Peranakan, Straits Chinese or Baba and Nyonya

Peranakan, Straits Chinese or Baba and Nyonya explained in Wikipedia.

Today, Baba and Nyonya Melaka community, Portuguese and Chitty Melaka forms a diverse multi cultural composition of people living in the Melaka state. Unlike Portuguese community who uses "Kristang" as their local language, the Chitty, Baba and Nyonya Melaka community uses mainly the Malay language to communicate. Though the facial feature inherits of their forefathers, speaking Malay does not pose a problem with the other races in the historical state of Melaka. Such tolerance and acceptance among the different ethnic group is further strengthen with the cross marriage of these communities.

This is also a state where cultural heritage and preservation has been maintained and brought down through generations. It will be interesting to observe if the traditions and community would survive the test of time.

As I see, modernisation and developments had taken it's toll on these communities with exodus of children to other cities for jobs, further education, marriage and etc. The demands of living out of Melaka has also made it difficult for the descendants to continue their customs and speaking in their Malay patois which is unique.

Lee Su Kim is a Malaysian writer of Peranakan (Straits Chinese) parentage. She was born in Kuala Lumpur and educated at the Bukit Bintang Girls School in Kuala Lumpur. She grew up in Sin Chew Kee Street, a quiet street of old prewar houses in the heart of the city. She holds degrees in English and education from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, and a Doctorate in Education from the U.S. Su Kim was a columnist for The Star, the leading Malaysian English-language daily, from 1993 to 1996. She lived in the U.S. for four years and returned to Malaysia in January 2000.

She is currently Associate Professor of English at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi. She has written six books, including Manglish: Malaysian English at Its Wackiest (1998), short stories for schoolchildren, and texts and resource books on writing and grammar.

Hence, it is important for efforts be in place to ensure that for generations to come, communities and culture such as this remains as a living museum of a historical state called Melaka...where it all began!

Rightfully said so, Melaka is truly a melting pot and racial integration is at it's best.