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Category: Ethnic & Ethnic Relations

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 is marked by an inescapable flxity which stifies a fluidity that they value as intrinsic to Bidayuh-ness and other aspects of life. Moreover, this sense of flxity has been mapped onto their conceptions of the (Malay-dominated) Malaysian ethnic system, in which they are inescapably entangled. The article investigates some of the consequent tensions arising from Bidayuh (dis)engagements with Malaysia's ethnic 'flxity', while tracing certain trends and changes in this relationship. [Download]

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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 has been paid to the micro-social logics of modern forms of boycotting. This article examines the political and cultural effects of the Islamic opposition's call to boycott US goods in Malaysia in the wake of 9/11. I shall show how this issue evokes a wide range of contestations and paradoxes in the everyday lives of suburban Malay Muslim middle-class families. Most of all, the boycott confronts divergent Malay middle-class groups with the problem of how to translate intentionality into practice. [Download]

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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 unnecessary. Consequently, the government has taken steps to grant the privileges to the Malays. [Download]
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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 selfishness, I discuss a culture-specific keyword-kiasu--that highlights the "Chineseness" of the Chinese Malaysians, which might explain their mentality and communicative behaviors. I also propose three influences in Malaysia that promote the stereotype of the selfish Chinese Malaysian: (a) the Chinese Malaysians' comparative economic strength, (b) the Malaysian education system's competitiveness, and (c) the Chinese Malaysians' redefinition of their identity to lie between the traditional Chinese from mainland China and the modern Westernized Chinese. [Download]

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By using library research method, this paper aims at presenting and demonstrating the theology of Muslim fundamentalist by looking mainly at its theology proper, missiology and demonology as well as its implication to Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia and the United States.  Publication/Conference 4th International Malaysian Studies Conference; 3-5 August 2004, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.  Author: Ibrahim Abu Bakar.  [Download]

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