自19 世紀華民大量移進馬新，華南許多傳統行業也隨著移植進來，這情況也被西方觀察家注意及。由於同鄉同姓同地緣聚集一處，也形成行業壟斷的現象。這些行業有各自的祖師爺、禁忌、行話、行號、製作和運行程式，並有各自的行會組織，以為互助和保障各自的權益。馬來西亞傳統行業繁多，基本涵蓋農漁、工匠和交通商業三大類。然而隨著科技進步，社會轉型，傳統行業也面臨式微的困境。馬來西亞華人傳統行業迄今仍屬較為空白的研究，本文嘗試依據上述綱要加以論述整理，希望能提出一個輪廓，以助於往後的研究。 Since the mass Chinese immigration to Malaya in the 19th century, much of the traditional occupations also followed the immigrants. Residents from the same village, origin and with the same surname lives together, forming monopolistic industry in that area. These industries have their own ”ancestor”, taboo, jargon, proprietorship, production and operation. They also have respective guilds to protect their rights and provide mutual assistance. From the vast variety of Malaysian traditional occupations, it can be divided into agricultural, fishery, crafts and transportation. As science and technology develops along with the transition of society, these traditional occupations are declining as well. Since the research of traditional occupation of Malaysian Chinese remains unknown in academic research, this paper will discuss and provide an outline to facilitate future researches.
