Asian Ethnicity A curious trajectory of interrace relations: the transformation of cosmopolitan Malay port polities into the multiethnic divisions of modern Malaysia (original) (raw)
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Asian Ethnicity, 2017
This article aims to examine several interrelated issues pertaining to the historical development of pluralism in areas forming today´s Malaysia. Firstly, it intends to analyze the transformation of the formerly cosmopolitan populations of Malay port polities into the highly 'racialized' society of modern Malaysia. It also seeks to clarify the roots of ethnicity-based issues and relations in the country. Lastly, it attempts to challenge the very concept of Malaysia as a society primarily consisting of three ethnic pillars, dominated by the Malays, and 'complemented' by the Chinese and the Indians. I argue that the main driving force behind these tensions is the segregational colonial policies and the postcolonial arrangements of the Malay ethnocentrist governments, rather than ethnic and cultural factors as the ruling politicians tend to stress. I also contend that religious issues, especially those stemming from the dakwah movement, are gradually becoming an increasingly important factor in interrace strife.
Multiethnic in Malaysia: Past, Present and Future
2017
Ethnicity, as many know, is potentially a highly potent issue. As Chua (2003) argues, the disparity between economic power of the small ethnic group and the disadvantaged position of a majority ethnic group is a source of great political instability. The crucial question regarding ethnicity is, as argued by Brubaker et al. (2006: 7) "where it is, when it matters, and how it works". This is juxtaposed to Brubaker's (2004) earlier claims in his collection of essays, that ethnicity, race, and nationhood are not "things in the world," but "perspectives on the world". Multiethnic in Malaysia: Past, Present and Future is indeed compelling and stimulating as the book describes and explains the socioeconomic , cultural and ethnic identity differences between communities in Malaysia. It also provides factual information and an analysis of the key events and transitions that have occurred in forming the reality of ethnic inequalities within the Malaysian society. The book features a team of independent scholars drawing intellectually from over twenty scholars including leading historians, social scientists and political analysts. The book is divided into twenty-five chapters in five main parts, with each part corresponding to a central theme of discourse. Introducing the collection in Part I, the book begins by describing the origins of the multi-ethnic construction of Malaysian society as it is today, focusing on the key processes that have shaped the multiethnic and multi-cultural society and nation. Aptly, the book drew from the country's leading historian, Khoo Kay Kim to provide historical accounts of the Malay states and the beginnings of the immigrant communities and cosmopolitan population which thereafter changed the political, socioeconomic , cultural and demographic patterns of life in the country. The subsequent contributions examine the early and middle period of colonial rule that was said to be devoid of opportunities for building a less divided and more cohesive society, and the period after the Japanese occupation which was described as "a meaningful unity among the various ethnic communities". The last piece in this section employs an interpretative though historically informed approach to the subject of Malay nationalism, taking the lead from the views of other
Ethnic Relations in Peninsular Malaysia: The Cultural and Economic Dimensions
This paper looks at the changing ethnic relations in Peninsular Malaysia in terms of the interactions between the state's policies to advance Malay cultural dominance and reduce ethnic economic inequality and the aspirations and actions of the Chinese community. The state of ethnic relations partly will depend on whether the majority of the ethnic members, in particular the ethnic elites, are pursuing separatist or amalgamative strategies and goals, and on whether the rival ethnic groups stand in positions of marked inequality or near equality to each other. In this sense, since the 1969 ethnic riots, ethnic relations have eluded out right conflicts in part because the rival ethnic communities have pursued mainly amalgamative strategies and goals, and in part because the economic inequality gap has narrowed between the Malays and non-Malays. However, the expanding place of Islam in the Malay personal, and hence collective, identity and the relative success in making social classes more multiethnic have added additional complexities to the future of ethnic relations.
2007
Community leaders in the Malay diaspora across Southeast Asia are promoting a unified ethnic identity to increase opportunities for socio-economic development. In one example, after the fall of Indonesia’s centralistic Suharto government, ethnic Malay politicians and intellectuals from the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan began building a transnational network for business, cultural, and educational collaborations based on their shared identity as Pan-Malay or ‘one stock’ (serumpun). At the leading edge of this is an organization known as the Malay Islamic World movement (Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam or DMDI) led by the Chief Minister of Melaka in Malaysia, and the Vice President of the United Malays National Organization party (UMNO), Datu Seri Ali Rustam. The governor of the Province of Sultan Kudarat in the Philippines, Pax Mangudadatu, is Vice President of DMDI. The organization came into existence in October 2000. Participants include most Sumatran and Kalimantan governors, and re...
ETHNIC RELATIONS IN MULTI-ETHNIC MALAYSIA
The Malaysian society, one of the successful and managed multi-ethnic societies, is replete of imbalances and there still underlie the racial and ethnic disproportions in geographical dwellings, educational and professional fields, and economic and political roles. The modern racial relation in Malaysia is the legacy of pre-colonial and colonial period of history dating back to fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The unstable demographic balance, the unrestricted immigration policy or the policy of divide and rule by the colonial masters contributed besides other reasons toward the troubled relations between ethnic communities of Malaysia-Malays, Chinese, Indians, and others. But the way the respective Malaysian governments have managed such sour relationship in their socioeconomic and political spheres is the lesson that all multi-ethnic states can learn from.