Peoples and Traditions/ Contents

Chinese migration and early organization

Heng Pek Koon

sp20_market

Chinese market in the 1920s.

Chinese migration to the Malay Peninsula spanned six centuries, from the time of the Melaka Sultanate around 1400 to the formation of an independent Malayan state in 1957. The geographic, economic and social patterns of Chinese immigration and settlement have been shaped by common geographic and linguistic origins in China. Since the integration of a domiciled Chinese community in the country in the 1930s–50s, the Chinese have participated fully and actively in building the political, economic and social institutions of their new homeland.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • History of Chinese migration
  • Economic and social organizations of Chinese immigrants
  • Modern context