Is there truly a way forward? ： Chinese Education in Malaysia after half a century of Protest

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Social Movements, Ideology, and Resistance: Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar

Proposal

Malaysia, an equatorial country located in Southeast Asia, was colonized by the Netherlands, Portugal, and Britain before its independence, and its racial composition was established during the colonial period. After Malaysia gained independence, its three main ethnic groups (Malays, Chinese, and Indians) engaged in a long process of confrontation with the government on various education issues. Given the diversity of race, language, culture and religion, accommodating diversity has always been the dominant ideology and policy orientation of Malaysia. In relation, the concepts of respect, cultural diversity, equality, justice, and rights are the core issues in education and other fields in Malaysia. As the past history has shown, it was a challenge to build a unified and stable country while accommodating diverse groups’ needs in the multicultural Malaysia. An highly controversial and unresolved core issue, among others, lies in how Malaysia can build an inclusive national education that unites various ethnic groups, while respecting and sustaining diverse cultures (e.g., Chinese culture).

Over the past decades, the Malaysia government has not provided an effective answer to this question, because certain groups (e.g., the Chinese group) has always remained marginalized and treated unjustly in the education system of Malaysia. For example, Malaysian Chinese and their culture are often regarded as “others” and receive considerable exclusion and oppression in the construction of national culture. As a manifestation and a result, the development of Chinese education has always faced many challenges, which puts its survival and development in danger. In this context, many proponents of Chinese education in Malaysia have protested and fight for the right of sustaining and developing the mother tongue education of the Chinese group. According to them, their protests are not simply for Chinese people, but also for other groups, because if a truly multicultural society and education system can be created, then everyone will benefit from it.

Specifically, Chinese education in Malaysia is a complete form of education from basic education to colleges that carried out by Chinese Malaysian to inherit their own racial culture. Chinese education in Malaysia does not just use Chinese as a second language, but also as the medium of instruction in the Chinese Language and other subjects. There are three main types of Chinese education schools in Malaysia: the national-type Chinese primary School, the national-type Chinese secondary School, and the Chinese independent secondary school outside the government system. In addition to schools at the primary and secondary levels, Chinese education in Malaysia also includes several private tertiary institutions and private professional organizations. The establishment of these Chinese schools, institutions, and organizations was motivated by the Malaysian Chinese people’s commitment to mother tongue education and their fight to preserve the coexistence of multiple racial groups and cultures in Malaysia.

Previous research has laid a foundation on the historical development of Chinese education in Malaysia, but its latest develop remains an underexplored area. This study fills this gap by examining the development of Chinese education in the current multi-racial Malaysia, focusing on the following three questions: (1) what do the current Malaysian Chinese educators protest for, (2) to what extent their visions have been different than their predecessors, (3) and to what extent their goals have been achieved?

This study applies content analysis to examine relevant documents from major non-governmental organizations related to the development of Chinese education. In particular, it focuses on the two main organizations, “the United Chinese School Teachers' Association of Malaysia” (UCSTAM) and “the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia” (UCSCAM). They were established in 1951 and 1954 respectively, and both with the mission to fight for the recognition of Chinese education and the maintenance of Chinese language and culture through education. After applying the selecting criteria, 30 textual materials were collected, including work reports, proposals, project drafts, and educational blueprints. Initial findings show that the development of Chinese education in Malaysia has been trapped into an awkward position of being a fight that only matters for Malaysian Chinese (mainly Chinese educators), and even the importance of this fight has been increasingly less valued among Malaysian Chinese. This condition poses a serious question: is there truly a way forward for Chinese education in Malaysia after over a century of protest? This study then discusses possible reasons for this circumstance and alternative ways forward.

Author

• Zhen CHENG, Zhejiang University