KUALA LUMPUR: On the eve of Malaysia’s 67th Independence Day, Malaysian Chinese YouTuber Wabikong launched a online game present titled Guess the Real Chinese (Malay Version) to nice success.
In the video, a blindfolded host guessed which of the 5 Mandarin-speaking individuals was a Malaysian Chinese. The 4 Malaysian individuals spoke fluent Mandarin and demonstrated a deep cultural data of slang and eating places that matched that of a local speaker. As a consequence, the host failed repeatedly, quickly eliminating the one Malaysian Chinese participant.
This video and its predecessor – during which the participant tried to decide on the one Malaysian Chinese among the many principally Mandarin-speaking Indian individuals – have garnered over half 1,000,000 views as of November 2024.
There appear to be extra non-Chinese Malaysians embracing the Chinese language.
While there isn’t a official knowledge on Mandarin-speaking non-Chinese in Malaysia because of lack of assortment, anecdotal proof suggests a rise, particularly amongst Malays. The actions of Chinese language facilities, corresponding to Fasih Mandarin in Kuantan, Pahang, which is predominantly Malay, are booming. Politicians corresponding to former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) Members of Parliament have embraced the language, influencing and reflecting a broader development.
A dependable however incomplete indicator is the enrollment of non-Chinese college students in Chinese vernacular main faculties (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan China, or SJKC).
Non-Chinese enrollment at SJKCs has elevated from 17,309 in 1989 to 101,011 in 2020 – a 484% enhance in three a long time. This implies that non-Chinese college students now account for one-fifth of all SJKC college students.
Data signifies that Malays account for roughly 15.3% of the full pupil inhabitants in SJKCs. This is critical for Malaysia’s Malay-Chinese ethnic relations, because it partly represents the preliminary contact between substantial teams in an more and more blended context that was historically extra homogeneous.
For instance, in 2010, Malays made up 94% of scholars in nationwide faculties (the place Malay is the first medium of instruction) and Chinese made up 88% of these enrolled in SJKC. This is necessary as a result of early intergroup contact and friendships have been proven to cut back prejudice and foster optimistic intergroup attitudes.
