The house of cards : mapping the longevity of the Chinese education movement in Malaysia and the way forward

• Main Authors: Toh, Si Tian, Yap, Jia Ling
• Other Authors: Walid Jumblatt Bin Abdullah
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia::Malaysia
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76469
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Chinese-medium education has survived in Malaysia for nearly a century despite numerous challenges. This paper studies the longevity of Chinese-medium education through Historical Institutionalism perspective. Through qualitative research employing semi-structured interviews and content analysis, we argue that formal institutions are the fundamental factor regulating all interactions of the Chinese education movement including collaboration with political parties and the social mobilisation efforts led by Dong Jiao Zong. The persistence of Chinese education is dependent on several formal institutions including the Constitution and electoral constituencies. Altering these institutions might change the direction of the Chinese education movement. We also argue that a critical juncture opens after GE2018, when Malaysians replaced the default racial-based government with a mixed-racial coalition. Besides, the unprecedented fund allocations for Chinese education institutions created a new path dependency. Despite some inconclusive political factors, GE2018 is evidently a critical juncture for Malaysian politics and the Chinese education movement.