncretic Chinese religion incorporating elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and traditional ancestor-worship is practised, with the fact that each individual follows it in varying degrees. Thus, Chinese Buddhism is traditionally embraced by the Chinese which is brought over from China and handed down over the generations of Malaysian Chinese born in Malaysia.

About 9.6% are Christian (Mainstream Protestants, Catholics and other denominations including a fast-growing number of Evangelicals and Charismatics). This is largely due to the influences of Western educated Malaysian Chinese who went overseas either for studies or work.

A small number (1.0%) profess Islam as their faith due mostly to the compulsory conversion to Islam should a Chinese marry a Muslim in Malaysia. Nontheless, the figure is rather understated due to the fact that most of the Chinese-Muslim individual is easily absorbed with the larger Malay majority population, due to identification of a common religious background, effective assimilation and intermarriage.

Intermarriage

The Chinese in Malaysia maintain a distinct communal identity and rarely intermarry with native Muslim Malays for religious and cultural reasons. According to Muslim Laws, the Chinese partner would be required by law to renounce their religion and adopt the Muslim religion. Most Malaysian Chinese consider their being "Chinese" at once an ethnic, cultural and political identity.

However, there are many who have intermarried with Malaysian Indians, who are predominantly Hindu. The children of such marriages are known as Chindians. Chindians tend to speak English as their mother tongue.

In the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysians of mixed Chinese-Native parentage ('native' referring to the indigenous tribes in those states, e.g. Iban and Melanau in Sarawak as well as Kadazan and Murut in Sabah) are referred to as "'Sino'" (e.g. Sino-Iban, Sino-Kadazan). Depending entirely on their upbringing, they are either brought up to follow native customs or Chinese traditions. A small minority forgo both native and Chinese traditions, instead opting for a sort of cultural anonymity by speaking only English and/or Malay and not practicing both Chinese and tribal customs.

Food

Main article: Cuisine of Malaysia

Malaysian Chinese eat all types of food which includes Chinese, Indian, Malay and Western cuisines. Some Malaysian Chinese are vegetarians, as they may be devoted followers of Buddhism, while others do not consume beef, especially those worshipping the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin). Malaysian Chinese food contains similarities and differences with the Chinese food in China.

China

The cuisine of Malaysian Chinese food are similar to the food in Southern China as they are primarily from the Fujian cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and Hakka cuisine.

Local

However, there are local inventions such as Loh Mee (滷麵), thick noodle in clear gravy found only in the Klang Valley and dark gravy in Penang. Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶) originated from Klang and not China. Influences from the spicy Malay cuisine can be found in local inventions such as Curry Mee, Curry Chicken and Chili Crab. The influence from the Peranakan cuisine can be found in dishes such as Laksa and Mee Siam.

Culture

For more details on this topic, see Festivals of Malaysia.

There exist some degrees of differences in the Malaysian Chinese culture compared to that of China. Some traditional festivals celebrated by the Chinese community in Malaysia are no longer celebrated in China after the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This is especially true of regional rites and rituals that are still celebrated by the Malaysian descendants of the peasant migrants from China. Some have attributed the traditional practices of Malaysian Chinese to "a little backwater of Chinese culture as it was in China 80 years ago".

Socioeconomics

Employment

Since Chinese culture places a huge emphasis on education, Malaysian Chinese have a large presence in many skilled occupations that are disproportionate to the Malaysian population. Despite comprising nearly a quarter of the Malaysian population, 54.7% Malaysian Chinese work in administrative and managerial jobs while their presence in professional & technical was proportionate to the percentage of Chinese in the Malaysian population.

As of 2007, Chinese Malaysians dominate white collar and skilled professions such as doctors, accountants, architects, engineers etc. well exceeding their respective population ratios compared to Bumiputra.

Economic status

Malaysian Chinese have the highest household income among the 3 ethnic groups in Malaysia. According to Sulaiman Mahbob, as of December 2007, the monthly average household income was at 4,437 ringgit

Since their arrival in the 15th century, Chinese Malaysians have been more prosperous than other ethnic communities in Malaysia. According to a 2011 Forbes magazine list, eight out of the top 10 richest Malaysians are ethnic Chinese.

Malaysian Chinese are dominant in both business and commerce sectors in Malaysia. As a result, they are the biggest taxpayers among all ethnic groups in the country. They control nearly 38% of the Burmese economy and contribute almost 90 percent of the country's income tax.

Non bumiputera

Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” and goes on to specify ways to do this, such as establishing quotas for entry into the civil service, public scholarships and public education.

Partly in line with the constitution, Malaysia has devised a long-standing policy of providing affirmative action to Bumiputeras (the ethnic Malays) which spans over four decades. Affirmative action is provided in the form of the Malaysian New Economic Policy or what is now known as the National Development Policy Under such affirmative action, various concessions are made to Bumiputeras. Amongst many other concessions, 70% of seats in public universities are to be allocated to Bumiputeras, all initial public offerings (IPOs) must set aside a 30% share for Bumiputera investors and monetary support were provided to Bumiputeras for entrepreneurial development.

Prominent Malaysian Chinese

For more details on this topic, see List of Malaysian Chinese.

Miscellaneous

Emigration

Among emigrants, Chinese Malaysians form the largest outflow amongst all ethnic groups in Malaysia. It is forecasted that the proportion of Malaysian Chinese in Malaysia's total population will fall from 45% in 1957 to 18.6% in 2035 if current trends continue. The economic rise of People's Republic of China has made it an attractive destination for many Malaysian Chinese. However, the bulk of Malaysian Chinese who emigrate head for western countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada. A smaller number migrate to other countries within the region such as Brunei and Singapore, particularly for work purposes.

See also

• Chinese Singaporean
• Peranakan
• Overseas Chinese
• Malaysian Chinese religion
• Demographics of Malaysia
• Islam in China
• May 13 Incident
• New Village

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Backman, Michael; Butler, Charlotte, Big in Asia: 25 strategies for Business Success, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, ISBN 0333985117
• Ball, James Dyer, Things Chinese: Or Notes Connected With China, 4th edn., Hong Kong
• Butcher, John G., The Closing of the Frontier: A History of the Marine Fisheries of Southeast Asia, c. 1850-2000, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2004, ISBN 9812302239
• Constable, Nicole, Chinese Politics in Malaysia: A History of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Oxford University Press, 1988, ISBN 0195888812
• Constable, Nicole, Guest People: Hakka Identity in China and Abroad, University of Washington Press, 2005, ISBN 0295984872
• Goh, Beng-Lan, Modern Dreams: An Inquiry into Power, Cultural Production, and the Cityscape in Contemporary Urban Penang, Malaysia, 2002, Cornell Univ Southeast Asia, ISBN 0877277303 (0-87727-730-3)
• Hara, Fujio, Malayan Chinese and China: Conversion in Identity Consciousness, 1945-1957, NUS Press, 2003, ISBN 9971692651
• In-Won Hwang, Personalized politics: The Malaysian state Under Mahathir, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003, ISBN 9812301852
• International Conference of South-East Asian Historians, Papers on Malayan History, Journal of South-east Asian History., 1962
• Megarry, Jacqueline, World Yearbook of Education: Education of Minorities, Taylor & Francis, 2006, ISBN 0415392977
• Ooi, Jin-Bee, Land, People, and Economy in Malaya, Longmans, 1963
• Owen, Norman G.; Chandler, David, The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History, University of Hawaii Press, 2005, ISBN 0824828410
• Pan, Lynn, The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, Harvard University Press, 1999, ISBN 0674252101
• Tan, Chee Beng, Chinese Minority in a Malay State: The Case of Terengganu in Malaysia, Eastern Universities Press, 2002, ISBN 9812101888
• Tan, Chee Beng; Kam, Hing Lee, The Chinese in Malaysia, Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 9835600562
• Tan, Sooi Beng, Ko-tai, A New Form of Chinese Urban Street Theatre in Malaysia, Southeast Asian Studies, 1984
• Toong, Siong Shih, The Foochows of Sitiawan: A Historical Perspective, Persatuan Kutien Daerah Manjung, ISBN 9834182406
• Yamashita, Shinji; Eades, Jeremy Seymour, Globalization in Southeast Asia: Local, National and Transnational Perspectives, Berghahn Books, 2003, ISBN 1571812563
• Yan, Qinghuang, The Chinese in Southeast Asia and Beyond: Socioeconomic and Political Dimensions, World Scientific, 2008, ISBN 9812790470

External links

• The Malaysian Chinese experience