TIN MAN
- review by Chelvi Murugiah

I see Tin Man by Yin, as a local Malaysian story with a ‘wake-up’ call to fellow citizens irrespective of race, to not take lightly the racial discourse faced in the country. In what is viewed as growing intolerance amongst Malaysians, Yin a Malaysian Chinese makes a timely and conscious attempt in Tin Man to historically reflect upon the struggles of the early Chinese migrants and their current state of welfare.

Spanned across three generations, a typical Chinese migrant’s family history unfolds alongside Malaysia’s history narrated by the grandfather ‘ah kong’ Lee Ah Ming to his favorite grandson, Lee Kuan Sang. ‘Ah Ming’ is a Chinese migrant who came to Malaya as a ‘jyu jai’ piglet and many upheavals later becomes a ‘towkay’. While he did not forget his roots in China, his heart was set to make Malaysia his home.

As the author Yin states, not all Chinese migrants were willing participants in the great exodus; many were merely ‘jyu jai’, sold to settle debts or just to ensure the survival of the family. In the 19th century, tin mines in Larut, Perak were a major attraction to thousands of Chinese migrants who came to Malaya – merchants, fortune hunters, fugitives and coolies. Whilst many were sojourners yet many others like ‘Ah Ming’ remained in Malaya and continued to contribute towards nation building.

‘Ah Ming’ speaks of the harsh realities of life in the tin mines where he narrowly escapes death himself during a horrific stand-off between Chinese clans. As described in Tin Man, clans are indeed the integral makeup of Chinese communities which identifies - place of origin, kinship and dialect which is useful as a foundation to establishing ‘guanxi’ (personal relationships) a concept embedded in Chinese culture.

As mentioned by the author, the Chinese migrants brought with them clan rivalry which often ended up in clan wars resulting in large numbers of deaths but also the disruption of commerce (particularly the tin trade). This concerned the British who intervened to safeguard their commercial interests and ended up colonizing Malaya.

Tin Man from an academic perspective is a bite off a much larger, global picture but nonetheless significant in that the book reveals the Chinese migration streams so essential to Chinese community development which evidently also influenced Perak’s economy, its history and undeniably the development of Malaysia as a whole.

The Chinese diasporas is currently a ‘hot topic’ within the academia as research papers and books on Chinese community migration by academicsare being studied in detail; specifically the human tide trends (Chinese migration streams, in particular) as these movements are seen to be instrumental in rapidly reshaping China’s economy whilst affecting globalization. In the same genre, a recent book by Martin Jacques is a bold account to hallmark the emergence of a new world in which he states that the Chinese influence will become increasingly apparent in world economic terms, within the next two decades.

Tin Man, laments that the cycles of migration seems to be reoccurring as many local Chinese born and bred in Malaysia continue to send their children away to seek ‘greener pastures’ as their forefathers had. These reasons aside, the underlying fact is that many today leave because they also feel unwelcomed in their homeland, and resent being labeled pendatang, immigrants even after over 50 years of independence. Why is this occurring in a country that brands itself as 1Malaysia?

Then again much has changed, life was simpler then; for the new comer, the ability to adapt to local customs and speak the language of the locals was enough to be accepted into the mainstream. As in Tin Man, Ah Ming (a Chinese migrant) befriends Ahmed (a Bugis); a genuine friendship is sealed based on hardships faced together. Indeed, there was a time in history when communities found it necessary to watch each other’s backs and it was common to share their wealth with their friends irrespective of race and religion as in the case of Tin Man.

On the flipside, Malaysia’s neighbor with a Chinese majority, - Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was recently reported to have commented in The New York Times that the younger people today demand for more political openness and a free exchange of ideas and to secure their well-being in modern Singapore. “They have come to believe that this is a natural state of affairs, and they can take liberties with it,” he said. “They think you can put it on auto-pilot. I know that it is never so.”

The author has as in his debut book, Postcards from a Foreign Land and now in Tin Man, brought to life stories of ordinary Malaysians, their unique cultures and norms. Local stories that are often taken for granted asks to be noticed when craftily lined in history - provides for an interesting read with learning included. Tin Man certainly has a deeper set of messages to deliver and in a nation that claims to be impartial to racial differences, the book begs to differ.

Tin Man is a recommended read, in particular, by every Malaysian Chinese Perakian - it may rekindle thoughts to hold on to the legacy left behind by your forefathers who toiled with dreams of a better life in the tin mines of the State.

The author dedicates Tin Man to those who came from near and far to make this land (Malaysia) their home.