Malaysian Chinese

Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages.

First Wave

Main article: Peranakan
The first wave of Chinese settlers came during the Malacca Empire in the early 15th century when Hang Li Po married overseas to the Sultan of Malacca, bringing along her huge retinue of servants and companions from China. These people came mostly from Fujian Province.

These early Chinese brought over brides from China or married local Malay women. Their tombs can be found in Bukit Cina, Malacca today.

Their descendants are called baba (for men) and nyonya (for women), and they still retain their Chinese names through present day.


Second Wave

The second wave of Chinese immigrants came during the 19th century and early 20th century. Most Chinese immigrants to Malaya came from southern China, particularly the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong.

They first settled in the Straits Settlements as traders. They were subsequently encouraged by the British to work in the tin mines of Perak and Selangor (which at the time included Kuala Lumpur). Thus, the Chinese were mainly concentrated on the west coast of Peninsular Malaya.

While the Chinese population was largely transient, and many coolies returned to China on a frequent basis, 29 percent of the Chinese population were local born, most of whom were the offspring of first-generation Chinese immigrants.

1947 census indicated that the Malays constituted 49.5% of the population, compared to the Chinese at 38.4%, out of a total population of 4.9 million.

Chinese Majority States

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

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


Kuala Lumpur

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


Selangor

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

Penang

Penang island, Bukit Mertajam

Perak

Ipoh, Taiping, Batu Gajah, Setiawan


Johor

Johor Bahru, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Muar, Segamat



Chinese Minority States

These are states where the Chinese are a minority (below 30%)

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


Malacca

Malacca City


Pahang

Bentong, Raub, Mentakab


Sarawak

Kuching, Sibu, Miri


Sabah

Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan

Ancestral origins
The ancestral origins of the Malaysian Chinese are diverse in nature and they are identified by their linguistic differences and place of origin. The vast majority of ethnic Chinese came from the Fujian and Guangdong provinces in Southern China, and in the 19th and early 20th centuries various trade and professions became synomynous with individual dialect groups. As a result, distribution of the various dialect groups across Malaya and North Borneo varied from region to region, with each town or region being populated by ethnic Chinese of one specific dialect group. A governmental statistic in 2000 classifies the dialect affiliation of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia:[13]

Dialect Population[14]
Hokkien 1,848,211
Hakka 1,679,027
Cantonese 1,355,541
Teochew 974,573
Mandarin 958,467
Hainanese 380,781
Min Bei 373,337
Foochow 249,413

Chinese settlers from the southern parts of Fujian constitute the largest group, and generally identified as Hokkien. The bulk of Chinese settlers in Malaya before the 18th century came from Amoy and Zhangzhou and settled primarily in Penang and Malacca, where they formed the bulk of the local Chinese populace. More Hokkiens settled in Malaya from the 19th century onwards, and dominated the rubber plantation and financial sectors of the Malayan economy.[15] The bulk of Hokkien-speaking Chinese settled in the Malay Peninsula and formed the largest dialect group in many states, specifically in Penang, Malacca, Kelantan, Terengganu,[16] Kedah and Perlis.[17] In North Borneo, the Hokkiens make up a sizeable proportion within the Chinese community, and are primarily found in larger towns, notably Kuching and Sibu.[18]

Settlers from Fuzhou (also known as Hokchew or Foochow among the Hokkiens and Cantonese respectively) also came in sizeable numbers during the 19th centuries and dominated the corporate industry in the 20th century. They speak a distinct dialect and are classified separately from the Hokkiens and a large number are Christians. The Foochow formed the largest dialect group in Sarawak–specifically in areas around the Rajang River,[19] although some Foochow settled in large numbers in a few towns in Peninsular Malaya, notably Sitiawan in Perak and Yong Peng in Johor.[20]

Large numbers of Hakka settled in the western parts of Malaya and North Borneo and worked as miners in the 19th century as valuable metals such as gold and tin were discovered. Descendants of these miners formed the largest community among the Chinese in Selangor[21] and very large communities in Perak (specifically Taiping and Ipoh),[22] Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan.[23] As the gold and tin mining industries declined in economic importance in the 20th century, many turned to the rubber industry, and large numbers of Hakka settled in Kedah and Johor (principally in Kulai and Kluang).[24] The Cantonese were also engaged in the gold and metal mining trade with the Hakkas, and frequently engaged in civil wars over mining rights. From the late 19th century onwards, many Cantonese shifted their focus to developing banks in Malaya as the metal mining industry declined in economic importance. The Cantonese settled down in towns, and formed the largest community within the Chinese populace in Kuala Lumpur, the Kinta Valley in Perak, Pahang as well as very large communities in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and principal towns in Sabah, notably Sandakan.[25]

Immigrants from the Chaoshan region began to settle in Malaya in large numbers from the 18th century onwards, mainly in Province Wellesley and Kedah (mainly around Kuala Muda). These immigrants established were chiefly responsible for setting up gambier and pepper plantation industries in Malaya. More Teochews immigrated to Johor at the encouragement of Temenggong Ibrahim in the 19th century, and many new towns were established and populated by plantation workers from the Chaoshan region. The Teochews constitute a substantial percentage within the Chinese communities in Johor Bahru[26] and principal towns along the coasts of Western Johor (notably Pontian, Muar and to a smaller extent, Batu Pahat) as well as selected hinterland towns in the central regions of the state.[17] Many rural communes in Sarawak and Sabah were also populated by the Teochews, many of them being descendants of plantation workers which came to set up gambier and pepper plantations, following the administrative pattern of their countrymen in Johor.[27] Smaller communities of Teochews can also be found in other states, notably in Sabak Bernam in Selangor, where many Teochews settled down as rice agriculturalists,[17] as well as in the hinterlands of Malacca.[28]

Chinese immigrants from Hainan began to migrate to Malaya and North Borneo from the 19th century onwards, albeit in much smaller numbers than the aforementioned speech groups. The Hainanese were employed as cooks by wealthy Straits Chinese families, while others were engaged in food catering business or the fishery business and formed the largest dialect group in Kemaman district of Terengganu[29] and Pulau Ketam (Selangor) as well as sizeable communities in Penang and Johor Bahru.[30] Smaller communities of Hainanese are also found in Sarawak and Sabah, where they work as coffeeshop owners and are mainly found in large towns and cities.[31]

Languages
There are, in general, three sub-linguistic groups of Malaysian Chinese with three metropolitan centers. The Penang, Klang and Malacca groups are predominantly Hokkien-speaking and the Kuala Lumpur, Seremban & Ipoh group is predominantly Cantonese and Hakka-speaking. To the south of Peninsular Malaysia, in Johor, Mandarin is predominantly spoken among the Chinese communities there, which is a result of the Mandarin media influence from Singapore, and the use of Mandarin in formal education. This has resulted in many people, especially the younger generation, to discard and neglect the usage of Chinese dialects. Whereas in East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo), Hakka and Mandarin is widely spoken, except in Sibu, Fuzhou and in Sandakan, Cantonese.

It is common for a Malaysian Chinese to be either Chinese, English or Malay educated.

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