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The novel human coronavirus disease COVID-19, first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and subsequently spread worldwide, has evolved into a global health and socioeconomic crisis so serious it has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. As governments of the world are battling the pandemic and the rising number of COVID-19 cases, it is at this critical juncture that such a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale and impact has put charities and philanthropy under the spotlight. In Malaysia, the Chinese community has long been known for its philanthropic contributions. From the second half of the 19th century to Malaya’s independence in 1957, the country witnessed the active philanthropic roles played by a considerable number of key businessmen and influential leaders in the local Chinese community, such as Yap Ah Loy, Chan Sow Lin, Cheong Fatt Tze, Tan Kah Kee, Loh Boon Siew, Robert Kuok Hock Nien, and Lim Goh Tong. Post-independence Malaya (Malaysia in 1963) too saw the likes of Teh Hong Piow, Tiong Hiew King, Jeffrey Cheah Fook Ling, and Vincent Tan Chee Yioun in the pursuance of various philanthropic endeavours. In the past years, several Chinese Malaysians from different business sectors have been listed by Forbes Magazine as the “Heroes of Philanthropy”; many of these figures own corporations and businesses that make financial contributions to charitable organisations as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives. Meanwhile, since the outbreak of the first cases of COVID-19 in the country, many local Chinese individuals, businesses, and organisations have remained committed to philanthropic efforts to fight the coronavirus and help those affected by it, regardless of ethnicity and religion in multiracial Malaysia. It is within the aforementioned context that this paper aims to explore Chinese philanthropy in Malaysia, by taking as a point of departure its response to the COVID-19 crisis. By using the content analysis technique, the researchers examined various news sources in the period between March and December 2020 for data on local philanthropic activities aimed at battling the coronavirus. The research outcome shows that although various philanthropic efforts rendered during the COVID-19 period cannot be directly comparable to those done in the past in terms of value, Chinese Malaysians’ passion for and commitment to philanthropy remain evident.

With the increasing number of overseas users of China's social media (CSM), this study aimed to explore the motivation and behavior of Malaysian Chinese in using Chinese social media platforms. A questionnaire was done to 219 Malaysian Chinese, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis in SPSS. The results show that Malaysian Chinese use CSM with high frequency and duration. Their main motives are information, entertainment, and interpersonal interaction. The results indicated that entertainment motivation (β=0.448, p=0.000), information motivation (β=0.348, p=0.000), self-presentation motivation (β=0.142, p=0.047), and social motivation significantly (β=-0.249, p=0.000) affected the use of CSM among Malaysian Chinese, while business motivation did not. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the patterns of Malaysian Chinese usage of CSM and their motivations, which is crucial for marketers and advertisers trying to target this group on social media platforms effectively. Moreover, the findings of this study have important implications for cross-country communication and exchange within the same ethnic culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pursuing the mammoth Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China is counting on the perceived cultural similarities with the overseas Chinese to promote better bilateral understanding and business flows. This presents unprecedented opportunities but also risks because these communities are not identical. Among the overseas Chinese, Malaysia is unique because of its multiracial context, economic significance and growth prospects. As a start, this paper seeks to understand the risk psyche of ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in Malaysia. It examines whether some traditional Chinese values may differentiate the ethnic Chinese entrepreneur-controlled banks compared with institutional-controlled banks. It traces the historical background of ethnic Chinese businesses and draws upon studies regarding family businesses and entrepreneurship, which yield mixed findings on their effectiveness as compared with institutional-controlled businesses. Using discriminant analysis on a survey of 135 risk management professionals, the findings suggest that the entrepreneur-controlled banks differ from the others through lower scores on two elements taken combinatively: (1) proactive awareness of new techniques, and (2) extent of learning in the course of developing their own risk models. These findings provide an empirical basis for some insights into these banks' risk psyche and enduring success. While such values are beneficial, one may also wish to consider adopting newer and institutionalized approaches to progress further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the period before World War II, the Malaysian Chinese no longer look towards China as a home they will ultimately return to. This is seen in the flow of funds to China from the Malaysian Chinese. Before the war the motivation was patrimonial. The funds were in the form of patriotic bonds and collections and remittances that went to the home provinces of the Malaysian Chinese mostly in Fujian and Guangdong. Since the 1990s the funds flow has mainly been in the form of investment meant for gaining profit. This motivation was not different from that of business investors from other nations investing in China. It is important to demonstrate this motivation in order to allay suspicions by indigenous Southeast Asians that the Chinese who live in Southeast Asia are diverting funds meant for Southeast Asia to China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between language and ethnicity in the identities of Malaysian Chinese, using Fishman’s (1977) dimensions of paternity, patrimony and phenomenology. The data for the study were taken from language attitude questionnaires completed by 300 Chinese (150 Foochow, 150 Hokkien) and interviews with 18 participants (nine Foochow, nine Hokkien) living in Kuching, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The questionnaire results suggest that Chinese from the Foochow and Hokkien participant groups believe in both the paternity and patrimony dimensions of ethnicity, but the interview results also revealed a tendency towards viewing ethnicity as an inherited characteristic. Some are of the view that those who are of Foochow/Hokkien descent but cannot speak the ethnic language are “half Foochow/Hokkien”. The interview results also suggest that comparatively more Hokkien participants than Foochow participants may be inclined towards the patrimonial view of ethnicity. This finding is further supported by questionnaire results showing more frequent use of the ethnic language (Foochow/Hokkien) by the Hokkien than by the Foochow. Both sources of data provide evidence that Foochow and Hokkien in Malaysia use Mandarin for daily communication to a greater extent than their ethnic language. The findings indicate that ethnic language use is linked to conceptualisation of ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Foucauldian conceptualisation of sophrosyne as moderation, self-mastery, control and freedom is deepened to gain deeper nuance of the coming-out process of same-sex attracted men in Penang, Malaysia who are of ethnic Chinese descent. The deepening of the concepts focussed on moderation, balance, structure, self-realisation, individuality and personal growth in the coming-out process of the respondents. Qualitative in nature, this research is based on a sample of 15 men who identify as same-sex attracted who were interviewed in-depth on the subject of their experience of coming out as same-sex attracted. The data suggest that similarities exist between sophrosyne and the coming-out process as described by Western scholars. However, due to conservative Asian values, sophrosyne allows respondents to focus more on the personalised and individualised experience of coming out that does not necessarily reflect major Western models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generally, vegetarianism has been gaining in popularity, especially among the Chinese and Indian communities. This could be due to religious beliefs, or it could be due to health concerns. The advancement in food technology has made the intake of plant-based protein products possible for vegetarian consumers through meat substitutes. As food consumption trends in Malaysia are characterized by foods with high cholesterol and calories and lower amounts of plant foods, there is concern about healthy eating and health among Malaysians. Statistics have shown that there are obesity and heart-related problems among Malaysians, that the numbers are increasing, and that these phenomena are related to the food that is currently being consumed by Malaysians. The objective of this study is to identify the potential market for vegetarian food among non-vegetarian Chinese consumers in Malaysia. The specific objectives are to determine the dimensions of non-vegetarian consumers’ opinions toward vegetarian food and diets, and to determine the factors that influence non-vegetarian consumers’ opinions toward vegetarian food and diets. Five hundred Chinese respondents who are non-vegetarians were interviewed using a structured questionnaire distributed in Pinang. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and binary logistic regression were used in this study. The results of the study show that more than 58.6% of the respondents have a positive opinion toward vegetarian food and diets. They could be influenced by their demographic profiles, food preferences and knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs toward vegetarian food and diets. Environmental and animal well-being concerns, being taught to be vegetarian for religious reasons, and the influence of surrounding people on eating habits were also important factors influencing non-vegetarians’ opinions on vegetarian food and diets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the newly emerging overseas Chinese Muslim community in Malaysia. As China's interactions with the Muslim-majority countries deepen, there will be more Chinese Muslims staying in these countries. Questions can be asked how connection with, and exposure to, the wider Islamic world influence their identity as Chinese Muslim. Through examining the activities of the Overseas Chinese Muslim Association, elite interviews and survey data of the Chinese Muslim students in Malaysia, this paper argues that in general overseas Chinese Muslims remain comfortable with their identity as both Muslim and Chinese. Some contributing factors include the presence of a sizable ethnic Chinese minority in Malaysia and the ease of modern communications technology. They also utilize their different identity categories to maximize advantages to the community. Also, the Chinese Muslims’ relations with official China and the Han majority are largely reproduced in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

General elections in Malaysia have traditionally been configured along ethnic lines. Yet this description makes for a complex analysis of the electoral landscape. Chinese votes have gone back and forth at every general election since 1969. Nonetheless, there were three significant occasions when the pendulum swing pattern was disrupted. The 1995, 1999 and 2004 general elections showed decisive Chinese support for the ruling coalition, only for a drastic reversal to occur in favour of the opposition in 2008. In making sense of current Chinese electoral trends, it is argued that patterns of continuity and discontinuity influenced by political consciousness and socialisation are critical factors to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country in which multiple languages are prominently spoken, including English and Mandarin Chinese. As psychological science continues to develop within Malaysia, there is a need for psychometrically sound instruments that measure psychological phenomena in multiple languages. For example, assessment tools for measuring social desirability could be a useful addition in psychological assessments and research studies in a Malaysian context. This study examined the psychometric performance of the English and Mandarin Chinese versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale when used in Malaysia. Two hundred and eighty-three students (64% female; 83% Chinese, 9% Indian) from two college campuses completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale in their language of choice (i.e., English or Mandarin Chinese). Proposed factor structures were compared with confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple indicators-multiple causes models were used to examine measurement invariance across language and sex. Factor analyses supported a two-factor structure (i.e., Attribution and Denial) for the measure. Invariance tests revealed the scale was invariant by sex, indicating that social desirability can be interpreted similarly across sex. The scale was partially invariant by language version, with some non-invariance observed within the Denial factor. Non-invariance may be related to differences in the English and Mandarin Chinese languages, as well as cultural differences. Directions for further research include examining the measurement of social desirability in other contexts where both English and Mandarin Chinese are spoken (i.e., China) and further examining the causes of non-invariance on specific items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on the migration trajectories of mainland Chinese women marriage migrants in Malaysia. It finds that their migratory motivations and pathways reveal formerly overlooked mobility patterns that depart from the institutionally organized, commercially arranged, or kinship and social network-mediated migration patterns. The authors argue that the state’s attempts to grow its regulatory capacity, the increasing ‘cost’ of legality and the multiplying of illegal-but-licit spaces through which migrants can navigate produce particular forms of mobile subjectivities which the authors broadly term ‘entrepreneurial’. The aim in this article is to begin to fill this gap in scholarship on entrepreneurialism and feminized migration with an ethnographic study of these gendered entrepreneurial strategies. The authors propose two interlinked concepts in vernacular Chinese – ‘out’ (chu出) and ‘through’ (zuan钻) – as a set of lenses to examine the marriage migrants’ variable motivations, their non-linear paths to upward and outward mobility, their careful negotiations and manoeuvring across and within state boundaries, and gender politics in intimate relations. This presents a more nuanced way of framing migrants’ mobile subjectivities as produced by a contextualized understanding of human agency operating within the particular conditions of Asia’s migration regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Straits Chinese were local-born Chinese who formed an influential class of businessmen providing the connection between the British and the Malays in the colonial port cities of pre-World War II Malaya. Based on analyses of newspaper reports of their theatre and music prior to the War, selected 78 rpm recordings and printed scores, this article shows that the Straits Chinese adopted a type of vernacular cosmopolitan identity that was transnational. This identity emerged from their interactions with the diverse peoples, social transformations and ideas about social reform in the port cities, but was meanwhile rooted in Chinese values and customs. The Straits Chinese created new eclectic musical forms such as kronchong, dondang sayang, ronggeng, minstrel music and Malay opera, which combined Malay, Chinese and European elements, and staged cosmopolitan ideals of morality and reformism influenced by their English education. By so doing, they were more inclusive of other ethnic groups and cultures compared with the China-born Chinese in the pre-World War II era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights how Chinese-educated Chinese Malaysian undergraduate youth display a preference for not only collectivist but also individualist values, as indicated by the cultural capital based on preference in books. The study is based on the theoretical framework of cultural capital as introduced by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, and the choice of book preference as indicator follows a large scale study of modern China by Wang, Davis and Yanjie (2006). It is found that contrary to literature which suggests that the Chinese diaspora are more prone to collectivism, respondents of this small-scale study show openness to both collectivist and individualistic values. This indicates a cultural homogenisation effect on the cultural capital possession of respondents. As the study only includes a convenience sample of Chinese Malaysian undergraduates pursuing their undergraduate study through a Chinese-language medium, the findings are not meant to generalise the entire population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies of financial crises focus on the impact on states, and the states’ responses. Few, if any, have focused on how these crises affect communities within the state which do not have control of the state apparatus. These groups, left out of decision-making processes and calculations by the state, suffer the most. In pre-war British Malaya and Malaysia, these groups were the Chinese overseas, Indians and some Malay minorities. A study of the impacts of the Great Depression and the Asian Financial Crisis on the Chinese overseas may help to illustrate how such groups, left on their own, coped with such crises. A study of the Chinese overseas is not insignificant because the community wielded considerable economic influence in the 1930s and in 1997. This paper argues that despite the obvious differences in circumstances, there are common threads to the narratives of both crises. These include the roles played by exchange rates and banking institutions which the Malayan Chinese helped to establish in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many scholars have contributed to a broad spectrum of explanation to understand Malaysians' ethnic consciousness. Some scholars engage the historical materialism approach. Other scholars use the social construction approach. There are also scholars who use both approaches to explain the phenomenon. This paper intends to reconsider all these approaches and propose an approach that will explain Malaysians' ethnic consciousness more concisely. In order to do so, eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in Malaysian public universities. The FGDs were conducted to investigate the Malaysian Malay and Chinese students' interpretations concerning their ethnic consciousness. Judging from the outcomes of the FGDs, the social construction or the ‘bottom-up’ approach emerged as the more concise analytical method with which to analyse the nature of students' ethnic consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the development of Chinese education in Malaysia from 1952 to 1975, focusing on the political collaboration between the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Chinese educationists to advance the cause of Chinese education instead of the usual macro policy analysis. This collaboration was compounded by the different stand adopted by the MCA and the Chinese educationists on issues relating to Chinese education. This different stand reflected the MCA’s political limitations to advance the cause of Chinese education. The MCA had to abide by the elite accommodation model adopted by the coalition government since it was a partner of this coalition. Such an accommodative approach could not meet the assertive demand of the Chinese educationists on issues relating to Chinese education. Meanwhile, the political collaboration between the MCA and the Chinese educationists was also constrained by internal conflict within the MCA that compromised the interests of Chinese education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses the cultural formation of identity reflected in a musical movement in Malaysia called Ben Di Chuang Zuo (meaning, ‘locally composed’) among young Malaysian Chinese. Analysis of the lyrics from this movement reveals evidence of an interweaving of ‘Malaysian’ national identity and ‘Chinese’ ethnic identity in these cultural productions. A local genre has been created: the young artists are keen to emphasise both their Malaysian and Chinese identities in their music, and the songs demonstrate that these two are not contradictory or binary but two aspects of the identity of these artists and their large audience. The development of these two identities is to a large extent the result of historical ethnic influences and the political history of Malaysia and official discourse of the Malaysian Government, such as the pro-Malay national cultural policy of the 1970s onwards. The discussion suggests the importance of situating our understanding of identity formation within multiple political, social, historical and cultural contexts, and the importance of cultural production in identity formation. This study has implications for the analysis of cultural identity formation within increasingly dynamic and complex global migration and cultural flows. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Housing has played a central role in both the Asian and global financial crises, a decade apart. While there are major differences with respect to these roles, there are also similarities, the most obvious being the links with the banking system. The impact of these crises on the housing sector has been extensively researched, but findings have been overwhelmingly based on aggregate or sector data. Using firm-level data from Malaysia on the Asian financial crisis, this article argues that such findings can yield a distorted picture of what actually occurred in real estate markets where contextual factors played a major role. A study of ethnic Chinese businesses, which dominated the Malaysian housing sector, show that the severe impact was primarily on businesses that were over-leveraged and/or that speculated on housing in the expectation of reaping quick returns. They were small compared to the large property businesses that, though affected, survived. Non-residential real estate continued unaffected, fuelled by manufacturing to meet healthy export demand. This, and a political/economic environment accentuated by affirmative action which drove ethnic Chinese businesses toward real estate development, speaks powerfully to the importance of context in understanding specific housing markets during crises. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper looks at how a heterogeneous minority group sustains its multiple identities in a politically challenging context. Focusing on the Chinese minority (3.4 per cent) residing in Kelantan, the paper highlights strategies used by the group to retain its rights and identity as a separate cultural community. The peculiarity of this group is attributed to its entity as a non-Muslim minority under orthodox Islamic rule, and secondly, as citizens of a state led by the opposition party. The fact that they are born in Kelantan and possess fluency in the Kelantanese Malay dialect has strengthened their identity asorghe Kelantan(dialect referring to people who were born and grew up in the state). These factors create a sense of “oneness” between the Chinese and other Kelantanese beyond ethnic, religious and class boundaries. This paper demonstrates how the Chinese in Kelantan seek to be accepted through behaviours appropriate to the majority and simultaneously build in-group solidarity. The underlying interplay between essentialism and provincialism is showcased when the Chinese strategise linguistically to maintain theirorghe Kelantanidentification as an exclusive identity. The identity and the distinct dialect spoken have enhanced the “provincial” image of Kelantan in the national political discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In their immediate reaction to the 13th General Elections (GE13) results, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) leaders blamed lack of Chinese electoral support for the poorer results they obtained. This was despite the efforts of Najib Razak, the Prime Minister, in his campaign to win the Chinese over. That the Chinese largely voted against Barisan Nasional (BN) was evident in seats which were Chinese-majority. Nevertheless the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) also did well in mixed constituencies where the Chinese were not the majority. Opposition leaders and many commentators argued that the voting pattern in GE13 reflected not an ethnic but a regional as well as a class divide. Urban votes and a significant proportion of middle-class Malaysians, they insisted, supported Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the opposition, which gained a majority of the popular votes. This paper looks at the voting pattern of the Chinese as reflected in the results, changes in the politics of the Chinese since GE12, and ascertains what issues and concerns influenced the way the Chinese voted. It would also consider the implications the results have on Chinese representation in government and in opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on ethnic Chinese as cultural citizens of the nation, this paper examines national identity in the context of generational change. In so doing, it connects to colonialist conceptions of identity the dominant framework of ethnicity that operates in Malaysia. It argues that this framework allows for the nationalist imagining of ‘Malaysian-Chinese’ as ‘outsiders’. In probing the complex conceptual relationship between ethnicity, national identity and cultural citizenship, this article asks: How does ‘ethnicity’ enter into negotiations over the ‘national’ in the cultural realm? What are the notions of cultural difference and national otherness that operate in the negative dualisms by which nation and ethnicity are defined? How are these dualisms tied to notions of authenticity and cultural citizenship? Using the novel The Harmony Silk Factory by Malaysian author Tash Aw to address these questions, this paper argues the need to rethink current policies and narratives of ethnic and national identity in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the experience of political, social and cultural rights for Malaysia's ethnic minorities. Using a survey method, our research finds that while Malaysia has made substantial economic progress, lack of attention to political, social and cultural rights for ethnic minorities in Malaysia has meant that ethnic minorities have become increasingly dissatisfied with their experience of citizenship. Experiences of institutional and social discrimination within Malaysia's ethnically differentiated model of citizenship are common. Such experiences can lead to low levels of confidence in Malaysia's national institutions and have the capacity to undermine the kind of political support that is necessary for good governance and national stability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper seeks to analyze the development of three aspects of Chinese Studies, namely Sinology, China Studies, and Chinese Overseas Studies in Malaysia. Each aspect corresponds to different levels of looking at China: civilizational, state, and ethnic. It also examines how identity politics in Malaysia shapes the development of these fields and how these fields created different images of China. Sinology depoliticizes China and presents the magnificent Chinese culture as a positive element in Malaysian nation-building project. Chinese Overseas Studies de-centers China and examines the multiple identities of the Chinese people. China Studies were officially pursued under the agendas of inter-civilizational dialogue and friendship between China and Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plague-expelling and daitian xunshou (tour of inspection on behalf of Heaven) were rituals prevalent in southeast China. Following the Southern Fujian immigrants across the oceans, they also flourished in the foreign land. In this study, I record the Yong Chuan Tien Temple's wangjiao (Ritual of Renewal) in Melaka, Malaysia. I recount memories of its earlier history as well as the ritual procedure of recent years. In the complex ethnic culture of Malaysia, the wangjiao of Yong Chuan Tien Temple helped construct Chinese immigrants' cultural identity and strengthened the community network. More than just an embodiment of religious piety, the rituals in many ways brought about the forming of cultural identity of overseas Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preference for a son over a daughter is a product of traditional agrarian society that persists today. The high sex ratio at birth in China and Taiwan shows the close connection between Chinese culture and the preference for a son. It raises the question of whether there is a high sex ratio at birth (SRB) among Chinese Malaysians. Data for SRBs among Chinese in West Malaysia from 1963 to 2003, as obtained from the Department of Statistics, Malaysia, are analysed. The results reveal a rising trend in SRB. SRB has been positively correlated with GDP per capita but negatively correlated with the number of babies born. The results indicate that the younger generation may also be influenced by the cultural preference for sons. Pre- and postnatal discrimination may worsen, as both growth in per capita GDP and falling birth rates are projected in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the strategies employed by the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (or National Front), and the opposition alliance, Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance), in the 13th general election held in Malaysia in May 2013. It argues that while the opposition used the right strategy for the 2013 campaign, it lost because it could not overcome the three biggest hurdles for opposition politics in Malaysia: East Malaysia, the rural Malay votes and a biased electoral system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the 2008 Malaysian general election the Chinese vote has swung overwhelmingly to the opposition, and this trend has continued in the 2013 general election. When announcing the results of the 2013 general election, Prime Minister Najib labelled it as a ‘Chinese tsunami’. Taking the case of Kepong, this article attempts to explain the reasons for the urban Chinese voters’ continuing support for the Democratic Action Party. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Chinese overseas family businesses generally lack longevity. In addition to difficulties in transiting towards professional management they are susceptible to state pressures. However, Robert Kuok, the richest man in Southeast Asia who heads a vast business empire, has been able to surmount both challenges. This study shows how Kuok successfully turned three important sources of identity into strengths: family, dialect, and the state. These three sources are set against his Johor Bahru background, the changing domestic political landscape, and shifting regional economic influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's involvement in the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) since its establishment in 1930 until they laid down their arms in 1989 contributed much to the strength of the party. Women in the MCP have been presented largely as nurses, cooks, seamstresses, couriers, and wireless/radio operators, but they went through hardship and danger and fought the same battles as the male guerrillas. A few even climbed to the top party posts through hard work, intelligence and personal sacrifice. This paper recovers the role of women in the Malayan communist movement during the Second World War, the Emergency and after by tracing the careers and lives of party heroines / female role models as well as some ordinary cadres. Major questions include the motivations of women who joined the MCP and the challenges they faced in their roles as propagandists, comrades, guerrilla fighters and in the communist villages. This investigation provides more insight into how the revolutionary struggle transformed these Malayan women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research discusses the English listening comprehension problems of university international students from China. The research used a qualitative method to collect data from three Chinese students taking English Listening Comprehension (ELC) in University Sains Malaysian (USM). This study is a research report related to the problems encountered by China's students in ELC learning. The interview was conducted to investigate students' perspective through the main question concerning the problems of the Chinese students in their ELC self-learning process, in three steps, which include the pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening. Findings from this study indicate that the main problem faced by the Chinese students is the lack of prior knowledge in English vocabulary, and this inhibits their understanding in the listening process. Moreover, the differences in the accent of the native speakers prohibit the proper understanding of the listening content, the short span of concentration, and the learning habits of Chinese students were discussed as the problems of the ELC learning. This enhances the data availability and the interpretative analysis. In order to validate the data and the analysis, experiences and documents analyses were conducted. This research laid a good foundation for further research; it provided useful information concerning the effective strategies to enhance students' listening skills and will improve the instruction of English listening class to achieve the win-win situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details the construction of the pig and the pig industry in Malaysia. It argues that a pattern of 'animal-linked racialization' continually polices the boundary between the dominant, elite Malay-Muslim hegemony and the comparatively less powerful Chinese pig farmers. Often subtle and implicit, such beastly racialization, drawing frequently from religious and nationalist tropes, renders visible the taboo subjects of race and racism in Malaysia. While a simplistic form of beastly racialization in relation to the pig industry is held by the political elites and non-Chinese community, one cannot say that such a racialization has produced or sustained distinct racisms. Nonetheless, it is through the process of beastly racialization that we unravel the seemingly random acts of coercive policies that, taken in their entirety, threaten to stymie the future viability of the industry and continue to accentuate the visible social-cultural disjuncture between the two biggest ethnic groups in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese minority plays a dominant role in the economies of Indonesia and Malaysia, a fact that evokes indigenous resentment. However, Indonesia and Malaysia dealt differently with the issue. Malaysia legislated the Malays into the economy and protected Chinese citizenship, making them an integral part of a multicultural state. By contrast, New Order Indonesia adopted policies of economic manipulation, forced assimilation, and unequal citizenship. Only when the New Order regime fell did Chinese integration begin. The policy trajectories of Indonesia and Malaysia offer important lessons for plural states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past fifty years have seen continuing anthropological interest in the changes in religious beliefs and practices among the Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore under conditions of rapid modernisation. Anthropologists have used the syncretic model to explain these changes, arguing that practitioners of Chinese "folk" religion have adapted to urbanisation, capitalist growth, nation-state formation, and literacy to preserve their spiritualist worldview, but the religion has also experienced "rationalisation" in response to the challenge of modernity. This article proposes an alternative approach that questions the dichotomous imagination of spiritualist Chinese religion and rationalist modernity assumed by the syncretic model. Using ethnographic, archival and secondary materials, I discuss two processes of change — the transfiguration of forms brought about by mediation in new cultural flows, and the hybridisation of meanings brought about by contact between different cultural systems — in the cases of the Confucianist reform movement, spirit mediumship, Dejiao associations, state-sponsored Chingay parades, reform Taoism, and Charismatic Christianity. These represent both changes internal to Chinese religion and those that extend beyond to reanimate modernity in Malaysia and Singapore. I argue that existential anxiety connects both processes as the consequence of hybridisation and the driving force for transfiguration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, I provide an understanding of the stereotyped selfish mentality and communicative behaviors of Chinese Malaysians from the perspective of the natives. The stereotype is held by the Chinese and non-Chinese in Malaysia and is based on contemporary national public discourse and the Chinese Malaysians' mundane conversations. In describing the popular stereotype of selfishness, I discuss a culture-specific keyword-kiasu--that highlights the "Chineseness" of the Chinese Malaysians, which might explain their mentality and communicative behaviors. I also propose three influences in Malaysia that promote the stereotype of the selfish Chinese Malaysian: (a) the Chinese Malaysians' comparative economic strength, (b) the Malaysian education system's competitiveness, and (c) the Chinese Malaysians' redefinition of their identity to lie between the traditional Chinese from mainland China and the modern Westernized Chinese. In the discussion, I explain how the Chinese Malaysians' selfish mentality and communicative behaviors fit in with past research on Chinese cultural groups and East Asians in general and stress the importance of understanding a cultural community through the people's history, their sociopolitical situation, and its contemporariness. I also emphasize the importance of the understanding of Chinese diaspora's pluralities and complexities in Asiancentric research and theory building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]