After an overview of Malaysia’s political and economic
history the last two days, we began peeling back the different layers of
Malaysian society and investigate the vastly complex political and social
dynamics of the country. Through site
visits to Sisters in Islam and Center for Strategic Engagement, we were
introduced to the role of Islam in Malaysian society and the strategic
landscape of its political system. While
ethnicity has played a central role throughout Malaysian society, religion has
also been a major role in political and cultural identity. Furthermore, the current political landscape
is showing a shift in the dynamics that drive Malaysian politics.
Malaysia is unique in the fact that both ethnicity and
religion are tied to national identity.
To be Malay one not only needs to be of Malay ethnicity but must also be
a Muslim. Islam is such an important
part of Malaysian identity that being of the Islamic faith makes it extremely
easy to gain citizenship in this country.
Islam has become more and more important in Malaysia and there is a
desire to integrate Islamic values even more into Malaysian society.
Executive Director Ratna explains how she became involved with Sisters in Islam.
At Sisters in Islam (SIS) we were introduced to the
Malaysian perspective of a growing international issue: Gender and Islam. Generally, Islam has been seen as a religion
that perpetuates the traditional role of women and unfriendly to women’s
rights. There is a movement that is
trying to push forward a more progressive form of Islam using the Qur’an and
Islamic studies to show that women’s rights and Islam are in fact
compatible. While issues vary throughout
the world, Sisters in Islam have taken it upon themselves to tackle this issue
in Malaysia. They mean to show that
women’s mistreatment is not validated in the Qur’an. These issues span a wide range of Islamic
family law but in particular Sisters in Islam are working against polygamy and
domestic violence. This has taken
interesting form in Malaysia where women are free to work and can be found in
leadership positions in Malaysian companies, managing both men and women. While they may command in the workplace, at
home they are still expected to be subservient.
The most inspiring part of visiting Sisters in Islam is seeing the
bravery and strength of the woman who carry on this work. They face ridicule from more conservative
parts of society, labeled as dangerous and deviant, and suffer public scrutiny
and criticism. Our guest speaker,
executive director Ratna Osman, told the story about how her son, after hearing
Sisters of Islam being denounce in mosques throughout the country, asked her
why she was working against God. 
Originally a banned book, this copy of "Muslim Women" has been unbanned.
The class then feasted at a Southern Indian Restaurant,
Nirvana Maju, where we did indeed find food Nirvana. Professor Heng took the lead in ordering a
collection of various Indian dishes of lamb, fish, chicken, pickled vegetables,
fried bitter melon and Mango Lassi. We
all walked out the restaurant with extended bellies and big smiles. Thankfully our next destination required us
to take a short walk so that we could digest our food before our next guest
speaker.
Co-founder and Director of Center for Strategic Engagement,
Rita Sim, gave us a very enlightening macro view of Malaysian politics. As a political consultancy firm, they have
been on the forefront of Malaysia politics and their research allowed us to
gain insight into the current political situation. It is an exciting time to studying Malaysian
politics since they just had elections this year where there was a large shift
to the opposition coalition, making inroads against the ruling coalition,
Barisian Nasional, who has been in power since 1969. The largest party of the opposition is the
Democratic Action Party (DAP), which has support from the Chinese Malaysian
community and is a spin-off of Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP). This coalition is supported by the PKR,
mostly made up of Malay urban middle class, and PAS, an Islamic party. The complexities of this system is a bit out
of the scope of this blog, but there are a few facts that can provide a basic
understanding. UMNO is the largest part
in the ruling coalition and work with the Malaysia Chinese Association
(MCA). However, MCA has lost its base,
where many Chinese have jumped to the DAP.
The opposition coalition is a hodge podge of political parties, mostly
united in its fight to get Barisian Nasional out of power. However, they also have a desire to get rid
of the NEP, an economic policy that has been in place since 1969, whose
economic development plan included special rights for Malays. Many Malaysians believe it is time to get rid
of this policy. While Barisian Nasional
lost the popular vote, they did not lose the majority in parliament (parliament
members are based on district, not population).
BN did lose their 2/3 majority.
According to Rita, everyone was unhappy with the elections: the
opposition did not win a majority and the ruling coalition lost its
overwhelming majority. Major political
divisions are generational, rural versus urban and ethnicity. The younger generation, urban and ethnic
minorities tend to support the opposition.
Perhaps one of the most interesting survey result was that an
overwhelming majority of women support a UMNO and PAS alliance, both parties
supporting a stronger Islamic state.
This was a big point of discussion for the class, especially after just
coming from the Sisters in Islam visit.
While we can only speculate as to why this is, it seems that many feel stronger
traditional values would provide a better, more moral society.
Outside of these complex intellectual endeavors, the class
has been enjoying the entertainment this city provides from late night street
food, large mega malls and delicious desserts.
China O Cafe. Delicious Nyonya Chinese food, set in a 1940s China ambiance.
"Snowflake" shaved milk ice at Mid Valley Mall.
Late pita and pasta outside HELP University. "The Humble Chef"
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