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- Convenors:
-
Ker Pong Thock
(University of Malaya)
Jijiao Zhang (Insititute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
- Location:
- 204
- Start time:
- 15 May, 2014 at
Time zone: Asia/Tokyo
- Session slots:
- 2
Short Abstract:
Malaysian Chinese has manifestated a high degree of resilience in its identity. Hence the study on maintenance of Malaysian Chinese identity can provide a useful insight on this group of Chinese overseas.
Long Abstract:
The maintenance of identities of Chinese Overseas in various regions of the world has been a subject of academic study. As a migrant and minority ethnic group who settled down in various countries always encounters the problem of maintaining its identities. However in the case of Malaysian Chinese, they have successfully maintained and consolidated its Chinese identity. Take into account its demographic composition as an ethnic minority group who became the citizen of an ethnic-hegemonic state, Malaysian Chinese have portrayed as a peculiar group of Chinese overseas. The UMNO-Malay controlled ruling regime has initiated a Malay-centric type of nation-building since independence. This state-sanctioned policy of nation-building had failed to dilute the Chineseness of Malaysian Chinese. The success of the Chinese in Malaysia to maintain its resilience in identity is contributed by the robust social capitals of this community. Hence various academic studies on these social capitals are able to provide and elucidate on this important phenomenon.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Ker Pong Thock (University of Malaya) Yao Sua Tan (Universiti Sains Malaysia)
Paper short abstract:
Education has been identified by scholars as the main tool for the formation and maintenance of ethnic identity. The Malaysian Chinese portray a peculiar case study in its maintenance of identity.
Paper long abstract:
Chinese education in Malaysia has come a long way since the large-scale immigration of the Chinese beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. As a significant minority group in a plural society, the Chinese has shown a strong desire to maintain and propagate their identity and culture via the provision of Chinese education, though strongly contested by the Malays, the dominant group, who subscribe to a monolingual state policy. This paper illustrates this contestation in three key areas. First, the Chinese language movement which revolves around efforts to recognize Chinese as an official language of the country. Second, the preservation of the character of the Chinese primary schools which is underpinned by the use of Chinese as the language of classroom instruction, administration and wider communication. Third, the propagation of a complete system of Chinese education to ensure a vibrant development of mother tongue education in the country.
Keywords: Chinese education; identity and cultural contestation; plural society
Jijiao Zhang (Insititute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) Yujun Li (Institute of Urban Development and Environment, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Paper short abstract:
Education is one of most important factors which impact Chinese ethnic identity and its boundaries in Malaysia.
Paper long abstract:
Ethnic identity becomes and is maintained through relational processes of inclusion and exclusion of ethnicity. T. F. W. Barth (1969) outlines an approach to the study of ethnicity which focuses on the on-going negotiations of boundaries between groups of people.
Education is one of most important factors which impact Chinese ethnic identity and its boundaries in Malaysia. For example, Chinese independent high schools are funded mostly by the Malaysian Chinese public, with UCSCAM (United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia, also known as Dong Jiao Zong after its Chinese acronym) as the overall coordination body. It was claimed by UCSCAM that the main reason for many Chinese parents sending their children to Chinese schools was that Chinese parents generally hoped their children would retain their Chinese identity, with love and awareness of the nation, love of their own culture and traditions, ethnic pride, and most importantly being aware of their ethnic "roots".
Xiaomei Wang (University of Malaya) Supramani Shoniah (University of Malaya) Patricia Nora Riget (University of Malaya)
Paper short abstract:
This chapter discusses identity construction of Chinese and Indian communities in Malaysia by taking a linguistic landscape approach.
Paper long abstract:
This chapter discusses identity construction of two minority groups in Malaysia through their language choice in public space. Using the linguistic landscape approach, a survey was conducted and data were collected in the two ethnic areas, Chinatown and Little India, in Kuala Lumpur. In total, 689 photos from these two locations were analyzed using the software FileMaker 10.0. Based on the quantitative analysis of the parameters, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) Malay is most used in trilingual signs in both areas, which symbolizes the national identity. (2) Ethnic languages are frequently used in both areas. However, the frequency of Chinese in Chinatown is much higher than that of Tamil in Little India. (3) English as an international language is extensively used in both locations. However, its occurrence in the Indian community is much higher than that in the Chinese community. These findings indicate that both Malaysians of Chinese and Indian origin tend to present their ethnic identities in public space, which signifies their ethnic vitality. English represents not only a local urban identity but also a global identity. Malay plays the role as the instrument for national unity and ethnic cohesion. The linguistic landscape approach has provided a window to observe identity construction in a multilingual society. The different usage of various languages in public space by the Chinese and the Indians reveals the differences in the orientation of their identities, which deserves further research.
Seet Leng Wong (University of Malaya)
Paper short abstract:
Living in a multiethnic and multicultural society such as Malaysia, the Chinese from different backgrounds and upbringings may have different perceptions of their own identity. This research explores the perceptions and views of different categoiies of people.
Paper long abstract:
Identity is a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affliation such as national identity and cultural identity. According to Hall (1996), cultural identity is not a theory of the knowing subject, but rather a theory of discursive practice. Cultural identities are influenced by several different factors such as one's ancestry, religion, language, education, profession, family and political attitudes. These factors contribute to the development of one's identity.Language wise, the affluence of communication that comes along with sharing a language promotes connections and roots to ancestors and cultural histories. Ethnolinguistic work has also supported contextual influences, as individual often accommodate and adapt their language speech patterns to those they are communicating with. With these notes, the existing study examines the perceptions and views of Chinese on their identitties in the context of the multiethnic and multilingual society of Malaysia. This paper reports only a portion of the data collected, i.e. from a group of 47 Chinese Language teachers, through interviews, and will be presented descriptively.
Ai Boay Tan (Universtiy Tunku Abdul Rahman/ University of Malaya)
Paper short abstract:
This paper is an extension and integration of the concept of “big man” and “charismatic authority”. The aim of the research is to study the role played by the spiritual man and legal rational man in a geographical isolated Chinese fishing village in maintaining Chinese identity.
Paper long abstract:
This paper is an extension and integration of the concept of "big man" and "charismatic authority" proposed by Marshall Sahlin and Max Weber respectively. The study will focus on Gertak Sanggul, a geographical isolated Chinese fishing village with a population of 1,500 residents,. The aim of the research is to study the role played by the spiritual man and legal rational man in maintaining Chinese identity. Did the co-existence of two types of authorities resulted in the contestation for leadership, or has it accelerated the consolidation of the Chinese village? This is a cross discipline study, which utilises historical materials, and anthropological methods. Apart from English archival and Chinese epigraphic materials, the paper will also record the daily rituals, as well as the myths and collective memory in the village. The transformation of the types of authorities will also be taken into account.