*Tanpa pertolongan orang melayu, mereka tidak mungkin dapat hidup walau seminggu di Tanah Melayu *" Ramai orang Cina dan rakyat Malaysia dalam
negara juga tidak sedar bahawa orang Cina
dilarang oleh Maharaja Dinasti Chin
daripada meninggalkan China; orang-orang yang meninggalkan
dianggap sebagai 'pengkhianat', dan perlu
mereka kembali, mereka akan ditangkap dan digantung sampai mati "
negara juga tidak sedar bahawa orang Cina
dilarang oleh Maharaja Dinasti Chin
daripada meninggalkan China; orang-orang yang meninggalkan
dianggap sebagai 'pengkhianat', dan perlu
mereka kembali, mereka akan ditangkap dan digantung sampai mati "
It was the Great Famine in South China in
the early Nineteenth Century which drove
many young Chinese to leave the country to
come to Tanah Melayu or Malaya and
Nusantara Melayu or Southeast Asia, in
droves, sailing in junks, which were all
wind-powered.
Only much later, the Chinese women
started to join the men, i.e. when
steamships were introduced, making the
sailing time from South China to Southeast
Asia shorter and more bearable to the
women.
The Great Famine may be the main reason
for the Chinese to come to Southeast Asia
or ‘Nanyang’ – meaning ‘South Seas’
There are basically two other reasons for
the Chinese men to flee from South China,
and they are because of their involvement
in the Triads and for being hounded by the
Manchus, especially on those who were
strong supporters of the Ching Dynasty
ruler who lost to the Manchus to rule
China.
I wrote this book, ‘The Sinkek’ as a personal
tribute to some of my ancestors who too
had come from that country.
And from my estimation there are about
thirty percent Chinese in Malaysia, if not
more, especially so in Melaka who have
Chinese ancestry, with some having closer
anscestry than the others.
And each time I started to discuss the
matter, I discovered my Melayu friends who
said their mother, grandmother,
grandfather and great-grandmother or
great-grandfather was Chinese.
It is not surprising but mostly sad that the
history of Chinese immigration to Tanah
Melayu or Nusantara Melayu has not been
dwelt with before. Is there fear in
discussing such issues?
So the program on the matter broadcast on
TV3 was certainly welcome, despite its
flaws.
And not surprisingly, too, the history of
Chinese immigration to Tanah Melayu
especially has never been written in the
forms of novels or produced as a feature
film or television drama serial, except for
‘Kinta 1881’, which seems to concentrate on
the gangsterism and triad activities of the
early Chinese of Tanah Melayu.
No wonder the film bombed, simply
because the Chinese in Malaysia today
especially the younger generation, do not
have much fascination on the history of
their ancestors. They prefer fantasy films
produced by Hong Kong studios over the
China-produced ones which deal mostly
with their ancient history and recent social
and cultural developments experienced by
the new generation of Mainland Chinese.
But the most interesting aspect of this
episode on the Chinese immigration to
Tanah Melayu was the role played by the
Melayu hosts, who welcome the Chinese
who comprised mostly of the young and
confused and sickly, which has never been
acknowledged before.
For without Melayu support for them, most
of them would not have survived a week
living in Tanah Melayu.
And no wonder, too, one could find a tiny
Chinese store selling all sorts of things right
in the middle of a rural Melayu village,
serving the community, with the Melayu
supporting it, simply because the Melayu
wanted to help the Chinese out.
If the Melayu villagers had wanted to be
nasty, they could have boycotted the store
causing the Chinese to seek employment as
coolies, cutting grass and carrying water for
the wealthy Melayu.
In fact, many wealthy Melayu then had
Chinese women as ‘amahs’ and other
servants. Those who live in the towns could
find employment being active in the Triads
or ‘kongsi’ groups, extorting money from
small Chinese establishments up to the late
1960s when the Triad groups started to
diminish in numbers as the economy grows
and many being able to get proper
education.
Many of the early Chinese boys were
processed in Singapore and later taken to
the different states in Semenanjung Tanah
Melayu or Melayu Peninsula.
It was only much later that tin was found in
Perak that drove many Chinese boys and
men to go there since there was easy
employment that they could get there.
Many Chinese and Malaysians in the
country also do not realize that the Chinese
were forbidden by the Chin Dynasty
emperor from leaving China; those who left
are considered to be ‘traitors’, and should
they return, they would be arrested and
hanged.
The only provision available for the Chinese
to leave China then was for them to not
return, ever; and that they should abide by
the laws of the countries they are in and
for them to follow the local ways and adopt
their lifestyles and languages.
This was what the early Chinese Babas and
Nyonyas had done when they embraced
Melayu cultures and lifestyles without losing
their own peculiar identity, so much so that
they stopped speaking in Chinese especially
Hokkien.
And if one were to look at the experiences
in other countries, especially the
Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos, one can say that the
Chinese immigrants to these countries had
adapted themselves well, despite the fact
that in Indonesia they were forced by law
to do so.
And because only men initially fled from
China to Indonesia or Jawa Island, one can
say that most of the Jawa living in the
northern part of the Jawa Island have
Chinese ancestries, with their grand-fathers
and great-grandfathers being Chinese.
No wonder, even till today, when one looks
carefully in the faces of many Jawa, one can
see Chinese features.
Only much later Chinese women were able
to go to Jawa where they marry their own
kinds so that a group of Chinese-
Indonesians was established. One such
Chinese-Indonesian woman is the mother of
Lee Kuan Yew who was born in Semarang,
Jawa in Indonesia. She married another
Chinese-Indonesian man who then went to
Singapore.
So Kuan Yew can be said to be Chinese with
Indonesian ties, whose father came to
Singapore for other opportunities which
was to expand on his business.
the early Nineteenth Century which drove
many young Chinese to leave the country to
come to Tanah Melayu or Malaya and
Nusantara Melayu or Southeast Asia, in
droves, sailing in junks, which were all
wind-powered.
Only much later, the Chinese women
started to join the men, i.e. when
steamships were introduced, making the
sailing time from South China to Southeast
Asia shorter and more bearable to the
women.
The Great Famine may be the main reason
for the Chinese to come to Southeast Asia
or ‘Nanyang’ – meaning ‘South Seas’
There are basically two other reasons for
the Chinese men to flee from South China,
and they are because of their involvement
in the Triads and for being hounded by the
Manchus, especially on those who were
strong supporters of the Ching Dynasty
ruler who lost to the Manchus to rule
China.
I wrote this book, ‘The Sinkek’ as a personal
tribute to some of my ancestors who too
had come from that country.
And from my estimation there are about
thirty percent Chinese in Malaysia, if not
more, especially so in Melaka who have
Chinese ancestry, with some having closer
anscestry than the others.
And each time I started to discuss the
matter, I discovered my Melayu friends who
said their mother, grandmother,
grandfather and great-grandmother or
great-grandfather was Chinese.
It is not surprising but mostly sad that the
history of Chinese immigration to Tanah
Melayu or Nusantara Melayu has not been
dwelt with before. Is there fear in
discussing such issues?
So the program on the matter broadcast on
TV3 was certainly welcome, despite its
flaws.
And not surprisingly, too, the history of
Chinese immigration to Tanah Melayu
especially has never been written in the
forms of novels or produced as a feature
film or television drama serial, except for
‘Kinta 1881’, which seems to concentrate on
the gangsterism and triad activities of the
early Chinese of Tanah Melayu.
No wonder the film bombed, simply
because the Chinese in Malaysia today
especially the younger generation, do not
have much fascination on the history of
their ancestors. They prefer fantasy films
produced by Hong Kong studios over the
China-produced ones which deal mostly
with their ancient history and recent social
and cultural developments experienced by
the new generation of Mainland Chinese.
But the most interesting aspect of this
episode on the Chinese immigration to
Tanah Melayu was the role played by the
Melayu hosts, who welcome the Chinese
who comprised mostly of the young and
confused and sickly, which has never been
acknowledged before.
For without Melayu support for them, most
of them would not have survived a week
living in Tanah Melayu.
And no wonder, too, one could find a tiny
Chinese store selling all sorts of things right
in the middle of a rural Melayu village,
serving the community, with the Melayu
supporting it, simply because the Melayu
wanted to help the Chinese out.
If the Melayu villagers had wanted to be
nasty, they could have boycotted the store
causing the Chinese to seek employment as
coolies, cutting grass and carrying water for
the wealthy Melayu.
In fact, many wealthy Melayu then had
Chinese women as ‘amahs’ and other
servants. Those who live in the towns could
find employment being active in the Triads
or ‘kongsi’ groups, extorting money from
small Chinese establishments up to the late
1960s when the Triad groups started to
diminish in numbers as the economy grows
and many being able to get proper
education.
Many of the early Chinese boys were
processed in Singapore and later taken to
the different states in Semenanjung Tanah
Melayu or Melayu Peninsula.
It was only much later that tin was found in
Perak that drove many Chinese boys and
men to go there since there was easy
employment that they could get there.
Many Chinese and Malaysians in the
country also do not realize that the Chinese
were forbidden by the Chin Dynasty
emperor from leaving China; those who left
are considered to be ‘traitors’, and should
they return, they would be arrested and
hanged.
The only provision available for the Chinese
to leave China then was for them to not
return, ever; and that they should abide by
the laws of the countries they are in and
for them to follow the local ways and adopt
their lifestyles and languages.
This was what the early Chinese Babas and
Nyonyas had done when they embraced
Melayu cultures and lifestyles without losing
their own peculiar identity, so much so that
they stopped speaking in Chinese especially
Hokkien.
And if one were to look at the experiences
in other countries, especially the
Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos, one can say that the
Chinese immigrants to these countries had
adapted themselves well, despite the fact
that in Indonesia they were forced by law
to do so.
And because only men initially fled from
China to Indonesia or Jawa Island, one can
say that most of the Jawa living in the
northern part of the Jawa Island have
Chinese ancestries, with their grand-fathers
and great-grandfathers being Chinese.
No wonder, even till today, when one looks
carefully in the faces of many Jawa, one can
see Chinese features.
Only much later Chinese women were able
to go to Jawa where they marry their own
kinds so that a group of Chinese-
Indonesians was established. One such
Chinese-Indonesian woman is the mother of
Lee Kuan Yew who was born in Semarang,
Jawa in Indonesia. She married another
Chinese-Indonesian man who then went to
Singapore.
So Kuan Yew can be said to be Chinese with
Indonesian ties, whose father came to
Singapore for other opportunities which
was to expand on his business.
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