The education level and literacy rate among the Chinese population were pretty low at the time, although the wealthier Chinese who lived in town were able to send their children to Christian missionary schools set up by the British. In time, Chinese-medium schools were established for the benefit of the poorer Chinese community.



This wave, considered the largest influx of immigration to Malaysia, brought with it several different Chinese subgroups along with their respective dialects and cultures, such as those of the Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hakka people.



Back then, it's not unusual for people of the same dialect group to stick together, whether it be the locale of their early settlements or their trade of choice, as jobs were filled mainly based on referrals by friends or fellow immigrants from the same province. Outsiders - those who do not belong to the same subgroup or are from another province - are shunned.