Driven by poverty, rich in heritage

BEFORE the Tang dynasty, there were only the indigenous people on Hainan island, China, said Wee Hong Im, treasurer of the Federation of Hainan Association Malaysia (FHAM). During the Soong dynasty, to escape the attacking Mongolians, the Han people moved down south. The older generation of Hainanese moved mostly to the Fujian province and later, to the island.

The stable weather there, coupled with the natural beauty of the island, made it easy to survive on fishing and agriculture.

“There is a term in Hainanese, suu kee, which simply means ‘neighbourhood’,” Wee explained. “When someone mentions suu kee, you know he or she is Hainanese. The people on Hainan island were a very proud people and were very closely knit.

“Because they emphasised on education a lot, they were also a well-educated people. The men were known to spend all their time studying, while the women worked in the fields.”

In the 19th century, the Chinese began to migrate to Malaya. Being islanders, the Hainanese were excellent sailors. At first, they came to Malaya only to trade, after which they returned home. But gradually they stayed on in Singapore, Terengganu, and other states.

By the time the Hainanese came to Malaya, there were few job opportunities left. An association was set up to help the newcomers.

When the British came, a lot of the Hainanese worked as cooks on British ships. Over time, they learned to cook Western dishes and were also good at baking. When they managed to save up some money, they opened food stalls. Some who didn’t want to work at sea worked as cooks in British homes.

“The Hainanese migrated here because of the war in China,” said Datuk Seri Foo Sae Heng, president of FHAM. “When the Japanese invaded China, the people suffered greatly. They were very poor and had to look for a better livelihood. As they were sailors and fishermen, they sailed here.”

According to the federation, the Hainanese are one of the smallest dialect groups, comprising 5% of the Chinese population in Malaysia. Yet there are no less than 73 Hainan associations across the country.