Assistant Professor Dr. Porntipha Bantomsin teaches Philosophy and Religion at the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Humanities Faculty, Srinakharinwirote University, Bangkok, Thailand. She is also a staff member of World Buddhist University, member of International Association for Philosophy and International Association for Greek Philosophy, Republic of Hellenic. Her interests focus on Ancient Greek philosophy, Feminist Theories, Environmental Ethics and Practical Buddhism. She is currently doing her research on Mahayana Buddhism in Malay Peninsula. Chinese Buddhist Missionaries in the Malay Peninsula Dr. Porntipha Bantomsin (Ph.D) World Buddhist University & Srinakharinwirote University Bangkok, Thailand, E-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT The late prime minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew said that, “The Chinese should not be poor in education.” As the founding father of Singapore , he had dedicated himself to improve the educational system at all levels as he believed that by developing the people, the progress of the country will be followed naturally. In fact, Mr. Lee’s vision was not at all a new idea among the Chinese generally. The question was rather how to realize his vision in a practical way. Mr. Lee thought that ethics and moral education were important for young Singaporeans. To accomplish his vision, distinguished Buddhist and Confucian Scholars were invited to Singapore for the purpose of educating the young people to understand why it is important to think and act rightly. Through my field research in Malaysia and Singapore, I had learnt that Long before Mr. Lee Chinese Buddhist missionaries had taken the tough role to educate both the indigenous Malays and the immigrant Chinese in different period of times.