TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Malay ethnocentrism is very much about the economy
For young Malays to be involved in the political process, they had to be part of Islamist nongovernmental groups such as ABIM and IKRAM and political parties
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Malaysian girls wave national flags during an Independence Day parade rehearsal in Kuala Lumpur in this file photo.
(AFP/Getty Image/Saeed Khan)
M
alaysia’s Independence Day on Aug. 31 and Malaysia Day (commemorating the country’s formation of the Malaysian Federation) on Sept. 16 have come and gone. They were a bit more muted this year, but did not lack pomp, color or enthusiasm.
Young Malaysians look forward to the yearly Keretapi Sarong, where they don batik and national and ethnic costumes and flash mob our train stations, the train lines are a riot of color and unity across race and age.
Young multicultural Malaysia enjoys its diversity in smart cafes, events, and it is difficult to believe that the dark specter of populism has seeped into the ordinary life of ordinary Malay(sian)s. However it can be attractive and may seem to be a solution to their and their country’s woes.
Malaysia is bereft of strong leadership in the eyes of young Malays aged 18 to 35. Democratic participation is lacking as young Malays lack agency and access. In my previous opinion pieces for The Jakarta Post, I mentioned IMAN Research, a small think tank of which I am part, which had been working on Malay youth and their opinions post the Malaysian general elections in 2022. The young Malays we met in Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Perak and Penang, to name a few, expressed that they felt that they were left out of the loop.
You see, for young Malays to be involved in the political process, they had to be part of Islamist nongovernmental groups such as ABIM and IKRAM and political parties. For the majority of young Malays, this “bubble” was alien to them, as they sought a simple future that could provide for them and their families.
Not all of them have illusions or dreams of becoming a political/corporate rockstar; it’s enough to just live. However, this did not mean that they did not see themselves as the country’s stakeholders, for they do and take that role seriously.
I have been flicking through the notes I have kept from meeting young Malays over the past five years. Why have these kids moved toward the far right? What happened to the activists I met when I worked for Malaysiakini.com years ago?
