The 12th International Conference of the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO) was recently held at Universiti Malaya.
The event was sponsored by the IKHASAS Group, the Institute of Science Innovation and Culture, Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Thailand; Pejati, Universiti Malaya’s Alumni Association of the Department of Chinese Studies; and the Fo Guang Shan Education Centre.
The conference focused on the identity of the Chinese diaspora, balancing cultural and emotional ties to China with their current citizenship in countries outside China and the realities of local assimilation.
The degree of local assimilation varies depending on the social, economic, and political conditions of the host country. In Western nations, particularly among those born there, assimilation is high, with many no longer closely connected to their traditional cultural heritage. Older generations, however, have maintained their cultural identity, adapted to local contexts.
This raises questions about whether overseas Chinese continue to regard China as a cultural homeland despite holding citizenship elsewhere, and whether a significant segment of Malaysia’s Chinese community maintains strong cultural ties.
Since Merdeka, Malaysia’s Chinese population has preserved aspects of their heritage through social, cultural, and political practices, including their vernacular education system and business enterprises. However, nearly seven decades after independence, some still face challenges with proficiency in the national language – a situation influenced in part by the vernacular education system. By contrast, in Indonesia, all citizens, including Chinese communities, speak Bahasa Indonesia, the language used across education, commerce, politics, judiciary, and the arts.
Two Chinese communities in Malaysia have historically acculturated into the local social and cultural milieu: the Peranakan Baba and Nyonya of Melaka and Penang, and the Kelantan Peranakan Chinese.
The Baba and Nyonya community emerged in the 16th century under Sultan Mansur Syah through intermarriages with local Malay women. By the 19th century, they were the dominant Straits Chinese group and had adopted Malay social and cultural elements, including kebaya and sarong batik dress, cuisine, and a syncretic Malay-Chinese language. They were viewed by some within the broader Chinese community as culturally distinct. Many later reintegrated by sending their children to vernacular schools and adopting mainstream Chinese social practices, creating a hybrid identity combining Malay and Chinese cultural and genetic elements.
The Kelantan Chinese, known as Cina Peranakan Kelantan, arrived before the 19th century and initially settled in rural areas as Cina Kampung. Later, some moved to urban areas as Cina Peranakan Bandar. They adopted local customs, speak fluent Kelantan dialect, dress in traditional Kelantan Malay attire, and participate in performing arts such as Wayang Kulit, Makyong, and Silat. Like the Baba and Nyonya, they face identity challenges and are increasingly reintegrating into mainstream Chinese culture. Both communities face pressures that may alter their distinctive character over time.
Efforts to integrate the Chinese community into the broader social and cultural domain face challenges, including language barriers. Nonetheless, Malaysian-born Chinese have developed unique traits suited to local realities. Many have also embraced Western lifestyles, maintaining only major cultural festivities, often in a secularised form.
While Malaysia’s Chinese identity remains a complex mix of national and ancestral heritage, there is a pressing need for an integrated education system and cross-cultural initiatives that promote respect and understanding. Achieving this requires compromise among ethnic groups while remaining sensitive to historical realities.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.
