Actually, a simple topic like this can bring out a lot of good points for discussion. Maybe I have something to add to ponder.

During the time of crisis/war of the modern days, ever think about what kind of people in the society have the highest privilege to flee their home country/be sent away by their family for survival? Logically, the class of people that will come out in our mind will be :

a) resourceful family

b) highly connected

c) have certain skills or knowledge

Just look at how the resourceful family is sending their kids overseas. It is a repeated pattern here. Very likely some of the things will come up in our minds. If the similar kind of thinking is brought backward to the era where our ancestors were fleeing China during the civil wars, turmoil, & Japanese occupation? Will the one fleeing China back at the time fulfill such criteria of the modern day ?

a) resourceful family ?

b) highly connected ?

c) Have certain skills or knowledge?

Logically, I believe the same criteria will come into our minds logically. If such a hypothesis is correct, then those 1st generation who could afford to flee China in the olden days, your ancestors lineage, were "someone" back there in China. The reason such records went missing was because during wartime, the quality of life (in China & Malaya) dropped to the lowest level. It is normal for humans/living beings to prioritize survival & food during a crisis (wartime). The surviving generation no longer has the luxury of time to pass down the intended root lineage information—Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. After a generation or the passing of the 1st generation, the information was buried together in the grave. The minority who are able to preserve information about their lineage, their current generation will be surprised to find out who their ancestors were.

See, maybe this will trigger some interest to find out your ancestor's lineage history way back in China. For those who are interested, there is code embedded in the Chinese name, especially in the 1st & 2nd generations.

The 1st character of our Chinese surname is fixed. It is the family name.

The 2nd character of our Chinese name is fixed—it signifies the generation of the descendant.

The 3rd character of our Chinese name is the given name—this one varies.

If you want to trace the missing root, trace the 1st & 2nd characters of your 1st-generation & 2nd-generation Chinese names. If you can do that, the chances for you to do tracking are much easier. If you don't know their Chinese name, it is stated on their tombstone/burial place.