This is a repository copy of Recognizing indigenous identity in postcolonial Malaysian law : rights and realities for the Orang Asli (aborigines) of Peninsular Malaysia. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/79092/ Version: Published Version Article: Nah, Alice M. orcid.org/0000-0002-0253-0334 (2008) Recognizing indigenous identity in postcolonial Malaysian law : rights and realities for the Orang Asli (aborigines) of Peninsular Malaysia. Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia,. pp. 212-237. ISSN 2213-4379 https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-90003657 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing
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[email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ ALICE M. NAH Recognizing indigenous identity in postcolonial Malaysian law Rights and realities for the Orang Asli (aborigines) of Peninsular Malaysia Introduction In Southeast Asia, the birth of postcolonial states in the aftermath of the Sec- ond World War marked a watershed in political relations between ethnic groups residing within emerging geo-political borders.1 Plurality and dif- ference were defining characteristics of the social landscape in these nascent states.