Building Cultural Nationalism In Malaysia

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.

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.

The politics of nation-building has always been a central issue in Malaysia. Whilst the country has been able to sustain a relatively stable politics since the 1969 tragedy, and hence generate a rapid economic development (at least until the 1997 Asian economic crisis and later in the post 2008 General Election), the project of nation-building remains a basic national agenda yet to be fully resolved. The book explores the delicate process of nation-building in Malaysia in the post 1970s, especially in the context of the vision constructing the Bangsa Malaysia or ‘a united Malaysian nation’ enshrined in Mahathir’s Vision 2020 project which was introduced in 1991. It discusses the underlying socio-political parameters that shape and influence the politics of nation-building in the country and the construction of Bangsa Malaysia. As such, the book provides an alternative perspective in the analysis of ethnic relations and nation-building in Malaysia, thus broadens the understanding of Malaysian politics and society.

Focuses on Malaysia's four Prime Ministers as nation-builders, observing that each one of them when he became Prime Minister was transformed from being the head of the Malay party, UMNO, to that of the leader of a multi-ethnic nation. Each began his political career as an exclusivist Malay nationalist but became an inclusivist.

The essays in this book focus on the themes of ethnicity, national identity and nationalism. They reinforce analyses of earlier studies in the 1960s and 1970s that communalism is a dominant manifestation of Malaysias multi-ethnic society. Communalism was and is seen as a phenomenon of every ethnic group working for its self-interest. Communalism has determined the nature and form of Malaysias nationhood and despite its negative and deleterious effects, it is central to an understanding of the emergent nationalism, politics and multiculturalism of the new Malaysian society.

Santhiram’s critique of history education in Malaysia’s school system, past and present is both valuable and timely. His study reaffirms that history’s considerable value as an educative and academic undertaking is too often hijacked by political elites. This study is a salutary reminder why such tendencies should be challenged. S. Gopinathan Professor & Former Dean, National Institute of Education, Singapore Is it true, Santhiram asks, that the origin of the Malaysian nation is from the 1400s onwards? What of the earlier periods with the influence of diverse groups from across Southeast Asia; what of the contribution of more recent Chinese and Indian migration? As Santhiram comments, Malaysian historians and history teachers have some serious soul-searching to do. They might well begin that soul-searching by reading this powerful and important book. It deserves to be read widely, indeed, if Malaysian education is to move forward. John Furlong Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Santhiram has put together a highly readable narrative of the history of curriculum development, from a past oppressive colonial to the present tribal periods of Malaysian history. Santhiram tells the story simply and straightforwardly avoiding controversies but not denying the contentious nature surrounding the shaping of policies regarding the subject, its curriculum design and the construction of textbooks to buttress the implementation of the curriculum in the nation’s primary and secondary school systems. This is a very readable work. Tan Sri Gajaraj M Dhanarajan Emeritus Professor, Penang, Malaysia

Ghost Citizens is about in situ stateless people, persons who live in a country they consider their own but which does not recognize them as citizens. Liew develops the concept of the “ghost citizen” to understand a global experience and a double oppression: of being invisible and feared in law. The term also refers to two troubling state practices: ghosting their own citizens and conferring ghost citizenship (casting persons as foreigners without legal proof). Told through an examination of law, legal processes and interviews with stateless persons and their advocates, this deeply researched book examines international and domestic jurisprudence as well as administrative decision making to show an emerging practice where states are pointing to a mother figure, constructed in law as racialized, foreign and potentially disloyal, to depict persons as not kin and therefore the responsibility of other states. By tracing British colonial legal vestiges in the case study of Malaysia, Liew shows how contemporary post-colonial, democratic and multi-juridical states deploy law and its processes and historical ideas of racial categories to create and maintain statelessness. This book challenges established norms of state recognition and calls for a discussion of ideas borrowed from other areas of law, including Indigenous legal traditions and family law, on how we should organize our communities with more respectful relations and treatment among kin.

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.