Malaysia is a monarchy which has a demographic of 28,728,607 and it is located in the southeast of Asia. It covers 329,847 square kilometers in area. Malaysia has many neighbors which share land borders with Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei. Also they shared the marine borders with Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. In my report, I’m going to identify and explain factors that affect the multiculturalism in Malaysia and how they are influenced by it.
Multiculturalism or cultural diversity means that there are different groups or ethnicities living together and they use the Malay language while they are from different countries and they have different nationality, language and religion. There are many factors that influenced the history of the Malay culture such as trade, foreign contacts, the colonization and Islamic history in Malaysia. The first factor is Hindu and Buddhist cultures which were brought from India and affected Malaysian culture. Also, it was extended to Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula and much of Borneo during the centuries from the 7th to the 14th. Traders influenced each other well because they need to understand each other in conversation during the process of buying and selling goods. This reason encouraged them to learn their language and also they shared some of their cultures, religions and traditions in dealing with others.
The second factor is that colonization which impacted on the culture of Malaysia. For example, Portuguese colonization that was dominated and established well in Malaysia and especially in Malacca in 1511. Then, it was followed by Dutch colonization. Finally, British colonization that was dominating in Jesselton, Kuching, Penang and Singapore, installed their bases and everyone was affected and this added a new language, culture, and religion to Malaysia. Malaysians took the independence from British colonization after the Second World War in 1957.
Finally, Islamic history has affected the cultural of Malaysia since many centuries ago. Between the 10th and 15th century, Islam had been well-known in the Malayan Peninsular. It had a deep effect on Malay people. Malacca was one of the famous cities which Islam spread in and it influenced the culture of many Malaysians and also Islamic culture influenced them.
Many countries provide essential services for their nations specially education, economy, entertainment and industry. Each country is trying to become unique in one or all of its services. China and India built their own community organizations involving their customs, culture and heritage. The Malayan peninsular is one of the communities that want to show itself beside other communities. The three races existed in segregated large communities. However, one of the goals of the new national government was to have a common identity for all communities. Regarding that, having a common educational system and a common language will help fulfill that goal. Dr. Venugopal Nair in 1956 said that "The ultimate objective of education policy in this country must be to bring together children of all races under a national educational system in which the national language is the main medium of instructions". Believing in that quote Malaysia has become a separate community with its own cultures, customs, heritage and language. Malaysia is one of the Islamic countries and its name shows that, Malay is the native language of Malaysia and Malay culture is a priority in the new state of Malaysia. The sarong is the traditional dress for men and the Samfou is the traditional dress for women, but the new generation prefers to wear western dress. The new state did not get rid of the traditional food and it is cooked in their homes and restaurants. However the new state is still having remains from its past; that means it still has Indian and Chinese people in the new state. The government rules and policies come from the old Malay sultan structures and these structures have become local and ceremonial, where the sultan is considered a ceremonial king. On the other hand, the Malay political power will be working together with the Chinese and Indian communities. The state has become powerful since the independence of the multiethnic United Malay Nationalist Organization (UMNO). That was the beginning of the new state with the new economic power.
The new Malay culture is kind of a mixture of three multiethnic communities Malay, Chinese and Indian. The Chinese ones were working in the economy as businessmen and merchants, while the Indian ones were almost laborers. Customarily, Malay people were in the rural areas working as peasants on their lands. After the New Economic Policy (NEP), the economic and educational disparities create a divisive issue that created a broad system of positive/affirmative action. Malay people have gained the benefits of the new policies and systems even if they were poorer in money and knowledge comparing to the Chinese and Indian people and Malay people have strength in their economy and themselves.
In summary, we saw how Malaysia built itself from three multiethnic groups and how it got a successful economy. This example is one of the examples that are around us and tells us that multiculturalism is a good thing. I believe that multiculturalism will help in improving and building many economies because it brings ideas from different countries and different scales.
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