page_title: Malaysian Chinese
section_title: Struggle for equality under the proposed Malaysian Malaysia (1963–1965)
hierarchical_section_title: Malaysian Chinese / History / Struggle for equality under the proposed Malaysian Malaysia (1963–1965)
caption_attribution_description: English: Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Malaysian Solidarity Convention Toh Chin Chye speaking during Malaysian Solidarity Convention at National Theatre. On his right is Prime Minister and Secretary-General of People's Action Party Lee Kuan Yew.
context_page_description: Malaysian Chinese people or Chinese Malaysians is a local ethnic group in Malaysia. The group is defined as Malaysian citizens of Chinese ethnicity. Today, they form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority. Most are descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants who arrived in Malaysia between the early 19th century and the mid-20th century.
  The sub-ethnic groups of Malaysian Chinese includes Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Hainan, Foochow and Kwongsai. Malaysian Chinese also form the second largest community of Overseas Chinese in the world, after Thai Chinese. Within Malaysia, they represent the third largest group, constituting 23% of the Malaysian population.
  Malaysian Chinese are traditionally dominant in the business sector of the Malaysian economy. Different towns and cities in Malaysia are placed by different Chinese dialects among Chinese speakers; for example Cantonese in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Sandakan, Hokkien in George Town, Klang and Kuching, Hakka in Kota Kinabalu, Teochew in Johor Bahru, Foochow in Sibu, Miri and Sitiawan, and Hainanese in Kuala Terengganu.
context_section_description: Early in 1961 when Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman outlined the idea for a "Grand Malaysian Alliance" comprising the British protectorate of Brunei and Crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore, the leader of Singapore under ethnic Chinese Lee Kuan Yew who is also against the communist movement become the utmost supporter towards the proposal with its party of People's Action Party (PAP) rallying for equality for all future Malaysians, regardless of their "class, skin colour or creed" with equal concept rested on a multi-ethnic society involving each of races in the entities which is not solely to be "Malayised" after the merger. Although Lee were seen by Malay extremes in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) as being anti towards Malay special rights in the new federation following his criticism towards the unbalanced system between every races after the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the Singaporean leader had earlier adopted Malay language as the national language of Singapore and appointed the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak from the Malay ethnicity.
  The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) as the successor of Malayan Chinese Association and representative of ethnic Chinese in Malay Peninsula led by Tan Cheng Lock which has been part of the Malaysian Alliance Party refused to joined in the struggle for equality as they feared it will disrupted an earlier consensual agreement that has been agreed in Malaya between UMNO and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), in which the Malays hold the country political dominance, the Chinese control the country economic sectors while Indians playing a lesser economic role but within a gradual specific time frame the Malays will later partaking the sharing of economic with the Chinese and Indians partaking some aspects of political power. After two years being part of a newer federation, especially following the controversial enactment of Article 153 to the Constitution of Malaysia, Lee is joined by two parties in the Malay Peninsula, the United Democratic Party led by Lim Chong Eu and People's Progressive Party led by D. R. Seenivasagam as well two from Sarawak such as the Sarawak United Peoples' Party led by Ong Kee Hui and Machinda Party led by Michael Buma to form the Malaysian Solidarity Convention to continuously campaign for equality under Malaysian Malaysia. During his speech at the Malaysian Solidarity Convention meeting in Singapore in June 1965, he expressed the political way based on race and religion currently practised in the Malay Peninsula:
  It took a long time for us all to come to the same conclusions despite our differing experience in Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Our friends in Sabah are not here today officially, but I can assure you that we have many friends there. There is no doubt about it that it took us a long time to reach inevitable conclusion that these people [referring to the racial politics in Malay Peninsula] were up to no good. You know the line they were taking with growing truculence on a heavy racial accent, the intimidatory postures and the snarling guttural notes on which they sent out their signals to their followers on the basis of race lead us to only one conclusion -- that if this goes on, Malaysia will not belong to Malaysians. Since there are so many Malaysians, we decided that the time has come for us to speak our minds.
  — Part of Lee Kuan Yew speech at the Malaysian Solidarity Convention in National Theatre, Singapore, June 1965.
  Lee's further callings for the re-alignment of forces between those who wanted a "true Malaysian nation" or those who preferred a country led by communal segregation dominated by one of the constituent party from the Alliance together with his attacks on the Malay ultras for their attempts to foster only Malay dominance over the new country of Malaysia has led to a bitter relations between PAP and UMNO which further exaggerated into race riots in Singapore earlier in 1964 and leading to their expulsion from the federation in 
caption: Lee Kuan Yew together with other party leaders and representative from Malay Peninsula and Sarawak through the Malaysian Solidarity Convention meeting in Singapore, 1965.