Malaysia's Chinese clans fight to stay relevant and attract new blood

Associations shift focus, with some pivoting to business, politics and even sports

- Lu Wei Hoong

TAIPING - As the sun dipped below the horizon, the Tsen Loong Association premises in the sleepy-hollow town of Taiping, Perak, came alive.

From the karaoke room emerged snatches of a classic Hakka dialect song, crooned by a handful of middle-aged men. Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the 146-year-old building, a dozen women practised a dance for the clan association's upcoming anniversary dinner.

These refined activities are a far cry from the clan's violent roots in secret societies, also known as kongsis. These rival societies first emerged in Malaysia in the 1800s to provide jobs, shelter and protection for thousands of workers who flocked from southern China to the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to work in flourishing tin mines.

Two major kongsis - Hai San, run by Hakka Chinese, and Ghee Hin, representing Cantonese Chinese - fought over water resources and tin-mining rights in Taiping, then known as Larut. The bloodshed ended with the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, which saw the British intervening to resolve the conflict. This marked the beginning of British colonial rule over the Malay states.

Over time, a stronger colonial government and police force gradually disarmed the kongsis. In a symbolic move, the British renamed Larut town Taiping, which in Mandarin means everlasting peace.

This peace transformed the former secret societies into more than 10,000 local clan associations today that focus on social activities, community welfare and cultural traditions. These are largely grouped around different Chinese dialects, namely Kwang Tong or Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hainan, Hakka, Kwangsi and Sanjiang.

But they now face a modern-day threat: how to stay relevant and draw the next generation of volunteers to keep their traditions alive.