Identities of Chinese Community-Based Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia: an Exploration Study Using the Concept of ‘Roots’

Malaysia is a multi-racial country where about a quarter of the population are ethnic Chinese. Arguably, Malaysia is also the only country outside of Greater China to have a ‘complete’ Chinese education track from primary to higher education. The Malaysia higher education system, consisting of both public and private higher education institutions, has five private higher education institutions that can be considered as ‘Chinese community-based’. These institutions were established by various interest groups in the Chinese community with seemingly different purposes. Hence, based on interviews with 23 participants, ranging from institutional leaders, administrators, mid-level academic managers and academic staff across three ‘Chinese community-based’ institutions, this paper explores the identities of these ‘Chinese community-based’ institutions. Using the concept of ‘roots’ (根) as an analytical lens, this paper illustrates three distinctive identities of these institutions which can be described as the ethnically proud (寻根问祖), the accommodator (落地生根) and the uprooted (失根群族). The understanding of these different identities illuminated the fact that there are subtle but crucial differences even across the three selected ‘Chinese community-based’ higher education institutions in Malaysia. More importantly, this diversity has crucial implications for policymaking in the governance of higher education institutions, positioning and branding of these institutions, as well as understanding of educational development of the Chinese diaspora outside of Greater China.