Culture, Identity & Foodways of the Terengganu Chinese

Authors: Kamarudin Ngah & Tan Yao Sua
New Pb130 pp.
Subjects: Arts & Culture, Ethnic Studies
Condition: Good
Publisher: SIRD
Published: 2015
The Chinese minority in Terengganu, Malaysia, are struggling to maintain their Sinic culture, identity and community in the face of socio-political changes and Islamisation since the early 1970s. They are also facing problems due to population attrition from an outflow of the younger generation to larger cities in Malaysia for jobs and further education. The acculturated Terengganu Peranakan Chinese, descendants of the earliest settlers who arrived at least two centuries ago, face additional inter-generational tensions and challenges.

This book is based on extensive interviews and fieldwork and includes: an overview of the role of the Kuala Terengganu Chinese associations in promoting traditional Chinese culture and identity; a study of the Peranakan Chinese in Tirok, to further examine issues of identity maintenance and identity shift; and a comparison between the foodways of the Tirok Peranakan Chinese with a similar rural Peranakan community in the neighbouring state of Kelantan to demonstrate the community’s continual negotiation of Sino–Malay identity.

Dr Tan Yao Sua is a senior lecturer and research fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and International Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. His main research interests include Malaysian Chinese studies, educational policy analysis, minority education, bilingual education and the sociology of education.

Dr Kamarudin Ngah is a Professor at the College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah. His main research interests are in the areas of community development, project planning and local government.