Malaysian Chinese

Chung Keng Quee Lim Goh Tong Alex Yoong Tan Cheng Lock Michelle Yeoh Yap Ah Loy Tan Cheng Lock Lee Chong Wei Jimmy Choo Lee Chong Wei Fish Leong
Total population
6,960,900[1] 24.6% of the Malaysian population (2010)[2]
Regions with significant populations
Kuala Lumpur • Penang • Johor • Perak
Languages
Malaysian Mandarin • Cantonese • Foochow Hakka • Hokkiens • Teochew Malaysian English • Malay
Religion
Buddhism • Taoism • Christianity • Islam non-religious and others[3]
Related ethnic groups
Chinese Singaporean • Southern Chinese Peranakan • Chindian Overseas Chinese

Malaysian Chinese or Chinese Malaysians (Bahasa Malaysia: Kaum Cina Malaysia; Chinese: trad 馬來西亞華人, simp 马来西亚华人, pin Mǎláixīyà Huárén) are Malaysians of Chinese – particularly Han Chinese – descent. Most are the descendants of Chinese who arrived between the first and the mid-twentieth centuries. Malaysian Chinese constitute one group of Overseas Chinese and is home to the third-largest Chinese community in the world, after Thailand and Indonesia. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" and represent the second largest ethnic group in Malaysia after the ethnic Malay majority. As of 2010, approximately 6,960,000 Malaysians – almost a quarter of the population – self-identify as "Chinese".^[4]

Malaysian Chinese are a socioeconomically well-established middle class ethnic group and make up a highly disproportionate percentage of Malaysia's professional and educated class, have a record of high educational achievement, and hold one of the highest household incomes compared with most minority demographic groups in Malaysia.^[5] Malaysian Chinese have a considerable pressence in both the Malaysian business and commerce sectors, controlling an estimated 70% of the Malaysian economy.^[6] They are also one of the biggest taxpayers contributing to almost 90% of the national income tax and 60% of Malaysia's national income.^{[7][8][9][10]}

History[link]

First Wave[link]

The first wave of 15th century Chinese settlers came during the Malacca Empire in the early 15th century. The friendly diplomatic relations between China and Malacca culminated during the reign of Sultan Mansur Syah who married the Chinese princess Hang Li Po. A senior minister of state and five hundred youths and maids of noble birth accompanied the princess to Malacca.^[11] The descendants of these people are called the Baba (men) and Nyonya (women).

Second Wave[link]

A much larger wave of immigrants from South China came during the 19th century and early 20th century as coolies. Their immigration to Malaya was encouraged by the British who used the Chinese to work tin mines. Some immigrants came freely to start up businesses in the booming economy, others as indentured labor under the "extreme credit ticket" system.^[12]

Third Wave[link]

A third and smaller wave came after the 1990s, mostly from northern China. These are mostly foreign spouses married to Malaysians and national sports coaches. At first, badminton coaches such as Han Jiang could only obtain a permanent residency after repeated rejections of their citizenship applications.^[13] However, recently, diving coach Huang Qiang obtained his Malaysian citizenship.^[14]

Origins[link]

Minnan People[link]

The Minnan people means those who come from Southern Fujian, Min meaning Fujian people and Nan meaning south. There are four subgroups of Minnan with similar dialect characteristics.

Hokkien[link]

The Hokkien (福建人) are the largest Chinese dialect group in Malaysia. Chinese settlers from the southern regions of Fujian constitute the largest group and generally identify as Hokkien. The bulk of Chinese settlers in Malaya before the 18th century came from Quanzhou, Amoy, and Zhangzhou and settled primarily in Penang and Malacca, where they formed the bulk of the local Chinese populace. More Hokkien settled in Malaya from the 19th century onwards and dominated the rubber plantation and financial sectors of the Malayan economy.^[15] The bulk of the Hokkien-speaking Chinese settled in the Malay Peninsula and formed the largest dialect group in many states, specifically Penang, Malacca, Kelantan, Terengganu,^[16] Kedah, and Perlis.^[17] In Malaysian Borneo, the Hokkien make up a sizable proportion within the Chinese community and are primarily found in larger towns, notably Kuching and Sibu.^[18] The Zhangzhou Hokkien migrated to the North Peninsula and the Quanzhou Hokkien migrated to the South Peninsula.

Teochew[link]

Teochew immigrants (潮州人) from the Chaoshan region began to settle in Malaya in large numbers from the 18th century onwards, mainly in Province Wellesley and Kedah around Kuala Muda. These immigrants established were chiefly responsible for setting up gambier and pepper plantations in Malaya. More Teochew immigrated to Johor at the encouragement of Temenggong Ibrahim in the 19th century, and many new towns were established and populated by plantation workers from the Chaoshan region. The Teochew constitute a substantial percentage within the Chinese communities in Johor Bahru^[19] and principal towns along the coasts of Western Johor (notably Pontian, Muar, and – to a lesser extent – Batu Pahat) as well as selected hinterland towns in the central regions of the state.^[17] Many of them are the descendants of plantation workers which came to set up gambier and pepper plantations, following the administrative pattern of their countrymen in Johor.^[20] Smaller communities of Teochew can also be found in other states, notably in Sabak Bernam in Selangor, where many Teochew settled down as rice agriculturalists,^[17] as well as in the hinterlands of Malacca.^[21]

Hainanese[link]

Chinese immigrants from Hainan (海南人) began to migrate to Malaya and North Borneo from the 19th century onwards, albeit in much smaller numbers than the aforementioned speech groups. The Hainanese were employed as cooks by wealthy Straits Chinese families, while others were engaged in food catering business or the fishery business and formed the largest dialect group in Kemaman district of Terengganu^[22] and Pulau Ketam (Selangor) as well as sizable communities in Penang and Johor Bahru.^[23] Smaller communities of Hainanese are also found in Sarawak and Sabah, where they work as coffee shop owners and are mainly found in large towns and cities.^[24]

Hing Hua[link]

The Henghua (莆仙人), part of the Hokkien people, came from Putian. Their numbers were much smaller than the other Min Chinese from Fujian and they were mostly involved in the bicycle, motorcycle, and automobile spare parts industries.

Hakka people[link]

The Hakka people (客家人), literally 'the Guest people' came from both Guangdong and Fujian provinces. They form the second largest group of people after the Hokkien. Large numbers of Hakka settled in the western parts of Malaya and North Borneo and worked as miners in the 19th century as valuable metals such as gold and tin were discovered. Descendants of these miners formed the largest community among the Chinese in Selangor^[25] and very large communities in Perak (specifically Taiping and Ipoh),^[26] Sarawak, Sabah, and Negeri Sembilan.^[27] As the gold and tin mining industries declined in economic importance in the 20th century, many turned to the rubber industry, and large numbers of Hakka settled in Kedah and Johor (principally in Kulai and Kluang).^[28] In Sabah, where the majority of ethnic Chinese are of Hakka descent, many of them were involved in agriculture. They cut down the forests to make way for tobacco, rubber, and coconut plantations. In time, the Hakka community also dominated the state's industry and economy. However, even today, many Sabahan Hakkas are still involved in agriculture, especially those living in rural towns such as Tenom and Kudat where they are often the backbone of the local industry.

Cantonese people[link]

The Cantonese (廣東人) mostly came from Guangdong province and a minority from Guangxi province. They form the third largest group of people after the Hakkas. They can be subdivided into people from area around Guangzhou (广府人) and Taishan (台山人). They settled down in Kuala Lumpur of the Klang Valley, Ipoh of the Kinta Valley in Perak, Pahang as well as Seremban in Negeri Sembilan and Sandakan of Sabah. They started the development and turn these early settlement into principal towns. Most of the early Cantonese worked as tin miners. From the late 19th century onwards, as the tin mining industry declined in economic importance, the Cantonese as well as other Malaysian Chinese gradually shifted their focus to business and contributed much to the social and economic development in Malaya.

Min Dong[link]

Min Dong (閩東人) settlers from Fuzhou and Fuqing (福清) also came in sizable numbers during the 19th century and have left a major impact on the corporate industry in the 20th century. They speak a distinct dialect and are classified separately from the Hokkiens. A large number of Min Dongs in Malaysia are Christians. The Min Dongs form the largest dialect group in Sarawak–specifically in areas around the Rajang River,^[29] namely the towns of Sibu, Sarikei and Bintangor. They also settled in large numbers in a few towns in Peninsular Malaysia, notably Sitiawan in Perak and Yong Peng in Johor.^[30]

Demographics[link]

An early census of ethnic groups in the British Malay states, conducted by the British in 1835, showed that ethnic Chinese constituted 8 percent of the population and were mainly found in the Straits Settlements, while the Malays and Indians made up 88 percent and 4 percent of the population respectively.^[31] Malaya's population quickly increased during the 19th and 20th centuries, although the majority of Chinese immigrants were males rather than females.^[32] By 1921, Malaya's population had swelled to nearly three million, and the Chinese constituted 30 percent of Malaya's population while the Malays constituted 54.7% of Malaya's population, whose growth was fueled by immigrants from neighboring Indonesia (the Indians made up most of the remainder). While the Chinese population was largely transient, and many coolies returned to China on a frequent basis, 29 percent of the Chinese population were local born, most of whom were the offspring of first-generation Chinese immigrants.^[33] The British government began to impose restrictions on migration during the 1930s, but the difference between the number of Chinese and Malays continued to close up even after World War II. The 1947 census indicated that the Malays constituted 49.5% of the population, compared to the Chinese at 38.4%, out of a total population of 4.9 million.^[34]

By state & territory[link]

The 2000 Population and Housing Census Report gives the following statistics (excluding non citizens):^[39]

States with large Chinese population[link]

As of 2012, the majority of Chinese people are mainly concentrated in the west coast states of west Malaysia with significant percentage of Chinese (30% and above) such as Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor.

Areas with significant Chinese populations

Kuala Lumpur
Kepong, Cheras, Bukit Bintang, Old Klang Road, Sri Petaling, Pudu, Segambut.

Selangor
Subang Jaya/USJ, Puchong, SS2, Petaling Jaya, Damansara Jaya/Utama, Bandar Utama, Serdang, Port Klang.

Penang
Penang island, Bukit Mertajam

Perak
Ipoh, Taiping, Batu Gajah, Sitiawan

Johor
Johor Bahru, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Muar, Segamat

States with medium Chinese population[link]

These are states where the Chinese are a significant minority (10% - 29.9%) such as Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Sarawak and Sabah.

The significant Chinese population areas (40% and above) for each state are

Malacca
Malacca City

Negeri Sembilan
Seremban, Rasah

Pahang
Bentong, Raub, Mentakab, Kuantan

Sarawak
Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Sarikei, Sri Aman, Marudi, Lawas, Mukah, Limbang, Kapit, Serian, Bau

Sabah
Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. Tawau, Kudat and scattered regions in the south (most notably Beaufort and Keningau) also have small but significant Chinese communities

Languages[link]

A governmental statistic in 2000 classifies the dialect affiliation of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia:^[47]

Although their ancestral origin are different but due to intermarriages between the different linguistic groups and also due to regional influences, different regions are formed each with its own defacto lingua franca to facilitate communication between the different Chinese dialects in the same region.

Furthermore, the younger generations have generally lost command of their own subdialect (e.g. Hainanese, Hing Hua) and prefer to speak the lingua franca in each region.

Hokkien[link]

Northern Peninsular Malaysia Penang, Kedah, Perlis, East Coast, Taiping are predominantly Penang Hokkien speaking.

Klang, Malacca and Johor groups are also predominantly Hokkien speaking but the variant spoken is Southern Malaysian Hokkien which has a similar accent to Singaporean Hokkien. Thus, Sarawak Chinese speak their own accent of Hokkien in various places in Kuching.

In Sibu and Sitiawan, Fuzhou (or Foochow) is widely spoken but it is not a lingua franca.

Hakka[link]

Hakka, specifically the Huiyang (惠陽, Hakka: Fui Yong) variant, is the main Chinese dialect in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. According to the 1991 census, 113000 Sabahans identified themselves as being of Hakka descent. This is a clear majority over the Cantonese, of whom there were 28000, making them a distant second.^[49] This makes Sabah the only state in Malaysia where Hakka is the predominant dialect among the local Chinese.

The Chinese in Ipoh and to a lesser extent the Chinese in certain other parts of Perak, are largely Hakka-speaking at home, but use Cantonese as a lingua franca when doing business and eating out, due in part to the dominance of Cantonese cuisine. This is also true in many other Hakka-populated areas throughout Malaysia meaning even in predominantly Hakka areas the language is rarely heard on the streets even though ethnic Hakkas may be in clear majority.

In other regions of Malaysia, there are significant numbers of Hakka people, for example in the town of Miri in Sarawak and in major cities in Peninsular Malaysia. However, many do not speak Hakka due to the stronger influence of Hokkien and Cantonese in Peninsular Malaysia. The variants of Hakka most widely spoken in Malaysian states other than Sabah are the Ho Poh and Moiyan (Meixian) variants, which are very seldom spoken in Sabah itself.

Cantonese[link]

Central Peninsular Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Seremban, Ipoh & Kuantan are predominantly Cantonese speaking.

Cantonese is also the main dialect in Sandakan. The only district dominated by Cantonese dialect in Johor is Mersing.

Many Chinese of other dialect subgroups are able to understand and/or speak Cantonese at various levels due to the influence of movies and television programs from Hong Kong, which are aired on the TVB channel through the Astro pay television service. The Hakkas, especially, are able to pick up Cantonese with ease due to the similarities between the Hakka and Cantonese dialects.

Teochew[link]

Teochew dialect is predominantly spoken in major towns in the region of Seberang Perai, Penang such as Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam and Nibong Tebal.

Teochew was the lingua franca of the Chinese community in Johor Bahru until the 1970s, and a large proportion of the Chinese trace their ancestry to the Chaoshan region.^[50]

The dialect is also widely used in coastal towns of Johor namely Muar, Batu Pahat and Skudai, also in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

Teochew dialect is also mainly spoken in the island of Pulau Ketam and many coastal towns of Selangor.

Mandarin[link]

Mandarin is the medium of instruction in Chinese-medium schools in Malaysia. As such, Malaysian Chinese throughout Malaysia who attended Chinese-medium schools understand and speak Mandarin. Many Chinese-educated Malaysian Chinese families have taken to speaking Mandarin with their children due to the notion that other Chinese dialects are growing increasingly redundant in an era where Mandarin is increasing in importance. This has led to the emergence of a community of young Chinese who are fluent in Mandarin but unable to speak their native Chinese dialect, understand but do not speak it, or prefer not to speak it in public.

As a result of influence from the Mandarin-dominant media from Singapore and proximity of Johor to Singapore (Johor and parts of Malacca are able to receive Singapore's free-to-air TV), southern Peninsular Malaysia, especially Johor has become predominantly Mandarin-speaking.

Education[link]

Malaysian Chinese can be categorized to be educated in 3 different streams of education i.e. English educated, Chinese educated and Malay educated.

Public education in Malaysia is free. There are two types of public schools at the primary level: the Malay-medium National schools and the non-Malay-medium National-type schools. National-type schools are subdivided into Chinese-medium and Tamil-medium schools. For the secondary level, only Malay-medium National schools currently exist. There used to be English-medium National-type schools at the primary and the secondary levels as well, however they had been assimilated to become Malay-medium National schools since the 1980s. In all schools, Malay (the national language) and English are compulsory subjects. By law, primary education is compulsory. Malaysian Chinese citizens can choose to attend any school regardless of medium of instruction, although virtually none choose to attend Tamil-medium schools due to cultural differences.^[51]

At the tertiary level, most Bachelor's degree courses offered at public universities are taught in the national language, that is, Bahasa Malaysia, while post-graduates studies are usually conducted in English. English is used as the primary medium of instruction at most private higher educational institutions.^[51]

About 90% of Malaysian Chinese children in Malaysia today go to Mandarin-medium primary schools, while only a small group of 10% or so attend Malay medium primary schools. However, most Malaysian Chinese (more than 95%) switch to Malay medium schools for their secondary education. The rationale behind this is because Malay-medium secondary schools are free while Mandarin-medium secondary schools are fee paying.^[52]

The switch from Mandarin medium primary school to Malay medium secondary school for the majority of Malaysian Chinese has resulted in many school dropouts as students are unable to cope with the difference in the medium of instruction. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) pointed out an estimated 25% of Chinese students dropout before reaching the age of 18; the annual dropout rate is estimated to be over 100,000 and worsening. Certain dropouts become apprentices in workshops, picking up skills like plumbing or motor-repair. Others eager to make a quick buck find themselves involved in illicit trades, such as peddling pirated DVDs or collecting debts for loan sharks.^[52] However in October 2011, Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong indicated that the 25% dropout rate may not be accurate as many Chinese students choose to pursue their studies at private schools or overseas such as in Singapore, while the Malaysian government only collates student data from the national school system, giving a false impression of a high dropout rate.^[53]

During the colonial period and for years after independence, English schools originally established by the British colonial government were regarded as more prestigious than the different vernacular schools. As a result, a significant number of older Malaysian Chinese who attended school before the 1970s are English-educated. Beginning in the 1970s, English-medium teaching was replaced with Malay-medium teaching in English national-type schools, which became Malay-medium national schools.^[54] Since then, most English-educated parents send their children to Chinese primary schools while a few choose to send their children to Malay-medium national schools. Those who went to national schools would be known as Malay-educated Chinese.

The eventual objective of making Malay the main medium of instruction in schools as stated in the Razak Report (the fundamental report for the education policy of Malaysia), along with the assimilation of English national-type schools into Malay national schools, had led to Chinese education groups being vigorously protective of the Chinese education system in Malaysia. In 2003 to 2011, the Malaysian government introduced an experimental policy of using English as the language of instruction for Science and Mathematics at primary and secondary schools. The decision sparked concerns and protests among Chinese education groups. A compromise was reached that Chinese primary schools would teach Science and Mathematics in both Chinese and English. In July 2009, the education minister announced that the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics would revert back to the original languages of instruction starting from 2012.^[54]

Name Format[link]

Non-Mandarin

Before Mandarin gained popularity among Malaysian Chinese in the late 20th century, Malaysian Chinese romanized their names according to the their respective Chinese dialects. For example, the Hakka name 葉亞來 would be written "Yap Ah Loy", and the Hokkien name 林梧桐 would be written as "Lim Goh Tong".

Mandarin

In line with the rise of Mandarin as a lingua franca among Malaysian Chinese in the later half of the 20th century, younger Malaysian Chinese tend to retain the dialectical pronunciation of their surname while using the Mandarin pronunciation for the given name.

For example, the Cantonese name 陳永聰 (s 陈永聪, p Chen Yongcong) is romanized as Chan Weng Choong.

Still more recently, the given name will be written in the official pinyin romanization, although often retaining the Malaysian Chinese tendency to treat each character as a separate word. Chan Yung Choong might start writing his name as Chan Yong Cong.

English

Some Malaysian Chinese also adopt an English given name. English given names are normally written before the Chinese name. For example, 楊紫瓊 goes by the name Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng.

Muslims

Non-Muslims who marry a Muslim in Malaysia must convert to Islam. Such converts normally adopt a Muslim name to use in addition to their original name. These are not usually the long Arabic names but just a shorter one – e.g., Abdullah Tan Yew Leong.

Religion[link]

A majority of the Chinese in Malaysia claim to be Buddhist or Taoist, though the lines between them are often blurred and, typically, a syncretic Chinese religion incorporating elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and traditional ancestor-worship is practiced, with the fact that each individual follows it in varying degrees. Thus, Chinese Buddhism is traditionally embraced by the Chinese which is brought over from China and handed down over the generations of Malaysian Chinese born in Malaysia.

About 9.6% are Christian (Mainstream Protestants, Catholics and other denominations including a fast-growing number of Evangelicals and Charismatics). This is largely due to the influences of Western educated Malaysian Chinese who went overseas either for studies or work.

A small number (1.0%) profess Islam as their faith due mostly to the compulsory conversion to Islam should a Chinese marry a Muslim in Malaysia. Nonetheless, the figure is rather understated due to the fact that most of the Chinese-Muslim individual is easily absorbed with the larger Malay majority population, due to identification of a common religious background, effective assimilation and intermarriage.

Intermarriage[link]

The Chinese in Malaysia maintain a distinct communal identity and rarely intermarry with native Muslim Malays for religious and cultural reasons. According to Muslim Laws, the Chinese partner would be required by law to renounce their religion and adopt the Muslim religion. Most Malaysian Chinese consider their being "Chinese" at once an ethnic, cultural and political identity.

However, there are many who have intermarried with Malaysian Indians, who are predominantly Hindu. The children of such marriages are known as Chindians.^[55] Chindians tend to speak English as their mother tongue.

In the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysians of mixed Chinese-Native parentage ('native' referring to the indigenous tribes in those states, e.g. Iban and Melanau in Sarawak as well as Kadazan and Murut in Sabah) are referred to as "'Sino'" (e.g. Sino-Iban, Sino-Kadazan). Depending entirely on their upbringing, they are either brought up to follow native customs or Chinese traditions. A small minority forgo both native and Chinese traditions, instead opting for a sort of cultural anonymity by speaking only English and/or Malay and not practicing both Chinese and tribal customs.

Food[link]

Malaysian Chinese eat all types of food which includes Chinese, Indian, Malay and Western cuisines. Some Malaysian Chinese are vegetarians, as they may be devoted followers of Buddhism, while others do not consume beef, especially those worshipping the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin). Malaysian Chinese food contains similarities and differences with the Chinese food in China.

China[link]

The cuisine of Malaysian Chinese food are similar to the food in Southern China as they are primarily from the Fujian cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and Hakka cuisine.

Local[link]

However, there are local inventions such as Loh Mee (滷麵), thick noodle in clear gravy found only in the Klang Valley and dark gravy in Penang. Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶) originated from Klang and not China.^[56] Influences from the spicy Malay cuisine can be found in local inventions such as Curry Mee, Curry Chicken and Chili Crab. The influence from the Peranakan cuisine can be found in dishes such as Laksa and Mee Siam.

Socioeconomics[link]

Education[link]

More Chinese Malaysian students in each cohort obtain at least five ‘O’ level passes, which enables them to progress to higher education. The proportion has increased steadily from 44% in 1980 to 84% in 2005 compared to a national average of 81% and was the highest out of the 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia.^[57] Similarly, the proportion of Chinese Malaysian ‘A’ level students who obtained at least two‘A’ and two ‘AO’ level passes at the GCE ‘A’ Level examination (including General Paper) has increased from 68% in 1980 to 92% in 2005 compared to a national average of 91% and was the highest out of the 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia.^[57] The proportion of a Chinese P1 cohort admitted to post-secondary institutions (Institutes of Technical Education, Polytechnics, Junior Colleges/Centralised Institutes) has more than doubled, from 65% in 1990 to 96% in 2005.^[57] In addition, the proportion of Chinese P1 cohort entering local publicly-funded tertiary institutions (polytechnics or universities) has increased from 13% in 1980 to 69% in 2005. Both percentages were above the national average and was the highest out of the 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia. The number of Chinese Malaysian primary school dropouts has decreased steadily over the years.^[57] Out of every 1,000 Malay primary school students, there were just 0.1 Chinese Malaysian dropouts in 2005, compared to 0.3 nationally.^[57]

Employment[link]

Overall ethnic share of total employment in Malaysia was proportionate to the number of Chinese in the Malaysian population.^[58] The Chinese are more likely to be involved in commerce and the modern sectors of the Malaysian economy. Between 1970 to 1995, Malaysian Chinese share of the white collar labor force fell from 62.9% to 54.7% in the administrative and managerial category.^[59] Malaysian Chinese have a large presence in many skilled occupations that are disproportionate to the Malaysian population.^[5] Despite comprising nearly a quarter of the Malaysian population, 54.7% Malaysian Chinese work in administrative and managerial jobs while their presence in professional & technical was proportionate to the percentage of Chinese in the Malaysian population.^[60] In 1988, Chinese Malaysians made up 58% of the Malaysian white collar workforce providing a disproportionate percentage of Malaysia's doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, accountants, and engineers well exceeding their respective population ratios compared to Bumiputera.^[5] Ethnic Chinese are estimated to comprise a bulk of Malaysia's professional and educated class, as well as accounting for 61% of private sector administrative and managerial positions.^[61]

According to a February 2011 The Impact of Ethnicity on Regional Economic Development study by Albert Cheng, that in 2008, 46.2% of Chinese Malaysians work as registered professionals compared to 41.2% for Bumipetera. Chinese Malaysian participation in the white-collar labor force showed a significant decrease from 61.0% in 1970 to just 48.7% in 2005 but overall 2008 figure still remains the highest registration percentage among all major ethnic groups in Malaysia.^[62]

Economics[link]

Ethnic Chinese are estimated to control 60% of Malaysia's national income.^[63] As a result, they are the biggest taxpayers among all ethnic groups in the country.^[9] Chinese Malaysians also contribute almost 90 percent of the country's income tax.^[10][64] While the national home ownership rate in Malaysia was 91.7% in 2005, 92.9% of Chinese Malaysian households owned the home they lived in which was the second highest after rate after the Malaysian Malays.^[57] In terms of housing affordability, Chinese Malaysians could afford houses priced between RM120,000 and RM180,000.^[65]

In 2002, Chinese Malaysians held the lowest poverty rates among major ethnic groups in Malaysia with a rate of 1.5% compared with the bumipetera rate of 7.3%.^[66][67] For the Malaysian Chinese community, the mean income rose from 394 RM in 1970 to 4,279 RM in 2002, which was an increase of 90.8% and the figure was 80.0% above Bumiputera and 40.5% above Malaysian Indians.^[66] Mean Monthly Household Income by Ethnic Group in Peninsular Malaysia was 4279 RM per month for Chinese Malaysian compared with 2376 RM per month for Bumiputera.^[68] Due to the large Chinese presence in the Malaysian business sector, Chinese Malaysian income is typically received from business and economic activities rather than salaried employment which inflates the the relative income gaps between the Chinese and Bumipetera and is also another reason why Chinese household income greatly exceeds the those of Malays and Malaysian Indians. Chinese households have also mean household incomes 2.77 times and 177% higher than those of Malay households.^[69] In 2005, Chinese Malaysian household income continued to remain the highest out of all three major ethnic groups in Malaysia, with a monthly household income of 4,570 compared to the monthly national average of 4,320.^[57] Income distributions show dramatic differences among the three main ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia (Malays, Chinese, and Indians) and between the rural and urban subgroups. Chinese incomes are larger, on the average or median, and are more unequally distributed than those of Malays or Indians. However, because relatively more of Chinese income is received from market activities, broadening the definition of income reduces the relative difference between Chinese households and the other two ethnic groups. Since the distribution of Chinese income is more highly skewed than that of Malays and mean household market income-yields a conclusion that Chinese income is 177% higher than Malay income. Mean Chinese business income is almost five times as large as mean Malay business income, but median business income for Malay households exceeds median Chinese business income from business ventures.^[69] Malaysian Chinese have the highest household income among the 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia. According to Sulaiman Mahbob, as of December 2007, the monthly average household income was at 4,437 ringgit.^{[70][71][72][73]}

Since early settlement during the 15th century, Chinese Malaysians are considered one of the wealthiest ethnic groups in Malaysia and have been more prosperous than other ethnic communities in Malaysia.^[74] In February 2001, Malaysian Business released its list of the 20 richest Malaysians. Sixteen of the 20 and 9 of the top 10 were ethnic Chinese. A number of other wealthy Chinese outside the top 20 also control well-managed corporations.^[75] According to a 2011 Forbes magazine list, eight out of the top ten richest Malaysians are ethnic Chinese.^[76][77][78] According to economic data compiled by the Malaysian daily Nanyang Siang Pau in 2012, ethnic Chinese make up 80 percent of Malaysia's top 40 richest people.^[79]

Trade and industry[link]

Malaysian Chinese entrepreneurs operate as a more urban business community, dominating trade and commerce, primarily tin mining and agriculture.^[66] They are also dominant in both business and commerce sectors in Malaysia where 70 percent of publicly listed companies were under Chinese ownership.^[80][81] Insurmountable economic mobilization by the Chinese in Malaysia are estimated to control 50% of the construction sector, 82% of wholesale trade, 58% of retail trade, 40% of the manufacturing sector, and 70% of the small scale enterprises.^[82] In 2002, Chinese Malaysian share of the overall Malaysian economy stood at 40% since the implementation of the Malaysian New Economic Policy and the Chinese share in Malaysian non-agricultural sector fell from 51.3% to 45.9% from 1970 to 1980.^[83][84][85] Despite efforts to reduce the share of Chinese entrepreneurial dominance, the overall Chinese share of the Malaysian economy increased to 60% in 2008.^[8] In 1964, Sino-Malaysians accounted for 91.7% of the private corporate holdings in Malaysia and ownership of the Malaysian gravel pump and small scale tin mines were completely placed in the hands of ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs.^[86] By 1970, glaring economic disparity between the Malays and Chinese was wide as Malaysian Chinese entrepreneurs were estimated to control 26% of the assets in the corporate sector, 26.2% of the manufacturing and 92.2% of the non-corporate sector.^[87] Chinese Malaysian businessmen are estimated to occupy 34.9% of Malaysia's LLC companies, the highest percentage of ownership among the 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia.^[60][62] In order to seek extra funding and seed money for potential business start-ups, many Malaysian Chinese entrepreneurs have turned to the Malaysian Stock Exchange for business expansion and potential IPOs.^[88] Home ownership and the utilization of property as an investment is also prevalent in the Malaysian Chinese community.^[83] Real estate investing is a common business and a source of wealth for Malaysian Chinese real estate entrepreneurs as it doesn't only provide a steady source of monthly from rental proceeds or a hedge against inflation, but also raises the standard of living for Malaysians who aren't in the right economic position to purchase a home for themselves. In 2005, Malaysian Chinese owned 69.4% of the business complexes, 71.9% of all commercial and industrial real estate, as well as 69.3% of all the hotels in Malaysia reflecting Chinese control over the various business and commercial establishments around the nation.^[83]