Art Theory: BVA 313 - 26/09/2019 (Book: Oversea Chinese- Chapter 4)

Part 2: Chinese Overseas – Chapter 4: Chinese identities in Malaysia 

Types of Chinese Malaysian:-

-       Instruction is Mandarin rather than a speech group dialect. 

-       Generally multilingual, speaking more than one Chinese dialect as well as Malay. Many can speak English. 

-       Speech-group identities are in fact subethnic identities rather than autonomous ethnic identities. 

-       The adoption of some lifestyles, such as the women wearing the Malay-style dress and the people eating both Chinese and Malay-style food as well as those innovated locally, further distinguished as Baba from later immigrants. 

[These information talks more depth towards the effects of localization when Chinese is adapted into the Malay culture.]

Localization, Culture and perception of identities 

-       Cultural localization acquired Malay as their mother tongue, replacing the original Hokkien language (Chinese Dialect). [Question: How will cultural localisation benefit minority ethnicity in a community like Malaysia?]

-       Speaking only Malay, later English, set them apart from the other Chinese. 

-       ** older Baba informants told me that until about World War 2, established Baba families could ‘buy’ Chinese immigrants as indentured workers, who had to work for the families for a number of years. 

-       Today, Baba is an example of what the Chinese should not be. 

-       Not a norm for the Chinese to speak Malay among themselves. 

-       Food represents culture. [Food is another elements that shows the merge of diversity between Malays and Chinese.]

-       Chinese Malaysians in different regions have different localization experiences. 

o   Language and education influence the perception of Chinese identities in Malaysia. 

-       Chinese education are the Chinese-educated Chinese. 

-       **Her classification: Chinese Malaysians according to language and education into various types of Chinese-educated Chinese, English speaking Chinese and Malay educated Chinese. 

-       Present day non-baba chinese do regard the localized status as positive, AS LONG AS ONE DOES NOT LOSE THE RELEVANT CHINESE LANGUAGE. 

-       Malaysian is expected to have a distinct ethnic identity, such as Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan and so on. Only the offspring of intermarriage may have problems fitting into these clear-cut categories. [same happens to my family: would prefer to maintain the Chinese blood line]

-       -Education received influenced the cultural identity of the children. 

Chinese as Malaysians: pg 104

-       Socialization experience that makes the Chinese in Malaysia Chinese Malaysian. 

-       Localization in Malaysia, the transformation and recreation of ‘Chinese’ ways of life in Malaysia. 

-       ‘National culture’  experience of living in the multi-ethnic Malaysian society. 

-       Chinese Malaysians views that there should be equal opportunity for all citizens, and they share common sentiments against any form of discrimination, such as the use of quotas for university admission or for issuing permits. [This is a common issue, even until now (2019).]

-       The Chinese educated, are very concerned about Chinese education, which they see a crucial for a ‘pure’ Chinese identity.

-       Adaptation and socialization vary in different societies, and this makes the Chinese heterogeneous. Using the term ‘huaren’ to identity Chinese in southeast Asia. [If I continued with this topic, will elaborate into Chinese in the southeast Asia. 

-       Process of localization as experienced by the Chinese in Southeast Asia. 

-       Chinese in Malaysia, as elsewhere, have developed their own local Chinese food. 

-       ** It is the next generation, who grow up in a new society, who assume a new Chinese ethnic identity, one associated with a new national society. 

Conclusion: The label, the subjective experience of identification, and the objective expression of identity. 

-       Such as the use of a certain language or wearing a certain kind of dress, is influenced by one’s experience of socialization. 

-       Therefore Chinese Malaysian are both ethnic Chinese and Malaysians. For Chinese Malaysians, being Malaysian is expressed through being Chinese in the Malaysian context. Will continue to be ethnic Chinese, but their identities will change over time. They are both ethnic Chinese and Malaysian.

There are some points that I should not include in, as it will expand my topic. Like the Baba tradition. 

Tan, C. (2004). Chinese overseas : Comparative cultural issues. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com