The Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies is published by New Era University College, Malaysia, a non-profit institution of higher learning supported by the community. First published in 2012, it is the only English-language journal in Malaysia that is devoted to the dissemination of original research on the Chinese communities. It is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal that publishes articles, reviews, and research notes based on the scholarly studies of contemporary Chinese societies in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the world. The journal is issued biannually (June and December) in print and electronic versions. We welcome contributions based on empirical, comparative, or theoretical research that are of interest to a wide range of scholars.
Review of the book Lim Kit Siang: Malaysian First, Volume Two — Bold to the Last Battle by Thuan-Chye Kee
Review of the book Lim Kit Siang: Malaysian First, Volume Two — Bold to the Last Battle by Thuan-Chye Kee. Strategic Information & Research Development Centre, Petaling Jaya. 549 pp. ISBN: 9786297575131
Copyright (c) 2025 Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies
Struggle, Survival, and Sustainability: Ngeow Sze Chan and the Evolution of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Post-War Malaysia
The profound political and socio-economic transformations that swept through Malaya following World War Two fundamentally reshaped the nation's social and medical landscapes. In this rapidly modernisation, post-colonial environment, Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) faced critical obstacles in legitimising its practise, securing its educational future, and achieving structural integration. This study examines this crucial period in the development of TCM in Post-War Malaysia through th elens of a key practitioner and institutional builder, Ngeow Sze Chan (1915-2002). Utilising a historical case-study approach, and drawing upon biographical sources, archival documents, news clippings and association publications, this study traces Ngeow's pivotal role in steering the field from initial struggle and survival toward long-term sustainability. The findings argue that the enduring sustainability of TCM in contemporary Malaysia is not merely a consequence of cultural preservation, but the direct result of strategic institutional evolution championed by figures like Ngeow. He was instrumental in transforming TCM from a localised, community-based practice into a formalised, regulated profession.
Ngeow Sze Chan; Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); Post-war Malaysia; Modernisation; Medical history
Chinese studies, History of Medicine in Malaysia
Review of the book An Ethical Literary Criticism of Dr Han Suyin’s Autobiography: Braving Irrationality, by Florence Kuek
Review of the book An Ethical Literary Criticism of Dr Han Suyin’s Autobiography: Braving Irrationality, by Florence Kuek. Routledge, 2025, 130 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003466918; eBook ISBN9781003466918.
Are Chinese Indonesians Part of Bangsa Indonesia? The Role of Siauw Giok Tjhan And Baperki In Indonesia’s Nation-Building
This paper examines the role of Siauw Giok Tjhan, chairman of Baperki (Badan Permusyawaratan Kewarganegaraan Indonesia), the largest Chinese Indonesian organisation before the 1965 Coup, in advocating for equal citizenship (kewarganegaraan) for Chinese Indonesians. Siauw distinctly equated citizenship with nationhood (kebangsaan), using the two concepts interchangeably.While the Indonesian nation comprises various indigenous ethnic groups (suku), Chinese Indonesians—though formally recognised as citizens—have long struggled to be fully accepted as part of the nation. Some, such as Peranakan Chinese leaders, advocated for complete assimilation into indigenous society as a means to achieve equal status. Siauw, however, opposed this approach. He believed that Chinese Indonesians should preserve their ethnic identity, arguing that true integration could only be achieved once they were recognised as equal citizens. In 1963, President Sukarno proposed recognising the Peranakan Chinese as one of Indonesia’s suku but Siauw ignored this concept, remaining steadfast in his belief that Indonesian citizenship was synonymous with Indonesian nationhood. He later encouraged Chinese Indonesians to actively participate in revolutionary movements, convinced that the national question would be resolved by realising socialism in Indonesia. Contrary to Siauw’s vision, Chinese Indonesians were subjected to forced assimilation policies under President Suharto. Following Suharto’s fall in 1998, the issue of suku resurfaced, and the endeavour to recognise Peranakan Tionghoa or Tionghoa) as an Indonesian suku continues. This paper, therefore, revisits Siauw’s perspectives on the Indonesian nation and suku, tracing the development of his political thought and examining its relevance in the contemporary discourse on Chinese Indonesian identity and integration.
Review of the book Narratives from Piyamit: Life Stories at the End of the Revolution by Jason Sze-Chieh Ng & Murray Hunter
Review of the book Narratives from Piyamit: Life Stories at the End of the Revolution by Jason Sze-Chieh Ng & Murray Hunter. SIRD and New Era University College, Malaysia, 2024, 249 pp. ISBN:978-629-7575-33-9
The Use of Modal Auxiliaries as Hedging Devices in Chinese Research Articles
This study investigates the use of six Chinese modal auxiliaries as hedging devices in academic abstracts. Drawing on a corpus of 40 abstracts—evenly sampled from Economics, Linguistics, Engineering, and Natural Sciences (10 per discipline). We analyzed the document-level frequencies, functional distributions, and disciplinary variations of the target modals. The primary finding is a generally sparse use of modalisation overall. The abstracts predominantly relied on 会 (hui), 可以 (keyi), and 能(够) (neng(gou)), while 可能 (keneng) and 应该 (yinggai) were rare or entirely absent in several disciplines. Cross-disciplinary contrasts at the abstract level were modest: Economics and Natural Sciences showed slightly broader type coverage, while Linguistics and Engineering were more restricted in the range of modals used. Functionally, these modal auxiliaries in abstracts more often served to create explanatory linkage between propositions than to express epistemic uncertainty. The implications of these patterns for understanding the rhetorical conventions of Chinese academic abstract writing are discussed.
Modal Auxiliaries; Chinese Research Article; Frequency and Distribution; Hedging devices; Disciplinary differences.
The Shadow of Archipelagos: (Un)Identified Identities in Abang Adik and The Stateless
This paper examines the representation of statelessness in the Malaysian film Abang Adik (富都青年) and Nakazono Eisuke’s (中薗英助) novel The Stateless (無國籍者), both of which use the imagery of stateless individuals as a focal point for exploring issues of identity and state power. In Abang Adik, two brothers, born and raised in Malaysia, are rendered stateless due to their inability to obtain identification cards, highlighting how the state apparatus exercises power and violence through identity classification. Similarly, the protagonist of Nakazono’s The Stateless is an undocumented immigrant who speaks only Chinese but insists on identifying as Japanese, yet remains unable to secure any definite recognition of his nationality. Both works critique the reduction of identity to rigid, singular classifications, exposing how such simplifications serve to erase historical traumas. Director Jin Ong’s (王禮霖) experience as a migrant worker in Taiwan, along with Nakazono’s experience during Japan’s occupation of Beijing in the 1940s, prompted both creators to reconsider the complexities and fluidity of being Chinese, Malaysian, or Japanese. While questioning the authentic assumptions underlying rigid identity classifications, this study draws on Nakazono’s postwar critical reflections on war responsibility and memory, seeking to clarify his assertion that “statelessness functions as a medium of negation,” and to explore its potential for unsetting rigid identity constructs. This paper examines Ong and Nakazono’s trans-border experiences and considers (un)identities as an ongoing, unfinished processes rather than fixed categories, opening up possibilities for rethinking belonging beyond rigid singular defined frameworks.
stateless, Nakazono Eisuke, Abang Adik, state power, unfinished experience
High-Order Control: The Construction Strategy of Preschool Children’s Intrinsic Order
It is necessary for preschool teachers to control the discipline to manage an orderly and harmonious classroom, which creates a free and happy environment for children to focus on their work and cooperation energetically. As results of low-order control, either adopting strictly compulsory management maintains apparent uniformity, or free development without guidance leads to unorganized freedom. The core of constructing an orderly and effective class is to develop the intrinsic order of each child, which requires high-order control by preschool teachers. And these basic strategies become essential, such as categorical guidance through observation of children’s behavior, positioning the problem crux through comparison of development indicators, innovative guidance approaches by focusing on individual differences and so on.
core literacy, high-order control, intrinsic order, class discipline
Malaysian Chinese and Nation-building: Before Merdeka and Fifty Years After Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Voon Phin Keong
My Story by Lim Goh Tong Biography of Wee Kheng Chiang by Lam Chee Kheung (in Chinese)
My Story, by Lim Goh Tong. Subang Jaya: Pelanduk Publications, 2004 (also available in Chinese), vi + 187 pages (ISBN 967-978-859-8 (pb); 967-978-892-X (hb) Biography of Wee Kheng Chiang, by Lam Chee Kheung, Kuching: Wee Hood Teck & Co, 2005 (available only in Chinese), iv + 169 pages (soft cover ISBN 983-99454-3-2)
Yao Tuo: A First Generation Malaysian Chinese Writer
This is a study of Yao Tuo and his literary works and an overview of some of his major creations. He was born in war-time China and experienced many difficulties in his youth. He later became a writer and, at the age of thirty-six, settled down in Malaysia and gradually earned a name for himself as a Malaysian Chinese (Mahua) writer. This article discusses his literary works on war-time topics and life in rural China, his representative works on Malaysia and the influence of his life in Malaysia on his literary works. The paper will also explore important factors that have an influence on the man and his works as well as racial and political issues in relation to his life in the Malaysian context. As a writer who gained fame among Chinese readers throughout the Chinese world including Mainland China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, Yao Tuo’s literary works have left an enduring legacy as they continue to win a wide audience of readers.
Yao Tuo, literary works, Mahua literature
Bold Entrepreneurs and Uncommon Enterprises: The Malaysian Chinese Experience
The Chinese are well known for their hard work and enterprise. Self-reliant and resourceful, the Chinese in Malaysia have always pursued their interests in what they perceive as financially rewarding and personally fulfilling enterprises. This paper discusses two new enterprises that are distinctive for their uniqueness and boldness. These are the breeding of the Asian arowana and the keeping of swiftlets for their edible nests. These products are high-value items that have their respective niche markets. The history of both is of recent origin. Yet each is, in its own way and from the very beginning, a bold and innovative enterprise in its specialization and in the exploitation of local resources. The foresight and innovative spirit of the pioneer entrepreneurs in these enterprises have exploited business opportunities that are, to the average person, generally beyond the range of commercial possibilities. More significant is that these entrepreneurs have shown that, with their unyielding spirit of enterprise and resourcefulness, it is possible to transform the unthinkable into thriving businesses.
Chinese entrepreneurs, swiftlet nest farming, arowana fish breeding, business insights
Anti-Opium Movement, Chinese Nationalism and the Straits Chinese in the Early Twentieth Century
This paper is a study of the anti-opium movement organized by the Straits Chinese leaders in Malaya in the early twentieth century. As the Chinese were the largest group of opium smokers, they were seen as a primary source of government revenue. The leading Chinese medical practitioners in the movement aimed not only at the prohibition of the opium trade but also the cure for opium smoking by medical treatment. As there was no effective cure for the addiction, the idea was radical but unrealistic. The movement leaders believed that if they could treat opium smokers, they could also help China to rid itself of the curse of opium that was forced upon it by Western powers. The rationale behind the antiopium movement was more than for social or economic reasons but was an indirect show of support for Chinese nationalism in China.
anti-opium movement, anti-American boycott movement, Chinese nationalism
Interethnic Relations in Malaysian Campuses: A Historical Review
This paper attempts to reconstruct the dynamics of interethnic relations of university students in Malaysian public campuses from the 1960s to 2005. Based on a synthesis and review of existing literature, the subject is examined at two levels. The first is the evolution of interethnic relations among student leaders in the context of campus student activism and politics, and the other is a synthesis of the state of day-to-day interethnic interaction in the student milieu over the decades. Ethnic dynamics in campus politics could be broadly divided into two phases. Between 1967 and the early 1970s, the two key protagonists were the multiethnic Socialist Club and the Malay-based Malay Language Society in the University of Malaya. From 1974 onwards, it was Islamist activism and intra-Malay rivalry that defined the campus dynamics. Selective interethnic cooperation persisted in campus politics till today, especially when non-Malay students constitute a significant proportion of the student population, but it was carried out in varied forms under different circumstances. Discussions of interethnic relations often refer to the “golden age” of ethnic relations in the past. This paper contends that if the university campus is seen as the contemporary, microcosmic reflection of the wider society, then it is clear that such historical memory is at best partial if not inaccurate. The tendency of university students to confine their social interaction within their own ethnic groups had been observed at least since the 1960s, and was even prevalent among those who had gone through English-medium education. In effect, it appears that the pattern of interethnic interaction had not really evolved in any substantial way since at least the mid-1960s. There were arguably even more incidents of serious interethnic tension during the sixties than in current situation.
Interethnic relations, interethnic interaction, campus politics, student activism, racial polarization
Copyright (c) 2012 Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies
Chinese Capitalism in Colonial Malaya 1900-1941 by William Tai Yuen
Chinese Capitalism in Colonial Malaya 1900-1941, by William Tai Yuen. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2013, 508pp. (Softcover ISBN 978-967-412-021-4).
Copyright (c) 2013 Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies
Preaching to the Non-Muslim Chinese in Malaysia by Osman Chuah Abdullah
Preaching to the Non-Muslim Chinese in Malaysia, by Osman Chuah Abdullah. Kuala Lumpur: International Islamic University Malaysia, 2022 (Reprinted in 2005), iv+103 pages (ISBN:983-9727-72-9).
Baba Hokkiens, Big Business, and Economic Dominance in Penang and Its Region, 1840s-1900s
This paper intends to reconstruct the transnational, cross-ethnic, and multifaceted experiences of the Southeast Asian Chinese past by centering on the Baba Hokkien business elites in nineteenth-century Penang. These business elites emerged as a preponderant force in the regional economic arena centred around Penang for most of the nineteenth century. How were these Baba Hokkien elites able to achieve such ascendancy in the colonial and indigenous milieux? The answer is that the Baba Hokkien elites successfully established vertical and horizontal strategic alliances not only with the Hakka and Cantonese elites but also the colonial powers, the grassroots, and the indigenous chieftains and royalty and these alliances enabled the Baba Hokkien elites to secure and mobilize labour, capital, power, and network to gain control of a highly diversified range of major businesses that constituted the pillars of Penang's regional economy.
Transforming the Development Frontier: Chinese Pioneers in the Ulu Langat District of Selangor, Malaysia
The Ulu Langat district of Selangor witnessed the beginning of modern development in the late nineteenth century. This was one of numerous localities in the country that was responding to demands for commodities from overseas market. It was this transformation of place that made up the totality of the country's development process. Contributing to this process were Malays and communities of Indonesian, Chinese and Indian immigrants, Europeans, and commercial enterprises. Understanding the process of development of a place requires attention to the past and local situations. This study will focus on the role of Chinese pioneers and settlers in changing the face of Ulu Langat during the era of British rule. The Chinese were engaged in the opening of tin mines, the spontaneous agricultural pioneering especially of rubber, and in the establishment of settlements. The development process is in effect a chronicle of the transformation of virgin forests into a cultural and economic landscape. The Ulu Langat experience reveals insights to a distinctive model of development contributed characteristically by the Chinese during the colonial era.
The Teaching of Chinese Language in Malaysian Chinese Primary Schools: Subtle Changes in Content and Objectives
The Chinese Primary Schools or the Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) (SRJK) are often regarded as the last fortress of Chinese education in Malaysia. If this is true, then the Chinese language subject taught in these schools can be seen as the bedrock of the fortress. However, over the years with numerous education policy changes, there have been many subtle changes to the nature and system of the Chinese primary schools and the Chinese language subject that may have gone uninspected. These changes can be for better or for worse for the development of Chinese language education in Malaysia. This paper will examine the subtle changes in the objectives, aims and teaching of Chinese language subject as a reflection on how policy shifts-in the independence period from the 1950s to 1970s; after the "3M system" implemented in 1983; and the education reforms in the 1990s-affect the nature and objective of the Chinese primary school education.
New Villages in Malaysia: Living Conditions and Political Trends
The history, growth and development of New Village (NVs) in Malaysia are common issues of discussion. The actions of relevant authorities to deal with the persistent problems of NVs have seldom been comprehensive and successful. This paper explores issues that appear to challenge NVs in their present form and to examine whether such challenges will contribute to the growth of NVs or to their stagnation. Several issues and possibilities concerning NVs are raised and preliminary findings are extrapolated to place the dilemma of the NVs in perspective. Issues of polities, liveability and sustainability are discussed in relation to the future of NVs in this country. The current national housing policy has to divert sufficient attention to address issues concerning the liveability of NVs. The long term neglect of NVs can result in negative political repercussions for the ruling coalition government. As attested by recent electoral votes, the discontentment with living conditions in the NVs is refelcted in the inhabitants' voting behaviour and shift of support to the opposition parties. For the ruling coalition to arrest their declining popularity in the NVs, there is a need for the relevant authorities to revitalize new villages and improve the quality of homes and living environment arising from demographic, social and economic changes. It is clear that national development plans should take into account the future of NVs in a comprehensive and more balanced perspective.
Mixed Marriage, Language, and Identity: The Children of Chinese-Indian Parentage in Malaysia
The study explores the social identity by children of Chinese-Indian parentage in Malaysia through their choice of language. The focus is on two key perspectives: firstly, verification of their spoken language and secondly, social identification based on their choice of the language in communication with family members and friends. The discussion is based on interviews of a small sample of respondents from different states in Malaysia. The evidence suggests that social identity is influenced by the choice of language by the respondents. Children of Chinese-Indian parentage tend to choose to use the English language and the ethnicity that they would like to be identified as is Chinese-Indian, but not purely Chinese or Indian.
Chinatowns in a Globalization Southeast Asia, edited by Leo Suryadinata and Ang Cher Kiat
Chinatowns in a Globalizing Southeast Asia, edited by Leo Suryadinata and Ang Cher Kiat, Photographs and Captions by Zhuang Wubin. 168 pages, (hardcover ISBN-13:978-981-08-2184-5) Singapore: Chinese Heritage Centre, 2009.
War Memory and the Making of Modern Malaysia and Singapore, edited by Kevin Blackburn and Karl Hack
War Memory and the Making of Modern Malaysia and Singapore, edited by Kevin Blackburn and Karl Hack, Singapore: National University of Singapore Press, 2012, 476 pages (Softcover ISBN: 978-9971-69-599-6)*
Language, Identity and Mobility: Perspective of Malaysian Chinese Youth
The majority of the current generation of Malaysian Chinese youth go through Mandarin primary education and Malay-medium secondary schooling in the Malaysian public education system. Hence an average Malaysian Chinese youth knows, at varying levels of proficiency, at least three languages namely, Mandarin, Malay and English. Drawing on the findings of three survey data collected in a local public university, this study discusses the reality and perceptions of Malaysian Chinese university students on various aspects of this linguistic dimension of education. It analyses their concerns with regard to language and education from the point of view of social mobility and cultural preservation. Their perspective on the multilingual education system in Malaysia in relation to national integration is explored in one of the surveys. It is suggested that the national education system was regarded not only as serving the function of nation building, but the unique multilingual character of the institution in itself was also consciously or unconsciously perceived to be constitutive of the Malaysian national identity. The majority of the respondents approved of the vernacular education and regarded it as an institution which helped to preserve the cultural diversity of the population. Besides literacy in Mandarin, Chinese primary schools were also expected to transmit Chinese values and culture to their pupils. In this context, the preservation of cultural identity was regarded as going hand in hand with the fostering of national unity, and the reality of linguistic and cultural diversity was embraced as “a national asset”.
language-in-education, Malaysian Chinese, ethnic identity, mobility, national identity
Student Expectations and Branding Strategies among Private Institutions of Higher Education in Malaysia
Competition in private higher education in Malaysia is intense and many institutions realize the need to review their branding strategies to become more competitive. In order to conceive a new branding strategy it is crucial that these institutions understand the expectations particularly of Malaysian Chinese students who dominate enrolment in the private education sector. This study examines the expectations of Malaysian Chinese students on selected factors, identified in past research, that influence the choice of institutions in their application for admission. Two hundred Chinese students were randomly selected from several private institutions to respond to a questionnaire which tested on such variables as academic programme and staff, facilities, pricing, and promotion. Data collected were analysed using Factor Analysis and Comparison of Means. Based on the mean score analysis, factors that significantly influenced the choice of an institution of higher education for admission are found to be academic integrity, quality of teaching, duration of course, future employability, educational fees, foreign and local degrees offered, institutional reputation and track record, student testimonies and opportunities of exposure to new social environment. A few factors found to be significant in an earlier study had lost their importance and these are entry requirements, facilities and extra-curricula activities. It is clear that for branding strategies to work, an institution of higher education has to take into account expectations that matter most to students.
Historical Institutional Analysis of Ethnic Financial Institutions: A Study of the Chinese Banks in Sarawak
This paper examines the development of Chinese banks in Sarawak from the perspective of historical institutionalism, and explains its implications in terms of “ethnic economy” theory. The Chinese banks in Sarawak are small and medium in size and mainly catering for the local Chinese business community. They are conservative family business concerns and adopt a policy of stable growth. As such, they are unable to cope with changes and requirements to withstand competition in the industry. The study argues that the small size of Chinese banks in Sarawak and their difficulties in coping with competition have not allowed them to meet the needs of the emerging multinational business sector. In consequence, they are the targets of mergers and acquisitions under a policy directed by the government. This process and the resultant rigid banking rules and regulations have in turn raised problems for local Chinese businesses in their attempts to set up new ventures or to maintain existing ones.
Sarawak Chinese banks, ethnic economy, ethnic financial institutions.
Ancestor Power: Marriage Rituals of a Hakka Community in Sarawak, Malaysia
This paper discusses marriage rituals in a Hakka community in a resettlement village in Sarawak, Malaysia. Modernity has changed the lifestyles of the villagers. They have access to improved infrastructure, greater exposure to the mass media, higher education attainment and increased social mobility especially amongst the young people working outside the village. Despite the social changes due to modernization, marriage rituals have remained traditional in form. The study will examine the reasons behind the continuance of such rituals and my hypothesis is that the villagers still uphold a worldview that marriage does not only involve themselves (the living), but also the supernatural beings in the other world (their dead ancestors). The legitimacy of the union in marriage is acknowledged after the blessings of the ancestors have been sought. Although on the surface, ancestor worship is an expression obligation, they actually connote the eternal alliance between the dead and the living. As suggested by Turner (1974: 57), ritual does not act just as “social glue” that holds the community together or put social order into place. I thus examine further the symbolic representation of ancestor worship in marriage rituals. I use the term “emulating process” to describe how the future is moulded to gratify the past because one will become a past in the future. It is performed to ensure that the family lineage is carried on, as has been past down by their ancestors.
ancestor worship, marriage rituals, Hakka
Examining the Demographic Changes of the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Since 1975
This study examines demographic developments of the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam since 1975. It begins with the patterns of demographic change since the mid-1970s that shows a considerable decline in the number of Chinese as indicated by the official censuses of 1976 and 1979. The period was characterized by large-scale migration of the Chinese out of the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam) and the former Republic of Vietnam (ROV or South Vietnam). The policies of socialist transformation were a major factor in the exodus from the South while in the North it was the deterioration in relations between Vietnam and China that triggered the exodus. The Chinese population has continued to diminish up to 2009 but at a more moderate pace than in the late 1970s.
Ethnic Chinese, Vietnam, China, demography, migration
Chinese Circulations: Capital, Commodities, and Networks in SoutheastAsia, edited by Eric Tagliacozzo and Wen-Chin Chang
Copyright (c) 2014 Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies
A Matter of Risk: Insurance in Malaysia, 1826-1990, by Lee Kam Hing