Identity and the State in Malaysia

Identity and the State in Malaysia PDF Author: Fausto Barlocco
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317932382
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
Using the case study of the Kadazan of Sabah, a region in the Malaysian section of Borneo, this book examines national, ethnic and local identities in post-colonial states. It shows the importance of the connection between lived experience and identity and belonging, and by doing so, provides a deeper and fuller explanation of the apparently contradictory conflict between different collective forms of identification and the way in which they are employed in reference to everyday situations. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and historical analysis, the book reconstructs the development of the cultural forms and labels associated with the collective identities it studies. The author employs an approach that sees collective identification as an expression of everyday practices and that stresses the importance of participation and familiarity between forms of identification and lived experience. In this context, he considers anthropological debates about state-minorities relations and issues of ‘dignity’ and ‘respect’. Explaining state-minority relations in Malaysia and more generally in other post-colonial realities, the insights presented are highly relevant to other cases of conflicting allegiances and identity politics in settings of post-colonial nation-building.

Identity and the State in Malaysia

Identity and the State in Malaysia PDF Author: Fausto Barlocco
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317932382
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Get Book Here

Book Description
Using the case study of the Kadazan of Sabah, a region in the Malaysian section of Borneo, this book examines national, ethnic and local identities in post-colonial states. It shows the importance of the connection between lived experience and identity and belonging, and by doing so, provides a deeper and fuller explanation of the apparently contradictory conflict between different collective forms of identification and the way in which they are employed in reference to everyday situations. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and historical analysis, the book reconstructs the development of the cultural forms and labels associated with the collective identities it studies. The author employs an approach that sees collective identification as an expression of everyday practices and that stresses the importance of participation and familiarity between forms of identification and lived experience. In this context, he considers anthropological debates about state-minorities relations and issues of ‘dignity’ and ‘respect’. Explaining state-minority relations in Malaysia and more generally in other post-colonial realities, the insights presented are highly relevant to other cases of conflicting allegiances and identity politics in settings of post-colonial nation-building.

Identity, Nationhood and State-building in Malaysia

Identity, Nationhood and State-building in Malaysia PDF Author: K. J. Ratnam
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789672165651
Category : Malaysia
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description


Identity Politics and Elections in Malaysia and Indonesia

Identity Politics and Elections in Malaysia and Indonesia PDF Author: Karolina Prasad
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317520289
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
In recent social research, ethnicity has mostly been used as an explanatory variable. It was only after it was agreed that ethnicity, in itself, is subject to change, were the questions of how and why it changes, possible to answer. This multiplicity of ethnic identities requires that we think of each society as one with multiple ethnic dimensions, of which any can become activated in the process of political competition - and sometimes several of them within a short period of time. Focusing on Malaysia and Indonesia, this book traces the variations of ethnic identity by looking at electoral strategies in two sub-national units. It shows that ethnic identities are subject to change - induced by calculated moves by political entrepreneurs who use identities as tools to maximize their chances of winning elections or expanding support base - and highlights how political institutions play an enormous role in shaping the modes and dynamics of these ethno-political manipulations. The book suggests that in societies where ethnic identities are activated in politics, instead of analysing politics with ethnic distribution as an independent variable, ethnic distribution can be taken as the dependent variable, with political institutions being the explanatory one. It examines the problems of voters’ behaviour, and parties’ and candidates’ strategy in a polity that is, to a significant extent, driven by ethnic relations. Pushing the boundaries of qualitative research on Southeast Asian politics by placing formal institutions at the centre of its analysis, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Southeast Asian Politics, Race and Ethnic Studies, and International Relations.

Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia

Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia PDF Author: Timothy P. Daniels
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415949718
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
This text contains an examination of processes of cultural citizenship in peninsular Malaysia. In particular, it focuses upon the diverse residents of the southwestern state of Melaka and their negotiations of belonging and incorporation in Malaysian society. Following political independence and the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1957 Malaysian citizenship was extended to most members of these diverse social identities. In this post-colonial context, Timothy P. Daniels examines how public celebrations and representations, religious festivals, and patterns of social relations are connected to processes of inclusion and exclusion.

National Identity, Language and Education in Malaysia

National Identity, Language and Education in Malaysia PDF Author: Noriyuki Segawa
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429751230
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
This book explores the ways in which language and education policies have contributed to the development of national integration in Malaysia, by examining whether and how policies have succeeded in forming a middle ground. Considered through the lenses of policy-making structure and achievement, this volume examines the relationships between the formation of a middle ground in language and education policies and the political structure, economic growth strategies and social system. It then goes on to explore the extent to which these policies have contributed to national integration whilst providing a valuable discussion on the complexities involved in developing a consistent policy framework. Drawing on research surveys of Malay proficiency amongst ethnic Chinese people, it ultimately demonstrates how the unification of education streams has contributed to the spread of the Malay language as a major medium of inter-ethnic communication within the Chinese community. As the most up-to-date study of contemporary Malaysian politics, focusing on the issue of national integration, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Southeast Asian politics, ethnicity, and education policy.

Imagining Identity

Imagining Identity PDF Author: Michael Gary O'Shannassy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Globalization
Languages : en
Pages : 734

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Book Description
The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998 and the political crisis it engendered in Malaysia called into question the framework of governance associated with the long-standing Barisan Nasional (National Front, BN) government. And yet, despite the traumas induced by these twin crises, the fundamental relationships and structures that characterized political and economic relationships in Malaysia were not radically transformed. The underlying puzzle this thesis seeks to address is just how domestic reverberations of "the global" are mediated by the specific historical structure of a state. Utilizing the concept of national identity as an organizing principle while employing a model which positions the relationship between the international and domestic spheres and the state as a mutually constitutive dynamic offers a much more complete picture of the processes in operation. The central research question this thesis seeks to answer is: How are conceptions of national identity in Malaysia being shaped by the interrelationship between domestic society, the state and the global? By carrying out an in-depth empirical investigation into the historical (re)construction of and practices associated with national identity discourses in Malaysia, this thesis not only illuminates the society-state-global interrelationship but, in doing so, tells a story about how political elites in Malaysia have sought to construct and use ideas about "national" identity in order to, first, sediment their power and, second, to legitimize that power as authority. This thesis demonstrates that political elites in Malaysia found it easier to manipulate that identity in the periods immediately following independence in 1957 but that, in recent times, doing so has proven more difficult. The broad hypothesis behind this thesis is that state actors have found it increasingly difficult to avoid external socio-political and economic pressures, which has then made the maintenance of power and authority more problematic. That is, global forces increasingly act upon and destabilize political culture and assumptions about what is "eternal" and "taken-for-granted" in Malaysian politics and society, disrupting elite efforts to maintain social control and authority. The findings of this research have important theoretical and policy implications. At the theoretical level, they suggest that, in practice, any divide that exists between analyses of state-society relations on the one hand and state-global processes on the other, is largely redundant. But while they may be conceived of as two sides of the same coin, the exact nature of the mutually constitutive dynamic between domestic society, the state and the global may be an asymmetrical one. What is required, therefore, is a means of exploring the shape of any such asymmetry and a central finding of this thesis is that a historical consideration of discourses on national identity provides one such way of doing so. From a policy perspective, the findings suggest that political leaders in multiethnic states need to strengthen their role in formulating more inclusive conceptions of national identity if they are going to find an acceptable balance between particularistic ethnic desires and the universal desire for economic development and "national" stability in a world that is becoming increasingly globalized.

Identity, Nationhood and State-Building in Malaysia

Identity, Nationhood and State-Building in Malaysia PDF Author: Emeritus Professor Dato’ K.J. Ratnam & Dr Patrick Pillai
Publisher: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre
ISBN: 9672464754
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 111

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Book Description
Identity, loyalty and nation building are key global challenges today. In the first part of this book, Emeritus Professor K.J. Ratnam, a leading Malaysian social scientist, discusses multiple identities in complex societies, political loyalty, and the challenges that ethnic and religious differences pose for social cohesion. In the second section of the book, done in conversational style, he talks to researcher-writer Patrick Pillai about the importance of regaining the middle ground in Malaysian politics. He expresses a clear preference for civic over ethnic nationalism, arguing that, by embracing all citizens, it provides a more sustainable basis for loyalty. Among key issues discussed are whether Malaysia is a 13-State or a three-State federation, democracy and governance, ethnic politics, and electoral reform. Professor Ratnam also analyses current political alignments and their impact on ethnic relations, the perils of ethnic stereotyping, and the need for a national consensus on foundational issues. He says visions, narratives, national ideologies and constitutions may be useful in bringing people together, but are not enough for holding them together, and suggests some practical ways this problem can be overcome. Sweeping in scope yet detailed in analysis, this publication will interest scholars, students, policy makers and laymen, and encourage reflection on useful ways of facing up to the many complex challenges confronting multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies like Malaysia.

Ethnicization and Identity Construction in Malaysia

Ethnicization and Identity Construction in Malaysia PDF Author: Frederik Holst
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1136330593
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
This book is the first monograph to provide an in-depth and multifaceted study of the processes of ethnicization and identity construction in Malaysia, from the colonial period until the present. In his analysis, the author takes multiple layers of ethnicization into account and shows how these have shaped Malaysia’s socio-political system and society in different ways. Moving beyond a center-focused, top-down-oriented perception of identity politics, this work highlights on the one hand the role and position of a multitude of actors - from grassroots level to mainstream politics - who contribute to the persistence of ethnicization in Malaysia in numerous ways. On the other hand, it also shows where and under which circumstances possibilities for transethnic cooperation arise. A multi-disciplinary approach, substantiated by empirical data based on qualitative and quantitative methodologies, provides a perspective that moves beyond stereotypical narrations of Malaysia as being constituted by mainly three separate, homogenous groups. At the same time, this book gives a detailed and comprehensive account of political and historical developments and constitutes a rich resource for any Malaysia-related research. While the focus of this publication lies on Malaysia, the concept of manifestations and implementations of ethnicization provides an analytical framework that can also be applied in the study of ethnicization and identity construction elsewhere in the region and beyond.

Race, Ethnicity, and the State in Malaysia and Singapore

Race, Ethnicity, and the State in Malaysia and Singapore PDF Author: Kwen Fee Lian
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This publication brings together the work of several writers in documenting and understanding the consequences of state-formation on ethnicity in Malaysia and Singapore, thirty years after the two nations went their separate paths.

Globalization and National Autonomy

Globalization and National Autonomy PDF Author: Joan M Nelson
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies/IKMAS
ISBN: 9812308172
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
"Malaysia has long had an ambivalent relationship to globalization. A shining example of export-led growth and the positive role for foreign investment, the country's political leadership has also expressed skepticism about the prevailing international political and economic order. In this compelling collection, Nelson, Meerman and Rahman Embong bring together a group of Malaysian and foreign scholars to dissect the effects of globalization on Malaysian development over the long-run. They consider the full spectrum of issues from economic and social policy to new challenges from transnational Islam, and are unafraid of voicing skepticism where the effects of globalization are overblown. Malaysia is surprisingly understudied in comparative context; this volume remedies that, and provides an overview of a country undergoing important political change." – Stephan Haggard, Krause Professor, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego