What Is My Culture by Tan Sooi Beng

Cultural identity formation and national belonging in the contemporary age is complex.

Most Chinese who are born overseas no longer look to China as their homeland, and the ethnically Chinese who now live in Malaysia are no different. Malaysian Chinese who have visited southern China -- wherefrom their forefathers originated -- have reaffirmed that they are indeed different from the people there. Many have problems communicating; the Hokkien, Cantonese or Hakka dialects spoken in China differ greatly in enunciation. They might even complain that the food there is too bland, and lacks the spices found in Malaysian cuisine.

Nevertheless, the expression and maintenance of Chinese culture and identity among those in diaspora remain important. Certain traditions are selected for revival, transmitted and become emblems of identity. Contrary to popular notions of identity as something essentialist, the Chinese identity -- like all cultures in dissemination -- is not fixed, and is constantly being transformed and localised.

The visions of the Malaysian Chinese identity also varies internally: the Malaysian Chinese community is not homogeneous, and is differentiated in terms of educational background, religion and the degree of acculturation.

The musical arts is one space where Chinese of all backgrounds articulate and rework their identities. Music has always been an important medium for the younger generation to forge new cultural expressions -- and, while the majority of ethnically Chinese musicians in Malaysia continue to be inspired by sounds from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, some are aware of the need for local relevance, so as to reach out to bigger, multiethnic audiences.