MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

1. MAKE A COMPARISON OF THE MAIN CULTURES IN MALAYSIA.

The Culture of Malaysia draws on the varied cultures of the different people of Malaysia. The first

people to live in the area were indigenous tribes that still remain; they were followed by the Malays,

who moved there from mainland Asia in ancient times. Chinese and Indian cultural influences made

their mark when trade began with those countries, and increased with immigration to Malaysia. Other

cultures that heavily influenced that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic, and British. The many different

ethnicities that currently exist in Malaysia have their own unique and distinctive cultural identities, with

some crossover.

Arts and music have a long tradition in Malaysia, with Malay art dating back to the Malay sultanates.

Traditional art was centred around fields such as carving, silversmithing, and weaving. Islamic taboos

restricted artwork depicting humans until the mid-20th century. Performing arts and shadow puppet

shows are popular, and often show Indian influences. Various influences can be seen in architecture,

from individual cultures in Malaysia and from other countries. Large modern structures have been built,

including the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, . Malaysian music has a

variety of origins, and is largely based around percussion instruments. Much early Malaysian literature

was based on Indian epics, which remained unchanged even as Malays converted to Islam; this has

expanded in recent decades. English literature remained restricted to the higher class until the arrival of

the printing press. Locally created Chinese and Indian literature appeared in the 19th century.

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MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

Cuisine is often divided along ethnic lines, but some dishes exist which have mixed foods from

different ethnicities. Each major religious group has its major holy days declared as official holidays.

Official holidays differ by state; the most widespread one is Hari Merdeka, which celebrates the

independence of Malaya. Although festivals often stem from a specific ethnic background, they are

celebrated by all people in Malaysia. Traditional sports are popular in Malaysia, while it has become a

powerhouse in international sports such as badminton. Malaysia hosted the Commonwealth Games in

1998, the first Commonwealth Games where the torch passed through more countries than England

and the host.

The Malaysian government has taken the step of defining Malaysian Culture through the "1971

National Culture Policy", which defined what was considered official culture, basing it around Malay

culture and integrating Islamic influences. This especially affected language; only Malay texts are

considered official cultural texts. Government control over the media is strong, and most media outlets

are related to the government in some way.

BACKGROUND

Malaysia consists of two distinct geographical regions: Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia.

Malaysia was formed when the Federation of Malaya merged with North Borneo (today the province of

Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore (seceded 1965) in 1963, and cultural differences between Peninsular

and East Malaysia remain. During the formation of Malaysia, executive power was vested in the

Perikatan (later the Barisan Nasional) coalition of three racially-based political parties, namely the

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MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), and Malaysian

Indian Congress (MIC).UMNO has dominated the coalition from its inception. Although Islam is the

official state religion, the Constitution of Malaysia guarantees freedom of religion.

ETHNIC GROUPS

Malaysia is a multi–ethnic, multicultural, and multilingual society, and the many ethnic groups in

Malaysia maintain separate cultural identities. The society of Malaysia has been described as "Asia in

miniature". The original culture of the area stemmed from its indigenous tribes, along with the Malays

who moved there in ancient times. Substantial influence exists from the Chinese and Indian cultures,

dating back to when trade with those countries began in the area. Other cultures that heavily influenced

that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic, and British. The structure of the government, along with the

racial balance of power caused by the idea of a social contract, has resulted in little incentive for the

cultural assimilation of ethnic minorities in Malaya and Malaysia. The government has historically made

little distinction between "Malay culture" and "Malaysian culture".

The Malays, who account for over half the Malaysian population, play a dominant role politically and

are included in a grouping identified as bumiputra. Their native language, Bahasa Malaysia, is the

national language of the country. By definition of the Malaysian constitution, all Malays are Muslims.

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MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

The Orang Asal, the earliest inhabitants of Malaya, formed only 0.5 percent of the total population in

Malaysia in 2000, but represented a majority in East Malaysia. In Sarawak, most of the non-Muslim

indigenous groups are classified as Dayaks, and they constitute about 40 percent of the population in

the state. Many tribes have converted to Christianity. The 140,000 Orang Asli, or aboriginal peoples,

comprise a number of different ethnic communities living in peninsular Malaysia.

The Chinese have been settling in Malaysia for many centuries, and form the second-largest ethnic

group. The first Chinese to settle in the Straits Settlements, primarily in and around Malacca, gradually

adopted elements of Malaysian culture and intermarried with the Malaysian community and with this, a

new ethnic group called emerged, the Peranakan ("Straits Chinese"). These Chinese have adopted

Malay traditions while maintaining elements of Chinese culture such as their largely Buddhist and

Taoist religion. The more common dialects of Chinese spoken in Peninsular Malaysia are Cantonese,

Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, and Foochow.

The Indian community in Malaysia is the smallest of the three main ethnic groups, accounting for

about 10 percent of the country's population. They speak a variety of South Asian languages. Tamils,

Malayalees, and Telugu people make up over 85 percent of the people of Indian origin in the country.

Indian immigrants to Malaysia brought with them the Hindu and Sikh cultures. This included temples

and Gurdwaras, cuisine, and clothing. Hindu tradition remains strong in the Indian community of

Malaysia. A community of Indians who have adopted Malay cultural practices also exists in Malacca.

Though they remain Hindu, the Chitties speak Bahasa Malaysia and dress and act as Malays.

Some Eurasians of mixed European and Malay descent live in Malaysia. A small community in

Malacca are descendants of former Portuguese colonists who married Malay women. While they have

adopted Malay culture, they speak their own language and are Catholics.

Each ethnic group has its own underlying culture that separates it from the others, and they have

achieved different levels of integration. The Chinese have integrated with Malay culture in a number of

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MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

areas, including parts of Terrenganu, and they form Malayanised groups such as the Baba Chinese in

Malacca and the Sino-Kadazan of Sabah. Their years under combined British rule brought some joint

sense of identity to all the ethnic groups, with English ideas and ideals providing some unifying

features. A joint Malaysian culture can be seen in the symbiosis of the cultures of the people within it.

THE MALAYS The Malay people regard themselves as the early indigenous population of Peninsula Malaysia, and

this is also the assumption of the non-Malays. In practice, the Malays believe that they have a “special

position ” whereby they expect to receive special treatment as provide for in Article 153 of the

Constitution (needs a responsible government to protect the Malay’s “special position” and he welfare

of the other communities) as a right and not privilege. The special position of the Malays was also

recognised in the 1948 Federation of Malaya Treaty. The principle underlying the special position is

historical and economical justification.

SOSIOCULTURAL The majority of Malays live in villages within which the community is characterized by strong social

ties and strict social control. Only Malaya who live in urban areas seem to experience a loose pressure

on social control. Strict social control actually has implications on the behaviour of an individual. It

ensures adaptation to the values and norms of he community. The Malays like and have a high regard

for consensus. Just like the non-Malays, the Malays have an extended family system. In other words,

their family unit is not small and the family is considered an important institution for social security.

All Malays are Muslims, but not all Muslims are Malays. Islam that is practiced by the Malays does

not make them narrow-minded, intolerant, fanatic nor aggressive. Generally, the Malays are described

as humble people who do not impose their wishes upon others. The Malays are said to be even-

tempered and able to control themselves: hot-tempered behaviour is not respected and often regarded

as “rude” (no manners). For these reasons they seldom give vent to their feelings of anger and they

avoid being frank. Consequently, it is difficult to understand their feelings, attitude, views and

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convictions: so they are always misunderstood. This misunderstanding sometimes goes beyond

relations between people and into the economic, social and political areas.

THE CHINESE The presence of the Chinese in Malaya can be traced back to the period of the Malay Kingdom of

Malacca. At that time, there were ties between Malacca and China. Even today, there are groups of

Chinese who have been assimilated into the Malay society, especially in Malacca where Chinese

merchant settlements in Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu, whilst in the early nineteenth century,

amny Chinese had arrived in the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca and Penang Island). Most of

them worked as businessmen and craftsmen. Based on statistics, I 1820 there was 8,500 Chinese in

Penang Island: 1,150 in Singapore in 1822: and 4,100 in Malacca in 1826. in Johor, the arrival of the

Chinese between 1925-62 was due to the encouragement from Temenggong (Military Chief) Ibrahim

for the purpose of opening gambier and black pepper plantations. The Chinese started to come in big

numbers to Malaya in the mid-nineteeth century as a result of the opening of tin mines, especially in

Perak, Selangor and Ujong River.

The majority of the Chinese in the country today are descendants of the Chinese immigrants who

came in the nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century, most of them continued to live in the

country. In the 1930s, immigration requirements were tightened; the Japanese took over China and

World War Two erupted causing the Chinese to live on in Malaysia. During World War Two, the

Chinese played an important role in forming the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) and in

1948. they also played an important role in forming the communist Malayan Races’ Liberation Army

(MRLA). During the emergency, Chinese people living at the edge of the jungle were moved to new

village to prevent them from being used and forced to give help to the communist guerillas. These new

villages had much better facilities than the traditional Malay villages, thus creating eventually a gap

between them.

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Most of the Chinese in Malaya originated from Fukien, Kwangtung and Kwangsi in South China.

Most of them entered the country through the contract system arranged by agents. However, this

system was eliminated in 1914; following which many Chinese migrated individually.

Sociocultural of The Chinese As we know, the Chinese in this country comprise various dialectal communities. But as in China, a

uniformed culture, based on Taoism and Confucianism, could not be created despite various efforts.

From the language aspect, the acceptance of Mandarin as the official language was only limited to

government services and schools.

In Malaysia, most of the Chinese are Buddhists. Many of the festivals celebrated by the Chinese in the country have their roots

in the history and culture of society in China. The New Year is celebrated based on the rotation of days related to planting

activities; the moon cake festival on the other hand, celebrates the harvesting season and the Chinese farming communities’

opposition against Mongolian rule; the dragon boat festival in Penang is in remembrance of an honest prime minister, who

committed suicide to protest against corruption and oppression in the government.

The Indians The Indian presence in Malaya can be traced back historically to some 2,000 years ago when they

were trading in the ports in the states in Malaya. During the period of the Malay Kingdom of Malacca,

Tamil-Islam influence played an important role in the ruling system; as a matter of fact, there was an

Indian settlement in Malacca known as Kampung Kling. The Indians were also widely recognized as

propagators of Islam during that time. During the British occupation of Penang in 1786, Indian

labourers migrated to the Island to work in sugar cane plantations and as domestic help. Indian

prisoners were also brought in by the British to help construct buildings and roads.

At the beginning, the bulk of Indian population in Malaya consisted of those originating from South

India (Tamil Nadu). They were brought in by agents through a contract system; with a contract signed

for three years. Development in agriculture (rubber and sugar cane) brought in large numbers of

Indians into Malaya. After 1910, the contract system was changed to the kangany system. The kangany

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usually consisted of supervisors of plantation labourers who brought in workers from their village in

India. These workers in the kangany system were not tied by any contracts but they were required to

pay back the expenses of bringing them to Malaya. Meanwhile, the Indians from Punjab, better known

as Sikhs started migrating to Malaya towards the twentieth century.

Sociocultural of The Indian As mentioned earlier, the Indians in this country are not a homogeneous group. They can be

differentiated, not just in terms of origin, but also language, caste and religion. The majority of them, of

South Indian descent, speak Tamil. Every group has its own dialect and societies. The castes similarly

had their own organizations. The Natukottai Chetty for instance, is a society for merchants while the

Maruthuvar Sangam is a society for the Maruthuvar caste (hairdressers). Other castes that had their

own societies were Vanniyar, Thevar, Nadar, Yadhavar and Adhi Dravidar. Besides that, there were also

societies based on the area of their origin.

The Indians also can be differentiated based on their religion. The religions of the Indians in

Malaysia range from Hinduism to Sikhism, Christianity and Islam. However, approximately 90 percent

of Indians in this country are Hindus and speak Tamil. As such, the Tamil culture is the most prominent

among the Indian cultures. Meanwhile, the majority of Indians who are Hindus belong to the Saivite

sect. most of the temples in this country are Saivite temples. The most popular deities immortalised in

these temples are Siva, Subramaya and Ganesh. Indians from North India come under the Vaishnavite

sect whose temples are devoted to the deity Vishnu. Besides that, there are also other deities idolized

among the Hindus – Muniandy, Aiyanar, Vairanvar, Mathurai Veeran and Mariamman. Besides that,

religious festivals are also celebrated, such as Thaipusam in Penag and Kuala Lumpur and

Sithraparuvam in Teluk Intan, besides the punggal or New Year festival.

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