Global InformationMalaysian Chinese information
马来西亚华人 / 馬來西亞華人 Orang Cina Malaysia மலேசிய சீனர் | |
|---|---|
 Ethnic Chinese in traditional samfu attire with umbrella, c. 1945. | |
| Total population | |
| 6,712,200[1] 22.8% of the Malaysian population (2022)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 MalaysiaPenang, Kedah, Perlis, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Selangor, Johor, and Sarawak Significant diaspora in:  Australia Christmas Island[3] Singapore (338,500 in 2010)[4] New Zealand[note 1] United States Canada United Kingdom Taiwan Hong Kong[6] Mainland China | |
| Languages | |
| Mandarin (lingua franca), Malay and English as medium of communication in schools and government Mothertongue languages: Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Fuzhou, Hainanese, Taishanese and Henghua; Manglish (creole) | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Mahāyāna Buddhism and Taoism (Chinese folk religion) • significant Christianity (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism) • Non-religious Minority Islam • Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bruneian Chinese · Singaporean Chinese · Indonesian Chinese · Chinese Filipinos · Thai Chinese · Peranakans · Overseas Chinese |
| Malaysian Chinese | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 馬來西亞華人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马来西亚华人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 馬來西亞華僑 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马来西亚华侨 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 馬來西亞唐人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马来西亚唐人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chinese Malaysians, also commonly called locally as Malaysian Chinese, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese ethnicity. They form the second-largest ethnic group, after the Malay majority, and are 22.8% of the Malaysian population. Most of them are descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants who arrived in Malaysia between the early 19th and the mid-20th centuries. Malaysian Chinese form the second largest community of Overseas Chinese in the world, after Thai Chinese. Malaysian Chinese are traditionally dominant in the business sector of the Malaysian economy.
The ethnic subgroups of Chinese people in Malaysia include the Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainan, Fuzhou and Kwongsai. Different Chinese languages are spoken in Malaysian towns and cities. Among them are Hokkien in George Town, Alor Setar, Kangar, Butterworth, Bayan Lepas, Simpang Ampat, Perai, Klang, Taiping, Kota Bharu, Kuala Terengganu, Malacca City, Johor Bahru and Kuching, Teochew in Johor Bahru, Bukit Mertajam, Nibong Tebal, Sungai Petani, Parit Buntar and Miri, Cantonese in Kuala Lumpur, Cheras, Kajang, Ipoh, Kuantan, Seremban, Mersing, Kampar, Petaling Jaya and Sandakan, Hakka in Kota Kinabalu, Balik Pulau, Tawau, Kulai and Kuala Kangsar, Fuzhou in Sibu, Miri and Sitiawan, and Hainanese in Kuala Terengganu and Papar. However, Mandarin is now widely used as a working language or lingua franca among the different Chinese ethnicities, particularly for younger generations.
Most Malaysian Chinese have maintained their Chinese heritage, including their diverse mother tongues. However, the descendants of the earliest Chinese migrants who arrived between the 13th and the 17th centuries have assimilated aspects of the indigenous Malay cultures and formed distinct sub-ethnic groups, such as the Peranakans in Kelantan and Terengganu, Baba-Nyonya in Malacca and Penang, and the Sino-Natives in Sabah. The Malaysian Chinese are usually referred to as simply "Chinese" in Malaysian English, "Orang Cina" in Malay, "Sina" or "Kina" among indigenous groups in Borneo, "Cīṉar" (சீனர்) in Tamil, and "Huaren" (華人/华人, Chinese people), "Huaqiao" (華僑/华侨, Overseas Chinese),[7] or "Huayi" (華裔/华裔, ethnic Chinese)[citation needed] in Mandarin by the local Chinese themselves.
Although the Malaysian Chinese population is increasing in every census, the proportion of ethnic Chinese among the country's total population has been consistently declining because of a lower birth rate and high emigration rate in recent decades. According to a report by the World Bank, the Malaysian diaspora around the world in 2010 included around a million people, most of them ethnic Chinese. The large number of emigrants, many of whom are young with education or skills, constitutes a significant "brain drain" from the country, especially towards the country's immediate neighbour Singapore.[8]
- ^ Department of Statistics Malaysia 2020.
- ^ Department of Statistics Malaysia 2021.
- ^ Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development Australia 2016, p. 2.
- ^ Department of Statistics Singapore 2010, p. 31.
- ^ Walrond 2015.
- ^ About 15,000 Malaysians now live in Hong Kong, according to the Consulate-General. Though the Consulate does not record what state they come from, Penangites are widely thought to be the largest group in the city.
- ^ Jonathan Y. Tan (28 July 2021). "Diasporic Chinese (Huaqiao 華僑) or Multicultural Malaysian? The Challenges of Being Chinese and Christian in Malaysia Today". Ecclesial Diversity in Chinese Christianity. Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. pp. 77–98. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73069-7_4. ISBN 978-3-030-73068-0. S2CID 237960653.
- ^ Defillippi, Arthur & Lindsay 2009, p. 117
• Fong & Zubair 2017, p. 15
• Jakobsen 2014, p. 170
• Tyson 2018, p. 55
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