Chinese Capitalism in Colonial Malaya: 1900-1941

ChineseCapitalism in Colonial Malaya: 1900-1941

Author: William Tai Yuen

Publisher: UKMPress

ISBN: 9789674120214

Year: 2018

Pages: 508 pp

Price: RM90

This book delineates the development of the Chinese sectorof the economy in colonial Malaya under the rubric of Chinese capitalism duringthe period 1900-1941. It traces the growth of Chinese business enterprises totheir origins in the nineteenth century and against a backdrop of the globalexpansion of Western capitalism and the political and socioeconomic frameworkof colonial Malaya. Based on large amounts of primary and secondary sources,this book provides an overview of Chinese business endeavours m major sectorsof the economy, including tin mining, rubber planting, the secondaryindustries, shipping, pawnbroking and banking. The role of entrepreneurship IShighlighted in the careers of numerous Chinese businessmen across a wide rangeof trades and industries, while the contribution of the working class to themaking of Chinese capitalism is duly acknowledged. Locating the growth ofChinese capitalism within the context of socioeconomic framework, statepolicies and the international environment, this study demonstrates thatBritish colonialism provided the nurturing ground for Chinese capitalism whilstimposing a fetter on its further growth. Within the overall structure, emphasisis given to human agency as the dynamic factor driving business growth. Theauthor argues that the Weberian theory or its Asian version is not anappropriate framework for an understanding of Chinese capitalism.