KUALA LUMPUR: The contributions and roles played by the Chinese community in the nation’s struggle for independence, as recorded in the United Kingdom’s National Archives, will be disclosed at the Malaysian Chinese Symposium 2024.
The contents, including recently declassified records, could provide insight and a fresh perspective on how the community influenced and shaped the journey to independence.
Organised by the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research, the symposium also aims to chart the path for the community in the political landscape of the future.
Themed “From Aspirations to Reality: The Malaysian Chinese Role in Independence and Beyond”, the event will be conducted at Wisma MCA here from 8.30am to 4pm on Sunday.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong will open the event, with Datin Paduka Tan Siok Choo – the granddaughter of Tun Tan Cheng Lock and daughter of Tun Tan Siew Sin – appearing as a special guest.
Cheng Lock was MCA’s first president when the party was founded in 1949 to fight for the welfare of Chinese Malayans, while Siew Sin was MCA’s third president, taking over the helm in 1961.
The first session of the symposium will focus on the pre-independence era, featuring prominent scholars renowned for their expertise in Malaysian historical research.
They include Dr Tan Miau Ing, head of Universiti Malaya’s Malaysian Chinese Research Centre; Assoc Prof Dr Chin Yee Mun, who leads the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman; Assoc Prof Dr Yap Hon Lun, head of Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology’s Institute of Social Economic Research; and Dr Heng Pek Koon, former director of the Asean Studies Initiative at American University’s School of International Service.
The second session will shift focus to the future, discussing how the community should position itself and what expectations it should hold in the face of a complex and ever-changing political environment, while exploring ways to balance ethnic interests in Malaysia’s diverse society.
The speakers for this session include Dr Phoon Wing Keong, chair of the Think Tank Development Committee of the Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies, as well as commentators and columnists, namely Koh Kok Wee, Tang Ah Chai and Ang Woei Shang.
The event will be conducted in a mix of English and Mandarin. Those interested can register via bit.ly/ICS_2024.
