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Category: Orang Asli

Author 1 Armstrong Jr., Hubert E

Author 2 Tan, Eng Kong

It was predicted that the Orang Asli (Malaysian aborigines) would score as a "high barrier" culture on the body-image barrier index, and that villages located with greater proximity to outside influence would produce individuals with lowered barrier indices. Ss were 30 female and 30 male Orang Asli to whom a standardized group administration of the Rorschach test was presented and scored for barrier responses. Hypothesis one was tested by comparing Orang Asli scores with those obtained from other cultures reported in the literature. Hypothesis two was tested by comparing groups of Ss living at roadside and the jungle fringe with each other and with deep jungle dwellers. Both hypotheses were supported. These results were interpreted as consistent with the theory that indulgent childrearing practices contribute to heightened perception of personal boundedness and that exposure to conflicting value systems results in diminished barrier perception. [Download]

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Category: Ethnic & Ethnic Relations

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 relationship with political, economic, cultural, and social processes. For the past years, as of 1984, a Speak Mandarin campaign has been directed at the Chinese-speaking population, ostensibly to enhance cultural pride and unity among them. There is also a campaign in progress to reinforce certain aspects of traditional Confucian ethics, corresponding to an Islamization campaign for Muslims in Malaysia. This article shall deal briefly with the conflicts apparently inherent in the policies of the Singapore Government and the need for a more coherent understanding, in both Malaysia and Singapore, of sociolinguistic processes. [Download]

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Category: Ethnic & Ethnic Relations

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 with the aim of promoting national integration. While historical and political conditions surrounding these programs differ between societies, it is fruitful to draw some general ideas from individual case studies which would provide material for later comparative studies. This paper attempts to do that by analyzing the affirmative action programs in Malaysia. It traces the emergence of the idea and practice of affirmative action, how these have changed over time, successes and failures of programs and effects they have on issues of equality and integration. [Download]

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Category: Ethnic & Ethnic Relations

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 ethnic group was a majority and held the political reins, and soaring export prices generated much new growth to redistribute. But enormous efforts at "affirmative action" led to only marginal changes in the interethnic distribution of income. Malaysia's new policies reduced racial inequalities less than one might have hoped, but they also had fewer bad effects on economic efficiency and political stability than one might have feared. [Download]

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Category: Ethnic & Ethnic Relations

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 cultural, racial, linguistic and religious barriers. Both Christian and Muslim faith communities need to learn more about and from each other and to move forward towards nation-building and a common destiny. [Download]

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