Chinese in Malaysia: The Coming and Settlement

Abstract

This article aims to study the Coming and settlement of the Chinese in Malaysia. It is a documentary research where data was collected from the primary and secondary sources. The collected data was qualitatively analysed with categorisation and logical analysis of the contents in order to make sense of the events and thus presented in descriptive forms. The research revealed is The Chinese populations decided to migrate from their homeland to settle in Southeast Asia by three reasons, i.e. politics, religion, and economy. Their early waves of migration started before the 14th Century with the largest wave taking place in the 19th Century. Their settlement led to three categories of the community building, i.e. the riverside community in cities, the mining community, and the farming community in suburbs. . The development of their identity formation was fostered by the fact that they were social actors characterised by enthusiasm for life, creativity, and high competence. The ways they interpreted the social reality that influenced their identity construction were based on the sources of knowledge, the cultural context, and the social interaction.