Peranakan Chinese seeking bumiputra status

Young nyonya girls performing a Peranakan dance in their baju kebaya. They are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who came to the Malay archipelago between the 14th and 17th centuries.

MALACCA: The Peranakan Chinese community wants to be recognised as bumiputra.

Baba and Nonya Association of Malaysia chairman Ronald Gan said most of them still converse in the Peranakan language, which is a fusion of Bahasa Melayu and certain Chinese dialects.