MELAKA: The Baba and Nyonya community are now permitted to amend their race on birth certificates to better reflect their identity.
Baba and Nyonya Association of Malaysia chairman Datuk Ronald Gan said the Peranakan Chinese in the state can start registering their race as “Baba Nyonya” on their birth certificates from this month until the end of the year, before the same is extended to the community in other parts of the country by January 2026.
“As Malaysians, this piece of news we received recently is the best Mooncake Festival and Deepavali gift from the government.
“The whole community is thankful to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for expediting our application in less than two years through the effort placed by Deputy National Unity Minister, K. Saraswathy,” he told The Star on Saturday (Oct 11).
Gan described the latest development in the community’s status as a landmark achievement, as he had been championing the cause since being elected as chairman of the association more than a decade ago.
“We will now be known as Baba Nyonya, a sub-ethnic group among the local Chinese population,” he said.
Gan said the application to change the status in the birth certificate would go through a stringent procedure in which applicants must first obtain approval from the association before submitting it to the National Registration Department (NRD).
“NRD will also conduct an interview with the applicants to determine the authenticity of the individual.
“Once the principal applicant obtains the status, their family members will automatically qualify for the status,” he said.
Gan said the association also has its own mechanism to verify each applicant before sending the names to NRD for interview and approval.
He said that despite the change in race status, the community will remain part of the larger Chinese population in the country.
He said the government’s approval to allow the change in race status is seen as the best avenue to preserve the community’s heritage and lifestyle.
“A majority of us still use the Peranakan language, a fusion of Bahasa Melayu and certain Chinese dialects, in our daily conversations.
“Furthermore, Peranakan Chinese exchange poems in Bahasa Melayu and even eat using our hands, not chopsticks,” he said.
Gan said the community’s history dates back to the Melaka Sultanate, and that descendants of the Peranakan Chinese can trace their lineage for seven generations.
“Before the nation gained Independence, the community’s race status was Baba Nyonya, and it changed after 1957 as we were clustered as Chinese.
“The community is an important component of the local society and we don’t want to see the heritage vanish without much effort placed to preserve it,” he said.
Gan noted that, historically, the Peranakan Chinese community, which settled in Melaka as early as the 14th century, was already recognised as natives.
He said that was the reason why some 200 plots of Malay Customary Land (MCL) in the state awarded during British rule belonged to the Peranakan Chinese.
“Most of these properties are in Klebang, Tanjung and Bukit Rambai, where the owners are Chinese by name but were known as sons of the soil by the British and even the Dutch,” he added.
