Impacts of the Evolution of Malaysia’s Ethnic Polices on Local Popularization of Chinese Language

Abstract

The orientation of Malaysia’s ethnic policies centering on the idea of “Malay Dominance†has evolved from separation, balanced assimilation, then into integration and finally pluralistic coexistence. Each phase has posed sustained impacts on local popularization of Chinese language in terms of ethnic education, sociocultural environment and the development of local Chinese communities. This paper aims to unveil the current plight of Chinese promotion in Malaysia and offer corresponding solutions in four dimensions from subject, channel, content to method. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and culturally-diverse nation, the major ethnic groups being Malays, Chinese and Indians. According to Department of Statistics Malaysia, the total population, 32.0497 million, comprises 61.7% of Malays (19.7768 million), 20.8% of Chinese Malaysians (6.6642 million), 6.23% of Indian Malaysians (1.9976 million), 0.89% of other ethnic groups (284.4 thousand) and 10.37% of non-Malaysian citizens (3.3267 million)[1]. Various factors, such as colonial history, ethnic issue and partisan contest, collectively subjected Malaysia to an ethnic policy known as “Ketuanan Melayu†(literally “Malay dominanceâ€), which has fundamental impacts on its related polices on economy, culture and education.