ETHNIC IDENTITY AND NATIONAL UNITY: A CASE STUDY OF KELANTAN PERANAKAN CHINESE IN MALAYSIA

Studies on the formation of ethnic identity of a particular community are gaining in importance in plural societies such as Malaysia. This article shows how the Kelantan Chinese peranakan Community identify themselves and its impact on the issue of national unity in Malaysia and especially in Kelantan. Multiculturalism in Malaysia is largely concerned with various regional cultures in the country, which continue to exist, and in some cases, to further develop and progress. These cultures meet and interact in the context of a united country and Malaysian culture. In the same vein, there are people who originated from outside Malaysia, especially the Chinese, who have brought with them the cultures and mores of their lands of origin and, to varying degrees, integrated them into the country they now call home. This article discusses how the Chinese opted for Malaysian citizenship and to be a member of this multicultural society. Many studies on Malaysian Chinese identity have been conducted ever since studies on identity have become a trend in the academic world in the social sciences in Malaysia during the 1980s. In this regard, this article aims to understand the formation of the Kelantan Chinese peranakan community s identity from a sociocultural perspective. This article has brought awareness to the existence of different peranakan communities in Malaysia, hence it is not a homogeneous social entity. This article has provided a significant contribution towards the concept of peranakan, a social concept which was locally produced in the Malay archipelago, to an international level.