A HISTORY of being discriminated against and a lack of freedom to explore controversial topics have driven Chinese Malaysian authors to Taiwan, where they thrive, said a South China Morning Post article today.

The article said it was unsurprising that common themes in these authors’ works included marginalisation and cultural displacement, given what they had faced in their home country and the fact that their works were not recognised as part of Malaysia’s literary canon.

“After Malaysia gained independence in 1963, many young Chinese residents were eager to learn Malay to promote national unity. When the majority-Chinese DAP made surprisingly strong gains in the May 1969 polls, however, anti-Chinese violence erupted.”

Estimates put the death toll in the riots that followed at up to 600, the majority being Chinese.

The bloody May 13 incident cemented a conviction among Chinese migrant communities in Malaysia never to forget their roots.

Tunku Abdul Rahman University Institute of Chinese Studies associate professor Khor Boon Eng was quoted as saying in the face of sociopolitical pressure, there was a boost in grassroots efforts to preserve and strengthen Chinese heritage and identity, such as the setting up of community libraries.

However, said the article, the marginalisation of the Chinese in Malaysia predated independence.

It cited the “New Villages” policy put in place by British colonialists in what was then Malaya at the height of the global anti-communist sentiment in the 1950s.

The policy saw the segregation of communities, especially the Chinese, in guarded enclaves, so as to prevent the spread of pro-independence ideologies by communist-led separatists.

“Within those communities, many were sympathetic to leftist ideology,” said Show Ying Xin, co-founder of the Kuala Lumpur-based Rumah Attap Library and Collective.

She said a restriction on reading materials from China, due to fears they would spread the communist ideology, resulted in the Chinese seeking out books from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

This led to the Chinese in Malaya being more familiar with the cultures of the two regions, with which they shared a mother tongue.

And, as more Chinese intellectuals fled China for Taiwan, the island became increasingly attractive to Chinese Malaysians, many of whom headed there for their tertiary education.

Taiwan’s robust track record in humanities studies and its government’s generous support helped its literary culture blossom, said the article, providing an environment in which Chinese Malaysian authors were able to flourish.

It said prominent Chinese Malaysian authors with a Taiwanese connection included the late Sarawakian writer Li Yongping, as well as Ng Kim Chew, Chang Kuei Hsien, Ho Sok Fong and Li Zi Shu.

“These writers went to Taiwan for higher education and stayed because their work is appreciated and accepted there,” said Show.

“They thought that in Malaysia, their work would not be recognised.”

Eng said Taiwan regarded such authors as “mahua” writers, who explored themes of discontent with the political status quo in Malaysia.

“Mahua” refers to a genre of Malaysian (“ma”) Chinese (“hua”) literature that is inherently political.

However, many of these authors left Malaysia after secondary school, which limits their understanding of the country’s current political and social reality.

Eng added that authors overseas were freer to broach topics that might offend more conservative minds, and that those in Malaysia had a tendency to self-censor, out of fear of political retribution.

Despite the obstacles, said Eng, there were pluses for Malaysia’s Chinese literary culture.

As China continued on its trajectory on the path to becoming the next global superpower, said the article, there was an increasing interest in Sinophone studies the world over, making it likely for Chinese authors in Malaysia, concerned about losing their cultural identity, to find a wider readership in the future.

It said the task of preserving the country’s Chinese literary culture was largely carried out by grassroots groups, community organisations and private corporations that provided funding and other forms of support.

It said writing competitions with prize money played a big role in encouraging budding authors to pursue their goals.

“In one way, this is a good tendency to have, as you’re funding your own culture’s survival,” said Eng.

“But in another way, the Chinese community has a lot of grievances.

“They feel that they’re discriminated against, and their culture, language and education are not being taken care of by the government.” – January 2, 2018.