When Malays, Chinese Malaysians and Chinese Singaporeans first came as students in the 1950s, few found New Zealand lively enough to want to stay. But as immigration regulations changed in the late 1980s, many others arrived with the intention of staying permanently, hoping to make the most of the clean air and opportunities for enterprise.
Three main ethnic groups have arrived from Malaysia: British colonials (for a time the country was a colony of Great Britain), Malays and Chinese Malaysians. By 1916, 42 people born in the Straits Settlements (which included what is now called Malaysia, and Singapore) were resident in New Zealand. In all likelihood these were British colonials. Most early Malays and Chinese Malaysians came as visiting students.
Students have been the most significant group of Malaysians to arrive since they first started coming in the early 1950s. They travelled to New Zealand because of a shortage of places at their local universities. Typically, Chinese Malaysians were funded by their parents, while Malays often came on Colombo Plan scholarships.
To support these newcomers, the Malaysian–Singapore Students Association was formed at the University of Otago in 1963. Universities in other centres also set up associations. By the late 1960s there were hundreds of Malaysian students throughout New Zealand. For most students there was little time for activities outside study, but some excelled at sports such as badminton. After completing their education they returned home.
Racial riots in Malaysia in 1969 encouraged even more students to seek an education in New Zealand. Following the riots, Malaysia introduced affirmative action policies to help the Bumiputra (Malays and indigenous people) achieve economic equality with the wealthier Chinese. Preferential university entry for Bumiputra made it harder for ethnic Chinese to enter Malaysian institutions of higher learning, so many came to New Zealand universities.
By the mid-1970s Malaysians formed a major proportion of overseas students at New Zealand universities. They were particularly visible in their distinctive black songkok (headdress). In 1977 the government introduced a quota of 300 new Malaysian university students per year, and a substantial fee was imposed on all overseas students three years later. In response, the New Zealand Union of Malaysian Students was formed to lobby for the interests of overseas students.
Like many 1960s students, Yee Fong Chun found holiday work to help get him through university.
‘One of my workmates, a tough looking Maori, used to call me “chop suey”. I have yet to find out why the Chinese were identified with “chop suey” because, as a dish, chop suey is probably not known in any restaurants in … Kuala Lumpur … However, I accepted the friendly teasing and reciprocated by calling him “Hangi”, and having established our respective identities we became the best of friends’. 1
Malaysian students have continued to arrive. In 1996 there were 2,320 Malaysian university students and 322 school students in New Zealand. The population is constantly turning over, as each year ‘freshies’ (new students) arrive and graduates leave. Between 1996 and 2000, over 5,000 Malaysians arrived and 3,000 departed. Those who didn’t leave continued their studies, got married, travelled or gained citizenship.
From 1987, thousands of Chinese Malaysians arrived following changes to immigration regulations. New rules abandoned the traditional preference for migrants from the United Kingdom and allowed entry to any person who could fulfil criteria based on skills and income. Malaysians were also no longer required to obtain entry visas.
Long-standing educational, trade and military links between New Zealand and Malaysia meant that Chinese Malaysians were especially quick to take up new opportunities to emigrate. Of the 8,820 Malaysian-born people resident in New Zealand in 1991, only 1,383 were Malay; most of the rest were Chinese Malaysians. This proportion has remained constant. By 2006 there were 14,547 Malaysian-born people resident in New Zealand. Of this total, only 3,540 were Malay and most of the rest were Chinese. However, determining whether someone is Malay or Chinese Malaysian is not always straightforward: some Malaysian Chinese identify themselves as Malaysian, and others as Chinese.
Many Chinese Malaysians arrived to establish business ventures, and settled in Auckland’s eastern suburbs. However, it became evident by the late 1990s that not all migrants settled well. About a third of some 16,000 Chinese Malaysians who had arrived in the decade ending 1998 subsequently left. Many younger people looked overseas, as New Zealand was seen as too slow paced and lacking a wide range of career opportunities.
Raymond Yap, a Malaysian at Massey University in the early 1970s, was instrumental in introducing and popularising the martial art tae kwon do in New Zealand. In 1974 Malaysian students also organised their first sports tournament. These became annual fixtures and typically ended with a malam kebudayaan (cultural night), which included dancing, singing and musical renditions. The tournament itself featured the Malay game sepak takraw (like volleyball, but using feet instead of hands to propel the ball). In the 2000s the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington set up a sepak takraw court in its car park.
In 1980 Wellington’s Malaysian High Commission published the newsletter Berita Malaysia. It was short lived, however. Later that year the third and final issue noted that ‘Berita's call for contributions has met with deafening silence’. A Canterbury students’ publication, Jelajah, was more successful, appearing at about the same time and lasting for 12 years. Almost all articles were written in English, with the occasional Malay or Chinese piece.
Most Malaysians are multilingual, yet Kiwi slang has confused many. Leo, a Malaysian university student in Wellington in 2000, was confounded by the subtleties of Kiwi English:
‘I miss the richness and diversity of our language. Here English is basically the medium of communication, unlike back home where it’s common to mix three or four languages in one sentence! …I was also quite shocked to discover that the locals call out "How are you" or "Howsit going?" without so much as stopping or even looking at the person!’ 2
Malaysians gather annually to celebrate their national day on 31 August.
Malaysian cuisine has become perhaps the most prolific and visible aspect of the culture in New Zealand. Dishes such as curry laksa and roti canai (Malay bread) have proven very popular, and restaurants thrive nationwide.
Ethnically, Singapore’s population is primarily Chinese, with a minority of Malays, Indians and other groups. Singaporeans only began to arrive from the 1960s; but of the 975 Singapore-born people who were living in New Zealand by 1971, most were probably British expatriates.
Singaporean students have visited New Zealand since the 1960s. It was common to study overseas, as there were few places available at local universities. Initially, many found New Zealand boring and unbelievably quiet. Although students tended to return after completing their studies, their travels blazed a trail for future migrants.
In 1986 the New Zealand government no longer required Singaporeans to obtain visas. This open policy, together with the changes made to the immigration system in the following year, stimulated migration.
Life in Singapore, the ‘Lion City’, could be highly stressful, and many migrants who arrived during the 1990s were in search of quieter times. Singaporeans invested heavily in businesses and residential property. But not all stayed – over the 1990s some left as they found New Zealand’s economy too small to support their enterprises.
Shih Liang Chye left Singapore for New Zealand in 1984. His partner joined him two years later and they had two children there. He outlined the reasons that saw him take a more than 50% pay cut:
‘The air here is clean and there is an abundance of fresh water and greenery all round. New Zealand is also open and egalitarian, not status-conscious’. 1
Chinese Singaporean migrants mainly socialise with their own group, as they have little in common with the Chinese community. While most Singaporeans are ethnically Chinese, in cultural terms many are Malay. Some Baba or Straits Chinese speak only Malay. For the most part, however, migrants are multilingual, speaking English, Malay and Chinese dialects. Sometimes words are mixed into a hybrid tongue dubbed ‘Singlish’.
Most Singaporeans have settled in Auckland, which supports a national club. There are also clubs in Wellington and Christchurch, and student groups are prominent.
Christchurch’s Singapore Club, formed in 1993, publishes quarterly newsletters and helps new migrants settle. Singapore’s diverse ethnicities are reflected in the club’s events. They celebrate both the Chinese Lantern Festival and Deepavali, the Hindu festival of lights. The club’s insignia features the symbol of yin and yang: a letter ‘S’ represents Singapore (yang) and a curved silver fern represents New Zealand (yin).
Auckland’s Singapore Club website has pages dedicated to the best makan (food). It also offers information on issues such as migration and education, and invites new members to ‘come and join us and we can create our own kampong [village] right here in this beautiful country’. 2
Clubs often celebrate key dates, including Singapore National Day on 9 August. At events such as the Auckland club’s 2001 Christmas function, authentic fare was served, including chicken rice, buah keluak (blacknuts) and chap chye (mixed vegetables).
The New Zealand census figures listed here show the number of residents born in countries now called Malaysia and Singapore.
In the 2006 census, people were asked to indicate the ethnic group or groups with which they identified. The numbers include those who indicated more than one group.
Chun, Yee Fong. ‘Home thoughts from abroad.’ In People like us, edited by Anthony Haas and others. Wellington: Asia Pacific Books and the Government Printer, 1982.
Sooi, T. ‘Adaptation of Malaysian-Singaporean students at Otago University, 1967–1968.’ MA thesis, University of Otago, 1969.
The Auckland Malaysian Society was established in 1991 to help new Malaysian migrants settle in New Zealand.
http://www.malaysiansociety.org.nz/
Wellington’s Malaysian community’s website has information about the New Zealand Malaysian Society, photos and a newsletter.
http://www.singaporeclub.co.nz
The Singapore Club Auckland’s website links Singaporeans in Auckland.
http://www.singaporeclub.org.nz/
The Christchurch Singapore Club’s website provides information on education and social, sporting and cultural activities, to help its members settle into their new environment.
The capital’s Malaysian student website outlines the organisation’s objectives, and lists cultural and sporting events.