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Introduction: Ethnic Identity in Malaysia and Singapore

Introduction: Ethnic Identity in Malaysia and Singapore 1 Introduction: Ethnic Identity in Malaysia and Singapore Lian Kwen Fee Department of Sociology National University of Singapore Two of the best known contributions to the understanding of ethnicity in Malaysia and Singapore are Nagata's "What is a Malay?" and Benjamin's "The Cultural Logic of Singapore's 'Multiracialism"' published in 1974 and 1976 respectively. Inspired by Barth's (1969) view that boundary construction and maintenance are fundamental to ethnic processes and identity-formation, Nagata argues that in the case of a plural society in which there is no clear dominant or neutral culture, oscillation of ethnic status is an accepted form of interaction. The boundaries are more permeable between ethnic communities which share "indigenous" status but they are more impervious between such groups and immigrant minorities in this region, largely because of religious barriers. Groups who possess a hybrid identity such as the Eurasians, the Baba, and even the Malayalees - as it will be revealed in the following contributions - find themselves at a strategic advantage in a situation in which ethnic identities are often relativized. At the same time these groups are marginalized in the sense that they are caught in between the majority and the dominant minority: in http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Journal of Social Science Brill

Introduction: Ethnic Identity in Malaysia and Singapore

Lian Kwen Fee
Asian Journal of Social Science , Volume 25 (2): 1 – Jan 1, 1997
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1997 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1568-4849
eISSN
1568-5314
DOI
10.1163/030382497X00130
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

1 Introduction: Ethnic Identity in Malaysia and Singapore Lian Kwen Fee Department of Sociology National University of Singapore Two of the best known contributions to the understanding of ethnicity in Malaysia and Singapore are Nagata's "What is a Malay?" and Benjamin's "The Cultural Logic of Singapore's 'Multiracialism"' published in 1974 and 1976 respectively. Inspired by Barth's (1969) view that boundary construction and maintenance are fundamental to ethnic processes and identity-formation, Nagata argues that in the case of a plural society in which there is no clear dominant or neutral culture, oscillation of ethnic status is an accepted form of interaction. The boundaries are more permeable between ethnic communities which share "indigenous" status but they are more impervious between such groups and immigrant minorities in this region, largely because of religious barriers. Groups who possess a hybrid identity such as the Eurasians, the Baba, and even the Malayalees - as it will be revealed in the following contributions - find themselves at a strategic advantage in a situation in which ethnic identities are often relativized. At the same time these groups are marginalized in the sense that they are caught in between the majority and the dominant minority: in

Journal

Asian Journal of Social Science – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1997

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