The opening of Singapore’s Asian Civilisational Museum was greeted with mixed feelings in Malaysia. Some letter writers to The Star and the New Straits Times lamented that all things Peranakan were being “hijacked” by Singapore. Many exhibits at the museum, they claimed, came from Malaysia. Furthermore, Malaysian donors were very generous to the Singapore-based museum.

This is not so much envy as a lament. Many Malaysians of Peranakan ancestry feel unappreciated, their contribution to nationhood ignored.

Are we losing our heritage to Singapore or giving it away? Crockery at a home in Muntri Street, the traditional Straits Chinese enclave in George Town, Penang.

In the grip of ethnic politics

Malaysia is still in the grip of ethnic politics, our national identity is highly contested. There are those who see national identity as predicated upon the indigenous culture. In Malaysia’s case, Malay culture and language are promoted as national culture and national language.

Other Malaysians feel that national identity should be based upon the reality of the multi-racial nation state. They believe in being Malaysian first.

Not Fitting in

Peranakans did not fit into any ethno-nationalist moulds. Neither Chinese nor Malay, Peranakans were tolerated as anomalies. Until recently, Peranakan culture was anathema to some Chinese Malaysians. They, like their Malay counterparts, view “Chineseness” as some sort of ideal purity. To them, the Peranakan Chinese were derascinated. Luckily, in an increasingly globalised world, such views are fast losing their currency.

On the other hand, the Peranakan Chinese resisted assimilationist policies promoted by Malay ethno-nationalists. Even if they wanted to assimilate, religion stood in their way. A Malay was defined as a Muslim who practices a Malay way of life. Jawi Peranakans and Arab Peranakans easily assimilated but not the Peranakan Chinese or Chitty Peranakans, most of whom were not Muslims.

Even in Singapore, only recently, with a new national emphasis on being a multicultural global city was Peranakan culture actively promoted by the government. Previously, the Singapore government held firmly to the “Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others” formula, allowing very little blurring of those ethnic categories that went on to define Singaporean national identity. Ethnicity was strictly regulated leaving commerce the only “glue” to hold the people together.

PM Lee Hsien Loong: “I am a Baba”

“Riding an Old identity”

One explanation for the “Peranakan revival” we are witnessing in both our countries is the material success of our community. In an increasingly globalised world, communities with a history of quick adaptation and openness to different ideas are those that will succeed. Communities that continue “riding an old identity”, to quote the Singaporean poet Arthur Yap, will become historical curiosities. So, a combination of high consumerism and new national aspirations, as in the case of Singapore, has resulted in celebration of all things Peranakan.

The Singaporean government is to be congratulated for having the determination to re-brand their country, making that nation state more relevant to its new global context. If Malaysians are unhappy about all their “heritage” moving down south, it is up to us to take a stand. Let us take the reins into our own hands and make our own futures.

Posted by Neil Khor

Puzzling Peranakans

There are many different definitions of Peranakan depending on the vantage point of the individual, from that of an anthropologist to the historian, linguist or literary specialist, not to mention variants according to time and place.

Penang Nyonyas dressed in Malay world fashion performing during Chap Goh Meh (Photograph courtesy of Star Publications)

The “Anak” in Peranakan

Beginning with the root word “anak” from the Malay language, Peranakan has the meaning a local-born person. Tan Chee Beng, a scholar, who has studied the Chinese Peranakan in different states of Malaysia, such as Melaka and Kelantan, refers to this group of Peranakan as “the Malay-speaking Chinese in Southeast Asia” whose language of choice is a creole Malay, that is, “no longer Chinese”.

Language and Identity

Today, most of the younger generation of Chinese in Malaysia and Indonesia, having gone through schooling in the national language, are fluent in Malay, although the language they use with family and close friends may still be a Chinese dialect. Thus, language alone may be insufficient to determine who is a “Peranakan”. In fact, other facets of material culture, notably food and clothing, come to mind when one uses the term “Peranakan”.

Peranakan-style tiles, a showcase of the community’s hybrid culture

Jawi Peranakans and Arab Peranakans

Additionally, “Peranakan” as an adjective, has also been used to refer to other groups such as the “Jawi Peranakan”, who were local-born Muslims from mixed marriages between mainly Indian immigrants to Malay women in 19^th century Straits Settlements. This should not be confused with Jawi Peranakan, the name chosen for the first Malay-language newspaper of the region, published in Singapore in 1876.

The term Arab Peranakan is applied to children of Arab-Malay parentage. In Penang, both the Jawi Peranakans and the Arab Peranakans, together with ethnic Malays living mostly in George Town, are also known as Jawi Pekan or urban Malays.

Baba Nyonya

Worthy of note are other designations which have been used interchangeably with the Chinese Peranakans of the Straits Settlements, Indonesia and south-west Thailand, namely Baba and Nyonya. Yet another label by which the Chinese Peranakans of the Straits Settlements are known is Straits Chinese.

Straits Chinese

Straits Chinese, which originated from the place specific and older term “Straits-born Chinese”, became a self-referencing term some time in the late 19th century. It was made popular by the English-educated Straits-born Chinese. The Straits Chinese British Association and its branches in Malacca and Penang became rallying centres for this “better class of Chinese”. Most of them were of Peranakan Chinese ancestry but the category soon embraced different types of Straits-born Chinese from different dialect groups, classes and occupations. Some anthropologists consider Straits Chinese as a situational identity, its adherents changing their affiliation according to need, time and place.

A photo of Cheah Tat Jin in Western suit with his carriage in the background

Chitty Peranakans

Another cultural variation, the Chitty Peranakan, speak Tamil with Malay influence, and dress in typical Malay fashion. They still form a community in Malacca although many have migrated to Singapore. They had their heyday during Portuguese rule (1511-1641), and occupied many houses along Hareen Street.

Comments are invited towards a more comprehensive coverage on this topic.

Useful Links:

* Abstract of article by Tan Chee Beng, Chinese Identities in Malaysia, Asian Journal of Social Science, Volume 25, Number 2, 1997 , pp. 103-116

(http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/saj/1997/00000025/00000002/art00007)

* Two articles on Jawi Peranakan by Naidu Ratnala Thulaja

http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_356_2005-01-13.html and

http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_106_2005-02-02.html