IN the Malay-majority capital of Terengganu are two Peranakan Chinese settlements called Tiruk and Banggol Kemang.

The community is also known as the Tiruk Chinese because of their unique way of life, which had absorbed Malay cultural practices.

Yee Choo Im, 72, one of the oldest Peranakan Tiruk Chinese, told The Malaysian Insight it was easy for them to live among Malays.

“Tiruk Peranakan Chinese practise the same way of life as the Malays. We speak in the Terengganu Malay dialect and our customs, traditions, clothing and food are similar to the Malays, such as eating with our hands. In fact, there are Tiruk Chinese who are not even good at speaking Hokkien but they can read and write Jawi, ” she said.

Yee said she migrated to Kampung Tiruk after marrying her husband, a Terengganu Peranakan Chinese in 1966.

At the time she said, the majority of Tiruk Chinese, including herself, worked as rubber tappers.

“Mek (Yee) used to ride a bicycle to the rubber plantation and a round trip would be about six kilometres,” she said, adding that women were called “Mek” and the men, “Awang”.

“Every day, Mek rode a bicycle to tap and sell rubber to the Malays. So at that time, the Peranakan Chinese relationship with the Malay villagers was very harmonious.

“We depended on each other, if for example there is a feast in the Malay village next to us, we will go and help, eat their food and vice versa,” she said.

But Yee, who has three children, said the village was getting lonely as most of the younger generation have left.

“Many young people migrated to the city because their parents had passed on. There are not many older people left in this village either, maybe fewer than five people.

“Most of the houses here are empty and the children will only come back once in a while so the houses are usually abandoned.

“Without Mek, the children’s lifestyles will be completely modern. I can only dream that my kids would wear batik. The younger generation don’t even want to wear batik anymore,” she said.

From Fujian

A leader of the community, Leanne Chua said most of the Peranakan Chinese in Terengganu and Kelantan are from the Fujian province in China.

The generation migrated to the east coast state during the reign of the Qing Dynasty in the 16th and 17th centuries, the committee member of the Terengganu Peranakan Chinese Association said.

She said they lived in several districts in Terengganu such as Marang, Wakaf Tapai and Kampung Cina.

From there began the assimilation of Malay culture that permeated the life of the Peranakan Chinese, she said.

“Because we migrated here a long time ago, life is actually the same as the Malays. We wear the same clothing as the Malay community.

“Women wear batik while the men would don a pelikat. Only the customs and religion are different, the folk of Kampung Tiruk can be said to be the 11th generation.”

Leanne, who is a seventh generation Peranakan Chinese in Kampung Tiruk, said the Terengganu Peranakan Chinese are not the same as Baba and Nyonya in Malacca or Penang because they do not practice intermarriage.

He said the Peranakan Chinese in the East Coast will marry each other and if there is a mixed marriage, it is only in Kelantan with the Siamese community.

“The Baba and Nyonya, they have many marriages with Indonesian girls or with local girls. But for the Terengganu Chinese who are Peranakan, there is no intermarriage.

“That is why if you look at Peranakan Chinese like me, the skin is usually tanned and the eyes are not small.

“And we also consider this to be our homeland,” she said.

Leanne acknowledged the migration of the younger generation to the city challenges the Peranakan Chinese cultural tradition.

Fewer than 20 people live in Kampung Tiruk now compared to 78 in 2014.

“Because the parents are not there and the children have moved out, it’s like I work in the city (Kuala Terengganu) and will return for the weekend just to look at the house,” she said.

She, however, believes that the Peranakan Chinese culture will not die out.

“Peranakan Chinese culture will remain. For example, our community in Tiruk still eat rice by hand. We still strongly practise our culture,” she said.

Nasi Dagang on Chinese New Year

Leanne said on Chinese New Year, the Chinese Tiruk serve dishes similar to those served during Malay festivals, such as nasi dagang, nasi minyak and laksa.

However, they are still required to serve traditional kuih such as bahulu and kuih koci.

For two years now, Yee’s family has celebrated the Chinese New Year modestly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the elderly still make traditional cakes. – February 1, 2022.