Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A Study of Nation Building in Malaysia

  • Published:
East Asia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nation building is a major issue in the political agenda of many countries, a project made more arduous in countries fragmented along racial, linguistic, and religious lines. In an attempt to gain some understanding of the issue, this paper examines the trajectory of nation building in Malaysia. Basically, the Malaysia government uses the model of nation-state to create a sense of collective national identity in a multi-ethnic society. It is a top-down approach with the state playing a dominating role. The main political parties are communal parties, based on race or religion. Well-crafted programs of nation building have been not properly implemented. While the government has achieved impressive economic development, it is at the same time becoming more authoritarian and the country faces a range of disturbing social and political problems. Thanks to a growing educated middle class, urbanization, demographic change, globalization, and the spread of the Internet, mass-based civil movements and a multi-ethnic coalition of opposition parties have emerged with the potential of redressing the situation. The study suggests a framework for understanding the trajectory and dynamics of the nation-building project in Malaysia. The framework gives a list of historical forces that are likely to shape the course of nation building in the coming years.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. For reason of length, I will not dwell on occasional tendencies of demands for autonomy by Sabah and Sarawak.

  2. Bumiputra literally means son of the soil. The term refers to the Malays and other non-Malay indigenous ethnic groups.

  3. Shamsul [91] argues that “the emergence ‘Malay,’ ‘Chinese,’ ‘Indian,’ and ‘others’ as officially sanctioned ethnic categories under colonial governance led, for instance, to the designation of all sorts of imagined and real attributes, such as religion, language, indigenousness, and customary habits as Malay or Chinese or Indian. Prior to this, Malay identity and consciousness were based on sub-ethnicities; people identified themselves as Javanese, Sumatran, Rawa, Achenese, Minangkabau, Bugis, and so on. The Chinese, too, identified themselves based on their dialect groups, and the Indians by caste and sub-ethnic group [p.137]”

  4. The last two nations-of-intent are not discussed in this paper. After China has opted for economic reform in 1978 and the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, the socialist appeal has dwindled. The theocratic nation-of-intent is treated in the excellent work of Farish Noor [76].

  5. Malays have a higher fertility rate than non-Malays. Moreover, more non-Malays than Malays are emigrating. According to latest 2010 census, Malays and non-Malay Bumiputeras have fertility rate of 2.8, Chinese 1.8, and Indians 2.0. source: Demographics of Malaysia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Malaysia

  6. Partai Rakyat merged with Keadilan (Justice Party) in 2003 to form Parti Keadilan Rakyat or PKR.

  7. The ISA is a law inherited from the British colonial power; it allows for indefinite imprisonment without trial. ISA political prisoners often alleged they were tortured during detention to extract “confessions” which were used to justify their detention. The more well-known detainees were adopted by the Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience.

  8. Both developments were revolutionary and involved the toppling of Western-backed monarchs. Arab nationalism was secular and socialist in nature. The Islamic republic represented a form of revolutionary Islam that recognized a degree of popular sovereignty [37].

  9. One may ask why the UMNO dominated government would produce relatively inclusive document. To become the UMNO president, the time-honored practice is to have strong credentials as Malay nationalist and (lately) also Islamist. But on becoming prime minister, he has to function as the leader of the whole country, to run the country and win general elections, which require the support of the non-Malays. This behavior is explained by Cheah [19].

  10. However, this might not be the full story. A study based on declassified documents argues that the tragic incident was actually created by an emerging fraction within UMNO who wanted to initiate a coup against the then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman [52].

  11. The English version of Rukun Negara is below:

    Whereas our country, Malaysia nurtures the ambitions of:

    • Achieving a more perfect unity among the whole of her society;

    • Preserving a democratic way of life;

    • Creating a just society where the prosperity of the country can be enjoyed together in a fair and equitable manner;

    • Guaranteeing a liberal approach towards her rich and varied cultural traditions; and

    • Building a progressive society that will make use of science and modern technology.

    We, her peoples, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends guided by these principles:

    • Belief in god

    • Loyalty to king and country

    • Upholding the constitution

    • Rule of law

    • Good behavior and morality

  12. This was pointed out to the author by a Japanese visiting Malaysia; he thought he had gone to the wrong country!

  13. He continued to do so during the UMNO annual assembly in 2006 and 2007. This act was to cost BN dearly in the 2008 elections. Only then did he apologize for his keris waving.

  14. ASEAN or Association of Southeast Asian Nations is the regional body of ten Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia and Myanmar are both members of ASEAN. One of its cardinal operating principles is non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

  15. Najib is both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. The Prime Minister’s Department has 9 cabinet ministers!

  16. Many critical articles appear in on-line news portals such as The Malaysian Insider (it operated from 25 Feb 2008 to 15 March 2016), Malaysiakini, Free Malaysian Today, Rebuilding Malaysia, The antdaily, and Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger

  17. “Pendatang” is a common Malay phrase used to refer to foreigners or immigrants. Some politicians use it as pejorative way of addressing non-Bumiputera Malaysians [117].

  18. In the foreword, Abdullah Badawi expresses the hope that the book would encourage an informed and rational dialog on the ways Islam is used as a source of public law and policy in multiracial and multi-religious Malaysia yet within the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The book was launched in December 2015 by UMNO’s longest-serving MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who has been a former vice president of UMNO and a senior cabinet minister.

  19. As part of its inner party conflicts, UMNO was declared illegal by the court in 1988 because of some unregistered branches. UMNO Baru (New UMNO) was registered to take over UMNO.

  20. Just take the case of Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, an UMNO member and a deputy cabinet minister. On 21 November 2016, during parliamentary debate, he made the sexist remark that a fellow woman MP Teresa Kok was the only woman with a “kok”, and refused to apologize when asked to. This minister has an interesting background. In 1995, he was expelled from UMNO following allegations that he had paid RM6 million to secure his position as a division chief, a case connected to alleged corruption in the award of a RM1.3 billion contract to his company to build the Mara University of Technology campus in Tapah, Perak. In 2008, he used the words “bastard” and “bloody bastard” against another fellow MP M Kulasegaran. In 2015, he was reported to have threatened to slap any Chinese who would complain about Malaysia when abroad.

  21. Anwar Ibrahim, a former student leader once detained under the ISA, joined UMNO in 1982 and rose quickly in the party and government. He became the deputy UMNO president in 1992 and by virtue of that also the Deputy Prime Minister. However, he fell out with Prime Minister Mahathir in 1998. He was subsequently expelled from the party and was jailed on what many people see as tramped up charges.

  22. The 1957 Federal Constitution allowed for at most 15% disparity in population size between the largest and smallest constituency, but subsequent amendments in 1962 and 1973 first loosened then removed those restrictions. The largest constituency now has over nine times the population of the smallest constituency [113]. The system is heavily skewed in favor of UMNO; the small constituencies are in the rural areas which are UMNO’s vote bank. This distortion of the process of democratic election in Malaysia ranks among the highest in the world [80]. For example, in the 2013 general elections, even with 4% deficit in the popular vote, the incumbent coalition has a 20% winning margin of parliamentary seats. “This creates an institutionalized bias against the opposition and risks increasing polarization in the Malaysian polity [80, p.521].”

  23. The World Bank estimated that the number of Malaysians working abroad exceeds one million, or some 3.7% of the nation’s populace – significantly higher than the world average of 3% [119].

    In a 2015 report, the Penang Institute claimed that 308,834 Malaysian talents had migrated overseas in 2013 alone [29].

  24. In terms of per capita GDP, Singapore is ranked 3rd according to the IMF, Malaysia is ranked 45th [116].

    The Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide. The higher up the ranking, the less corrupt the public sector is. In 2015, Singapore is ranked 8th while Malaysia is ranked 54th [104].

  25. Singapore has a majority Chinese population and practices multi-culturalism and meritocracy. The country has low crime rate, quality educational system, clean and efficient bureaucracy, high-performing economy. Racial politics holds Malaysian politicians back from openly advocating the merits of learning from Singapore.

  26. Kevin Tan “Private Communication”, 2 October 2016

  27. It would be interesting to do a comparative study of Malaysia and some African countries which fall victim to sectarianism and have nearly become failed states. One approach is to look at the nature of the societies. Many African societies are still tribal in nature.

References

  1. Abu Bakar, Sheith Khidhir bin (2016) “Blaming Federal Constitution for racism is simplistic” Free Malaysia Today 22 April http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/04/22/blaming-federal-constitution-for-racism-is-simplistic/

  2. Abdul Rahman, Embong (2006) Negara-bangsa – Proses dan Perbahasan (state-nation – process and debate) Bangi, Malaysia: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Abdul Rahman, Embong (2015) Revisiting Malaya: envisioning the nation, the history of ideas and the idea of history, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 16:1, pp. 9–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Abdul Rahman, Embong and Tham Siew Yean, eds. (2011) Malaysia at a Crossroads, Bangi: Penerbit UKM.

  5. Abdullah, Taufik (2009), Indonesia – Towards Democracy, Singapore: ISEAS Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  6. Andaya, Barbara W and Leonard Y. Andaya (1982). A history of Malaysia, London: MacMillan

    Book  Google Scholar 

  7. Anderson, Benedict (1998) The Spectre of Comparisons – Nationalism, Southeast Asia and the World, London: Verso p. 325

    Google Scholar 

  8. Anwar, Ibrahim (2010) “Muslims Have No Monopoly over 'Allah'” The Wall Street Journal Jan. 25, 2010 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704375604575023813383421900

  9. Asiaone “Make English a medium of instruction in schools: Sultan of Johor” 12 June 2015 http://news.asiaone.com/news/education/make-english-medium-instruction-schools-sultan-johor#sthash.wyJ4kndN.dpuf

  10. Aziz, Rahimah Abdul (2012) New Economic Policy and the Malaysian Multiethnic Middle Class, Asian Ethnicity, 13:1 pp. 29–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. BBC “1MDB: The case that has riveted Malaysia” 22 July 2016 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33447456

  12. Binder, Leonard (1964) “National Integration and Political Development”, American Political Science Review, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 622–631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Borneo Post, The “Get English back into the system” September 21, 2015, http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/09/21/get-english-back-into-the-system/

  14. Boston Globe, The “Malaysian Muslims protest against proposed construction of Hindu temple” August 29, 2009; http://web.archive.org/web/20090901105440/http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2009/08/29/malaysian_muslims_protest_proposed_hindu_temple

  15. Braudel, Fernand (1993) A History of Civilizations. New York: Penguin

    Google Scholar 

  16. Brown, Graham K. (2007) Making ethnic citizens: The politics and practice of education in Malaysia, International Journal of Educational Development 27:3 pp. 318–330, p.329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Butt, Yousaf (2015) “How Saudi Wahhabism Is the Fountainhead of Islamist Terrorism” 22 March 2015, Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-yousaf-butt-/saudi-wahhabism-islam-terrorism_b_6501916.html

  18. Bystrova, Kate (2015) “Malaysia’s Islamisation” Global - the International Briefing 2015 http://www.global-briefing.org/2015/01/malaysias-islamisation/

  19. Cheah, Boon Kheng (2002). Malaysia – The Making of a Nation, Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Chellaney, Brahma (2015). “Saudi Arabia’s Phony War on Terror” 21 Dec 2015 Project Syndicate https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/saudi-arabia-war-on-terrorism-by-brahma-chellaney-2015-12?barrier=true

  21. Diab, Khaled (2013) “Malaysia Would Be Misguided to Ban the Arabic word for God”, The National, United Arab Emirates, 3 October 2013. Cited in Noor (2013)

  22. Dorsey, James M. (2016) “Creating Frankenstein: The Impact of Saudi Export Ultra-Conservatism in South Asia” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2813898

  23. Economist, The (2013) “A Never Ending Policy - Elections in May could mark a turning point” April 27th http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21576654-elections-may-could-mark-turning-point-never-ending-policy

  24. Economist, The. (2013) “In the Name of Allah” 15th Oct http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2013/10/malaysia-and-monotheism

  25. Economist, The. (2015) “Playing With Fire” 26 Sept http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21667969-floundering-government-risks-igniting-ethnic-tensions-playing-fire

  26. Esman, Milton (1994) Ethnic Politics, Ithaca: Cornell University Pres

    Google Scholar 

  27. Financial Times, The (2015) “Malaysia on alert over extremist preaching” - 19 Jan http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/efaebcd0-9f80-11e4-ba25-00144feab7de.html#axzz4JVnsrqDj

  28. Frazier, Donald (2015) “Malaysia’s Workforce Losing Ground As Regional Rivals Catch Up” Forbes 26 March http://www.forbes.com/sites/donaldfrazier/2015/03/26/malaysias-workforce-losing-ground-as-regional-rivals-catch-up/#cd48c8b27bd2

  29. Free Malaysia Today (2015) “Disillusionment with local politics causing more to migrate” March 6, 2015 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/03/06/disillusionment-with-local-politics-causing-more-to-migrate/

  30. Free Malaysia Today (2016a) “HRW: Universities a platform for debate” February 22, http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/02/22/hrw-universities-a-platform-for-debate/

  31. Free Malaysia Today (2016b) “Learn from Singapore, don’t be shy, says Johor ruler” August 30 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/08/30/learn-from-singapore-dont-be-shy-says-johor-ruler/

  32. Fuller, Thomas (2014). “The Right to Say ‘God’ Divides a Diverse Nation” The. New York Times, 3 Nov 2014

  33. Fernando, Joseph M. (2006) "The position of Islam in the constitution of Malaysia." Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 37, 02: 249–266.

  34. Ginsburg, Tom (2003) Judicial Review in New Democracies: Constitutional Courts in Asian Cases, New York: Cambridge University Press

  35. Gomez, Edmund Terence, and Jomo Kwame Sundaran (1997) Malaysia’s Political Economy: Politics, Patronage and Profits. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Harper, Timothy N. New Malays, new Malaysians: nationalism, society and history. Southeast Asian Affairs (1996): 238–255. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Heng Leng Chee, Melody C. W. Lu & Brenda S. A. Yeoh (2014) Ethnicity, citizenship and reproduction: Taiwanese wives making citizenship claims in Malaysia, Citizenship Studies, 18:8, pp. 823–838

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Herald Malaysia Online “Hindu temple attacks ups tension in Malaysia” 18 July 2016 http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/hindu-temple-attacks-ups-tension-in-malaysia/30460/5

  39. Hirschman, Charles (1980) Demographic Trends in Peninsular Malaysia 1947–75. Population Development Review, 6:1, pp.103–125

  40. Hirschman, Charles. (1985). The Meaning and Measurement of Ethnicity in Malaysia. Journal of Asian Studies 46 (3): 555–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Hirschman, Charles. 1986. The Making of Race in Colonial Malaya: Political Economy and Racial Ideology. Sociological Forum 2(l Spring):330–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2013) Secular state, religious lives: Islam and the state in Malaysia, Asian Ethnicity, Vol. 14, No. 4, 475–489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Horowitz, Donald L. (1983) Democracy in Divided Societies Journal of Democracy, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 18–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Horowitz, D. L (2013) Constitutional Change and Democracy in Indonesia, New York: Cambridge University Press

  45. Horowitz, Donald L (2013) Ethnic Power Sharing: Three Big Problems Journal of Democracy, Vol. 25, No 2, April 2014, pp. 5–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Hugo, Graeme (2011) Migration and Development in Malaysia, Asian Population Studies, 7: 3, 219–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Human Rights Watch (2017) World Report 2017 – chapter on Malaysia https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/malaysia

  48. Hutt, David (2016) “Najib’s Dangerous and Self-Serving Rohingya Campaign” December 24, 2016 http://thediplomat.com/2016/12/najibs-dangerous-and-self-serving-rohingya-campaign/

  49. Ignatius, Dennis (2016) “The triumph of bigotry” Free Malaysia Today December 13 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2016/12/13/the-triumph-of-bigotry/

  50. Kaur, Minderjeet (2016). “Study: Chinese schools may be main schools in 10 years” Free Malaysia Today 5 August http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/08/05/study-chinese-schools-may-be-main-schools-in-10-years/

  51. Kessler, Clive (2007) “Book review: Edmund Terence Gomez (ed), Politics in Malaysia: The Malay Dimension” East Asia, 24:417–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Kua, Kia Soong (2008). Racial conflict in Malaysia: against the official history. Race & Class, 49(3), 33–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Kua, Kia Soong (2015). Racism & Racial Discrimination in Malaysia, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: Suara Inisiatif.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Lee, Edwin (2008) Singapore: The Unexpected Nation, Singapore: ISEAS Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  55. Levitsky, Steven, and Lucan A. Way. (2010) Competitive authoritarianism: Hybrid regimes after the cold war. Cambridge University Press

  56. Lijphart, Arend (1977). Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration, New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Lijphart, Arend (1996) The Puzzle of Indian Democracy: A Consociational Interpretation The American Political Science Review, Vol. 90, No. 2 (Jun., 1996), pp. 258–268

  58. Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2010) “No God But God” Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb 2010 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/malaysia/2010-02-10/no-god-god

  59. Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2015) “The Arab Spring and Islamist activism in Southeast Asia: Much ado about nothing?” The Brookings Institute Working Paper, August https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Southeast-Asia_Liow-FINALE.pdf

  60. Lopez, Greg (2014). “Moving away from the consociational model” http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2014/01/02/moving-away-from-the-consociational-model-in-malaysia/ 2 Jan

  61. Lustick, Ian. (1979). Stability in Deeply Divided Societies. World Politics 31 (April): 325–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Luzio, Eduardo (1996.) The microcomputer industry in Brazil: the case of a protected high-technology industry. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Mahathir, Mohamad (1991). “Malaysia: The Way Forward (Vision 2020).” http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan003223.pdf

  64. Malay Mail Online, The. (2015) “The economics of racism: How tough times bring out the ugliness in us” February 5 https://sg.news.yahoo.com/economics-racism-tough-times-bring-ugliness-us-230300198.html

  65. Malaysia Demographic Profile (2017) http://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/demographics_profile.html

  66. Mariam, Mokhtar (2016) “Where would Umno Baru be without the Malays?” Rebuilding Malaysia 1 September http://www.mariammokhtar.com/where-would-umno-baru-be-without-the-malays/

  67. Mauzy, Diane K. (1993) Malaysia: Malay political hegemony and coercive consociationalism, In J.M.A.B.O. Leary (ed.) The Politics of ethnic conflict regulation: Case studies of protracted ethnic conflict, Oxford: Routledge, pp. 106–127

    Google Scholar 

  68. Milner, Anthony. (1994). The Invention of Politics in Colonial Malaya. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  69. Milne, R.S. and Diane K. Mauzy (1978). Politics and Government in Malaysia. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  70. Mohamed Mustafa Ishak (2014). The Politics of Bangsa Malaysia: Nation-Building in a Multiethnic Society. Sintok: Penerbit Universiti Utara Malaysia.

    Google Scholar 

  71. Mohd Sheriff bin Mohd Kassim, Tan Sri (2016) Moderates must speak up before country is destroyed Free Malaysia Today September 14 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2016/09/14/moderates-must-speak-up-before-country-is-destroyed/

  72. Mutalib, Hussin M. (2017) The other side of Malaysia’s enviable economic and multiethnic stability: the obstinate resilience of ‘money politics’, Asian Ethnicity, 18:1, 54–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Muzaffar, Chandra (1987). Islamic Resurgence in Malaysia, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: Fajar Bakti Press.

    Google Scholar 

  74. Noor, Farish A (2008) Rest in Peace, Islam Hadari Aliran, 7 October http://aliran.com/web-specials/rest-in-peace-islam-hadari/

  75. Noor, Farish A (2013) The Malaysian General Elections of 2013:The Last Attempt at Secular-inclusive Nation-building? Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 32:2, 89–104

    Google Scholar 

  76. Noor, Farish A (2014) The Malaysian Islamic Party PAS 1951–2013: Islam in a Mottled Nation, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  77. Olson, Mancur. (2008) The rise and decline of nations: Economic growth, stagflation, and social rigidities. New Haven Yale University Press

    Google Scholar 

  78. Ongkili, James P. (1985) Nation-Building in Malaysia, 1946–1974, Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  79. Oorjitham, Santha (2016). Torchbearers for founding fathers The Star Online 4 Sept http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/09/04/torchbearers-for-founding-fathers/

  80. Ostwald, Kai (2013) How to Win a Lost Election: Malapportionment and Malaysia’s 2013 General Election, The Round Table, 102:6, 521–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Rahman, Tunku Abdul (1969). 13 May – Before and After. Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Melayu Press Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  82. Ramasamy, P. (2004) Nation-Building in Malaysia: Victimization of Indian?, In Suryadinata, L. Ed. Ethnic Relations and Nation-Building in Southeast Asia, Singapore: NIAS Press and ISEAS,. pp.145–167

  83. Ramesh, Randeep. (2016) “1MDB: The Inside Story of the World’s Biggest Financial Scandal” The Guardian, 28 July https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/28/1mdb-inside-story-worlds-biggest-financial-scandal-malaysia

  84. Report of the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Commission 1957 (popularly known as the Reid Constitutional Commission Report)

  85. Ridge, Brian (2004) Bangsa Malaysia and Recent Malaysian English Language Policies, Current Issues in Language Planning, 5:4, 407–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  86. Roff, William.(1994) The Origins of Malay Nationalism, Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press

    Google Scholar 

  87. Safran, William and Liu, Amy H. (2012) Nation-Building, Collective Identity, and Language Choices: Between Instrumental and Value Rationalities, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 18:3, pp. 269–292, pp. 282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  88. Saravanamuttu, Johan (2010). Malaysia: Multicultural society, Islamic state, or what?. In Heng, M S-H and Ten C. L. (eds) State and secularism: Perspectives from Asia Singapore: World Scientific, pp. 279–300.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  89. Shamsul A.B (1996) Debating about Identity in Malaysia: A Discourse Analysis, Southeast Asian Studies, 34:3, December, pp. 476–499

    Google Scholar 

  90. Shamsul A.B. (1996). Nations-of-Intent in Malaysia, In Asian Forms of the Nation, edited by Stein Tonnesson and Hans Antl. v. Surrey: Curzon Press, pp. 323–347.

  91. Shamsul A.B. (1998). Bureaucratic Management of Identity in a Modern State: Malayness In Postwar Malaysia, in Making Majority: Constituting the Nation in Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Fiji, Turkey, and the United States, ed Dru C. Gladney, pp. 135–150. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  92. Shamsul A. B. (2001) “A History of an Identity, an Identity of a History: The Idea and Practice of ‘Malayness’ in Malaysia Reconsidered”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 32(3), pp 355–366 October.

    Google Scholar 

  93. Singh, Ravinder (2015). “G25: Long-term need is to dig the roots of racism” Free Malaysia Today 4 Jan. http://www.themalaymailonline.com/print/what-you-think/g25-long-term-need-is-to-dig-the-roots-of-racism-ravinder-singh

  94. Smith, Anthony D. (1991) National Identity, London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  95. Spiegel, Mickey (2012) Smoke and Mirrors: Malaysia’s “New” Internal Security Act. East-West Centre in Asia Pacific Bulletin Number 167

  96. Star Online, (2014) The “Group of prominent Malays calls for rational dialogue on position of Islam in Malaysia” 7 December http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2014/12/07/group-prominent-malays-calls-for-moderation/

  97. Sundaram, Jomo Kwame, and Chong Hui Wee (2013) Malaysia@50: Economic Development, Distribution, Disparities. Singapore: World Scientific.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  98. Syed Husin Ali (2014) Ethnic Relations in Malaysia: Harmony & Conflict. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: SIRD Centre

    Google Scholar 

  99. Tan, Pek Leng (2011) An Uncommon Hero: M. K. Rajakumar in Politics and Medicine, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: SIRD Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  100. Times Higher Education “World University Rankings 2016–2017” https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2017/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/country/2484/sort_by/rank_label/sort_order/asc/cols/rank_only

  101. Ting, Helen (2008). ‘Social Construction of Nation – a Theoretical Exploration, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 14:453–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  102. Ting, Helen (2012) Interethnic Relations in Malaysian Campuses: A Historical Review. Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies vol. 1: 60–84.

  103. Ting, Mu Hung Helen. (2014). Social Cohesion in Malaysia, In Wilhelm Hofmeister and Patrick Rueppel (eds), Social Cohesion: Addressing Social Divide in Europe and Asia, Singapore: Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung Ltd., 59–74.

    Google Scholar 

  104. Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2015 http://www.transparency.org/cpi2015

  105. UMNO Online. PERLEMBAGAAN (UMNO Party Constitution) https://web.archive.org/web/20120229132114/http://umno-online.com/?page_id=2787

  106. UNESCO Nation-State http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international-migration/glossary/nation-state/

  107. Vasil, Raj Kumar (1971) Politics in a Plural Society: A study of non-communal political parties in West Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  108. Von Vorys, Karl (1975). Democracy without consensus: Communalism and political stability in Malaysia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  109. Vatikiotis, Michael (2016). Islamic extremism threatens Southeast Asia, Nikkei Asian Review 14 July http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20160714-VIRTUAL-GETS-REAL/Politics-Economy/Michael-Vatikiotis-Islamic-extremism-threatens-Southeast-Asia

  110. Wain, Barry (2009). Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times New York: Palgrave, Macmillan

    Book  Google Scholar 

  111. Wang, Gungwu (2005) Contemporary and National History: A Double Challenge, In Wang Gungwu (ed.) Nation-Building: Five Southeast Asian Histories, Singapore: ISEAS.

    Google Scholar 

  112. Watson, C. W. (1996) The construction of the post-colonial subject in Malaysia. 1994. In Asian Forms of the Nation, edited by Stein Tonnesson and Hans Antl. v. Surrey: Curzon Press, pp.297–322

  113. Weiss, Meredith L. (2016) Payoffs, Parties, or Policies: ‘Money Politics’ and Electoral Authoritarian Resilience, Critical Asian Studies, 48:1 77–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  114. Welsh, B. (2013). Malaysia’s elections: a step backward. Journal of Democracy, 24(4), 136–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  115. Wikipedia. Hinduism in Malaysia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism_in_Malaysia

  116. Wikipedia List of Countries by GDP (PPP) per capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

  117. Wikipedia. Pendatang Asing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendatang_asing

  118. Wolff, Stefan (2006). Ethnic Conflict – A Global Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  119. World Bank, The. Malaysian Economic Monitor – Brain Drain, April 2011 http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/05/02/000356161_20110502023920/Rendered/PDF/614830WP0malay10Box358348B01PUBLIC1.pdf

  120. Wu, Joshua (2014). Racism an issue only in national schools Free Malaysia Today 12 October http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2014/10/12/racism-an-issue-only-in-national-schools/

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers, and Professor Kevin Tan of National University of Singapore and three unnamed scholars in Malaysia for their thoughtful comments. The author is responsible for the shortcomings of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Ethnic Studies and Development, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

    Michael S. H. Heng

Authors
  1. Michael S. H. Heng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael S. H. Heng.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 1 Appropriation of government funds to primary schools (1991–2005)
Full size table

Appendix 2

Table 2 Per capita GDP in 1960–2015
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Heng, M.S.H. A Study of Nation Building in Malaysia. East Asia 34, 217–247 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-017-9275-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-017-9275-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation