FOR THE LONGEST time, I viewed Penang’s Chinese ancestral district associations, or huiguan, with a heavy dose of scepticism. To me, and perhaps many of my generation, these centuries-old institutions seemed like archaic remnants of a bygone era. I dismissed them as exclusive social playgrounds for older generations, where wealthy elders played increasingly detached roles in a local vanity fair: chasing community prestige, trading grand titles and hosting extravagant dinners. I assumed that their historical purpose as mutual aid networks had long expired, and was therefore content to remain an outsider. How, then, did I go from sceptic to active custodian of the Hoy Peng Wui Koon (Hoy Peng district association)?
MAPPING SELFHOOD IN A GLOBALISED WORLD
Identity has a strange, quiet way of catching up with you. Before 2019, if anyone had asked me about my ancestral roots, my answer would have been generic. “I am a Cantonese Malaysian from Penang.” Beyond that, the map of my lineage would have been a complete blank. I had no idea which village, town or specific district my ancestors left behind when they braved migration across the South China Sea.
