Negotiating Chinese Identity through Chinese-Language Newspapers in Pre-Independence Sabah

Authors

YAMAMOTO Hiroyuki, Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, JapanFollow

Abstract

From Huaqiao (overseas Chinese) to Huaren (local Chinese) is one of the popular means to describe the Chinese in Southeast Asia. It indicates that the object of political loyalty of the Chinese shifts from China to the country of residence. In British North Borneo (later the state of Sabah in Malaysia), such shifts were observed in around 1959 till 1960 when schools and associations replaced the word Huaqiao with Huaren in their official names. Yeh Pao Tzu, local journalist and newspaper publisher, continued to produce the Overseas Chinese Daily News (《华侨日报》). He insisted on his Huaqiao-ness by advocating the usage of Chinese as a common language of North Borneo, or by urging efforts in recapturing China from the communists. At the same time, he eagerly appealed for the necessity of uplifting the education and living standard of the people of North Borneo including the natives. Through the case of Yeh, this study attempts to examine the implications of the phrase of “from Huaqiao to Huaren” in pre-independence Sabah, Malaysia.

Recommended Citation

Hiroyuki, YAMAMOTO (2018) "Negotiating Chinese Identity through Chinese-Language Newspapers in Pre-Independence Sabah," Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies: Vol. 7: No. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://mjcs.newera.edu.my/journal/vol7/iss2/4