Alternate Names
The Chinese in Malaysia call themselves Huaren in Mandarin. In their respective dialects, the Hokkiens refer to themselves as Teng-lang, and the Cantonese as Tohng-yahn, which is Tangren (Tang People) in Mandarin. Today, most do not like to be referred to as Huaqiao, or “overseas Chinese,” as they stress their Malaysian identity. They accept the Malay label Orang Cina, unlike the Chinese in Indonesia, who prefer to be called Orang Tionghoa. The Malay term “Cina” means both Chinese and China, and orang means “people.” Other indigenous groups call Chinese Malaysians by various versions of “Cina.” For example, the Kenyah in Sarawak call them “Kina”
Location
The Chinese are distributed throughout Malaysia, especially in urban centers, many of which they founded or helped to develop. The Federation of Malaysia comprises West Malaysia (also called Peninsular Malaysia) and East Malaysia. West Malaysia is a peninsula, which stretches from the Thai border in the north to...
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Tan, CB. (2005). Chinese in Malaysia. In: Ember, M., Ember, C.R., Skoggard, I. (eds) Encyclopedia of Diasporas. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-29904-4_72
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