Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship

Migration,

Diasporas and

Citizenship

RACE, EDUCATION, AND CITIZENSHIP

Sin Yee Koh

Mobile Malaysians, British Colonial Legacies

and a Culture of Migration

Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship

Series Editors

Robin Cohen

Department of International Development

University of Oxford

Oxford, United Kingdom

Zig Layton-Henry

Dept of Politics & International Studies

University of Warwick

Kenilworth, United Kingdom

Editorial Board: Rainer Baubock, European University Institute, Italy;

James F. Hollifield, Southern Methodist University, USA; Daniele Joly,

University of Warwick, UK; Jan Rath, University of Amsterdam, The

Netherlands. The Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship series covers

three important aspects of the migration process: firstly, the determinants,

dynamics and characteristics of international migration. Secondly, the

continuing attachment of many contemporary migrants to their places

of origin, signified by the word ‘diaspora’, and thirdly the attempt, by

contrast, to belong and gain acceptance in places of settlement, signified

by the word ‘citizenship’. The series publishes work that shows engage￾ment with and a lively appreciation of the wider social and political issues

that are influenced by international migration. This series develops from

our Migraton, Minorities and Citizenship series, which published leading

figures in the field including Steven Vertovec, Daniele Joly, Adrian Favell,

John Rex, Ewa Morawska and Jan Rath.

More information about this series at

http://www.springer.com/series/14044

Sin Yee Koh

Race, Education, and

Citizenship

Mobile Malaysians, British Colonial Legacies,

and a Culture of Migration

Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship

ISBN 978-1-137-50343-5 ISBN 978-1-137-50344-2 (eBook)

DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-50344-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016961070

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

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Sin Yee Koh

Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

v

This book was a largely solidary writing project that was made possible

with generous help, support, and encouragement from many people. I

wish to express my heartfelt thanks to all who have made this possible.

This book began as my doctoral project, which I completed at the

Department of Geography at the London School of Economics and

Political Science (LSE) in January 2014. I am indebted to my supervisor

and friend, Claire Mercer, for giving me the freedom to follow where my

research and intellectual interests led me, and for the constant encourage￾ment and support—including reading and commenting on an earlier draft

of Chap. 1. My thanks also go to my review supervisor, Hyun Bang Shin, for

insightful comments and suggestions, as well as being a role model in many

ways. I also thank my examiners, Katie Willis (Royal Holloway University

of London) and Uma Kothari (University of Manchester), for a stimulating

discussion during my viva, for critical comments and helpful suggestions,

and for instilling in me the importance of responsibility and care to the

work I should always strive to produce as a scholar. At the LSE, I benefitted

from the companionship of many peers who made my PhD journey memo￾rable and meaningful in so many ways. I wish to especially thank Meredith

Whitten, Taneesha Mohan, Janna Miletzki, Sancia Wan, Jayaraj Sundaresan,

Andrea Gibbons, Yimin Zhao, Ulises Moreno-Tabarez, Matt Birkinshaw,

Tucker Landesman, and Do Young Oh.

My PhD studies would not have been possible without generous fund￾ing from the Sir Robert and Dilys Rawson Scholarship from October

2011 to September 2013. My intellectual journey has also benefitted from

participations in various conferences, which I had the privilege to attend

Acknowledgements

vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

with support from the LSE Postgraduate Travel Fund and the Department

of Geography and Environment Research Student Conference Fund.

During my PhD studies, I was able to visit the Department of Geography

at the National University of Singapore (NUS) from August to November

2012, with funding from the LSE Partnership PhD Mobility Bursary.

I worked on this book in stages while visiting the following institutions

and departments. The Asia Research Institute (ARI) at the NUS provided

an intellectual home and access to a wealth of resources during several of

my visits: October 2011 to January 2012 during my fieldwork, August to

November 2012 while I was a visiting research student at the Department

of Geography, and May to June 2015 while I was a Visiting Affiliate. I

especially thank Brenda Yeoh, Elaine Ho, Tim Bunnell, Tracey Skelton,

Michiel Baas, Lai Ah Eng, Kamalini Ramdas, and members of the Social

Cultural Geography Research Group and the Migration Studies Reading

Group. I also learnt from and enjoyed the company of Junjia Ye, Kumiko

Kawashima, Tabea Bork-Hüffer, and Monica Smith in our informal writ￾ing and support group. The Institute of Asia Pacific Studies (IAPS) at the

University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus provided a base for me in

Kuala Lumpur to work on this book from May to June 2015. I especially

thank Gaik Cheng Khoo, Sumit Mandal, and Michael Connors for making

my visit possible, and for the opportunity to present my work in prog￾ress. During my stint as Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Public

Policy at City University of Hong Kong, I was invited to give a seminar in

October 2014 at the Department of Anthropology Friday Seminars at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong. I thank Ju-chen Chen for giving me

the opportunity to share my work in progress and to clarify my thoughts

about this book.

I am especially grateful to the anonymous reviewer for constructive feed￾back on my book proposal and earlier draft chapters. I also thank the series

editors for their helpful comments and suggestions on my book proposal.

While writing this book, I moved from London to Hong Kong, from Hong

Kong to Singapore and Malaysia, and then to Brunei. I am grateful to the

Commissioning Editor, Sara Crowley Vigneau, for her understanding in

accommodating my request for more time to work on the book. My sin￾cere thanks and gratitude also go to my colleagues at the Institute of Asian

Studies (IAS) and the Faculty of Social Sciences (FASS) at Universiti Brunei

Darussalam (UBD) who have helped smoothen my transition into life in

Brunei. In March 2016, during the last stages of completing this book, I

received helpful and encouraging feedback at a seminar I gave at the IAS.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii

I developed this book by speaking to, and learning from, many mobile

Malaysians whom I have encountered during this research journey. Your

stories and perspectives challenged my preconceived ideas and expanded

my limited knowledge and understanding of the very issues I research and

write about. Due to reasons of confidentiality, I am unable to name every

one of you. This book would not have been possible without your stories,

experiences, and insights. I hope I do justice to your trust in me.

This book could not have been written without discoveries and insights

gained while conducting archival research. I am grateful for the help and

assistance of librarians and staff at The National Archives in London, the

National Archives of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, the National Archives of

Singapore, and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) Library

at NUS.

Finally, I thank my family for the unconditional love and support I have

been blessed with. I am who I am, and this book is what it is, because of

you.

Sections of the book have been revised or excerpted from previously

published material as detailed below. These are published here in revised

form by permission of the publishers.

Parts of Chaps. 2 and 3 are drawn from:

Sin Yee Koh, “Geographies of education-induced skilled migration:

The Malaysian case”, in Labouring and Learning, edited by Tatek Abebe

and Johanna Waters, volume 10 of Geographies of Children and Young

People, published by Springer Singapore.

Parts of Chaps. 2 and 4 are drawn from:

Sin Yee Koh, “Contextualising geographies of education-induced

skilled migration: How mobile Malaysians end up in Singapore,

London, and Kuala Lumpur”, pp.  83–102, in International Migration

in Southeast Asia: Continuities and Discontinuities, edited by Kwen Fee

Lian, Md Mizanur Rahman, and Yabit bin Alas, published by Springer

Science+Business Media.

Portions of Chaps. 2 and 5 expand upon materials from:

Sin Yee Koh, “How and why race matters: Malaysian-Chinese transna￾tional migrants interpreting and practising Bumiputera-differentiated citi￾zenship”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 41(3): 531–550; and

Sin Yee Koh, “Temporalities of citizenship: Malaysian-Chinese skilled

migrants in Singapore and returnees to Malaysia”, Asian and Pacific

Migration Journal, 24(1): 3–27.

viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Parts of Chap. 5 are drawn from:

Sin Yee Koh, “Unpacking ‘Malaysia’ and ‘Malaysian citizenship’:

Perspectives of Malaysian-Chinese skilled diasporas”, pp.  129–143, in

Dismantling Diasporas: Rethinking the Geographies of Diasporic Identity,

Connection and Development, edited by Anastasia Christou and Elizabeth

Mavroudi, published by Ashgate.

An excerpt in Chap. 6 is drawn from:

Sin Yee Koh, “State-led talent return migration programme and the

doubly neglected ‘Malaysian diaspora’: Whose diaspora, what citizenship,

whose development?” Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 36(2),

183–200.

Figure 2.6 is published here courtesy of Michigan State University

Archives and Historical Collections.

ix

1 Introduction 1

2 British Colonial Legacies and the Making of Malay(si)a 49

3 A Culture of Migration 107

4 Education-Migration Pathways and the (Re)Production

of Race 159

5 Interpreting and Practising Citizenship 189

6 Returning to Malaysia? 223

7 Conclusion: Postcolonialising a Culture of Migration 255

Appendices 277

Index 285

Contents

xi

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

BGM Brain Gain Malaysia

BMA British Military Administration

BN Barisan Nasional (‘United Front’)

CUKC Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies

DOS Singapore Department of Statistics

DOSM Department of Statistics Malaysia

EEA European Economic Area

FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office

FELDA Federal Land Development Authority

FMS Federated Malay States

GCE General Certificate of Education

I/C Identity Card

IKM Institut Kemahiran MARA (‘MARA Skills Institute’)

ILR Indefinite Leave to Remain

ISA Internal Security Act

ITM Institut Teknologi MARA (‘MARA Institute of Technology’)

JB Johor Bahru

JPA Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (‘Public Service Department’)

KBSM Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (‘Integrated

Secondary School Curriculum’)

KBSR Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (‘Integrated Primary

School Curriculum’)

KKTM Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA (‘MARA Higher Skills

College’)

Abbreviations

xii Abbreviations

KL Kuala Lumpur

KLIA Kuala Lumpur International Airport

LTSVP Long-Term Social Visit Pass

MARA Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Council of Trust for Indigenous

People)

MAS Malay Administrative Service

MCA Malayan Chinese Association/Malaysian Chinese Association

MCKK Malay College Kuala Kangsar

MCP Malayan Communist Party

MCS Malayan Civil Service

MIC Malayan Indian Congress/Malaysian Indian Congress

MICSS Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary Schools

MM2H Malaysia My Second Home

MNLA Malayan National Liberation Army

MOE Ministry of Education Malaysia

MOHE Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia

MRSM Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (‘MARA Junior Science

Colleges’)

MSC Multimedia Super Corridor

MU Malayan Union

NEM New Economic Model

NEP New Economic Policy

NOC National Operations Council

NPTD National Population and Talent Division

NSC National Security Council

NUCC National Unity Consultative Council

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PAP People’s Action Party

PBS Points Based System

PMR Penilaian Menengah Rendah (‘Lower Secondary Assessment’)

PR Permanent resident

PSW Post-Study Work Visa

REP Returning Expert Programme

ROA Right of Abode

RSP Returning Scientist Programme

SAM South Australian Matriculation

SOSMA Security Offences (Special Measures) Act

SPM Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (‘Malaysian Certificate of Education’)

SPR Election Commission of Malaysia

Abbreviations xiii

SRP Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (‘Lower Certificate of Education’)

SS Straits Settlements

STPM Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (‘Malaysian Higher

Certification of Schooling’)

TARC Tunku Abdul Rahman College

UCSCAM United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia

UCSTA United Chinese School Teachers’ Association

UEC United Examination Certificate

UiTM Universiti Teknologi MARA (‘MARA Technological

University’)

UK United Kingdom

UKBA UK Border Agency

UMNO United Malays National Organisation

UMS Unfederated Malay States

USA United States of America

WPKL Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (‘Federal Territory of

Kuala Lumpur’)

xv

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 States of Malaysia 3

Fig. 1.2 Malaysians (country of birth) resident in Singapore,

by ethnicity, 1970–2010 7

Fig. 2.1 Federation of Malaya identity card 70

Fig. 2.2 Structure of Malaysia’s education system 86

Fig. 3.1 Net inter-state migration flows (5,000 persons or more),

Peninsular Malaysia, 10 years preceding 1980 census,

1975–80, 1986–1991, and 1995–2000 114

Fig. 3.2 Net inter-state migration flows (5,000 persons or more),

Peninsular Malaysia, 1999–2003, and 2006–2010 118

Fig. 3.3 Malaysian-born residents in Singapore,

by age group and gender, 2010 124

Fig. 3.4 Singapore population by residence status, 1970–2010 125

Fig. 3.5 Singapore’s permanent resident (PR) and citizenship

trends, 1980–1994 126

Fig. 3.6 Singapore’s permanent resident (PR) and citizenship

trends, 2000–2014 127

Fig. 3.7 UK visas granted to Malaysians, 2005–2014 129

Fig. 3.8 Number of British citizenships granted to

Malaysian nationals, 1983–2014 130

Fig. 3.9 Types of British citizenships granted to

Malaysian nationals, 2006–2011 131

Fig. 3.10 Top 12 countries with outbound

mobile students, 2000–2013 134

Fig. 3.11 Outbound mobile students from Malaysia, 1998–2010 134

xvi List of Figures

Fig. 3.12 Number of Malaysian students in Taiwanese

Universities, 1990/91–2014/15 137

Fig. 3.13 Overseas Malaysians’ reasons for residing in current

place of residence, by age group 140

Fig. 3.14 Durations of stays of tertiary-educated Malaysian-born

migrants in selected OECD countries, 2000 141

Fig. 3.15 Respondents’ migration geographies 145