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Malaysian Chinese, Chinese Malaysians, or Sino-Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...
. They form the second-largest ethnic group in Malaysia, after the Malay majority, and , constituted 23.2% of the country's citizens. In addition, Malaysian Chinese make up the second-largest community of
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
globally, after
Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais) are persons of Chinese people, Chinese descent in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest mixed group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a popul ...
. Within Malaysia, the ethnic Chinese community maintains a significant and substantial presence in the country's economy. Most Malaysian Chinese are descendants of
Southern Chinese South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...
immigrants who arrived in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
between the early 19th and the mid-20th centuries before the country attained independence from British colonial rule. The majority originate from the provinces of Fujian and Lingnan (including the three modern provinces of Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi). They belong to diverse linguistic subgroups speaking Chinese such as the
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
and
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
from Fujian, the Teochew,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
,
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
from Guangdong, the
Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...
from Hainan and Kwongsai from Guangxi. Most Malaysian Chinese have maintained their Han Chinese heritage, identity, culture and language. Another group of Chinese migrants who arrived between the 13th and the 17th centuries heavily assimilated aspects of the indigenous Malay cultures and formed a distinct group known as the
Peranakan The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...
in
Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...
and
Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...
, the Baba-Nyonya in
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
and
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
, and as the
Sino-Natives The Sino-Native, often referred to simply as Sino, represent a population with a diverse background resulting from marriages between the Chinese community and indigenous people in Sabah. They are distinguished by their mixed genealogical her ...
in
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
. They exhibit a degree of intermarriage with native groups and are culturally distinct from the majority of the Malaysian Chinese but have recently begun to merge into the Malaysian Chinese mainstream. The Malaysian Chinese are referred to as simply "Chinese" in Malaysian English, "''Orang Cina''" in Malay, "''Sina''" or "''Kina''" among indigenous groups in
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
, "''Cīṉar''" (சீனர்) in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
, " ''Huaren''" (華人/华人, Chinese people), ''Huaqiao'' (華僑/华侨, overseas Chinese), or "''Huayi''" (華裔/华裔, ethnic Chinese) in
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, "''təŋ laŋ''" (唐人) in
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
and '' Wàhyàhn'' (華人/华人, Chinese people) in
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
.


History


Early history

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and other early kingdoms in the
Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago is the archipelago between Mainland Southeast Asia and Australia, and is also called Insulindia or the Indo-Australian Archipelago. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, later based ...
, such as the northern area of the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...
and Po-Ni in western
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
, have long been connected. The first recorded movement of people from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
into present-day Malaysia was the 1292 arrival of
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
expeditionary forces under
Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...
in Borneo in 1292 in preparation for their invasion of Java the following year. Many of Khan's Chinese followers settled on the island with Chinese traders after the campaign, establishing an enclave along the
Kinabatangan River The Kinabatangan River () is a river in Sandakan Division, in eastern Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of ...
. Their arrival was welcomed by the
indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
, who benefited from the jars, beads, silk, and pottery brought to the island by the Chinese. Chinese explorer and sailor
Zheng He Zheng He (also romanized Cheng Ho; 1371–1433/1435) was a Chinese eunuch, admiral and diplomat from the early Ming dynasty, who is often regarded as the greatest admiral in History of China, Chinese history. Born into a Muslims, Muslim famil ...
commanded several expeditions to south-east Asia between 1405 and 1430; during his third voyage, Zheng also visited
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
. His companion and translator,
Ma Huan Ma Huan (, Xiao'erjing: ) ( 1380–1460), courtesy name Zongdao (), pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese explorer, translator, and travel writer who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the We ...
, described Malacca in his '' Yingya Shenglan.'' Formerly part of Thailand, Malacca was founded after convoys from the Ming Dynasty developed a city and the area's chief was crowned king. During his fourth imperial-fleet visit, Ma wrote that the local king had just converted to Islam and dressed like an
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
. The last edition of ''
Mingshi The ''History of Ming'' is the final official Chinese history included in the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It was written by a number of officials commission ...
'', one of the official Chinese ''
Twenty-Four Histories The ''Twenty-Four Histories'', also known as the ''Orthodox Histories'' (), are a collection of official histories detailing the dynasties of China, from the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in the 4th millennium BC to the Ming ...
,'' mentioned a pre-established Chinese settlement in the area. Mentions in other records exist, especially after trade contacts were established with the
Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...
region. According to ''Hai Yü'' (''Words about the Sea)'', written by Huang Zhong and published in 1537, the lifestyle of the Chinese community in Malacca differed from that of the local Malays. This close relationship was maintained during the Islamisation of the Malacca and
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
kingdoms, whose
thalassocracy A thalassocracy or thalattocracy, sometimes also maritime empire, is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. Examples o ...
once covered much of present-day Malaysia. Both the Muslim sultanates pledged protection to the Chinese dynasties from further conquest by the neighbouring Javanese
Majapahit Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...
or the Siamese
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...
. This relationship resulted in
interethnic marriage Interethnic marriage is a form of exogamy that involves a marriage between spouses who belong to different ethnic groups. History In more ancient times, some marriages between distinctly different tribes and nations were due to royalty trying t ...
between the sultanate's royal family and the Chinese envoy and representatives. Zheng He's arrival encouraged the spread of Islam in the Malay Archipelago and aided the growth of the
Chinese Muslim Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. There are an estimated 17–25 million Muslims in China, less than 2 percent of the total population. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerous group, the greatest concentration of Mu ...
population from the Eastern Chinese coastal towns of
Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...
and
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...
, with many of their traders arriving in the coastal towns of present-day Malaysia and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
by the early 15th century. In addition to the early settlements in Kinabatangan and Malacca, two more old Chinese settlements are located in
Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...
and the
Penang Island Penang Island is the main constituent island of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located off the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Malacca Strait, with the Penang Strait separating the island from Seberang Perai on the mainla ...
as part of trade networks with their respective areas.


Colonial era (1500–1900)

Although many Chinese traders avoided
Portuguese Malacca Portuguese control of Malaccaa city on the Malay Peninsulaspanned a 130 year period from 1511 to 1641 as a possession of the Portuguese East Indies. It was captured from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to gain control of ...
after its 1511 conquest, the flow of emigrants from China continued. The
Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (26 October 149120 April 1521), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Wuzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houzhao, was the 11th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1505 to 1 ...
retaliated against the Portuguese for their activities in Malacca during the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
after the arrival of their fleet in Canton. The Chinese emperor was reluctant to help the deposed Malaccan ruler reclaim his position, however, since the dynasty foreign policy was changing to maintain friendly relations with the Portuguese. His successor, the
Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming ...
, changed the attitude of the Ming court by executing two government officials and reaffirming the importance of Malaccan issues in major policy decisions. Some Chinese, including those from Fujian (defying Ming-Dynasty regulation for the sake of trade), informed the Portuguese of the trade route between
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
and Siam. Since the local Malaccan Chinese were not treated favourably by the Portuguese, they and most overseas Chinese refused to cooperate with them. Through the Portuguese administration in Malacca, Chinese Muslims sided with other Islamic traders against the latter by providing ships and
human capital Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...
. Negotiations were later held in Guangdong between Chinese officials and Portuguese envoys about Malaccan issues, with Malacca remaining under Portuguese control. After the 1641
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
takeover of Malacca, many local Malaccan Chinese were hired to construct Dutch buildings. The Dutch found the Chinese industrious, and encouraged their participation in the colony's economic life; the Dutch also established a settlement in
Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...
in 1650 through an earlier treaty with
Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...
and suggested that Alauddin, the 17th Sultan of Perak, allow the Chinese to develop tin mines. This facilitated Alauddin's plan to request more Chinese workers from Malacca, and the sultan promised to punish any official guilty of mistreating the Chinese. With the sultan consent, the Chinese played a leading role in the tin-mining industry. The
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (; 1780–1784) was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on t ...
in 1780 adversely affected the tin trade, however, and many Chinese miners left. Early Chinese settlements in Malacca and several areas along the archipelago's coasts notwithstanding, most mass Chinese migration to Malaysia occurred after the founding of British settlements in
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
and
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
during the early 19th century. A 1786 British settlement in Penang and another in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
in 1819 triggered a mass emigration from China to the Malay Peninsula. After the establishment of British rule in
Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan (), is an island federal territory of Malaysia. It includes and six smaller islands off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria, which is best kno ...
in 1846, more ethnic Chinese (primarily
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
, and many from Singapore) arrived in
British Borneo British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan. During the British colonial rule before Wor ...
. The migration continued through the first few years of the
North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC), was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia) ...
. Chinese migration to Labuan and North Borneo was largely confined to the
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
sector; migration to the
Raj of Sarawak The Raj of Sarawak, Kingdom of Sarawak or State of Sarawak, was a kingdom founded in 1841 in northwestern Borneo and was in a Protectorate, treaty of protection with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom from 1888. It ...
was largely restricted to the mining and agricultural sectors. Rajah Charles Brooke of Sarawak promoted the migration of Chinese and
Dayak people The Dayak (; older spelling: Dajak) or Dyak or Dayuh are the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each with its ...
to interior
Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
to develop the region. This resulted in the establishment of an administrative center and
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
by the 19th century, primarily in Sarawak's First, Second, and Third Divisions. Rajah Charles invited Chinese black-pepper growers from Singapore to settle in
Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...
in 1876, and they were later joined by local Chinese miners and others from neighbouring
Dutch Borneo Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
. With the introduction of pepper to the kingdom, pepper cultivation in Sarawak's First Division Kuching-Serian region was dominated by the Hakka;
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
and
Cantonese people The Cantonese people ( zh, s=广府人, t=廣府人, j=gwong2 fu2 jan4, cy=Gwóngfú Yàhn, first=t, labels=no) or Yue people ( zh, s=粤人, t=粵人, j=jyut6 jan4, cy=Yuht Yàhn, first=t, labels=no), are a Han Chinese subgroup originating fro ...
dominated cultivation in the Third Division Sarikei-Binatang region, making Sarawak the world's second-largest pepper producer. After the British gained control of the four states of Perak,
Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...
,
Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...
and
Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...
, nearly two million Chinese immigrated to Perak and Selangor. After the discovery of tin deposits in
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...
, many Chinese immigrants worked in the tin-mining industry. As tin mines opened in Perak, many Chinese in neighbouring Penang became wealthy. Many Chinese tin-mining communities were established in the Malay Peninsula by the 1870s, particularly in
Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...
(
Kinta Valley The Kinta Valley (Malay language, Malay: ) is a geographical feature and conurbation in central Perak, Malaysia, surrounding and including the state capital Ipoh. Historically the Kinta Valley was very rich in tin, and their mines have been among ...
), Taiping,
Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Somban'') is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council, Seremban City Council. ...
and
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
(
Klang Valley Klang Valley () is an urban agglomeration in Malaysia that is centered in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and including their adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. It is the urban area of the much larger Ku ...
). Each of the mining communities was governed by a
Kapitan Cina Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China or Capitan Chino (; ; ; ), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore, Borneo and the Philippines. Office holders exercis ...
, with duties and privileges similar to those in
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
's
Kangchu system The Kangchu system was a socio-economic system of organisation and administration developed by Chinese agricultural settlers in Johor during the 19th century. The settlers organised themselves into informal associations (similar to the Kongsi ...
. Chinese migration sprang from poverty in rural China and employment opportunities in the British colonies or
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...
s, and an estimated five million Chinese had immigrated by the 19th century. Despite economic prosperity after immigration, the new Chinese communities split into a number of
secret societies A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
. This exacerbated political unrest among the Malay aristocracy, which enlisted help from the secret societies. Contemporary local Malay politics was characterised as anarchy and civil war between people from similar backgrounds, prompting alliances between senior Malay political leaders and officials from China and Europe who were protecting their investments.


Divided nationalism and turbulence (1900–1945)

Civil wars and other conflicts among the indigenous ethnic groups ended when the British gained control of Malaya and the northern island of
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
by the 1900s. However, none of the Malay kingdoms fell under colonial rule. Their related entities were politically and economically stable. Economic prosperity was fueled by British
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
and Chinese and Indian work forces who expanded and supplied tin and
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...
production. Before the 1911
Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...
which overthrew the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
in China,
Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...
leader
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
raised funds and organisational support from overseas Chinese communities (primarily in
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...
, the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
,
the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
,
Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, British Singapore, Malaya and Borneo) and began
Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...
organising activities in
Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
,
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
,
Pontianak Pontianak, also known as Khuntien in Teochew and Hakka, is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.21 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas R ...
,
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
,
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, Singapore and George Town. Competition arose among three groups, with each group targeting overseas Chinese (particularly in Malaya and Singapore) for support. One group was a pro-Qing elite who targeted wealthy Chinese; the other two were reformists and revolutionaries who advocated constitutional reforms, the introduction of a
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
, and the overthrow of Qing and Manchu influence on a modern Chinese nation. After the revolution which established the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, branches of the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
emerged in British Malaya. Kuomintang activities in British Borneo were coordinated by the Democratic Party of North Borneo, consisting of Chinese-educated towkays. Patriotism among Chinese immigrant communities focused on China. British colonial authorities initially did not object to Kuomintang membership. A communist movement developed among overseas Chinese by 1925 with the establishment of the
South Seas Communist Party The South Seas Communist Party (SSCP), also known as the Nanyang Communist Party ( zh, t=南洋共產黨), was a communist party in Southeast Asia established in 1925 when the Chinese Communist Party dissolved its overseas branches in Nanyang (re ...
in Singapore, followed by the
Indochinese Communist Party The Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) was a political party which was transformed from the old Vietnamese Communist Party () in October 1930. This party dissolved itself on 11 November 1945. It is considered the first stage in the history of th ...
,
Communist Party of Malaya The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore fro ...
,
Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is an underground communist party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fo ...
and
Communist Party of Siam The Communist Party of Thailand ( Abrv: CPT; , ) was a communist party in Thailand active from 1942 until the 1990s. The CPT was founded officially on 1 December 1942, although communist activism in the country began as early as 1927. In the 1 ...
; the movement also maintained relations with the earlier, Southeast Asian
Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its Indo ...
. The Communist Party of Malaya followed the general communist policy of opposing
Western democracies Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal democracy are: ...
before
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, increasing propaganda against the Malayan government and the colonial government of Singapore in 1940. At the beginning of the Sino-Japanese conflict and the Japanese occupation of
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
and
British Borneo British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan. During the British colonial rule before Wor ...
, Kuomintang activities were ended. When the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(under
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
) reached an agreement with the Kuomintang government (under Chiang Kai-shek) to put aside their differences and rally against Japanese aggression in July 1940, pro-independence sentiment led to bans on the Kuomintang and other Chinese organizations in Malaya. Since the conflict with
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
also involved the British, Chiang Kai-shek urged Kuomintang members to fight alongside them; in return, British colonial authorities lifted their ban of Chinese associations (including the Kuomintang and the Chinese communist movement). This, and British recognition of the Communist Party of Malaya, resulted in the formation of the
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army The Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) was a communist guerrilla army that resisted the Japanese occupation of Malaya from 1941 to 1945 in World War II. Composed mainly of ethnic Chinese guerrilla fighters, the MPAJA was the largest ...
(MPAJA) in 1941. The MPAJA (primarily consisting of ethnic Chinese in Malaya) waged a guerrilla war against the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
(IJA) with 10,000 men in eight battalions, and contacted the British
Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's O ...
. Local Kuomintang revolts, such as the Jesselton uprising in British Borneo, were suppressed by the
Kenpeitai The , , was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized in clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogated suspects ...
. Much Chinese underground anti-Japanese activity in North Borneo was part of the Nanyang Chinese National Salvation Movement, led by
Tan Kah Kee Tan Kah Kee (; also spelled as Chen Jiageng; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist active in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou. A prominent fig ...
; in Sarawak, activities were coordinated by the Sarawak Anti-Fascist League. The MPAJA was disbanded after the 1945 Allied victory in the Pacific, and many of its leaders were commended by the British. It began to massacre perceived collaborators (primarily Malay) after it was disbanded, however, sparking a Malay backlash. The MPAJA also targeted British posts, with several
grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...
attacks on British troops. In North Borneo, the Chinese co-operated with the British and pledged loyalty to King
George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...
when the
Crown Colony of North Borneo The Crown Colony of North Borneo was a Crown colony on the island of Borneo established in 1946 shortly after the dissolution of the British Military Administration. The Crown Colony of Labuan joined the new Crown colony during its formation ...
was formed after the war.


Postwar unrest and social integration (1946–1962)

With the MPAJA renamed as the
Malayan National Liberation Army The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) was a Communist guerrilla army that fought for Malayan independence from the British Empire during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and later fought against the Malaysian government in the Commun ...
(MNLA), communist insurgents used guerrilla tactics in the jungles, sabotaged transportation networks and attacked British plantations (assassinating several European plantation owners). British intelligence estimated MNLA support at about 500,000, out of a total Chinese population of 3.12 million; battling the insurgents was difficult, since most hid in inaccessible jungles. With the 18 June 1948 declaration of the
Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...
, the early government response was chaotic; its primary aim was to guard important economic targets. Most Malayan Chinese opposed the MNLA. The 1950
Briggs Plan The Briggs Plan () was a military plan devised by British General Sir Harold Briggs shortly after his appointment in 1950 as Director of Operations during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). The plan aimed to defeat the Malayan National Libe ...
, devised by British general Harold Briggs, intended to isolate the Chinese population from the insurgents. Independence was promised, and supported by the Malays; the Chinese population feared being treated as second-class citizens in an independent Malaya. In addition to new villages, the plan included labour reorganisation, the deployment of troops throughout Malaya, and cooperation between the police, the army, and intelligence. Under the resettlement scheme, more than 700,000 rural Chinese communities were relocated in 582 new government settlements. After British high commissioner
Henry Gurney Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney (27 June 1898 – 6 October 1951) was a British colonial administrator who served in various posts throughout the British Empire. Gurney was killed by communist insurgents during the Malayan Emergency, whil ...
died in a 1951 ambush,
Gerald Templer Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part against the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Pales ...
was appointed as the new high commissioner for Malaya by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
the following year; Templer preferred
winning hearts and minds __NOTOC__ Winning hearts and minds is a concept occasionally expressed in the resolution of war, insurgency, and other conflicts, in which one side seeks to prevail not by the use of superior force, but by making emotional or intelligence, intelle ...
to military measures against the insurgents. As part of his campaign, Templer incentivised rebel surrender and used strict
curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...
s and tight control of food supplies in involved areas to flush them out. Crops grown by insurgents were sprayed with
herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...
s and
defoliant A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the d ...
s, and restrictions were lifted in areas free of insurgents by elevating them to "white status". In the
Batang Kali massacre The Batang Kali massacre was the killing of 24 unarmed male civilians in Batang Kali by the British Army's Scots Guards on 12 December 1948. The massacre took place in Batang Kali, Malaya (now Malaysia) during the Malayan Emergency, a communis ...
, 24 unarmed Malaysian civilians suspected of providing aid to the MNLA were shot by a
Scots Guard The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Kingdom of Scotland, althoug ...
division in late 1948. According to
Chin Peng Chin Peng (21 October 1924 – 16 September 2013), born Ong Boon Hua, was a British Malaya, Malayan Communism, communist politician, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, and revolutionary, who was the leader and commander of the Malayan Commun ...
, the success of Templer's campaign was primarily due to the Briggs Plan's resettlement programme; Gurney also introduced a quasi-ministerial system, with a bill to increase the number of non-Malays eligible for citizenship after independence. After the 1949
Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution was a social revolution, social and political revolution in China that began in 1927 and culminated with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The revolution was led by the Chinese C ...
, foreign missionaries in China were forced to leave; Templer invited them to Malaya to provide
spiritual healing Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into patients and effect positive results. The field is defined by shared beliefs and practices relating to m ...
, medical education and welfare measures to residents of the new government villages. By September 1952, every person born in Malaya (including 1.2 million Chinese) was granted full citizenship. When the
Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...
gained independence from the British in 1957, there was still an insurgency. Chinese communists who surrendered were given a choice of repatriation to China or declaring loyalty to the elected government of Malaya and renouncing communist ideology. The anti-communist campaign continued until 1960, when the Malayan government declared the end of its
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
after Chin Peng demobilized his forces and left his hide-out in southern
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
for
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
via
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
. At a meeting of Chin and
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...
in Beijing, China urged the Communist Party of Malaya to continue their armed struggle. The establishment of a communist government in
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
affected Chinese youth in Sarawak, who organized the pro-Beijing Sarawak Overseas Chinese Democratic Youth League (later the Sarawak Advanced Youth Association, which sparked the 1960
communist insurgency in Sarawak The communist insurgency in Sarawak was an insurgency in Malaysia from 1962 to 1990, and involved the North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP) and the Malaysian Government. It was one of the two communist insurgencies to challenge the former B ...
. Malaysia's economy continued to prosper, dependent on tin and rubber industries dominated by a Chinese and Indian workforce.


Struggle for equality in "Malaysian Malaysia" (1963–1965)

Early in 1961, when Prime Minister
Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...
outlined a "Grand Malaysian Alliance" of the British protectorate of
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
and the crown colonies of North Borneo,
Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, Singapore Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...
supported the proposal. Lee's
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...
(PAP) rallied for the equality of all Malaysians, regardless of "class, skin colour or creed", known as "
Malaysian Malaysia The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" was originally used in the mid-1960s as the rallying motto of the Malaysian Solidarity Convention, a coalition of political parties led by Lee Kuan Yew of the People's Action Party (PAP) that served as an oppositi ...
", in a multi-ethnic society without
Malayisation Malayisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or Malayization (North American English, North American and Oxford spelling, Oxford spelling) is a process of Cultural assimilation, assimilation and acculturation, tha ...
. Although Lee was seen by Malay extremists in the
United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...
(UMNO) and the
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party, also known as the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ( Malay: ''Parti Islam Se-Malaysia''; abbrev: PAS), is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. Ideologically focused on Islamic fundamentalism and Malay dominanc ...
(PAS), as opposed to ''
Ketuanan Melayu ''Ketuanan Melayu'' ( Jawi: ; "Malay Overlordship" or "Malay Supremacy") is a political concept that emphasises Malay power and preeminence in present-day Malaysia. The Malaysian Malays have claimed a special position and special right ...
'' after the 1963 formation of Malaysia, he had adopted Malay as Singapore's national language and appointed Malay
Yusof Ishak Yusof bin Ishak Al-Haj ( ; 12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean journalist and civil servant who served as the head of state of Singapore from 1959 to 1970. He initially served as the second Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore b ...
as
Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yang di-Pertuan Negara ( English: (he) who is Lord of the State) is a title for the head of state in certain Malay-speaking countries, and has been used as an official title at various times in Brunei and Singapore. Sabah The head of state of Sa ...
. The
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (Abbreviation, abbrev: MCA; Malay language, Malay: ''Persatuan Cina Malaysia''), formerly known as the Malayan Chinese Association, is an ethnic List of political parties in Malaysia, political party in Malaysi ...
(MCA), led by
Tan Cheng Lock Tun Sir Cheng Lock Tan KBE, SMN, DPMJ, JP () (5 April 1883 – 13 December 1960) was a Malaysian Peranakan businessman and a key public figure who devoted his life to fighting for the rights and the social welfare of the Chinese com ...
and part of the Malaysian Alliance Party, refused to join the struggle for equality. The MCA feared that equality would disrupt an agreement between the
United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...
(UMNO) and the
Malaysian Indian Congress The Malaysian Indian Congress ( abbrev: MIC; ),formerly known as Malayan Indian Congress, is a Malaysian political party. It is one of the founding members of the coalition Barisan Nasional, previously known as the Alliance, which was in pow ...
(MIC) in which Malays were politically dominant and the Chinese controlled the country's economy;
Malaysian Indians Indo-Malaysians are Malaysian of South Asian ancestry. Most are descendants of those who migrated from India to British Malaya from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. Most Malaysian Indians are ethnic Tamils; smaller groups include the M ...
played a smaller economic role, with the Malays promising to share future political power with the other two groups. After two years as part of the federation and the enactment of
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) responsibility for "safeguard ngthe special position of the 'Malaysian Malays, Malays' and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and ...
, Lee was joined by the Malay Peninsula's United Democratic Party and People's Progressive Party and Sarawak's United Peoples' Party and Machinda Party in the
Malaysian Solidarity Convention The Malaysian Solidarity Convention was a confederation of political parties formed on 9 May 1965 at Sri Temasek. The confederation exist until 9 August to oppose Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. This article specifically provided ...
to campaign for equality. In a June 1965 speech at the MSC meeting in Singapore, Lee said: Lee's call for a re-alignment of forces between those who wanted a "true Malaysian nation" and those who preferred a country led by a component of the Alliance Party, and his criticism of Malays advocating Malay dominance, led to bitter PAP–UMNO relations and the
1964 race riots in Singapore The 1964 race riots in Singapore involved a series of communal race-based civil disturbances and racially-motivated violence between the Malays and Chinese in Singapore following its merger with Malaysia in 16 September 1963, and were co ...
; Singapore was later expelled from the federation in August 1965, and became its own sovereign nation.


Communist insurgencies and racial clashes (1965–1990)

The struggle for equality continued with the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
(DAP), which succeeded the PAP in 1965. Many Malaysian Chinese began to view the Malaysian Chinese Association as more concerned with business and economic interests than social factors, although Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman considered the MCA the sole legitimate representative of the federation's Chinese community. In 1968, communists supported by China began a new insurgency from their stronghold in southern Thailand. The following year, the MCA was challenged by the DAP and the
Malaysian People's Movement Party The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (; abbrev: GERAKAN or less commonly as PGRM) is a liberal political party in Malaysia. Formed in 1968, Gerakan gained prominence in the 1969 general election when it defeated the ruling Alliance Party in Pen ...
(GERAKAN). Of its 33 parliamentary seats contested in the election, the MCA retained 13 and lost control of the Penang state government to GERAKAN; Chinese-Malay tensions culminated in the
13 May incident The 13 May incident was a period of violent racial conflict that erupted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 13 May 1969, following that year's general election. The clashes primarily involved the Malay and Chinese communities and were triggered b ...
. Other clashes were also ethnic in nature. In the aftermath of the riots, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman blamed the communists rather than racial issues and said that the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
in their neighbour was "not simply a civil war but communist-ideology expansion". The Malaysian government introduced several policy initiatives in security and development, a neighbourhood-watch program and the People's Volunteer Corps. The Communist Party of Malaya split into two factions during the early 1970s: a revolutionary wing in 1970 and a Marxist–Leninist wing in 1974.
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
and Beijing established
diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...
in 1974; China ended its aid to the factions, prompting their 1983 merger into the
Malaysian Communist Party The Malaysian Communist Party (MCP) was a merger of the Communist Party of Malaya/Marxist-Leninist (CPM-ML) and the Communist Party of Malaya/Revolutionary Faction (CPM-RF). Both factions split out from the Malayan Communist Party in the 1970 ...
before their surrender to Thai authorities four years later and the 1989 peace agreement ending the insurgency. A Chinese communist insurgency in Sarawak, supported by neighboring Indonesia, ended with peace negotiations in 1990.


1990 to present

Issues between the Malaysian Chinese and the Malays remain unresolved. The failure of Malaysia's social contract has led to a strong
Chinese identity ''Zhonghua minzu'' () is a political term in modern Chinese nationalism related to the concepts of nation-building, ethnicity, and race (human categorization), race in the Chinese nationality. Collectively, the term refers to the List of eth ...
, in contrast to the Chinese communities in neighbouring
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. After the 1969 racial clashes, the
Malaysian New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) ( (DEB)) was a social re-engineering and affirmative action program formulated by the National Operations Council (NOC) in the aftermath of the 13 May Incident in Malaysia. This policy was adopted in 1971 for a pe ...
favouring the Malays from 1971 to 1990 increased '' Bumiputera'' economic control by 60 percent. Malaysian Chinese remain the business sector's dominant players; equity ownership doubled from 22.8 percent in 1969 to 45.5 percent in 1990, and nearly all of Malaysia's richest people are Chinese. Since Malaysian Chinese manage the country's economy, most (75.8 percent in 1991) live in urban areas. They generally do not speak Malay among themselves; this contrasts with earlier Chinese communities such as the Straits-born Chinese of Baba-Nyonya, Kelantanese and Terengganuan
Peranakans The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...
, Penangite Hokkien and Sabah
Sino-natives The Sino-Native, often referred to simply as Sino, represent a population with a diverse background resulting from marriages between the Chinese community and indigenous people in Sabah. They are distinguished by their mixed genealogical her ...
, who mingled with local Malay and other indigenous peoples. Chinese in
East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...
in Sabah and Sarawak, particularly in small inland towns, interact more closely with the indigenous communities. Integration issues in present-day Malaysia are largely inherited from Malayan racial politics, in which ethnic communities consolidated into a single political community. Malaysia's contemporary
educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...
and social policies has created a Chinese brain drain to
developed countries A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...
, especially
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. The country has experienced a slight wave of
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
-speaking immigrants from
northeastern China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...
and a smaller number of
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
immigrants, however, with local men marrying women from China and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
.


Origins and social demographics

Since their early ancient trade connection and subsequent migrations, the majority of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia are ethnic Han from the historical areas of
Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...
and
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
provinces in
southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...
. Nearly all ethnic Chinese Malaysians living in the country today are either
patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
descendants of these early immigrants, or new immigrants born in mainland China. Among the first group from the first migration wave are the Peranakans in
Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...
and
Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...
, Sino-Natives in
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
and Straits-born Chinese (Baba-Nyonya) in
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
and
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
. The
Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...
in the mid-19th century caused much chaos and suffering in southern China, which led many ethnic Chinese civilians to seek refuge overseas, particularly to the
Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...
region (Southeast Asia) in further south. With the expanding British colonial ambitions in the region which led to the establishment of
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...
, more migrants were attracted and the region became an important destination for
Chinese emigration Waves of Chinese emigration have happened throughout history. They include the emigration to Southeast Asia beginning from the 10th century during the Tang dynasty, to the Americas during the 19th century, particularly during the California go ...
. By the late 19th century with the second wave of migration through the British colonial rule, the
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
of southern Fujian led by many of their wealthy and powerful individuals with skills in
finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
and maritime shipping became the dominant immigrant group as the first group of ethnic Chinese to settle in large numbers with their language become a
contact language Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact with and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. Language contact can occur at language borders, between adstratum ...
among Chinese of different linguistics background. The
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
from Guangdong follow suit and became well known as mineworkers,
land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
, mechanics and their familiarity with
cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...
ping. Another large group, the
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
are mostly hill farmers originated from northeastern Guangdong and various southern China places who specialise in forest clearance, mining as well on
metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...
. Other groups like the Teochew from
Chaozhou Chaozhou ( zh, t=潮州), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, ...
of eastern Guangdong are mainly on
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
agriculture, the
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
from central Fujian specialise in
entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entrepreneu ...
, while the
Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...
from
Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
as one of the ethnic Chinese minority saw themselves as
sojourners ''Sojourners'' is a progressive monthly magazine and daily online publication of the American Christian social justice organization Sojourners, which arose out of the Sojourners Community. It was first published in 1971 under the original ti ...
with many of Hainanese chefs and waiters ruled the kitchen of local Chinese
kopi tiam A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese communities o ...
and
restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
s. The
Henghua The Putian people ( Chinese: 莆田人, pinyin: ''Pútiánrén''; Puxian Min: 莆仙儂, Hinghwa Romanized: ) are a Min-speaking people native to Putian, Fujian, China. They are also known as Xinghua, Henghua, Henghwa or Hinghua people (''Hin ...
and Hokchia from eastern Fujian are usually managing family industries while the Kwongsai from
Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
are employed in labour sectors. Followed by the third wave of ethnic Chinese migration thereafter, this resulted from Malaysia as being one of the countries outside China and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
with largest population of Chinese speakers in the world. Following the establishment of diplomatic relationship between Mainland China and Malaysia in 1974, a joint communiqué was made between the two nations, which stated:


Distribution of Han ethnic subgroups

Different
Chinese dialects There are hundreds of local Chinese language varieties forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast part of mainland Chi ...
are spoken in Malaysian cities and towns. Across the country,
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
has emerged as the ''
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
'' among the various Chinese dialect groups, largely due to its use as the language of instruction in Chinese schools and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
's increasing economic influence. Within
Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...
,
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
is predominantly spoken in west coast cities such as George Town,
Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located on the Malay Peninsula and separated from Penang Island by the Penang Strait, it shares borders with Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. The city spans an are ...
, Klang,
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
,
Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geograph ...
and Muar. In contrast,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
is the main dialect in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
,
Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...
,
Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Somban'') is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council, Seremban City Council. ...
and
Kuantan Kuantan (Pahang Malay: ''Kontaeng''; Terengganu Malay: ''Kuatang/Kuantang'') is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the Largest cities in Malaysia, 12th largest city ...
. Interior towns like
Cameron Highlands The Cameron Highlands () is a district in Pahang, Malaysia, occupying an area of . To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak. Situated at the northwestern tip of Pahang, Cameron Hi ...
and
Kulai Kulai is a town and the capital of Kulai District, Johor, Malaysia. It is administered by the Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu), which was earlier known as the Kulai District Council. Kulai is surveyed as one of the happiest cities in Malaysi ...
were primarily
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
-speaking. Teochew was also commonly used along the western coast of
Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...
and in
Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...
.
Bentong Bentong, the seat of Bentong District, is a town located in western Pahang, Malaysia, at the border with the state of Selangor in the west and the state of Negeri Sembilan in the south. Government Bentong Municipal Council () is the local au ...
and Raub contained a substantial Kwongsai-speaking population. The distribution of Chinese dialects in
East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...
exhibits significant variation. In
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
, Hakka is the predominant dialect, particularly in
Kota Kinabalu Kota Kinabalu (; formerly known as Jesselton), colloquially referred to as KK, is the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is also the capital of the Kota Kinabalu District as well as the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the ...
,
Lahad Datu Lahad Datu () is the capital of the Lahad Datu District in the Dent Peninsula on Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 27,887 in 2010. The town is surrounded by stretches of cocoa and palm oil plantatio ...
,
Semporna Semporna () is the capital of the Semporna District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,301 in 2010. The federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat is Semporna. History Sempor ...
,
Papar The ''Papar'' (; from Latin , via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen of Scandinavia. Their existence is attested by the early ...
and
Tawau Tawau (), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city (or town)While Tawau have a population of more than 100,000 of which is considered city elsewhere in the world it is offic ...
. In
Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
, Hakka is also prevalent in towns such as Serian,
Kota Samarahan Kota Samarahan, formerly known as Muara Tuang, is a town and the administrative seat of the Samarahan District in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is also a satellite town for Kuching due to its proximity to the city part of Great ...
and Bau. Cantonese serves as the main dialect in
Miri Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of , located northeast of Kuching and southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest ...
and
Sandakan Sandakan () formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the sta ...
.
Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...
and
Kapit Kapit is a town and the capital of Kapit District in Kapit Division, Sarawak, Malaysia on the south bank of the Rajang River. The district comprises 15,595.6 square kilometres and as of 2020, it has a population of 65,800. Kapit is accessib ...
contained multiple dialect groups, including Hokkien, Hakka and
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
. The town of
Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...
was often referred to as a mini-
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
, with the dialect also being used in
Sarikei Sarikei is a town, and the capital of Sarikei District in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located on the Rajang River, near where the river empties into the South China Sea. The district population (year 2010 census) was 56,798. The ...
. The first census conducted in 1970 after Malaysia was formed in 1963 reported that there were 3,555,879 ethnic Chinese Malaysians, with the
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
or Min Nan (福建人 or 闽南人) being the majority at 32.4%, followed by
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
(客家人) at 22.1%,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
(广府人) at 19.8%, Teochew (潮汕人) and
Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...
(海南人) at 12.4% and 4.7% respectively. This increase to 4,554,664 in 1980 and 4,623,900 in 1991. In 2000, the census reported that ethnic Chinese Malaysians numbered at 5,691,908, which was approximately 24.45% of the country's population at the time, with 86% of them living in urban areas. In
West Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the nearby isla ...
, Hokkien became the leading group followed by Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew. The pattern differs in East Malaysia where Hakka is the majority in Sabah and Sarawak followed by Hokkien and Cantonese in Sabah and the
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
(福州人), Hokkien and Teochew in Sarawak. The population increased further to 6,392,636 by 2010 and 6,892,367 by 2020. , over three-fifths of Malaysia's ethnic Chinese resided in
Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...
,
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
,
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
and
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
. Penang also had the largest percentage of Chinese and was the only state where the Chinese constituted a plurality. There is also a small community of '' Huáběi-ren'' (Northern Chinese or 华北人) in Sabah whose ancestors coming from various parts of
Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
(河北) and
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
(山东) provinces in China with most of them calling themselves as '' Tiānjīn-ren'' (天津人 or 津侨). Besides that, Sanjiang-ren () is a collective term used to categorise the group of people whose ancestors hailed from Shanghai (上海), Zhejiang (浙江), Jiangsu (江苏), Hubei (湖北) and Jiangxi (江西). It is a subgroup of mixed spoken dialects and has the fewest people as compared to other Chinese subgroups. The first San Jiang Clansmen Association or San Kiang Association was formed in Penang back in 1897. Although the ethnic Chinese population had been increasing since the 1970s, their proportion within the total population had been decreasing gradually, particularly caused by the lower
birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...
among the Chinese community.


Economic, demographic and political representation

Ethnic Chinese Malaysians have been traditionally dominant in the business sector of the Malaysian economy with large local Chinese enterprises involved in
natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
and food ingredients industries such as
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
and
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
. Almost every
biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...
s manufacturer in the country is dominated by ethnic Chinese Malaysians. Up to the 1970s, their economic structure was intertwined with very much family and
kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
ties. By the 21st century with the rising of China's economic influence, their economy network are jointly connected with other
Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
through the
bamboo network The bamboo network () or the Chinese Commonwealth () is used to conceptualize the links between businesses run by overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia (in a narrower sense with the Min Chinese speaking community). It links the overseas Chinese bu ...
. The local Chinese played a key role in facilitating China's
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
to invest in Malaysia while in the process both benefited from expanded markets, lower labour costs and the introduction of different kind of technologies and managerial systems which resulted from Malaysia becoming the largest trading partner to China in
Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...
(ASEAN) region. Nevertheless, unlike the more transboundary business influence by neighbouring
Chinese Singaporeans Chinese Singaporeans, Singaporean Chinese or Sino-Singaporeans () are Singaporeans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean resident population according to the official census, making them the large ...
, a majority of Chinese Malaysian businesses are still seen as less concentrating on developing business ties with other Southeast Asian Chinese businessmen despite there have been few businesses made by several local Malaysian Chinese companies. Since the country's foundation in 1963, the
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (Abbreviation, abbrev: MCA; Malay language, Malay: ''Persatuan Cina Malaysia''), formerly known as the Malayan Chinese Association, is an ethnic List of political parties in Malaysia, political party in Malaysi ...
(MCA) was the sole legitimate political representation for ethnic Chinese in Malaysia under the multi-racial political coalition of the Alliance Party (later expanded into National Front coalition). However, the growing restriction of non-Malay interests in Malaysian society and politics since the 1970s caused deep dissension among Chinese Malaysians. The perception that their ethnic party representatives were unable to stand for their people's rights grew, and that decision-making was influenced by the Malay supremacists dominated party of
United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...
(UMNO). The UMNO was the most influential part of the existing political coalition, and also championed Islamic values. Despite the coalition's multi-racial appearance, UMNO founding president
Onn Jaafar Dato' Sir Onn bin Dato' Jaafar (; 12 February 1895 – 19 January 1962) was a Malayan politician who served as the 7th Menteri Besar of Johor from 1947 to 1950. His organised opposition towards the creation of the Malayan Union (by the re ...
has once said that their movement did not adhere to any ideology other than " Malayism", defined by Malay scholar Ariffin Omar as the belief that the interests of the Malay race must be upheld over anything else. From 1968, the inability of MCA to preserve ethnic Chinese Malaysian interests, particularly with regards to their culture, education, and language, resulted in the formation of another ethnic Chinese representative party, the
Malaysian People's Movement Party The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (; abbrev: GERAKAN or less commonly as PGRM) is a liberal political party in Malaysia. Formed in 1968, Gerakan gained prominence in the 1969 general election when it defeated the ruling Alliance Party in Pen ...
(GERAKAN) led by Chinese overseas-educated elite, although this party also joined the Alliance Party coalition in 1972. The growing
Islamisation The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...
with "Islamic version of non-tolerant and open", increasing
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
within the Malay party members throughout the coalition imposing further into the country social demographics as well as the government discriminative policies on their education and employment, caused further disenchantment among non-Malays, especially ethnic Chinese. This subsequently caused dwindling support from ethnic Chinese Malaysians when many original strongholds of MCA
constituents Constituent or constituency may refer to: Politics * An electoral district or constituency * Constituent, an individual citizen or voter represented by a politician within an electoral district, state, community, or organization * Advocacy group ...
and even Gerakan turned to the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
(DAP) as the latter were seen as more vocal on their rights. The recent country general election in 2018 saw the fall of National Front coalition following additional aid from Bornean parliamentary seats particularly in Sabah that were won by
Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...
coalition ally of regionalism (politics), regionalist Sabah Heritage Party (WARISAN) as well from another indigenous party of United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) as a result of similar growing frustration over long-time manipulation of the state demographics and resources with lack of development through the administration of the Malay-led supremacists government of UMNO with frequent labelling as "fixed deposit state". During the election, the DAP won a large amount of seats due to the support of many Chinese constituents and subsequently diminished MCA influence among ethnic Chinese Malaysians. Although the Malaysian Chinese population is increasing in every census, the proportion of ethnic Chinese among the country's total population has been declining in recent decades because of a lower
birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...
and high emigration rate. There are significant concerns about the loss of political representation. According to a report by the World Bank, the Malaysian diaspora around the world in 2010 included around a million people, most of them ethnic Chinese. The large number of emigrants, many of whom are young with education or skills, constitutes a significant " brain drain" from the country, especially towards the country's immediate neighbour
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.


Contributions towards local medical practice

Aside from their economic dominance, ethnic Chinese Malaysians are known for their contribution in the country healthcare sectors with their traditional health practice. Around 3,000 medicine shops in the country sell traditional Chinese medicine with development support also given by the country Ministry of Health (Malaysia), Health Ministry. Chinese traditional health practice services in the country generally encompass the ''zhong yi 中医'' (Chinese medicine), ''qigong'' (气功), chiropractic care (整骨), acupuncture (针灸) and several others. In 2012, the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Bill (T&CM) was passed by the Parliament of Malaysia for the establishment of "Traditional and Complementary Medicine Council or Majlis Perubatan Tradisional dan Komplementari" to register and regulate traditional and complementary medicine practitioners, including traditional Chinese medicine practitioners as well Malay, indigenous and Indians traditional medicine which followed by the enforcement of T&CM Act in the following year. Since most of the traditional medicine pharmacies are family-apprentice trade, most of the traditional medicine practitioners are not registered as a doctor under the health department despite the support given by the Health Ministry with most can practice the career without needed to be registered under government law.


Education

In educational aspects, Malaysia is the only country outside China and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
with a comprehensive and complete Chinese education system and the only Southeast Asian country that has perpetuated the Chinese education system established since the colonial era as a result of heavy brokerage and lobbying efforts by ethnic Chinese Malaysian political leaders with continual funding from local Chinese communities. The first Chinese schools had been established in the country in the 19th century during the British colonial administration. At the same time, Christian missions from China also founded schools for Chinese students to nurture Church workers, this are most notable among many Chinese Christians of Hakka origin in Sabah and the Fuzhou in Sarawak. Following the country's independence, some of the Chinese independent schools who were influenced by the new national agenda and desperately needed government financial support were willingly converted into English-medium education, English medium-schools. However, these schools were later scrupulously converted into Malay medium-schools following the massive elimination of English medium-schools by the Malay-dominated regime in the 1970s in an effort to impose the Malay language as the only medium of instructions in all schools in the aftermath of ethnic riots in 1969. The following period was considered a dark time for local Chinese education and witnessed a growing belief in the idea that the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia had to proceed on a basis of self-reliance and vigilance in order to preserve their language rights as the national education policy was seen as exclusionary and discriminatory for non-Malays, summed up in the aphorism "non-Malays belong to Malaysia but Malaysia only belongs to the Malays". Although other remaining Chinese independent schools or 独中 were also included in the national school system in 1996, these independent schools still did not receive any financial assistance from the federal government and its United Examinations Certificate (UEC) or 统考 is not recognised by the government, making students who finish their studies from the local Chinese independent schools unable to enroll in government-funded public tertiary education, tertiary institutions. Since late 1970, ethnic Chinese Malaysians had expanded their own Mandarin-language primary schools where around 90% of their children were enrolled based on the figures from 2006. These schools gained a reputation for not only maintaining good discipline but also providing the high-quality education that the Malay schools were seen by some to lack. This perceived superiority attracted significant interest among Bumiputera parents with various analyses placing the number of Bumiputera students enrollment in Chinese schools between 60,000 and 100,000 in 2000. The federal government's failure to impose Malay as the sole unifying language throughout the country's educational systems unlike in China with Standard Chinese or Indonesia with Indonesian language are mainly attributed to the racial-based policy enforcement of ethnic inclusion and exclusion. Some argue that the educational policies imposed by the federal government over the years in regard to minority language education have created negative consequences for Malaysian youth: a mounting brain drain in particular. A study from 2000 found that the country had lost an ample amount of talented and skilled youth to other more favourable countries as the result of students from the large non-Malay minority language communities being forced to go to university abroad because they did not attend Malay language schools.


Culture

Chinese culture, Chinese cultural influences made their mark when Silk Road, ancient trade relations were established with the
Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...
(南洋) region. The massive ethnic Chinese migration during the British colonial period causing a subsequent strong influence on the country's culture, including in cuisine and the language. Aside from the Chinese cultural influence on local culture, ethnic Chinese from the first wave migration before English arrival had mainly adopted a localised culture. The Baba-Nyonya in Malacca had a very strong Malay influence in their clothing and food although still maintaining their Chinese heritage of religion, name, and identity. Their food are made with Malay ingredients and recipes but produced using the Chinese method while their houses are constructed with the infusion of Victorian architecture, Victorian, Chinese architecture, Chinese and Malay architecture, Malay elements. Together with the Peranakans in Penang, both sides use a mixture of
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
and Malay despite the Penang Peranakans speak mainly Hokkien with some borrowed words from Malay words while in Malacca, the Peranakans have adopted Malay patois with some Hokkien words. The food prepared by Penang Peranakans also infuses both Chinese and Malay elements, albeit with an additional Thai cuisine, Thai influence. The Peranakans in the east coast of Malaysia in Kelantan and Terengganu have much closer ties with the Malay and Malaysian Siamese, Siamese community there since most of them has adopted the Malay and Siamese lifestyle. Further, close blood relations between ethnic Chinese and local indigenous in northern
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
since the early kingdoms period produced the "Sino-Natives" persons in Sabah as a result of interracial marriage, inter-marriage between ethnic Chinese there and natives of Sabah. Instead of speaking Chinese languages, these communities spoke the localized Sabah Malay dialect as their main ''
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
'' since the 14th century. The close relations are marked with earliest records of the "Kina" term which is widely used by the indigenous Dusun people, Dusun to refer to the Chinese ethnicity including for the Dusun homeland mountain of "Mount Kinabalu" (Chinese widow mountain), "
Kinabatangan River The Kinabatangan River () is a river in Sandakan Division, in eastern Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of ...
" (Chinese river) and several other places such as the Kinabalu mountain stream of "Kinataki", a small river in the northeastern coast of "Kinabañgun" and a Chinese land in Labuan, Labuan Island, the "Kinabenua". The Na Tuk Kong shrine for example shown another sign of assimilation with local culture, where it refers to local Malay guardian spirits worshipped by some ethnic Chinese in West Malaysia and neighbouring
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and Indonesia. The term ''Na Tuk'' originated from the Malay word of ''Datuk'' (grandfather) which then merged with ''Kong'' (公, sometimes addressed as 'Kung' meaning elderly male), similar with tudigong, Tu Ti Kung (), an earth deity worshipped in East Asia.


Cuisine

The ethnic Chinese cuisine in Malaysia is derived from the culinary traditions of their early immigrants and descendants, who have adopted or modified their culinary traditions under the influence of Malaysian culture. Additionally due to the immigration of Chinese to the country, Chinese cuisine has now become an inseparable part in the country's cultural mixture. When Chinese merchants sailed their junk (ship), junks across the South China Sea, they visited ports in Borneo and Malacca, which had a profound influence on the region. Since the local king at that time enjoyed Chinese cuisine, the traders would bring along cooks with them to the island. They introduced ingredients in Chinese cooking such as noodles, bean sprouts, tofu and soy sauce which are by now widely used by every ethnic group in the country. Apart from introducing new ingredients, these earlier traders also discovered ingredients among the local population along the coast, such as the expensive edible bird's nest with the best quality nests claiming to come from Borneo. Since a vast majority of Chinese Malaysians today are descendants of immigrants from South China, southern China, local Chinese cuisine is predominantly based from Fujian cuisine, Fujian, Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese, Hakka cuisine, Hakka and Teochew cuisine, Teochew cuisines. Their technique of stir frying ingredients and adding a small portion of cooking oil over high heat in a wok (锅) is widely adopted among the nation. Chinese Malaysian cuisine had developed a strong penchant for spices and chillies where any local Chinese
kopi tiam A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese communities o ...
or restaurant will offer pickled green or red chillies ''sambal'' for noodles and rice-based meals. They borrowed curry tree, curry leaves from the Indians and have since adapted English Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce along with Indian and Malay spices to the cooking pot. Among the notable Chinese dishes in the country including the ''bak kut teh'' (肉骨茶) (pork rib soup with Chinese herbs), ''char kway teow'' (炒粿条) (stir fried rice noodle), ''dim sum'' (点心) (ready-to-serve dishes), ''hae mee'' (虾面) (spicy prawn noodle soup served in savoury broth), Hainanese chicken rice (海南鸡饭), ''kai si hor fun'' (鸡丝河粉) (flat rice noodle soup with chicken slices, shrimps and bean sprouts), ''kolo mee, kolok or kolo mee'' (干捞面) (Sarawakian egg noodle served in dark sauce, tomato sauce or chilli sauce), ''lor mee'' (卤面) (thick yellow noodle served in dark sauce and thick broth), ''ngiu chap mee'' (牛杂面) (special Sabah mixed beef noodle), ''pan mee'' (板面) (handmade noodle soup served with pork balls, minced pork, dried anchovies, wood ear, black fungus and vegetable), ''sang nyuk mee'' (生肉面) (special Sabah dry pork noodle or pork noodle soup), ''wonton noodle, wonton mee'' (云吞面) (dry noodle or noodle soup served with BBQ pork, minced pork and pork or shrimp dumplings) and ''yong tau foo'' (酿豆腐) (tofu and mixed vegetables filled with ground pork mixture or fish paste). Many Chinese Malaysians also can cook Malay-style chicken or fish with most versions of ''laksa'' (叻唦) are prepared by them. Some examples of basic Chinese Malaysians drinks that are commercially produced in the country include the black tea, chrysanthemum tea, grass jelly, green tea, jasmine tea, soy milk and Ipoh white coffee, white coffee while popular snacks including the ''youtiao, cakoi'' (油炸鬼) (long deep-fried dough), egg tart, ''hum ji peng'' (咸煎饼) (circle shaped fried dough with or without fillings), ''ngoi sing tart'' (外星塔) (UFO shaped tart), ''ngo hiang'' (炸五香) (various spiced, minced meat rolls prepared in deep fried style and served with vegetables), ''baozi, pau'' (包) (steamed buns), ''popiah'' (薄饼) (fried or plain spring rolls filled with mixed vegetables), and ''tau sar piah'' (豆沙饼) (pastry biscuits filled with a sweet or savoury filling). The legacy from the first wave migration created the Peranakan (土生华人) (including the Baba-Nyonya (峇峇娘惹)) ethnicity through a blend between Chinese and Malay which subsequently produced the Peranakan cuisine where they served Indian-style curries with eating etiquette different from mainstream ethnic Chinese society by following the Malay usage of fingers than chopsticks. The Baba-Nyonya also specialized in making a variety of local snacks called ''kuih'' which require plenty of patience and skills.


Dialects and languages

The 1970 Malaysian Census reported the Southern Min dialects being the largest which accounting for 34.2% of the country Chinese population, followed by
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
with 22.1%,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
by 19.8%, Chaozhou Chinese, Chaozhou (Teochew) by 12.4% and Hainanese by 4.7%. In 2003, a more detailed statistics for each dialects reported the
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
with 2,020,914, Hakka with 1,092,835, Cantonese with 1,068,008, Teochew with 497,280,
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
with 251,553, Hainanese with 141,045, Kwongsai with 51,674, Pu-Xian Min, Henghua with 24,654, Hockchia with 14,935 and different other ethnic Chinese with 202,977, for a total of 5,365,875. The Malaysian Hokkien are divided into two localised dialects; the Penang Hokkien (northern) comprising
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
, Kedah, Perlis and
Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...
, and Southern Peninsular Malaysian Hokkien, Southern Peninsular Hokkien in
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
,
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
and neighbouring Singapore. The northern Hokkien contains more Malay loanwords than the southern with the latter maintaining more of their original Hokkien words. Many Hokkien living in Sarawak have been influenced heavily by indigenous language similarly with Hokkien in Kelantan where their language was heavily localised following close interaction with local Malays and Malaysian Siamese, Siamese. Localised Hokkien also spoken primarily by the Peranakan community (Baba-Nyonya) in both Malacca and Penang. Generally, Hokkien became a contact language among ethnic Chinese of different linguistic background in most parts of Malaysia. The Malaysian Cantonese became the contact language in the Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur albeit with a distinct phonology and grammar from standard Cantonese spoken in Pearl River Delta region of China including in Hong Kong and Macau. Hakka dialect assumes the role of contact language in Sabah but in the rest of the country the language are more commonly used as an intra-group language than a
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
within the Chinese community with about 66.2% of Hakka in Johor prefer Malaysian Mandarin, localised Mandarin. Similar studies on Eastern Min speakers of Fuzhou community in Sarawak also found a general shift of language choice from their own dialect to Mandarin Chinese and English. The Chaozhou dialect despite being not a largest dialect group has become a bridge language for trade between Teochew exporters in China and wholesalers in Malaysia. Hainan dialect is another minority and the sub-dialect of the Min Chinese dialect family although it is treated in the country as an independent dialect. Several others like Henghua are also generally termed as "dialects", which in fact together with the rest are Varieties of Chinese, variety of Chinese languages from different Chinese ethnicity. Mandarin, which is generally spoken by northern Chinese minority in Sabah become the main working language among all Chinese in the country with Standard Mandarin is used as the medium of instruction in local Chinese medium school and Chinese independent high school, independent high school although the language still not necessarily spoken in their daily life practice. Based on early Malaysian Census in 1970, around 41% of ethnic Chinese Malaysians are able to converse in Mandarin.


Holidays and festivities

With the large presence of ethnic Chinese in the country nationwide, Chinese New Year is celebrated as a national public holiday. States and federal territories of Malaysia, 11 states and three federal territories in the country celebrate with two days holidays while two remaining states of Kelantan and Terengganu only celebrate a one-day holiday. During the New Year, many Chinese living with their family in the urban areas will celebrate together, while some who may have family in rural areas will return for family reunions. Traditional dinner with the entire family is the most important aspect of the celebration and may include a traditional food tossing of ''yusheng, yee sang,'' especially among the Cantonese. Elders will usually give the young a red envelope ('':wikt:ang pow, ang pow'' or ''angpau''). A Chinese candy box, variety of festival sweets are presented in the house for visitors. Most Chinese settlements and Chinatown streets will be decorated before the New Year with colorful lanterns. Dragon dance, Dragon and lion dance, lion dances will be performed with firecracker and fireworks shows also featured as part of the celebrations. Chingay parade, Chingay processions are also being held as part of the New Year festivities especially in Johor Bahru and Penang. Several other festivals are celebrated through the seasons in a year including the Dongzhi Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, Lantern Festival (''Chap Goh Mei''), Mid-Autumn Festival, Nine Emperor Gods Festival and Qingming Festival which originated from much of Chinese folklore, Chinese folk beliefs and traditional agricultural society. Throughout the festivals, especially for major Chinese festivals such as the New Year, Hungry Ghost, and Mid-Autumn, Chinese temples will organize cultural and religious activities. The Hungry Ghost Festival is generally not observed by most ''De teaching, Dejiao'' (''Zi'') group in Malaysia which descended directly from ''Dejiao'' association in China, it is only mainly observed by three ''Zi'' associations in Kuala Lumpur (''Zi Fang Ge''), Pulau Ketam (''Zi Bang Ge'') and Butterworth, Penang, Butterworth (''Zi Wei Gi'') with the three calling the festival as ''Wanyuan Shenghui'' than ''Yulan Shanghui''. The Mooncake Festival is celebrated through the Mid-Autumn Festival where there people will exchange and eat mooncake. Traditional Chinese marriage, Chinese weddings remain popular to some ethnic Chinese Malaysian couples even though most have preferred the Western-influenced wearing of white wedding dresses and black black tie, jackets.


Religion

Based on the 2000 Malaysian Census, 86.6% of ethnic Chinese Malaysians adhere to Buddhism and Chinese folk religion with numerous Chinese temple, Chinese temples and shrines visible nationwide. More detailed statistics in 2010 found a total of 5,341,687 ethnic Chinese Malaysians adhere to Buddhism, 706,479 are Christianity, Christians, 218,261 practising Confucianism, Taoism and other Chinese folk religious sects, 49,320 were irreligion, irreligious, 42,048 are Islam, Muslims, 14,878 are Hinduism, Hindus, 11,387 with unknown religion while 8,576 practising other different religion. Among the common Shen 神(Chinese religion), deities worshipped by ethnic Chinese Malaysians in temples are Guan_Yu#Worship, Lord Guan (''Guansheng Dijun 关圣帝君''), Guanyin, Guan Yin (''Goddess of Mercy'' 观世音菩萨), Tua Pek Kong, Dabo Gong 大伯公 (''Earth Deity'') and Mazu (''Goddess of Sea 妈祖''). Commonly found in ethnic Chinese homes and shops are altars installed for deities of their affinities together with Chinese ancestral worship, ancestral worship. Most of the deities are of Chinese origin but it is still common to see a few local deities. Most, if not all cities in Malaysia include the presence of Chinese Buddhist temples and societies. However, there exists towns with only Buddhist statues, although some may have one or two other Chinese deities. Other Schools of Buddhism, Buddhist branches of Theravāda and various Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan traditions (Vajrayāna) also have Chinese members and some of the buildings of these branches were built with the funds and philanthropic efforts from local Chinese Buddhists, examples being the establishment of Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields, Buddhist Maha Vihara in Kuala Lumpur and Wat Chayamangkalaram in Penang. Unlike the institutional religion of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, ethnic Chinese who follow traditional folk religion do not have separate names for their belief and practices, as similar to the indigenous Malaysians such as Iban people, Iban and the Orang Asli. They describe their religious beliefs as either ''bai shen'' or ''bai fo'' (worshipping deities) which does usually include the worshipping of Buddha since Mahayana Buddhist deities are also commonly worshipped by the followers of Chinese traditional religion. Chinese Christians, including both Roman Catholic, Catholic and Protestants presence, are mainly visible with their active missionary activities especially among ethnic Chinese in East Malaysia, having a large proportion compared to other regions. The majority of Christians in West Malaysia also are of Chinese origin. Most early Chinese churches including Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians have their origins from missionary migrants that introduced the missions established in China to Malaysia. The number of Chinese Muslims is very small compared to Chinese Christians since the latter religion is seen as more tolerant, mainly due to the general perception that embracing Islam in Malaysia is to become Malayisation, Malayised, in addition to the ethnic rivalry between Malay and Chinese that makes Islam as less desirable to ethnic Chinese Malaysians. A majority of Chinese Malaysians, especially those who have received Chinese education, follow Confucian values and to a lesser extent, Taoism. Some that are more traditional may hold more conservative views on filial piety and social relations, while also consulting Chinese horoscopes as well on Chinese geomancy of ''feng shui''. Taoist activities gain increasing interests and significance among Chinese Malaysians although it is not deeply practiced.


See also

* List of Malaysians of Chinese descent * Chinese folk religion in Southeast Asia * Malaysian folk religion *
Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais) are persons of Chinese people, Chinese descent in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest mixed group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a popul ...
* Chinese Singaporeans, Singaporean Chinese * Chinese Indonesians, Indonesian Chinese * Ethnic Chinese in Brunei, Bruneian Chinese * Chinese Filipino, Filipino Chinese * Chinese Cambodian, Cambodian Chinese * Chinese people in Myanmar, Burmese Chinese * Laotian Chinese * Hoa people, Vietnamese Chinese * Chinese people in Korea, Korean Chinese * China–Malaysia relations * Hong Kong–Malaysia relations * Malaysia–Taiwan relations


Gallery

File:KotaKinabalu Sabah Gaya-Street-Sunday-Market-12.jpg, Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu, a Chinatown in
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
. File:Chinatown welcome gate at Jalan Padungan, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.jpg, Chinatown, Kuching, a Chinatown in
Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...
. File:Malaysia - 075 - Penang - Chinatown street in Georgetown (3922215749).jpg, Kimberley Street is considered the heart of Chinatown in George Town,
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
. File:Pekan Cina - panoramio.jpg, Pekan Cina dan Pekan Melayu a Chinatown and Malaytown in Kedah. File:Jonker Street@Malacca.JPG, Jonker Walk, a Chinatown in
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
. File:Chinatown Gate, Kuala Terengganu.jpg, Chinatown Gateway, a Chinatown in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Terrengganu.


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

Academic publications and journal articles * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Government sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * News and magazines * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Print * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * {{Overseas Chinese Chinese diaspora by country, Malaysia Chinese diaspora in Malaysia, * Ethnic groups in Sabah, Chinese Ethnic groups in Sarawak, Chinese