1

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.

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

MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

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 multiethnic, 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. 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

MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

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 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

MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

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 Malays 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 eventempered 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 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

MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

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 Peoples 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. 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.

MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

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 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

MALAYSIAN STUDIES : ASSIGNMENT 2

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.