A Discourse on the Malay Cultural Identity within the Malaysian Society
Main Article Content
Abstract
The Malays are the main ethnic group of Malaysia, representing 50.4% of the total population and 63.1% of the population distribution in Peninsular Malaysia. They are among the identified bumiputera, together with the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia and indigenous groups in Sarawak and Sabah. This discourse study relates to the cultural identity of the Malays and investigates their ethics and values from social constructionist approaches. Cultural identity includes the cultural background, religion/spirituality and socialisation. This research concurs with other studies that the Malay culture was characterised by a mix of animism, Hinduism and Buddhism, although the Malays have been identified with Islam as their religion. There are still remnants of animistic and Hinduistic beliefs and practices in the Malay Muslim life, especially in the practice of adat. While adat is a cultural and legally-defined element of the Malays in identity, the foundation of Malay ethics and value system is budi-Islam, adab and akhlak.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Abdul Rahman Embong. 1996. Social transformation, the state and the middle classes in post-independence Malaysia. Southeast Asian Studies 34(3): 524–547.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali. 1989. The Holy Al Qur’an: Text, translation and commentary. Maryland: Amana Corporation. Adab in Islam. n.d. What is adab? https://adabinislam.wordpress.com/adab/ (accessed 2 November 2015).
Ahmad Murad Merican. 2006. Telling tales, print and the extension of media: Malay media studies beginning with Abdullah Munsyi. Kajian Malaysia 24(1&2): 151–169.
Aida Idris. 2008. An analysis of Malay-Sino relations in Malaysia. Asian Social Science 4(2): 3–12. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v4n2p3
Al Sheikh Muhammad Jamaluddin Al Qasimi Ad Dimasqi. 2012. Hak milik Muslim, Imam Al Ghazali (Translation panel), 599–2776. Selangor: Illusion Network. Al-Quran. King Fahd Complex: Madinah Munawawarah, K.S.A. https://qurancomplex.gov.sa/ (accessed 25 June 2015).
Ariffin Omar. 1993. Bangsa Melayu: Malay concepts of democracy and community, 19451950. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Arnold, T.W. 1997. The preaching of Islam. Delhi: L.P. Publications. Behind the Name. n.d. Budi. http://www.behindthename.com/name/budi (accessed 26 June 2015).
Britannica. n.d. Adat. 1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/adat (accessed 30 April 2020). Buxbaum, D.C. 1968. Family law and customary law in Asia. Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-6216-8
Carolina, L.C. 2001. The British presence in the Malay World: A meeting of civilizational traditions. SARI 19: 3–33.
Clifford, G. 1983. Local knowledge: Fact and law in comparative perspective. In Local knowledge: Further essays in interpretive anthropology, 185. New York: Basic Books.
Collin, J.T. 1998. Malay, world language: A short history. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Dahlan, H.M. 1991. Local values in intercultural management. Malaysian Management Review 1: 45–50.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. estimates, 2019. Current population Malaysia, 2018–2019. https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=155&bul_id=aWJZRkJ4UEdKcUZpT2tVT090Snpydz09&menu_id=L0pheU43NWJwRWVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09 (accessed 7 February 2020).
______. 2020. Press release: Current population estimates, Malaysia, 2020. 15 July. https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/pdfPrev&id=OVByWjg5YkQ3MWFZRTN5bDJiaEVhZz09#:~:text=Malaysia's%20population%20in%202020%20is,to%203.0%20million%20(2020) (accessed 1 August 2020).
Eberle, T.S. 1992. A new paradigm for the sociology of knowledge: “The social construction of reality” after 25 years. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Soziologie 18: 493–502. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-24182 (accessed 28 August 2016).
Encyclopedia.com. n.d. Adat. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionariesthesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/adat (accessed 4 February 2022).
Fairclough, N. 1995. Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. London: Longman.
_______. 2003. Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London and New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203697078
Faizah A Majid. 2008. Culture and learner beliefs: A study of three Malay postgraduate students. ASIAN Journal of University Learning and Teaching 3(1): 127–142.
Firdaus Abdullah. 1985. Radical Malay politics: Its origin and early development. Petaling Jaya: Pelanduk.
Gladney, D.C. 1987. Hui Muslims in the South Asian studies. California 16(3): 498.
Green, K. 2008. What is taqwa? http://islamicbeliefs.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_taqwa (accessed 11 August 2010).
Hergoualc’h, M.J. 2001. The Malay Peninsula: Crossroads of the maritime silk-road (100 BC–1300 AD). Vol. 13. Leiden: Brill.
Hirschman, C. 1975. Ethnic and social stratification in Peninsular Malaysia. Washington DC: American Sociological Association.
Hofstede, G. 1980. Culture’s consequences: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Hussin Mutalib. 1993. Islam in Malaysia: From revivalism to Islamic state. Singapore: Singapore University Press. Index Mundi. n.d. Malaysia demographics profile. https://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/demographics_profile.html (accessed 2 May 2018).
Khadijah Abdul Razak and Habsah Ismail. 2013. The internalization of akhlaq among Selangor secondary school students. Asian Social Science Academic Journal 9(16): 133–141. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n16p133
Khalidah Khalid Ali. 2019. A discourse on the consciousness of ethics among the Malays in Malaysia: 1970–2000. PhD diss., Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.
______. 2020. Discourse on Malay origin, institutions, values and systems. Platform: A Journal of Management and Humanities 3(1): 15–29.
Khalidah Khalid Ali, Rohani Salleh and Mashitah Sabdin. 2010. A study on the level of ethics at a Malaysian private higher learning institution: Comparison between foundation and undergraduate technical-based students. International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences 10(5): 35–49.
______. 2012. Final short term internal research fund (STIRF) report-environmental factors, ethical values and commitment towards achieving excellence: A study on boarding school students in Malaysia. Perak: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.
______. 2014. Ethical values and commitment towards achieving excellence: A study on public boarding school students in Malaysia. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities 22: 33–50.
Khalidah Khalid Ali, Zulkufly Ramly and Lau Teck Chai. 2018. Business ethics. 2nd ed. Selangor, Malaysia: Oxford Fajar Publishing.
Lily Zubaidah Rahim. 1998. The Singapore dilemma: The political and educational marginality of the Malay community. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Lim Kim Hui. 2003. Budi as the Malay mind: A philosophical study of Malay ways of reasoning and emotion in peribahasa. PhD diss., University of Hamburg.
Mahathir Mohamad. 1970. The Malay dilemma. Singapore: Times Books International.
______. 1986. The challenge. Perak: Pelanduk Publications.
______. 2008. The new Malay dilemma. https://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/tun-dr-mahathir-mohamad-the-new-malaydilemma (accessed on 30 July 2016).
McDonough, S. 1984. Muslim ethics and modernity. Canada: Wilfrid Laurice University Press.
Milner, A. 1994. The invention of politics in colonial Malaya: Sydney: Cambridge University Press.
______. 2011. The Malays. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Mohamed Aslam Haneef, Selamah Abdullah Yusof, Ruzita Mohd. Amin and Hazizan Md. Noon. 2001. Values and their relationship to social problems in Malaysia: An Islamic framework. The American Journal of Islamic Social Science 19(3): 57–78. https://doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v19i3.1921
Mohd. Abbas Abdul Razak. 2011a. Globalization and its impact on education and culture. World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization 1(1): 59–69.
______. 2011b. Human nature: An Islamic perspective. Journal of Islam in Asia 1: 251274.
Mohd. Taib Osman. 1989. Malay folk beliefs: An integration of disparate elements. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Muhaimin Sulam. 2010. The transformational leadership approach in the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS): A case study of Fadzil Mohd Noor’s political leadership. PhD diss., University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter.
Muhammad Ahmad. 2009. The influence of culture on Malay Muslim business practice: A case study of Malaysia with special reference to the state of Kelantan Dar al- Naim. PhD diss., University of Birmingham.
Muhammadrorfee-E Musor. 2013. The roots of law in Malay Muslim society. Journal of Sociological Research 4(1): 267–277. https://doi.org/10.5296/jsr.v4i1.3413
Noorainn Aziz. 2009. Malay stereotypes: Acceptance and rejection in the Malay community. Master's diss., National University of Singapore.
Noorazzah Kamri. 2010. Implementation of Islamic ethics in organizations: Malaysian experience. Proceedings of 2010 International Conference on Humanities, Historical and Social Sciences (ICHHSS 2010), Singapore. 26–28 February.
Noraini M. Noor, Anjli Doshi Ghandi, Ismahalil Ishak and Saodah Wok. 2014. Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia. Social Indicators Research Journal 115: 279–318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0219-1
Noraslinda Muhamad Zuber. 2010. Singapore Malay identity: A study of dominant perceptions of Islam in post-independence Singapore. PhD diss., National University of Singapore.
Norazit Selat. 2001. Adat Melayu: Kesinambungan dan perubahan. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. n.d. Discourse. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/discourse_1 (accessed 4 February 2019).
Parr, C.W.C. and W.H. Mackray. 1910. Rembau, one of the nine states: Its history, constitution, and customs. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 56: 1–157.
Peletz, M.G. 1987. The exchange of men in 19th century Negeri Sembilan (Malaya). American Ethnologist 14(3): 449–469. https://doi.org/10.1525/ae.1987.14.3.02a00030
______. 1993. Sacred texts and dangerous words: The politics of law and cultural rationalization in Malaysia. Comparative Studies in Society and History 35(1): 66–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0010417500018260
Peow, S.H. 2011. Globalization and the Malaysia experience: Upsides and downsides. Journal of Asia Pacific Studies 2(1): 1–27.
Phillips, L. and M. Jorgensen. 2002. Discourse analysis as theory and method. London, UK: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849208871
Purcell, V. 1948. The Chinese in Malaya. London: Oxford University Press.
Quran Reading. n.d. Importance of akhlaq (good character): According to Quran and Sunnah. http://www.quranreading.com/blog/importance-of-akhlaq-goodcharacter-according-to-quran-and-sunnah/
Rahayu Abdul Rahman. 2012. Religious ethical values and earnings quality: Some evidence from Malaysia. PhD diss., Massey University.
Raihana Abdullah. 2007. A study of Islamic family law in Malaysia: A select bibliography. International Journal of Legal Information 35(3): 514–536. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0731126500002481
Roff, W. 1967. The origins of Malay nationalism. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.
Rusnah Muhammad. 2005. Religiosity and perceptions of unethical practices among the Malaysian Muslims: An exploratory study. Proceedings of the UM FBA Asian Conference at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 13–14 April.
Salazar, Z.A. 1998. The Malayan connection. Quezon: Palimbagan Lahi.
Shaharuddin Maaruf. 1988. Malay ideas on development: From feudal lord to capitalist. Singapore: Times Book International.
Shamsul Amri Baharuddin. 1996. Debating about identity in Malaysia: A discourse analysis. Southeast Asian Studies 34(3): 240–243.
______. 1999. The construction and transformation of a social identity: Malayness and bumiputeraness re-examined. Journal of Asian and African Studies 52: 15–33.
______. 2004. Texts and collective memories: The construction of “Chinese” and “Chineseness” from the perspective of a Malay. In Ethnic relations and nation-building in Southeast Asia, 109–114. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789812305312-008
Shaw, W.H. 2008. Business ethics. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth. Siddique, S. 1981. Some aspects of Malay-Muslim ethnicity in Peninsular Malaysia. Contemporary Southeast Asia 3(1): 76–87. https://doi.org/10.1355/CS3-1E
Singh, H. 2001. Ethnic conflict in Malaysia revisited. Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 39(1): 42–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/713999532
Siti Hajar Maizan. 2015. Form, functions and meaning of Malay tepak sirih in Malaysia. Master's diss., Universiti Teknologi MARA. https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/15145/ (accessed 7 February 2022).
Snape, D. and L. Spencer. 2003. The foundations of qualitative research. In Qualitative Research Practice, eds. J. Ritchie and J. Lewis, 200. London: Sage Publications.
Stubbs, M. 1983. Discourse analysis: The sociolinguistic analysis of natural language. Oxford: Blackwell.
Suryani Awang, Marlyna Maros and Noraini Ibrahim. 2012. Malay values in intercultural communication. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity 2(3): 201205. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJSSH.2012.V2.96
Syed Husin Ali. 2008a. Ethnic relations in Malaysia: Harmony and conflict. Selangor: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.
______. 2008b. The Malays: Their problems and future. Selangor: The Other Press.
Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. 1993. Islam and secularism. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC).
______. 1980. The concept of education in Islam. Keynote speech at First World Conference on Muslim Education, Makkatul Muazzamah. http://www.mef-ca.org/files/attastext-final.pdf (accessed 20 February 2014).
______. 1988. Kriteria kecemerlangan universiti, kualiti tenaga pengajar, kekeliruan dalam ilmu, krisis buku ilmiah, budaya membaca, tradisi ilmu dan syarahan pengukuhan bagi melantik professor. Dewan Masyarakat 14–16.
______. 2001. Risalah untuk kaum muslimin. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) IIUM.
Syed Muhd. Khairudin Aljunied. 2009. British discourses and Malay identity in colonial Singapore. Indonesia and the Malay World 37(107): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639810902743016
Syed Othman Alhabshi. 1987. The role of ethics in economics and business. Journal of Islamic Economics 1(1): 1–15.
Syed Othman Alhabshi and Aidit Haji Ghazali. 1994. Islamic values and management. Kuala Lumpur: Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia.
Tengku Lukman Sinar. 2001. Adat dan budaya Melayu di pesisir Timur Sumatera: Adat Melayu serumpun. Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Malaya.
Tham, S.C. 1971. Tradition, values and society among the Malays. Review of Southeast Asian Studies 4: 10–20.
Van Dijk, T.A. 1998. Ideology: A multidisciplinary approach. London: Sage Publications.
______. 2009. Society and discourse: How social contexts influence text and talk. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wan Abdul Kadir. 1993. Budi sebagai asas budaya Melayu. Petaling Jaya: Masfami Enterprise.
Wan Norhasniah and J. Ong. 2013. The Malay-Islamic values as the foundation of nationbuilding in Malaysia: A study on the national cultural policy. International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences Proceedings, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University. 27 April.
Wan Norhasniah Wan Husin. 2011. Budi-Islam: Its role in the construction of Malay identity in Malaysia. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 1: 132–142.
Winstedt, R.O. 1961. The Malay magician. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
______. 1992. History of classical Malay literature. Selangor: Eagle Trading. World Population Review. n.d. Malaysia population. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/malaysia-population (accessed 8 February 2020).
Zainal Kling. 1993a. Adat: Malay collective self-image. 9th European colloquium of Indonesian and Malay studies, Hull, United Kingdom.
______. 1993b. Melayu baru: Pencerahan adat dan adab. Kuala Lumpur: ITC Book.
Zawawi, D. 2008. Cultural dimensions among Malaysian employees. International Journal of Economics and Management 2(2): 409–426.