What is it like to be an ethnic Chinese in Malaysia?
作为华人,在马来西亚生活是什么感觉?
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Jeff L
Author has 102 answers and 140.9K answer views5y
What is it like to be an ethnic Chinese in Malaysia? I guess proud!
I will share my own experience.
I born and grow up in Kuala Lumpur.
Speak Cantonese at home since I was small, my mom’s side speak Hakka, so I can speak and understand both.
作为华人,在马来西亚生活是什么感觉?我想,应该是骄傲!
我想分享一下我自己的亲身体会。
我在吉隆坡出生、长大。
从小,在家我们讲广东话,我妈妈那边的亲戚讲客家话,所以这两种语言我都能听会说。
Education
I went to the Chinese national primary school, then Malay national school in secondary school, college after that.
My maths was bad during secondary school and there was once my Malay teacher told my dad, your son is poor in maths, i assume all Chinese is good in maths (in my heart, i was like … ???? hahaha).
During college time, i learned Japanese language. So I am able to converse in Malaysian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, English and some Chinese dialects.
教育
我上的是华人国立小学,中学读的是马来国立中学,之后进入马来国立大学。
我读中学的时候数学学得不好,有一次我的马来老师跟我爸爸说,你儿子数学很差,我还以为中国人数学都很好呢(我心想,这是什么歪论?哈哈哈)
大学期间,我又学了日语。所以我可以用马来西亚语、普通话、广东话、日语、英语和一些中国方言交谈。
The fun part is even I studied in the national Chinese language primary school, you still able to mix with other races and speak in Chinese, and the school is belong to the government! I read some article, outside of HK, TW, and China, you only can find a good Chinese education system only in Malaysia ! Not even in Singapore. So i do hope every Malaysian will appreciate this as it is a “heritage” belongs to Malaysia.
有趣的是,即使我在中文小学学习,我也可以和其他种族的同学相处得很好,用中文沟通,而且学校也是政府公办学校!我曾看过一些文章,除了香港特区、台湾省和中国大陆,只有马来西亚能提供良好的中文教育体系!连新加坡都做不到。所以我希望每个马来西亚人都能心存感恩,因为这是马来西亚的“优良传统”。
Chinese Language and culture in Malaysia
When I grow older, i realised the culture of Malaysian Chinese is quite diverse and can be complicated, some dialect (or clan) dominate certain place or states, and causing some word difference, like the Hokkien in north of Malaysia Peninsular is different from south of Malaysia Peninsular, some Cantonese words used in Sabah is quite similar to Hong Kong but different from KL and Ipoh…
That was why we feel that we are unable to master a language because we have to learn different languages. And we are able to differentiate who is not the native speaker of certain language, like a none Cantonese speaker or a person who seldom speak Cantonese, you are able to differentiate. That’s why Mandarin is like the “English” within the Chinese community to us for us to communicate.
中文和中国文化在马来西亚
我长大后才发现,马来西亚华人的文化非常多样复杂,某些地方或州是某些方言(或宗族)的天下,导致了某些用词上的差异,比如马来西亚半岛北部的闽南语就跟马来西亚半岛南部的不同,沙巴地区的一些粤语词发音跟香港非常相似,但跟吉隆坡和怡保就不一样……
这就是我们感觉无法完全掌握一门语言的原因,因为我们必须学习不同的语言。我们能够区分某人的母语不是某种语言,就像一个不会说广东话的人或一个很少说广东话的人,你可以区分出来。这就是在华人社区中,为什么普通话就像“英语”,极大地方便了我们的交流。
But the fun part is whenever we go HK, China or Taiwan, or even other countries, people will feel surprise we are able to speak in Chinese. My experience was when I worked in Singapore, my young Singaporean colleagues always ask me to teach them Cantonese because most of the youngsters only speak Mandarin and English, but the elders are able to speak different dialects, so whenever I hear someone i interact with spoke in Cantonese I will reply them in Cantonese and they tend to be more friendly to me.
但有趣的是,我们每次去香港特区、中国大陆或台湾省或者其他国家,大家都会对我们会说中文这件事感到非常惊讶。就我而言,我在新加坡工作时,年轻的新加坡同事总是让我教他们说广东话,因为大多数年轻人只说普通话和英语,但年纪大的人会说几种不同的方言,所以我听到人家说广东话,我就会用广东话回答,所以他们就会对我更友好。
Culture, I often hear compliments from oversea Chinese about how well we preserved the culture here, and still maintain some of the tradition which they have lost it. There was once, my Taiwanese friend went to Penang and experienced Chinese New Year there, he told me the way you guys celebrate Chinese New Year and the old heritage building (it known as straits building i guess?) had put me in awe and i feel so touched.
文化方面,我经常听到海外华人称赞马来西亚的中国文化保存得很好,仍然保持着一些他们已经失去的传统。有一次,我的台湾朋友在槟城过中国新年,他感慨:你们庆祝中国新年的方式、还有古老的传统建筑令我惊叹,我非常感动。
Patriotic
From what I can see the local Chinese is very patriotic, even though many will said they want to migrate, it is due to the disappointment with the government and the racial issue. We always hope the country can be better because Malaysia has a huge potential of being a great nation and it is a beautiful country, and we always hope the Malay people could push the country further, as we are the minority we are unable to do much even we did.
**This sharing is based on my experience and my thoughts, it does’t represent the Malaysian or the Malaysian Chinese community.
爱国情怀
在我看来,尽管很多马来西亚华人说他们对政府和种族问题很失望,想要移民,但他们还是非常爱国的。我们希望马来西亚能越变越好,因为马来西亚具有成为一个伟大国家的巨大潜力,它是一个美丽的国度。我们一直希望马来人能携手推动这个国家不断进步,因为我们属于少 数民族,我们能做的并不多。
**以上只是我个人的经历和想法,不代表马来西亚或马来西亚华人社区。
Anonymous
5y
I think I’m glad to be a Malaysian Chinese. I get to grow up surrounded by the unique mishmash of local Malay, Chinese, and Indian cultures, while having some claim on the rich Chinese heritage. I see myself as Malaysian foremost, and Chinese as an ethnicity second. I most definitely don’t consider myself as a PRC Chinese.
我为自己是马来西亚华人的身份感到高兴。我在马来、中国和印度文化大杂烩的独特环境中成长,同时对丰富的中国文化传统也有一定了解。我认为自己首先是马来西亚人,其次才是华人。我并不认为自己是中华人民共和国土地上的中国人。
If you only base your understanding of the Chinese experience in Malaysia online, then you must think we live our lives persecuted and discriminated against. Well, heck no. The majority of us Malaysians are very civil, polite, and friendly people. The online toxcity is real but life is no better or worse for me as an ethnic Chinese.
I feel as Malaysian as my Malay, Indian, and other minorities brothers and sisters. The only discrimination I feel is from politicians and government policies.
如果你只通过网络来了解马来西亚华人的生活,你一定认为我们受到了迫害和歧视。但是,并没有。大多数马来西亚人都是非常文明、礼貌和友好的人。网络上的不实言论是真实存在的,但对我这个华裔来说,生活并没有因此受到影响。
我觉得自己和马来人、印度人和其他少数族群的兄弟姐妹一样,都是马来西亚人。我唯一感受到的歧视来自于政客和政府政策。
Wern Lyn
Malaysian since 1997.Author has 193 answers and 941.5K answer views7y
Personal Experience:
Unlike most of my Chinese friends who went to Chinese primary schools, spoke Mandarin and usually stick to their own race, I went to national school (primary and secondary). I speak English and Malay fluently (due to years of practice) and Hokkien (at a simple level).I can only understand and speak a few sentences in Mandarin.
In school, I was good at writing essays and karangan (Malay essays) but hopeless at learning how to write in Mandarin.
我跟大多数中国朋友不一样,他们上的是中文小学,说普通话,基本只在华人圈子打转,而我则上的是马来西亚公办学校(小学和中学)。我能说流利的英语和马来语(因为多年的练习)和闽南语(简单对话)。我只能听说几句普通话。
在学校里,我擅长写作文和马来文作文,但对于学习用中文写作,我已经放弃。
I have (and had) friends of all races: Chinese, Indian, Malay, Chindian, etc. It was easy for me to have close friends who were of different races, because I never stuck to one group of friends but chose to hop from one group to another.
我有也有不同种族的朋友:华人、印度人、马来人等等。对我来说,拥有不同种族的亲密朋友是很简单的事,因为我从不固守一个圈子,我常常从一个圈子跳到另一个圈子。
The upside of living in Malaysia, is the diversity of cultures, races and religion..and great food (yes, this is important)
The downside is that non-bumis do not have a lot of the opportunities bumiputras do, political and economical problems, segregation of races.
Most people don't see me as a 'typical' Chinese (they mean Mandarin speaking, etc), and refer to me as a 'banana' (Chinese who cannot relate to his/her heritage..sometimes I find this offensive because I still embrace the Chinese culture even though I don't speak the language and I'm a Christian)
在马来西亚生活的好处是能享受文化、种族和宗教的多样性,还有各种美味的食物(是的,这一点很重要)
缺点是不像马来人那样机会多多,我们面临着政治和经济问题,还有种族隔离。
大多数人都觉得我不是“典型的”华人(他们指的是能说中文等),他们称我为“香蕉人”(不了解中国传统文化的中国人。有时我觉得这对我是种冒犯,因为尽管我不会说中文,但我依然喜欢中国文化,而且我是一个基督徒)。
Opinion:
I hear and read stories about racial tension, but from my experience, most Malaysians generally embrace others of different races. It's my belief that the government chooses to portray this image in an attempt to keep the races divided.
I'm not happy about how difficult it is for a non-Malay to get into a public university. I believe that a student should be evaluated based on his academical merit, not his skin color.
Conclusion:
My experience is probably not very similar to a majority of Chinese in Malaysia but I'm a Chinese nonetheless :)
我的看法:
我听说过,也读到过有关种族关系紧张的文章,但以我的个人经历来说,大多数马来西亚人都会包容不同种族的人。我认为政府制造种族关系紧张的印象是为了保持种族的分裂。
我对非马来人难以入读公立大学十分不满。我认为考核一个学生应该看学习成绩,而不是看肤色。
结论:
我的经历可能和多数马来西亚华人不一样,但我依然是一个华人。
Anonymous
5y
You realize very early on that you are living in an Apartheid state.
The Malays are in charge of Malaysia.
The Malays are 100% Muslim.
Malays are not allowed to change religion
Race and Religion are considered one and the same. If you are a Malay you are by default a Muslim
很小的时候我们就会意识到自己生活在一个种族隔离的国家。
马来人掌管着马来西亚。
马来人100%是穆 斯林。
马来人不允许改变宗教信仰
人们把种族和宗教当成一回事。如果你是马来人,就会被归为穆 斯林。
Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. Preferential treatment is given to Muslims.
Even though your family may have lived in Malaysia since the 18th century, you are considered a second class citizen.
Preferential treatment in government and business is given to Malays.
The majority of posts in government, universities are given to Malays.
If you start a company or business in Malaysia, a 51% stake has to be given to Malays.
伊 斯兰教是马来西亚的官方宗教。穆 斯林可以获得优待。
即便你的家人是从18世纪起就生活在马来西亚,你也是人们眼中的二等公民。
马来人在政府和商界可以获得优待。
政府和大学的大部分职位都由马来人担任。
如果你在马来西亚开公司或做生意,51%的股份必须分给马来人。
Jiang Fung Wong
full-stack developer, team builder and bloggerAuthor has 223 answers and 664.3K answer views10y
There are some degree of freedom and some degree of discrimination, a sense of optimism and a sense of pessimism. An ethnic Chinese can still learn the mother tongue in school. There is an independent stream of schools offering Chinese education. An ethnic Chinese can freely practise any religion, enjoy their food. At the same time, it's hard to enter a national university, or get a job in the civil service due to preferential treatment given to "bumiputras". In general, Chinese need to work extra hard, including working on sat sun, starting a biz or working in other foreign countries, in order to live a good life. It is not surprising when the statistics say chinese contribute most taxes. Despite how the governmental media says, racial tension is actually low, we do not feel unsafe living in malaysia, occasionally the current government wants to create a false image of high racial tension, so that people will vote for them out of fear. Majority of the time, we think ourselves more than just a Chinese, a Malaysian. As a more economically capable ethnic circle, we are among the first to be awaken to the political reality. We like to see changes to how things are. But the protectionists, the conservatives, the beneficiaries of the current systems are still strong. So some Chinese has felt pessimistic. They left the country for a better destination. The rest who stay behind believe things may change. They are still working towards it.
在马来西亚,自由也有,歧视呢也有,让人乐观的事也有,让人悲观的事也有。华人还是可以在学校里学习母语的。有一些学校提供中文教学。华裔可以自由地信仰任何宗教,享用中国的美食。与此同时,由于马来西亚政府对“马来人”的优待政策,华人很难进入国立大学,也很难在政府部门找到公务员工作。
总的说来,为了过上好日子,华人需要特别努力地工作,全年无休,或者自己创业,或者去其他国家工作。统计数据显示华人缴纳的税最多,这并不奇怪。不管政府媒体怎么说,马来西亚的种族关系其实并不紧张,我们不觉得在马来西亚生活没有安全感,现在的政府偶尔想要制造种族关系紧张的虚假印象,这样人们出于恐惧才会投票给他们。
大多数时候,我们认为自己不仅仅是华人或马来西亚人。作为经济能力较强的民族群体,我们是最先意识到政治现实的群体之一。我们希望看到现在的情况能有所变化。但保护主义者、保守派、既得利益者的群体还很强大。有些华人对此感到悲观,他们找到更好的定居地,离开了马来西亚。留下来的华人则相信这一切也许会改变。他们仍在朝着这个方向努力着。
KS Mak
I am happy to see some interesting thoughts and experiences you guys are sharing here. Does anyone of you aware of similar blog where our Malay and Indian counterpart are discussing about the same issue? Wouldn't it be good to create a platform which is not ethnic-based? Perhaps, there exst already such blog.
I grew up in a 'kampung' in Penang and had interaction with Malay and Indian people at a very young age already. This multi-racial interaction was strengthen when I was in the local university and in work after that . I have to admit that integration of different ethnic groups is an issue which is best to tackle from the top i.e. government policy in order to have a substantial and long lasting impact. Look at the effect of NEP! Imagine, if NEP would had been NIP (National Integration Programme), the political and economical landscape in Malaysia will be very different today.
我很高兴看到大家在这里分享有趣的感受和经历。你们有没有发现类似的博客,让马来人和印度人也可以讨论同样的问题?搭建这样一个无关种族的论坛不是很棒的事吗?也许,这样的博客已经存在了,只是我还没发现。
我在槟城的一个“村庄”长大,很小的时候就跟马来人和印度人打交道。我跟其他种族的互动在我进入当地大学和毕业之后的工作中得到了进一步加强。我必须要说,不同种族群体的融合最好自上而下解决,即政府制订政策并实施,才能产生实质和长远的影响。看看国家经济计划的影响吧!想象一下,如果当时出台的是国家民族大融合计划,现如今马来西亚的政治和经济格局肯定会大不相同。
I find the common ground which we policy change can be agreed upon is on education. Education: introducing Malay, Chinese and Indian as a second/third language in all schools. So far, it is the Chinese and Indian that are learning Malay. Very rarely we hear or see that Chineses study Indian or Malays study Mandarin. Getting rid of the national school is not a smart move because of the political fallout and the interest of cultural diversity (which makes Malaysia and us special). Together with languages, the different historical background, culture and values of the different ethnic groups in Malaysia should be taught at the school to increase the understanding. Hopefully, this changes will bring more integration and overcome some of the 'physical' separations due to some religious and cultural practices. Will this bring some political change in the future? You bet it will! And that is what we should be aiming for.
我发现能使政策达成共识的点在于教育。教育:在所有学校引入马来语、中文和印度语作为第二、第三语言进行教学活动。
到目前为止,学习马来语的是华人和印度裔
我们很少听说或看到华人学习印度语或马来人学习华语。
考虑到政治影响和对文化多样性的兴趣(马来西亚和马来西亚人正是因此而特别),取消国立学校不是明智之举。
除了语言之外,学校还应该教授马来西亚不同民族各自不同的历史背景、文化和价值观,以增进孩子们对彼此的了解。
希望这些改变能加速民族融合,克服一些宗教和文化习俗造成的“物理”分离。
这样做会不会在将来带来一些政治变革?当然啦!这就是我们的目标
Peter Jia
FreelancerAuthor has 84 answers and 465.3K answer views4y
Related
How are Chinese people treated in Malaysia?
According to my personal experience, I think the local Malaysians, either Muslim or the others are really friendly.
One unforgettable experience to be shared. During the Chinese new year of 2018, I, along with my wife and toddler travelled from KL to Langkawi by both railway and ferry. Along the tour, we were helped by the Muslims a lot. So from my perspective, I think the locals are quite friendly unless they are offended. So in general I am impressed with the local Malaysians.
根据我的亲身经验,我认为马来西亚当地人,无论是穆 斯林还是其他人,都非常友好。
这是一段值得分享的难忘经历。2018年中国新年期间,我和妻子带着蹒跚学步的孩子乘坐列车和渡轮从吉隆坡前往兰卡威。一路上,我们得到了穆 斯林的很多帮助。所以从我的角度来看,我认为当地人非常友好,除非别人无礼地冒犯了他们。总的来说,我对马来西亚当地人的印象很不错。
Several points to remember when visiting Malaysia:
Respect the locals, either the rich or the poor.
Respect the culture.
Since Islam is unique with all the rules to follow, so when in Malaysia, do what the locals do. You will definitely gain the respect. Trust me!~
在马来西亚旅游时,大家要记住以下几点:
尊重当地人,无论对方是贫是富。
尊重当地文化。
教义很特别,我们要遵守所有的规则,所以在马来西亚,我们的行为举止要跟当地人一样。
你也一定会获得当地人的尊重。相信我!
Ridhwan Asri
Nationalist8y
I am not chinese, but i have friend who have chinese lineage/blood, here i describe how he had been taught-
1. Other races/ethnics than chinese is consider inferior.
2. Chinese is the only ethnic that contribute to the development of this country.
3. He seems to be overtly islamic, but always criticize the wrongdoings of other ethnic except chinese, he just seem like nothing happen.
4. Very proud to tell us he has chinese lineage.
5. Liar or bragging or insult other ethnic is consider noble in chinese culture until when someone from ethnic chinese dont insult other race he is consider traitor.
I guess that's why former Australian prime minister ask the chinese to get out from Australia.
我不是华人,但我有一个拥有中国血统的朋友,他是这么被洗脑的:
1. 其他种族和民族都比不上华人。
2. 华人是对马来西亚的发展做出贡献的唯一民族。
3. 总是批判其他种族犯了这错那错,对华人他则觉得什么都好。
4. 他很自豪地宣告自己的中国血统。
5. 在中国文化中,骗人、吹牛或侮辱其他民族都是了不起的事,如果哪个中国人不侮辱其他民族,人们还会觉得他是个叛徒。
我猜这就是前澳大利亚总理要求华人离开澳大利亚的原因。