The Politics of National Identity in West Malaysia: Continued Mutation or Critical Transition?

Abstract

In this paper, national identity is conceptualized in terms of competing representations of the putative "nation" based on which socio-political contests unfold and bureaucracy functions. Two key historical happenings marked the politics of national identity in West Malaysia: the 1969 racial riots and the Islamization policies. After 1969, comprehensive ethnic-based preferential policies were formalized, while Malay political primacy justified on the basis of indigeneity became entrenched. The Islamization Policy implemented from the 1980s mainstreamed the idea of Malaysia as a negara Islam. Executive curtailment of judicial autonomy led to institutional mutations dubbed by a scholar as the "silent re-writing of the Constitution." During the 1990s, despite selected socio-cultural measures of "liberalization" more accommodative of non-Malay interests, ethnic preferential treatments remained prevalent. Moreover, the conflation of the logic of Malay primacy with that of Islamic supremacy in institutional practices resulted in a rise in inter-religious contentions. Historic regime change became conceivable following recent political development. Nonetheless, prospects for radical revision of existing inter-religious dynamics remain dim because Islamic conservatism among Malay politicians transcends party-lines.