Home » History » Genealogy » Beginning Research in Malaysia and Singapore

Beginning Research in Malaysia and Singapore

© Christine Sievers

There are excellent sites to begin your research on your Malaysian and Singapore ancestors. Nevertheless, gathering all the family stories you can first is still important. Both countries were subject to migration and colonization. To find how your family history fits in, interviews with the older family members are vital.

Interviewing your older relatives will take patience and an advance plan. A good tape recorder is a must, not only to get down everything they have to say, but as an archival artifact in itself. Start the interview tape by giving the date of interview, your name, and the name and place of the person you are interviewing. Have questions ready in advance. Older relatives will sometimes want to wander off the subject, gently bring them back with your questions. However, don't be too persistent on staying on the subject. They may add something you hadn't thought of.

To add to your understanding, study historical and cultural sites of the country of immigration. It is a good idea to do this before the intervie Below are some good sites to start that research, and sites to begin genealogical specific research.

MALAYSIA:

Malaysia is a country of two parts- the peninsula of South East Asia, and the northern top of the island of Borneo.

An excellent place to start is by reading a history. The link Malaysia will give you a brief listing of facts. Then, at the bottom of the article, click on the link Malaysia for more information, divided into Land and People, Economy, Government, and History

To orientate yourself go to the Perry-Castaneda Map Collection-Malaysia Maps.

Then you will be ready to follow the excellent set of links at Helm's Genealogy Toolbox-Malaysia. There is enough information at this site to help you off to a good research start.

Finally, to connect with others researching in Malaysia there is a Malaysia Genealogy Forum

SINGAPORE:

Start your research by gathering facts at the Singapore Infomap. It contains a history plus other links to Singapore.

Then, you will be ready to take advantage of the excellent links provided by Helm's Genealogy Toolbox-Singapore.

Finally, to connect with others doing research in Singapore check out the Singapore Surname Page-a list of surnames being researched by the Singapore GenWeb- and the Singapore Genealogy Forum to search and add your queries.

Good luck on your ancestral journey!

The copyright of the article Beginning Research in Malaysia and Singapore in Genealogy is owned by . Permission to republish Beginning Research in Malaysia and Singapore in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.