My History, My Future: From Middle Kingdom to Malaya to Malaysia

The coming Olympic games in Beijing, China has got me thinking about the "motherland" and my ancestors. I'm a 2nd generation Malaysian of Chinese origin from the Han ethnicity (China consists of man other ethnic groups). My grandma and grandpa came over to Malaya from prefecture of Longyan in the province of Fujian. Technically that makes me a Hokkien "kia" but then again, those from the mentioned prefecture classify themselves slightly differently as our spoken dialects do not sound like Hokkien at all and it's called "Longyan Huà." Please don't ask me how the heck it sounds like as i do not speak a word of it as i grew up on a diet of Hokkien and Cantonese dialects. Funny enough, even my late dad can't speak a word of it but he could understand it. As far as i can remember, only 2 of my cousins can actually speak it. Sound confusing eh? Well, i'm 31 and myself is still pretty much blur so i won't blame ya. In order to simplify things, i just say i'm a Hokkien.

My surname is Cheah (Xie 謝), same chinese character as those with Chia, Seah, Hsieh, Tse, Tze. The chinese character when used as verb, means to express gratitude and when used as noun means thank you. "Xie xie" sounds familiar right? ;0) Apparently, the surname was a that of a prominent aristocratic family from the Jin Dynasty.

Both my grandparents came to Malaya to find a brighter future as it was tough back in China then. There was civil war amongst the Kuomintang and Communists Red Army while the people was suffering from famine. My grandma's brother who was studying in university was killed by the communists, so naturally she hates them. They arrived in Malaya like most early immigrants, through Penang and chose to settle in Lumut, Perak - which is where i am from.

As i understand from the stories told by my uncles, aunts and me late father, my granddad was a well respected member of the community in my "kampung". He owned one of the biggest rice and coconut trading companies back then. He was a self-taught man, he had no formal education and was from a poor family. Apparently he was sort of a medicine man as well. My grandma was your typical "superwoman" housewife from back then. She single handedly took care of more than 10 people (8 of them children) in the household. She was a firm but fair mother, and my dad was always boasting about how he was the youngest in the family and was always her favourite. An interesting but freaky fact everyone told me about the family was that every child that had an official straits birth cert would fall ill and pass away. Needless to say, none of my uncles, aunts and also me dad had one.

Being the typical community came first type of person, my granddad went all out to help new arrivals from back "home" to settle into Malaya. Well, i personally call it naivety as it ultimately got him into financial trouble after being the guarantor to numerous dubious business deals for others. Subsequently, the family business went down hill and finally closed shop when none of my uncles could handle it after the passing of both my grandparents about 40 years ago.

As mentioned before, me dad was the youngest and according to him the most spoiled (that is if you consider having to work long hours helping the family collect coconuts and dry em for sale and help sort out rice as fun). Among all my uncles and aunts, my second last uncle and me dad had the best education. They finished their high-school education - my dad was sent to chinese and later english school while my uncle went to a reputable boarding school in Penang. Dad was a quite the looker hence u know where i got my good look from ;o) and was an active athlete. He was drafted into the army reserves for a good year or two and was based in Port Dickson during the Emergency period with Indonesia after the independence. I am at a lost when it come to when did both my parents met but i do know they have been happily married for close to 40 years before my dad's untimely death in a car accident 3 years back. (Still miss you dad, and not a day goes by that mum and i do not miss you.) They gave life a Red in the form of me after close to 7 years of marriage.

Like most of my generation, i consider myself more Malaysian than just Chinese. However, it's still important to know your own roots. I believe in the concept of "no future without history" so i personally find it important to know where i come from and what my ancestors have to go through to get me to where i am. This helps keep me grounded and appreciate what my ancestors went through to give me what i got now, even though it isn't much. It's also the reason why i strive to help Malaysia grow into the kind of great country all of us hope her to be. We've got everything to be one of the most outstanding country in SEA region. We have so much to gain as a united nation working together for the better.

Why dwell on racial segregation politics and puny issues? Why not work towards the best Malaysia can be? What does religion got to do with politics? Why the disparity in income distribution? When can our apathy mentality be changed? Why help have to be based on your political views, skin color or social status? Where do we see ourselves and our children as a nation in the next 50 years?

If none of us are in anyway concern about the above questions, then we as a nation of 50 years in existence is on the verge of collapse. Personally, I will not give up on my beautiful country i call home. I will not give in to those irresponsible people who try to divide me and my friends. I will not take the non-sense the propaganda machines have been feeding to the "rakyat." I will work with my fellow Malaysian towards better governance and education system that will ultimately lead to a better Malaysia for everyone irregardless of race, political view and social status. This is my vow.

-JonC-