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| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
120594
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| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
On March 8, 2008, PAS led the coalition to victory in Kedah, winning 16 seats, while Barisan National won only 14 state seats. This paper highlights cultural dimensions of the shift from BN to the opposition coalition in this state of the Malay heartland. The PAS manifesto and campaign speeches in Kedah emphasized Islamic ethics, a just, clean, and pure government which would strive to improve the conditions of all the people. These notions of a "just" and "unmixed" party struggling to "strengthen Islam" resonated with many Malays in Kedah. In contrast, UMNO was depicted as corrupt practitioners of bribes and money politics who prioritize the interests of the rich over the needy. They were criticized as materialist, elitist figures stuck in their ways like the Pharaoh, while PAS' commitment to upholding Islam was likened to the prophets. In addition, this paper discusses the way PAS approaches the issue of the "social contract" between Malays and other ethnic groups and the way their construct of Malay identity spoke to many Malay voters. I argue that PAS rhetoric must be viewed as more than political use of Islamic symbols, and that its effectiveness rests in the way it evokes more extensive cultural models. Finally, this paper considers the controversial post-election demolition of a pig slaughterhouse in a predominantly Malay kampong in Kota Setar, Kedah. Here I argue that this case embodies and reaffirms the cultural politics of the general election.
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| 2 |
ID:
096478
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2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Through ethnographic inquiry, this article explores the dynamics of urban space and ethnicity in a multi-ethnic and predominantly middle-class neighborhood in Melaka, Malaysia. Chinese developers and Malay political officials contributed to the social production of the built environment in the neighborhood, including several housing estates, commercial shop lots, religious institutions, kindergartens, and day care centers. Indians, Malays, Chinese, and Christians mark and claim spaces with polysemous symbols entailing shared meanings of protection and representation of their respective categories. While the Malay-dominated government and Chinese capital have established stable religious institutions, Indians are struggling to maintain two unregistered temples. Chinese and Indians interact in many contexts producing a shared politically marginalized identity of Malaysian citizens. International students, mostly Arabs and Africans of various nationalities, produce a politically marginalized identity of non-citizen student-customers. Fluctuating and persisting aspects of identity schemata embedded in processes of social production and construction are integral to citizen and subcitizen struggles for life-space.
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