After concluding his state visit to China, Malaysia'sYang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim expressedthat the visit was fruitful, further consolidating thefriendship and bilateral relations between Malaysiaand China. Sultan Ibrahim also said that China's riseon the international stage over the past 20 years hasbeen astonishing and is a model worth learning fromfor Malaysia.
Recently, Lim Keh Kuan, president of the FederatedTeochew Associations of Malaysia, expressed hisdeep agreement. As a second-generation Chineseborn in Malaysia, he has witnessed the rise of hishome country and the deepening cooperationbetween China and Malaysia. He noted that this yearmarks the 50th anniversary of the establishment ofdiplomatic ties between China and Malaysia, andexchanges between the two countries are increasing.Therefore, conducting quality Chinese languageeducation and inheriting Chinese culture carrygreater significance in the current era.
Lim Keh Kuan has been influenced by Chineseculture since childhood, attending Chinese schools,practicing Chinese calligraphy, and participating intraditional rituals. When he was young, he once feltinferior for attending a Chinese school until hejoined the Teochew Association and found a sense ofbelonging, realizing the importance of Chineseeducation.
Over the past five decades, Lim Keh Kuan has risenfrom an ordinary member of the TeochewAssociation to the head of the Youth Group, then thepresident of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Teochew Association, and finally the president of theFederated Teochew Associations of Malaysia(Teochew-Malaysia for short). Teochew-Malaysiawas founded in 1934 at the Han Jiang AncestralTemple in Penang and is the highest leadershiporganization of Teochew associations in Malaysiaand currently has 58 affiliates.
"How can you inherit Chinese culture if you don'tunderstand the Chinese language?" In an exclusiveinterview with GDToday, Lim Keh Kuan admittedthat Chinese education in Malaysia is facing manycrises, such as a lack of teachers, the marginalizationof subjects, and a decline in student enrollment.Since becoming the president of Teochew-Malaysia,he has focused on organizing activities related toChinese culture and education, hoping to promotethe inheritance of Chinese culture in Malaysia.
About qiaopi Overseas Chinese have always supported thedevelopment of their hometown
Lim Keh Kuan's impressions of his hometown beginwith qiaopi.
"I used to help my family write qiaopi letters when Iwas a child, so I am quite familiar with them," saidLim Keh Kuan as he wrote a qiaopi letter at theopening ceremony of the Qiaopi History and CultureExhibition themed "Three Rivers Flowing into theSea, One Letter Returns to the Hometown" in KualaLumpur, Malaysia, on August 8. A wave of nostalgiasurged up in his heart.
Qiaopi, once the letters and remittances sent byoverseas Chinese to their families in China,documented the difficult entrepreneurial history andstrong patriotism of the older generation of overseasChinese. Although qiaopi has been out of use formany years, the culture of remittance letters remainseverlasting. In 2013, it was added to the "Memory ofthe World Register" and continues to thrive acrossborders.
GDToday: How did your family come to Malaysiafrom Shantou to make a living?
Lim Keh Kuan: My father came to Malaysia when hewas six years old, and my mother is also fromChaoshan. I grew up under their influence. We speakthe Chaoshan dialect at home, and my mother oftentells Chaozhou proverbs, so we still understand manyof them today, which some younger Chaoshan peoplemay not understand anymore. For example, mymother says, "bones growing meat is crucial,"meaning that there's no such thing as a free lunch,and you shouldn't expect others to earn money foryou to spend.
GDToday: Do you have any memories of qiaopi?
Lim Keh Kuan: When I was in middle school, I alsohelped write qiaopi, so I'm quite familiar with them.There's a street near us called Petaling Street, wheresomeone would help you write qiaopi for about 20cents using a formulaic template. After writing, theywould hand it over to boatmen who would carrythem back to China and the countryside. Many didn'thave addresses, so they would go to China and callout the names, and the recipients would come tocollect.
GDToday: What significance and value do youthink qiaopi have today?
Lim Keh Kuan: When these Chinese people firstcame to Malaysia, their salaries were low, about twoMalaysian dollars a month. But they never forgottheir patriotism and their families in their hometown,saving money to send back. I think qiaopi embodyfilial piety and indirectly supported China'sdevelopment at that time. There's also a sense ofcredibility in qiaopi. To my knowledge, qiaopi hasnever been lost in all this time.
About Chinese education
Inheriting Chinese culture is of great importance
Sixty or seventy years ago, Lim Keh Kuan's fatherwas hesitant to send him to a Chinese school becauseEnglish schools were more popular at that time.When Lim Keh Kuan became a father, he firmly sentall three of his children to Chinese schools, believingthat receiving Chinese education would bring themanother valuable asset.
Having worked in Chinese community organizationsfor most of his life, Lim Keh Kuan speaks thefamiliar dialect of his hometown, has made intimatefriends, and felt the charm of Chinese culture. Hevigorously promotes cultural activities and supportsChinese education, hoping to leave these valuableassets to more Chinese people in Malaysia.
GDToday: What is your original intention inactively promoting the development of Chineseeducation?
Lim Keh Kuan: I went to Chinese schools sincechildhood, and I felt like receiving Chineseeducation made me inferior because it seemed likethere was no future in it, as it wasn't often used inwork. But when I joined the Teochew Association,things were different. We could communicate in ourdialect and did many meaningful things. But it maynot be about making money. It’s about friends youcan make and your recognition of the Chineselanguage without notice. Also, people who receiveChinese education tend to value family more. Ibelieve that community organizations, especiallythose related to our hometowns, play a vital role inpreserving our culture. If you don't understand theChinese language, how can you inherit the culture?You can't even read it.
GDToday: What challenges does Chineseeducation face in Malaysia today?
Lim Keh Kuan: The most severe problem facingChinese education in Malaysia is the shortage ofteachers. There is a lack of Chinese teachers, andmore than 60% of the teachers in middle schools arenot ethnic Chinese. To become a Chinese teacher inMalaysia, one must have a university degree with adistinction in Chinese. However, the number ofstudents registering for the Chinese languageexamination is declining, from over a thousand in thepast to only 200 now. Malaysia also sends somestudents to Beijing to learn Chinese, and they mayspeak fluent Mandarin, but they don't understand thespirit and connotations of Chinese culture. I describethem as soulless shells. If the number of Chineselanguage teachers continues to decline, it will behard to sustain Chinese language education, let alonepreserve our culture.
GDToday: As the head of a Chinese communityorganization, how do you promote thepreservation of traditional culture?
Lim Keh Kuan: After becoming president of theFederated Teochew Associations of Malaysia, Ifocused more on culture and education and initiatedmany cultural and educational activities. At the sametime, the Teochew-Malaysia has also been activelyfollowing the issue of Chinese language faculty inMalaysia and has launched fundraising plans toencourage more people to become Chinese teachers.
About China-Malaysia cooperation
Unlimited business opportunities in the future
On May 31, 1974, China and Malaysia formallyestablished diplomatic relations, making Malaysiathe first ASEAN country to establish diplomatic tieswith China after the founding of ASEAN. This yearmarks the 50th anniversary of the establishment ofdiplomatic relations between China and Malaysiaand the Year of China-Malaysia Friendship, withincreasing exchanges and cooperation between thetwo countries.
Last year, Lim Keh Kuan returned to China multipletimes. He was impressed by China's rapiddevelopment and looked forward to morecooperation between China and Malaysia.
GDToday: How do you feel when you return toShantou in recent years?
Lim Keh Kuan: Based on my personal observations,50 years ago, China was 30 years behind Malaysia.Today, China has advanced 30 years ahead ofMalaysia, marking incredible progress. I visitedShantou three times last year, and I felt that thechange was enormous. It seemed like Shantou wasundergoing reforms and had transformed into abeautifully developed city. This may also be acharacteristic of Chaoshan people who live by thesea, with broad minds, hospitality, and anindomitable spirit. My life creed is that if you dare tofight, you have a chance to succeed.
GDToday: Which industries do you think Chinacan better connect with Malaysia in the future?
Lim Keh Kuan: After all, Malaysia is a relativelysmall country that still requires significant resourcesupport from China, while China's development alsoneeds cooperation with Malaysia. If Chineseentrepreneurs invest in Malaysia for propertydevelopment, they will mainly interact with Chinesecommunities. Currently, the total number of ethnicChinese in Malaysia is 6.9 million, accounting for22.4% of the country's population, and thisproportion is constantly decreasing. If Chinesebusinesses come to Malaysia, they can utilize thecountry's rich natural resources such as petroleum,palm oil, rubber, timber, gasoline, etc. Chinesemerchants can process these resources into semi-finished or finished products for export, creating vastbusiness opportunities through this collaboration.
GDToday: What are Malaysia's uniqueadvantages when it comes to cooperation betweenChina and Malaysia?
Lim Keh Kuan: Malaysia currently plays a crucialrole in China's overseas development. One ofMalaysia's strengths is its lack of linguistic barriers.It is easy to communicate here in Mandarin,Cantonese, Teochew dialect, Hokkien, and Hakka,among others. Many Chinese parents now send theirchildren to Malaysia for education, where they canobtain dual degrees, improve their language skills,and potentially become "hai gui" (overseas returnees)in the future. Moreover, Malaysia has alwaysmaintained close ties with China throughout theirdiplomatic relations.
Reporter | Wu Caiqian
Video | Qin Shaolong
Poster | Mia
Editor | Liao Ying, Xiao Min, Monica, James
Source | GD TODAY