They were the descendants of Malaysian women and Chinese men who immigrated to Malaysia centuries ago. The men were called baba's, and the women nyonya's. One famous baba was the eccentric Confucian scholar Koo Hung-ming of the late Ch'ing Dynasty.
僑生，是當年來馬華人與當地馬來女子通婚下的「產物」，男的叫峇峇，女的叫娘惹，清末怪儒辜鴻銘就是位知名的峇峇。