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Extract of article from :
New Straits Times
(www.nst.com.my)
Features
15th September 2002
Focus: Eurasians marinating in all cultures for 500 years
Elizabeth John and Aniza Damis
Sept 15: Despite a presence in Malaysia that goes back centuries, Eurasians still have an identity crisis as they don't fall easily into our notions of a race. ELIZABETH JOHN and ANIZA DAMIS write.
This year, as Holland marks the 400th anniversary of the Dutch East India Company, whose expansive trade in the 17th century left few parts of the globe untouched, a 35-year-old Eurasian of Dutch descent in Kuala Lumpur worries about the fading identity of his community.
Dennis De Witt is one of thousands of Eurasians - offspring of a European and Asian union - who call Malaysia home and find themselves part of a minority. In De Witt's case, a minority within a minority because he is of Dutch descent.
At last count there were about 29,000 Eurasians nationwide, said former Selangor and Federal Territory Eurasian Association (SAFTEA) president J.P. Monteiro. They run the gamut of those who trace their lineage from the old Portuguese, Dutch, English and Spanish families that came with colonisation.
De Witt estimates that of this number only 600 to 1,200 individuals are Dutch Eurasians, many with only their names as claim to an old and historical association.
Names denoting Dutch heritage like Koek, Minjoot, Westerhout, Valberg and Van Huizen as well as Portugese Eurasian names like Sequeira, D'Silva, Da Costa and D'Souza are often heard in the field of sport, entertainment, business and even in the armed forces. The hard part about being a Eurasian in Malaysia is that the man on the street doesn't recognise it as a race.
"Malaysians always want to know what race a person is, and we get them stumped, because we don't fit into their traditional idea of race: Malay, Chinese, or Indian," says Darren Pedley, 35, a Eurasian of English descent.
If the Eurasian community here does indeed have a public face, it remains that of residents of the Portugese Settlement in Malacca, their easy-going and fun-loving nature, lively dances and exquisite cuisine.
But, as both Holloway and DeWitt point out, not all Eurasians are of Portuguese descent.
There are successful businessmen in the Dutch Eurasian community too, said De Witt, adding that business savy was the one thing Eurasians here have inherited from their Dutch ancestors.
Dutch Eurasians, too, are working to form an association of their own if not for national recognition, simply for reconnecting with each other and their lost heritage.
Meanwhile, others like De Witt plough through mountains of information on the Internet and in the National Archives plotting the geneology of his family. He has traced his lineage back to the 1700s and says others are begining to show interest too.
Perhaps finding their own roots will help them lessen the worry about a culture that might be in decline. It could also help forge a stronger identity - one that makes them visible both as Eurasians and Malaysians.
New Straits Times
(www.nst.com.my)
Features
15th September 2002
Focus: Eurasians marinating in all cultures for 500 years
Elizabeth John and Aniza Damis
Sept 15: Despite a presence in Malaysia that goes back centuries, Eurasians still have an identity crisis as they don't fall easily into our notions of a race. ELIZABETH JOHN and ANIZA DAMIS write.
This year, as Holland marks the 400th anniversary of the Dutch East India Company, whose expansive trade in the 17th century left few parts of the globe untouched, a 35-year-old Eurasian of Dutch descent in Kuala Lumpur worries about the fading identity of his community.
Dennis De Witt is one of thousands of Eurasians - offspring of a European and Asian union - who call Malaysia home and find themselves part of a minority. In De Witt's case, a minority within a minority because he is of Dutch descent.
At last count there were about 29,000 Eurasians nationwide, said former Selangor and Federal Territory Eurasian Association (SAFTEA) president J.P. Monteiro. They run the gamut of those who trace their lineage from the old Portuguese, Dutch, English and Spanish families that came with colonisation.
De Witt estimates that of this number only 600 to 1,200 individuals are Dutch Eurasians, many with only their names as claim to an old and historical association.
Names denoting Dutch heritage like Koek, Minjoot, Westerhout, Valberg and Van Huizen as well as Portugese Eurasian names like Sequeira, D'Silva, Da Costa and D'Souza are often heard in the field of sport, entertainment, business and even in the armed forces. The hard part about being a Eurasian in Malaysia is that the man on the street doesn't recognise it as a race.
"Malaysians always want to know what race a person is, and we get them stumped, because we don't fit into their traditional idea of race: Malay, Chinese, or Indian," says Darren Pedley, 35, a Eurasian of English descent.
If the Eurasian community here does indeed have a public face, it remains that of residents of the Portugese Settlement in Malacca, their easy-going and fun-loving nature, lively dances and exquisite cuisine.
But, as both Holloway and DeWitt point out, not all Eurasians are of Portuguese descent.
There are successful businessmen in the Dutch Eurasian community too, said De Witt, adding that business savy was the one thing Eurasians here have inherited from their Dutch ancestors.
Dutch Eurasians, too, are working to form an association of their own if not for national recognition, simply for reconnecting with each other and their lost heritage.
Meanwhile, others like De Witt plough through mountains of information on the Internet and in the National Archives plotting the geneology of his family. He has traced his lineage back to the 1700s and says others are begining to show interest too.
Perhaps finding their own roots will help them lessen the worry about a culture that might be in decline. It could also help forge a stronger identity - one that makes them visible both as Eurasians and Malaysians.