The concept of Sino-Native generally refers to one who is being part Chinese and part Native. Accordingly, the Sino-Native includes those born of mixed-parentage and that with such an identification, they should enjoy special rights analogous to the position of the Malay as they are being conferred bumiputra status enshrined in Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Such an identity, on the contrary, has resulted in the dilution of not only the traditional culture of the local natives, but also the Chinese. Thus, many argued that the Sino-Native identity could contribute significantly to the strengthening of any political party’s grips over Malaysian politics by the manipulation of such an identity. Some even suggest that the emergence of Sino-Native has further inclined the politicians towards identity politics in this country. These debates raise hypothetical issues in which this paper interested to address from the lens of Sabah in Malaysia by focusing on the question of a) what exactly are the concept of Sino-Native and identity politics in Sabah, b) how the Sino-Native has impacted the development of identity politics in Sabah, Malaysia, and c) what are the unfavourable impacts of Sino-Native addition into the growing of identity politics activities in Sabah, Malaysia. The paper concluded by recommending some promising strategies to minimize these unfavourable impacts of Sino-Native inclusion into the growing of identity politics activities in Sabah, Malaysia.
Kee, A. (July 25, 2011). ‘Sino-Native’ term a threat to KDM identity. Borneo Post Online. Available Online: https://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/25/sino-native-term-a-threat-to-kdm-identity/
Angel, J. R. (1967). [Review of The Population of Borneo: A Study of the Peoples of Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei, by L. W. Jones]. The Australian Quarterly, 39(2), 101–106.
Appell, G. N. (1976). Introduction. In G.N. Appell (ed.). The Societies of Borneo: Explorations in the Theory of Cognatic Social Structure. Special Publication of the American Anthropological Association, No. 6. Washington D.C.: The American Anthropological Association.
Appell, G. N., & Harrison, R. (1968). Ethnographic Profiles of the Dusun-Speaking Peoples of Sabah, Malaysia. Journal of Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 41(2), 131-147.
Ationg, R. (2020). Political Elites and Ethnic Politics. United Kingdom: Scholar Publishing.
Balasubramaniam, V. (2007). A divided nation: Malay political dominance, Bumiputera material advancement and national identity in Malaysia. National Identities, 9(1), 35-48.
Barlocco, F. (2014). Identity and the state in Sabah. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
Bromeley, P., & Simon, E. C. (2023). Multi-Faceted Ethnic Identity of Indigenous Groups in East Malaysia: Profound Economic and Political Implications from a Legal Perspective. Borneo Akademika, 7(2), 186-194.
Brown, G. K. (2009). Legible pluralism: The politics of ethnic and religious identification in Malaysia (Working Paper no. 3). Calverton Down, Bath, UK: Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath.
Bulan, R. (2007). Native title in Malaysia: A complementary Sui Generis Right protected by the federal constitution. Australian Indigenous Law Review, 11(1), 1-78.
Chin, J. (2021). Malaysia: identity politics, the rise of political Islam and Ketuanan Melayu Islam. In M Mathews and M Tay (ed), Religion & Identity Politics: Global Trends and Local Realities (World Scientific), pp. 75-95. ISBN 978-981-123-549-8
Chin, J. (2014). Second Class Bumiputra: The Taming of the Dayaks and Kadazandusuns in East Malaysia. In S. Lemerie (ed.), Misplaced democracy: Malaysian politics and people (pp. 109-127). Kuala Lumpur: SIRD.
Danny, W. T. K. (2012). A Hybrid Community in East Malaysia: The Sino-Kadazans of Sabah and their Search for Identity. Archipel, 84(January), 107-127.
Danny, W. T. K. (1998). The Transformation of an Immigrant Society: A Study of the Chinese of Sabah. London: Asean Academic.
Danny W.T.K. (1999). Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War. Archipel, 58, 131-158.
Danny, W. T. K. (2012). A Hybrid Community in East Malaysia: The Sino-Kadazans of Sabah and their Search for Identity. Archipel, 84, 107-127
Esther Sinirisan Chong. (2018). Identifying as a Sino-native in Malaysia. The Malaysian Insight, 4 Mar 2018. Available Online: https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/40923
Floyd, C. W. (2019). Sons of The Soil: The Past, Present, and Future of Malaysia’s Bumiputera. Perspectives on Business and Economics, 37, 97-104.
Hashmi, R. S. (2014). Ethnic Politics: An Issue to National Integration (The Case of Pakistan). South Asian Studies: A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, 29(1, January – July), 345-361.
Hazis, F. S. (2018). Domination, Contestation, and Accommodation: 54 years of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia. Southeast Asian Studies, 7(3), 341-361.
Luping, H. (05 December 2010). Ancestors, parents and native status. Daily Express. Available Online: https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read.cfm?NewsID=500
Hwok-Aun, L. (4 February 2021). Ditching Malaysia’s Bumiputera System: Three Utopian Scenarios to Consider. FULCRUM: Analysis on Southeast Asia. Available Online: https://fulcrum.sg/ditching-malaysias-bumiputera-system-three-utopian-scenarios-to-consider/
Ibrahim, Z. (2013). The New Economic Policy and the Identity Question of the Indigenous Peoples of Sabah and Sarawak. In E.T. Gomes, & J. Saravanamuthu (eds.), The New Economic Policy in Malaysia: Inequality and social justice (pp. 293-313). Singapore: NUS Press.
Yusoff, I. (1997). Politik dan Agama di Sabah. Bangi, Selangor: Penerbit UKM.
Wei, J. L. S. (13 April 2021). Politik identiti asas teras atau halangan kepada perpaduan nasional? Available online: https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/politik-identiti-asas-teras-atau-halangan-kepada-perpaduan-nasional-293121
Jehom, W. J. (2002). Ethnic pluralism and ethnic relations in Sarawak. Akademia, 61(July), 53-70.
Jones, G. W. (1967). The Population of Borneo: A Study of the Peoples of Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei. By L. W. Jones. London: The Athlone Press, 1966. 213 pp. Maps, Tables, Appendices, Bibliography, Index. 42s. The Journal of Asian Studies, 27(1), 182-183.
Kassim, A. (2009). Filipino refugees in Sabah: State responses, public stereotypes and dilemma over their future. Southeast Asian Studies, 47(1), 52-88.
Kauffman, L. A. (2001). The Anti-Politics of Identity. In Barbara Ryan (ed.), Identity Politics in the Women's Movement (pp. 23–34). New York: New York University Press.
King, V. T. (2017). Borneo and Beyond: Reflections on Borneo Studies, Anthropology and the Social Sciences. In Borneo Studies in History, Society and Culture, pp: 79-124. Singapore: Springer.
Korstjens, I., & Moser, A. (2018). Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 4: Trustworthiness and publishing. Eur. J. Gen. Pract., 24(1), 120-124.
Lee, Y. L. (1965). The Chinese in Sabah (North Borneo) (Die Chinesen in Sabah (Nordborneo)). Erdkunde, 19(4), 306–314. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25640360
Lee, E. (1968). The Emergence of Towkay Leaders in Party Politics in Sabah. Journal of Southeast Asian History, 9(2), 306-324. doi:10.1017/S0217781100004725
Lim, R. (2008). Federal-State Relations in Sabah, Malaysia: The BERJAYA Administration, 1976–85. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Lim, R. (2013). Islamization and Ethnicity in Sabah, Malaysia. In Yew-Foong, H. (ed.), Encountering Islam: The Politics of Religious Identities in Southeast Asia (pp. 158-190). Pasir Panjang, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).
Loh, F. L. K. (2010). Restructuring Federal–State Relations in Malaysia: From Centralised to Cooperative Federalism? The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 99(407), 131–140.
Mason, R., & Omar, A. (2003). The Bumiputra Policy: Dynamic and Dilemmas. Kajian Malaysia, XXI (1&2), 1-12.
Mat Kib, M. Z. (2002). Kumpulan Etnik Di Sabah: Sejarah Dan Perkembangannya. Kertas kerja Seminar Warisan Etnik Sabah, anjuran Pusat Penataran Ilmu dan Bahasa, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Miller, J. S. (2021). Identity Politics. In Kamden K. Strunk and Stephanie Anne Shelton (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Queer Studies in Education (pp. 294–298). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.
Miyamoto, M. (2008). Indigenous Law and the Native Court in Sabah: A Case Study of the Penampang Kadazan. In Masaru Miyamoto & Judeth John Baptist (eds.). Legal Culture in South-East Asia and East Africa. Sabah Museum Monograph Volume 11. Kota Kinabalu: Department of Sabah Museum, pp. 21–67.
Mohamed, N., Ghazalli, F.S.M., & Mohamed, A.M.T. (2022). Three Perspectives for Managing Multiethnic as Racial Integration Guarantee in Malaysia Under the Federal Constitution. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(12), 1603-1612.
Ongkili, J. P. (1981). Introduction. In Anwar Sullivan & Cecilia Leong (eds.). Commemorative History of Sabah 1881–1981. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah State Government Centenary Publications Committee
Ongkili, J. F. (2003). The Problems of Kadazan Dusun Bumiputras: Promise, Privileges and Politics. Kajian Malaysia, xxi (1&2), 197-209.
Pugh-Kitingan, J. (1989). Cultural Development in Sabah, 1963–1988. In Jeffrey G. Kitingan & Maximus Ongkili (eds.) Sabah 25 Years Later 1963–1988. Kota Kinabalu: Institute for Development Studies (Sabah), pp. 359–403.
Ramasubramanian, S. (2016). Racial/ethnic identity, community-oriented media initiatives, and transmedia storytelling. The Information Society, 32, 333-342.
Reid, A. (1988). Southeast Asia in the age of commerce, 1450–1680. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Yacho, R. (2018). Chinese Migrants and Indigenous People of Sabah: Local Development Through Cultural. Al-Shajarah Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Special Issues, 155-172.
Sadiq, K. (2009). Paper Citizens. How Illegal Immigrants Acquire Citizenship in Developing Countries. New York: Oxford University Press.
Schulz, Y. (2017). The immense value of poor migrants: State policies, Christian morality and primary education in Sabah, Malaysia. Southeast Asia Research 25(3), 301-318.
Shamsul, A.B. (1996). Nations-of-intent in Malaysia. Routledge.
Shireen A. (2021). The Theory of the Dusuns’ Chinese Origin. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.32819.76325
Sin-Fong, H. (1975). Hailam Chinese in Sabah: A Study of Occupational Patterns and Changes. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 6(1), 25–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20070110
Sheets, P., Rowling, C. M., Gilmore, J., & Melcher, N. (2022). Us and Them: The Role of Group Identity in Explaining Cultural Resonance and Framing Effects. Mass Communication and Society, 26(2), 252–274.
Tenny, S., Brannan, J. M., & Brannan, G. D. (2024). Qualitative Study. Treasure Island, FLStatPearls Publishing. Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470395/
Thillainathan, R., & Cheong, K.C. (2024). Malay entry into business through scaling the heights of Corporate Malaysia from mid-1980s–An assessment. Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies, 61(2), 265-289.
Ung-Ho, C. (2000). The Chinese of South-East Asia. London: Minority Rights Group International.
Weeks, A. C., & Allen, P. (2022). Backlash against “identity politics”: far right success and mainstream party attention to identity groups. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 11(5), 935–953.
Welzel, C. (2021). Why the Future is Democratic. Journal of Democracy, 32(2), 132–144.
Wong, J. (2000). The Sabah Malay Dialect. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Yancey, G. (2023). Identity Politics, Political Ideology, and Well-being: Is Identity Politics Good for Our Well-being? Sociological Forum, 38(4), 1245-1265.
Majambu, J., Ationg, R., Mokhtar, S., Had, A., & Hamdan, J. (2025). The Sino-Native Impacts on the Development of Identity Politics in Sabah, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(10), 1380–1398.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
