Category: Ethnic & Ethnic Relations

The article focuses on issues concerning the role of ideology in the manipulation and management of racial and ethnic groups in colonial Malaya, that resulted in tensions and potential conflict situations, as of January 1, 1983. In colonial Malaya, political domination of the indigenous population was achieved through indirect rule by making the traditional Malaya… Continue reading Racial and ethnic manipulation in Colonial Malaya

The article focuses on ethnic differences and the state-minority relationship in Southeast Asia. The diversity and complexity of the human geography of Southeast Asia is rarely surpassed in other parts of the world. Besides recent immigrant Chinese, Indian, European and other communities, the indigenous population have more than twenty-five languages and over 250 dialects. There… Continue reading Ethnic differences and the state-minority relationship in Southeast Asia

This article looks at the state of sociolinguistics and the sociology of language in Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore and Malaysia go their ways as independent polities, but probably with far greater amity and cooperation than if the marriage had never been dissolved. Economically and politically, they remain complementary. In Singapore, language problems are in symbiotic… Continue reading Retrospect and prognosis in Malaysia and Singapore

Author 1 Klitgaard, Robert Author 2 Katz, Ruth Beginning in 1971, Malaysia took unprecedented steps to improve the welfare of ethnic Malays vis-a-vis the country’s large Chinese minority. The programs included quotas in education, employment, and ownership, as well as a variety of subsidies, credit schemes, and political measures. The circumstances were favorable: The disadvantaged… Continue reading Overcoming Ethnic Inequalities: LESSONS FROM MALAYSIA.

In societies with ethnically diverse populations, the persistence of ethnicity, often associated with economic, political and social inequalities between ethnic groups, continues to cause concern among scholars and practitioners. In some of these societies like the U.S., India, and Malaysia – affirmative action programs have been instituted as a means to redress these inequalities and… Continue reading Affirmative action, ethnicity and integration: the case of Malaysia

This article aims to elucidate key practical issues affecting Christians living in a majority Islamic context. It further proposes significant policy options for managing Muslim-Christian relations in twenty-first-century Malaysia. Education is crucial for promoting interreligious harmony, religious freedom, and respect for people of different traditions. More collaborative endeavours through interfaith dialogue should help Malaysians transcend… Continue reading Issues in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Malaysian Christian Perspective

This article explores conceptions of the Malaysian ethnic system from the perspective of certain Bidayuhs, an indigenous group of Sarawak, Borneo. Recent scholarship has highlighted the ‘fluid’ and ‘shifting’ nature of Malay identity; but less attention has been paid to how ethnic minorities in the region depict Malayness. I suggest that for many Bidayuhs, Malay-ness… Continue reading Fixity and Flux: Bidayuh (Dis)engagements with the Malaysian Ethnic System

Much current anti-consumerist and anti-globalisation discourse identifies boycotting as an immensely powerful force. Religious and secular activists alike promote consumer boycotts as a type of practised resistance that promises to break US economic, military and cultural hegemony. Obviously, consumers’ support is essential for the success of such boycotts, and I argue that insufficient anthropological attention… Continue reading Boycott or Buycott? Malay Middle-Class Consumption Post-9/11

In this study, I provide an understanding of the stereotyped selfish mentality and communicative behaviors of Chinese Malaysians from the perspective of the natives. The stereotype is held by the Chinese and non-Chinese in Malaysia and is based on contemporary national public discourse and the Chinese Malaysians’ mundane conversations. In describing the popular stereotype of… Continue reading The Chinese Malaysians’ Selfish Mentality and Behaviors: Rationalizing From the Native Perspectives.

The article reports on the negative effect of social problems to the economy and standards of living of Malaysia. It states that the origin of social problems dates back to Malaysian independence in 1957 when Malays were granted special economic privileges. However, it notes that Chinese and ethnic Indians are eventually finding the special privileges… Continue reading Malaysia’s social problems could be costly