Being Malay: Ethnic and Religious Identity Formation and Adjustment among Malay Students in Western Australia
Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain
This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Western Australia
School of Social and Cultural Studies Anthropology and Sociology 2012
DECLARATION FOR THESES CONTAINING PUBLISHED WORK AND/OR WORK PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION ______
This thesis contains sole-authored published work and/or work prepared for publication. The bibliographic details of work and where it appears in the thesis is outlined below:
Published: Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2012. “Ethno-Religious Identity and Border Crossing in the Malay World”, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, vol.6, no.6, pp. 41-52. (A revised version of this paper appears as Chapter Eight of the thesis).
Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2011, ‘Ethno-Religious Identity: Reviewing Malay Aesthetic Features in Encountering Others’, Man & Society, vol. 20 (A revised version of this paper appears as Chapter Four of the thesis).
Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2010, ‘Exploring Ethno-Religious Identity: Transition in Malay Muslim Culture and Practice’, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, vol.5, no.8. p. 371-382 (A revised version of this paper appears as Chapter Six of the thesis).
Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2012, “Distinctiveness of Malayness: The Implicit and Explicit Insight of Identity Adjustment beyond Malaysia”, Man and Society, vol. 22, p.1-13 (A revised version of this paper appears as Chapter Four of the thesis).
Parts of this thesis have been presented in five conferences: Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2009, ‘Malay Participants in Interviews: Being Courteous or Being Cautious?’ 5th Annual School of Social and Cultural Studies Graduate Conference, The University of Western Australia, Australia (Chapter Three).
Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2010, ‘Exploring Ethno-Religious Identity: Transition in Malay Muslim Culture and Practice’, The 5th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 2010, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK , 2-5 August 2010 (Chapter Six).
Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2010, ‘Prerequisites of Ethno-Religious Identity: Forming and Managing Frontiers’, The Australian Sociological Association (TASA 2010 Conference), Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, 6-9 December 2010 (Chapter Eight).
Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain 2011, ‘Ethno-Religious Identity and Border Crossing in Malay World: To Truss or Not to Truss?, The 6th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 2011, The University of New Orleans, USA, 11-13 July 2011 (Chapter Eight).
iii Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain, Distinctiveness of Malayness: The Implicit and Explicit Insight on Identity Adjustment beyond Malaysia, 13th Malaysian-Singapore Forum, National University of Singapore, 1-2 December 2011.
This thesis is the original work of the author except where otherwise acknowledged.
iv Abstract
Malay-Muslims have distinctive ideas of who they are: as an ethnic group and as Muslims. In the opening of the twenty-first century, it was predicted that with modernization there would be an increasing separation of state and religion, and that religious issues would probably become somewhat less important (Means 1978; Rosenthal 1965). Yet, Peletz (2002) notes that Malays are increasingly referring to themselves as Muslim people (religious identity) rather than Malay people (ethnic identity). Indeed, Shamsul A.B. (1997b) has redefined Malay ethnicity through emphasizing Islam as a pillar of Malayness, with the idea of Malay ethnicity as centre stage in politics and society. Although Malay-Muslims in Malaysia were once more conscious of ethnic than religious identity, the beginning of Islamic revivalism in the 1970s involved the idea of religious identity becoming more important instead of Malay identity. Yet, over the last decade, Malay ethnic identity has been again gaining its importance as a more politicised identity compared to religious identity in Malaysia. Malay-Muslims have since then been continuously confronted by the changes that have been underway within Islam especially within the ‘Malay’ community in Malaysia.
However, at the international level, Malay-Muslims who have studied abroad have alternate conceptions of Malay-Muslim identity compared to the local version as well as links to outsiders. This thesis focuses on the key emblematic features of ethnic and religious identity and the idea of ‘Malayness’ outside Malaysia at a time when Islamic identity has become increasingly important in the global arena. It is revealed in this study how religion has become a powerful basis of personal and collective identification for Malay-Muslim postgraduate students in Western Australia. Although all Malay- Muslim postgraduate students are distinct in their own ways, most of the experiences they face initially hark back to their Malay culture/‘adat’ and Islamic values.
When Malay-Muslims exhibit agreement, compliance or submission in regard to their ethnic and religious identity in Australia, they do not disregard their religious beliefs, values and practices. In relation to other Muslims, Malay-Muslims emphasize their distinctive ethnic heritage as Malays. In relation to non-Muslims, they emphasize how they are Muslim. On the boundaries of ethnic and religious identity, I attempt to explore the relational dynamics of Malay ethnic and religious identity beyond Malaysia’s borders and provide some holistic accounts of the students’ prior lives in v Malaysia compared to their experiences in Western Australia. These Malay-Muslim postgraduate students from the four major universities in Western Australia have been identified as having considerable awareness of their ethnic and religious identity. While their ethnic identity is more flexible and situational, their religious identity is revealed as more rigid and seldom negotiable.
Malay-Muslims students in this research tend to invoke religion, culture, language, nationality, status, or descent in defining their identity. I have employed an ethnographic approach in my research, using participant-observation methods and semi- structured interviews with my thirty main informants. I argue that being an insider researcher is as challenging as being an outsider researcher. As related by Cohen (1985), symbols (like language) do not so much express meaning as give us the capacity to make meaning. The usage of a restricted code (Bernstein 1964) can then be understood when the insider researcher seeks to understand other Malays’ meanings and behaviour. That is, Malay-Muslim postgraduate students share these symbols, but do not necessarily share their meanings, which differ according to their various experiences and interpersonal encounters. Interpersonal communication is identified to be an important element in creating ethnic intimacy among Malay-Muslim students. Although interpersonal communication processes between married or single Malay-Muslim students differ in their experiential basis, these students are drawn into networks and reveal the Malayness that distinguishes them from others. In conclusion, I argue that being Malay outside Malaysia involves significant consideration of religious elements in their identity maintenance and adjustment. Malay students are then becoming ‘self- consciously’ more religious outside Malaysia compared to the salience of their ethnically politicized identity in Malaysia.
vi Table of Contents
Declaration...... iii Abstract...... v Table of Contents...... vii Acknowledgements...... x Translation Note...... xi List of Figures...... xii List of Tables...... xiii List of Abbreviations...... xiv List of Appendices...... xv Glossary of Malay Terms...... xvi
CHAPTER 1: Being Malay and Being Malay-Muslim: An Introduction
Introduction...... 1 Being Malay: Outlining Ambiguity and the Adjustment Process...... 4 Being Malay-Muslim: Channeling and Supporting Identity...... 12 Malay Student Identity: Regulating ‘Adat’ and Reaffirming ‘Bangsa’...... 16 Islamic Revivalism and the Middle Class in Malaysia...... 21 Constructing Diverse Identity Dispositions...... 26 Ethnic Identity ...... 26 Religious Identity...... 30 National Identity...... 30 Cosmopolitan Identity ...... 31 Gender Identity...... 33 Research Aims...... 34 Significance of the Study...... 36 Progression of Chapters...... 37 Chapter Summary...... 39
CHAPTER 2: Malay International Students: Contextualizing and Conceptualizing Identity and Ethnicity Discourses
Introduction...... 41 Contextual Discourse of Identity and Ethnicity...... 41 Theoretical Review on Ethnic Identity: Culturalist, Situationalist and Symbolic.. 47 Interpersonal Communication: Introduction and Review of Relational Approach...... 54 Review on the Study of Identity in the Malaysian Context...... 59 Review on the Study of Identity beyond the Malaysian Context...... 62 Chapter Summary...... 69
vii CHAPTER 3: Methodological Framework: Setting and Informants’ Backgrounds
Introduction...... 71 Researcher as Ethnographer and Insider: A Review...... 71 Being Courteous or Being Cautious? An Insider versus Outsider Review...... 75 Conducting an Interview in a Calm and Courteous Manner...... 76 The Concept of Face...... 77 Articulating Issues in an Indistinct Manner...... 78 Using of Non-verbal Communication...... 79 Recruiting Informants, Field Sites and Fieldwork Duration...... 81 Collection of Data...... 83 Participant Observation...... 84 Semi-structured Interviews...... 85 Discourse Analysis...... 86 Informants: General Backgrounds...... 92 Chapter Summary...... 99
CHAPTER 4: Malay Distinctiveness: Insights on Identity and Other Cultural Features of Malay Student Overseas
Introduction...... 101 Engaging Malay Distinctiveness in Identity Features...... 101 Malay Language: A Distinguishing Feature of Malay Students’ Identity...... 110 Clothing: An Aesthetic Feature of Ethnic Identity, Religious Identity and Malayness...... 114 ‘Halal’ (permissible) Foods among Malay-Muslim: Between Taste and Identity...... 121 Other Features in Particularizing Malayness...... 126 Chapter Summary...... 130
CHAPTER 5: Social Life Experiences: Dealing with New Challenges, Interactions and Leisure
Introduction...... 132 Malay Cosmopolitanness and Reciprocity: Experienced versus Fresh Cosmopolitans...... 133 Leaving the Comfort Zone: Initiating New Student Identities...... 136 The New Environment: Constructive and Unconstructive Experiences...... 147 Accomodation...... 147 Food...... 153 Weather...... 155 Recreational Activities...... 156 Engaging Life, Identity and Surroundings: Between Culture,‘Adat’ and Religion...... 160 Encountering Difficulties: Negative Remarks and Treatment...... 167 Chapter Summary...... 172
viii CHAPTER 6: Significance of Interpersonal Communication: Contributions to Malay Students’ Life and Identity
Introduction...... 174 Enforcing Interpersonal Communication: Between Malays and Others...... 175 Between Malays and Other Malays...... 178 Between Malays and Other Muslims ...... 186 Between Malays and Members of Other Southeast Asian Ethnic Groups (Muslim and non-Muslim)...... 188 Between Malays and Others (Local or Other Ethnic Groups)...... 189 Levels and Places of Encounter: Inspiring Efforts in Interpersonal Communication...... 193 Mutual Encounters...... 194 Public Places...... 196 Formal and Informal Gatherings...... 197 Interpersonal Communication: Considering Factors in Ethnic and Religious Identity? ...... 204 Chapter Summary...... 208
CHAPTER 7: Malay Students’ Identity Adjustment: Extension and Restriction
Introduction...... 210 Adjustment in Social Life: A Stance of Adapted Identity...... 210 Academic Life: Relating Past and Present Experiences...... 212 Phase of Encounter: Avoidable or Unavoidable?...... 217 Second Language Usage: Extension and Limitation...... 220 Social Life: Backsliding, Control and Expectation...... 224 Class and Status: Sustaining or Sacrificing?...... 229 Health and Wellbeing: Enduring Inclusion and Exclusion in Consultation...... 232 Enrichment of Skills in the New Setting: Motivation and Exposure...... 236 Community Relation in Transition: Participation and Commitment...... 237 Chapter Summary...... 241
CHAPTER 8 Ethnic and Religious Identity: Boundary Maintenance and Border Crossing
Introduction...... 243 Border Crossing in the Malay World...... 243 Ethnic and Religious Identity: To Tie or not to Tie ...... 246 Recapitulating the Research Findings and Limitation of the Study...... 248 Conclusion...... 250
Bibliography...... 253
ix Acknowledgements
My PhD journey has been a journey full of challenges, and it was not always smooth. The journey was made possible by many people. First, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Michael Pinches and Assistant Professor Gregory Acciaioli for their encouragement, patience and consistent guidance. I would also thank both of them for their thorough comments and uplifting opinions on my drafts. I also would like to thank Associate Prof. Katie Glaskin for her words of encouragement throughout my course of study. I am hugely indebted to all the staff in the Discipline of Anthropology & Sociology at UWA, especially Mrs. Jill Woodman and Mrs. Emily Leaver for their kindness at various stages of my journey and assistance with administration issues. I thank Dr. Tracy Wright Webster for willingly spending her precious time to check through my English grammar and expression in my thesis. In addition, I would also express my heartfelt attitude to all my postgraduate friends who supported and motivated me and made this thesis possible.
I thank the University of Malaya (UM), which has sponsored my study and staff in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, UM, who gave their support to me. I personally would like to thank Associate Professor Dr. Jas Laile for her encouraging words and advice. I also wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Malini, who supported my applications and other administrative matter with no doubts. I also owe a debt of gratitude to all my informants who showed their interest and willingly participated in my research. I thank all of them for generously spending their times and sharing their stories with me. I am also grateful to a large number of individuals who were also an instrumental in the accomplishment of my field research during informal encounters.
Most importantly, I would like to thank my family for making me who I am today through their undivided support, tolerance and prayers. In particular, I thank my loving husband, Zainalabidin, who has always been there for me; my three adorable children Amiera, Amna and Akmal for indulging their mum’s hectic schedule; my mum, my sister, and my in-laws for their continuous support and affection. My words of thanks will never be enough to express my gratitude for assisting me in completing this challenging task. Finally, Alhamdullillah to Allah (s.w.t.) for giving me the strength to face the journey and making the journey possible. Amin. x Translation Note
Throughout this thesis, all translations from Malay language sources are my own unless stated. All Malay words are translated or explained in the text where they appear for the first time in the thesis. Example: Adat (Malay traditional Custom). Frequently used Malay words are found in the glossary.
xi
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Decisive Aspects and Identity Adjustments among the Members 25 of the Malay Middle-class in the Making (Overseas Context) Figure 2.1: Interpersonal Communication and Relational Approac Model to 58 Student Identity Adjustment Figure 3.1: Western and Malay Ways of Expressing Views 76 Figure 3.2: Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Conception of Discourse 89 Figure 4.1: Malay Muslim Postgraduate Reflections of their Malayness 109 and Aesthetic Features – Overseas Context Figure 4.2: Examples of Baju Kurung Styled for Female Malays 116 Figure 4.3: Traditional Attire of Malay-Malaysians Male 120 Figure 5.1: Engaging Reciprocity in Malay Postgraduate Students Life 136 and Identity Figure 5.2: Molecularization of ‘Budi’- Lee Kim Hui (2003) 144 Figure 5.3: Hall Layout Plan for MyPSA Iftar Program 149 Figure 5.4: Posters Advertising Leisure Activities among Malay-Muslim 158 Postgraduate Students in Western Australia (MyPSA, WA) Badminton Match in 2009 Figure 5.5: Poster of a Soccer Match in 2009 (MyPSA) 158 Figure 5.6: Poster of a Volleyball Match in 2010 (MyPSA) 159 Figure 5.7.1: ‘Cukur Jambul’ Ritual among Malay Postgraduate Students 162 in Western Australia Figure 5.7.2: ‘Cukur Jambul’ Ritual 163 Figure 6.1: Hartley’s Model of Interpersonal Communication 177 Figure 6.2: Enforcing Interpersonal Communication in Considering 178 Identity among Malay Students Overseas Figure 7.1: Willingness to make Adjustment to Various Forms of Identities 212 among Malay Postgraduate Students in Western Australia
xii List of Tables
Table 2.1: International Student Enrolment in Australia from Top 10 63 Source Nationalities, 2005-2010 Table 2.2: Malaysian Student Enrolment according to Australian 64 State/Territory, 2008-2010 Table 3.1: General Profiles of 30 Informants (Categorized by Groups) 93 Table 3.2: Personal Background Informations of Informants 95 Table 3.3: Basic Criteria Associated as ‘Malay’ by 27 informants 96 Table 3.4: Informants’ Field of Studies Enrolled in UWA/Curtin/ 97 Murdoch/ECU Table 3.5: Informants’ University or Government Department 98 Attachments in Malaysia
xiii List of Abbreviations
ABIM Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia BN Barisan Nasional BTN Biro Tata Negara ECU Edith Cowan University FELDA Federal Land Development Authority GAGASAN Gagasan Demokrasi Rakyat GERAKAN Gerakan Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia GP General Practitioner KEADILAN Parti Keadilan Nasional KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken MAWAR Malaysian Student Western Australia Ring MCA Malaysian Chinese Association MIC Malaysian Indian Congress MyPSA Malaysian Postgraduate Association NEP New Economic Policy NGO Non Governmental Organization PAS Parti Islam SeMalaysia PKR Parti Keadilan Rakyat PR Permanent Resident PRM Parti Rakyat Malaysia TESL Teaching of English as Second Language UK United Kingdom UMNO United Malay National Organisation USA United States of America UWA The University of Western Australia
xiv List of Appendices
Appendix 1: Map of Western Australia 298
Appendix 2: The University of Western Australia: Crawley Campus Map 299
Appendix 3: Curtin University: Bentley Campus Map 300
Appendix 4: Murdoch University: Campus Map 301
Appendix 5: Edith Cowan University: Joondalup Campus 302
Appendix 6: Interview Questions Guidelines 303
Appendix 7: Information Sheet 305
Appendix 8: Participant Consent Form 307
Appendix 9: Document on the Origin of the term Mat Salleh 309
xv Glossary of Malay Terms
adab good manners adat Malay custom Allah God al-Qur’ān Muslim Holy Book aqiqah sacrificing an animal on the occasion of a child’s birth asam pedas sour and spicy stew aurat part of the body that should be covered bahasa Melayu the Malay language baju kurung traditional female Malay dress baju melayu traditional male Malay dress bangsa idaman nation-of-intent dakwah to call or to preach as in missionary activity bangsa ethnic group, community, ‘race’ buka minda open one’s mind beras kunyit yellow rice beringat-ingat be mindful berlapik-lapik padding bertih popped rice bidan traditional midwives bomoh/dukun indigenous medical practitioner bual kosong general conversation budi bahasa polite, well-behaved, observant of etiquette bumiputera a Malay term meaning ‘sons of the soil’ that refers to the indigenous peoples in Malaysia budi sense of discretion cabar challenge cair melt cepat melatah too responsive cepat terasa too emotional cukur jambul shaving ot tonsure of hair daun kesum Vietnamese mint dosa sin xvi Dusun one of the native peoples of Sabah gerakan kebangsaan national movement hadīth/ hadis Prophet Muhammad’s (p.u.h.) saying halal permissible according to Muslim laws, usually concerning food haram forbidden by Muslim laws hikmah good outcome in the future hormat respect ibādat/ibadah worship ikhlas sincerity imam leader of prayer in a congregation iman faith jaga air muka face saving jaga hati protect one feeling jamu traditional herbal medication jati diri bangsa national identity jiwa melayu Malay soul jubah robe kampung village kari curry kasar harsh kenduri feast kerajaan kingdom ketuanan melayu Malay dominance keturunan descent khalwat close proximity kopiah skull-cap leceh fussy maghrib time of sunset (as in maghrib prayer) majmuk plural mandi lulur traditional bath/scrub masak lemak coconut milk with turmeric dish masuk Islam convert to Islam masuk Melayu to become a Malay (once often equated with becoming a Muslim)
xvii mat salleh white man/ Caucasian Melanau one of the native peoples of Sarawak Melayu asli/jati real Malay mualaf newly converted Muslim munshi religious teacher Murut on of the native peoples of Sabah nasib fate or destiny negara nation niat intention orang human pantang/ pantang larang rules of behaviour pentingkan diri put oneself first petua old folk practices Ramadan the 9th month of the Islamic calendar reformasi reformation rumah terbuka open house sabar patient salam greeting, salutation samak cleansing or purification procedure serban headgear solat/ salat prayer solat hajat supererogatory prayer sunnah tradition and customs of prophet Muhammad (p.u.h) which are accepted as proper conduct to follow sūrah chapters from al-Qur’ān surau praying room of lesser status than a mosque syawal the 10th month of the Islamic calendar syariah Islamic law syukur thankful to God takwa conciousness of God tawakal resign or to trust in God teguran admonishment telekung prayer cloaks for woman tudung headscarf xviii ulama Islamic religious teacher ummah Muslim community urut massage usrah a small religious discussion session/group ustaz Islamic religious teacher (of lesser rank than ulama) wajib obligatory
xix
CHAPTER 1 Being Malay and Being Malay-Muslim: An Introduction
Malays – superficially it is easy to identify them. They are normally brown in skin-color, of moderate physical build but tough, and often gentle-mannered. (Syed Husin Ali 1982, p. 1)
Introduction
Upon my arrival in Perth, Western Australia, in December 2007, I experienced mixed feelings of excitement, anxiousness and eagerness in being in a new place and culture and in meeting new people. I wondered whether the local people would see me as a stranger in their environment. I felt hesitant in dealing with the locals because I started to see myself as a Muslim and Malay. This was because my appearance (I wear a headscarf) could easily identify me as a Muslim. I was less concerned about my ethnic identity as Malay, but I did start to have questions about the other Malay students: Did they think like me? Did they have the same feelings as I did? Did they face the same problems, or were they facing different ones?
These questions triggered my deeper look into Malay postgraduate students’ experiences and their ideas of being Malay-Muslim outside Malaysia. These are some of the questions now raised in this research: In what contexts do they identify themselves as Malay? To what extent do they identify themselves as Muslim? To what extent are they willing to negotiate their Malay or ethnic identity or, if not, how are they adjusting or maintaining them? Concerning their religious identity, how far are they willing to negotiate changes in their life? In seeking answers to these questions, I will explore in some detail the reasons for students having chosen their respective universities and for coming to Western Australia in the first place, rather than going to other countries. I will then discuss the idea of who the Malays are in the Malaysian context, followed by the idea of being Malay-Muslim.
1 In 2001, after the 9/11 incidents1, most people were awakened and shocked by the massive attack. However, my research was affected by how this incident contributed to changes in Malay-Muslim students pursuing higher education in the United States. What was initially seen as a terrorist attack, that is the deliberate targeting of civilian sites and/or the injury and death of non-combatant civilians, was later conceptualised as a religious one (Schwartz 2009, p. 538). It caused many misunderstandings about other Muslim countries, including Malay-Muslims in Malaysia, who in general have opted for moderate Islamic teachings, values and practices in their daily lives2. Malaysian students, overall, especially Malay-Muslim students, have had to digest the consequences of the 9/11 incidents, which cast gloom on the prospect of pursuing their studies in the United States. The Malaysian government, which was concerned about the safety of its students in the United States at that time, gave these students the option to pursue their studies locally or in another country. As stated by a Malay postgraduate student in Western Australia, the Malaysian government continues to discourage its sponsored postgraduate students from going to the United States, and suggests other countries, including Australia, as its favoured destinations.
The economic situation also contributed to why Australia has become a favourite destination among Malay students pursuing their studies. For example, in the case of the United Kingdom, the high exchange rate between the British pound sterling and the Malaysian ringgit3 is a burden to the Malaysian government. Next was the rise in international students’ university fees in the UK. This has further weakened the prospect of selected students pursuing their studies, except for a few listed courses allowed by the Malaysian government; normally, these are technical and professional courses that are offered only in the UK or that are in high demand in Malaysia. These factors are
1 The September 11 attacks, often referred to as September 11th or 9/11 (pronounced “nine eleven”), were a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks committed by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda (a terrorist group) against targets in the United States. The attacks caused extensive death and destruction and triggered an enormous U.S. effort to combat terrorism. On September 11, 2001, groups of attackers boarded four domestic aircraft at three East Coast airports and soon after takeoff overpowered the crews and took control of the planes. The hijackers intentionally crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. The World Trade Center’s were heavily damaged and south towers collapsed and the north tower fell half an hour later. A number of buildings adjacent to the twin towers suffered serious damage, and several subsequently fell.
Most Malay postgraduate students in Western Australia are aware of the above situations. However, they have also given various reasons why they chose to pursue their studies here in Western Australia, compared to other countries or other places in Australia. The first was the availability of the courses for which they wished to apply. Second, they found a good supervisor, and some had even known their supervisor long before they registered at their present university. Third, the distance between Malaysia and Western Australia enabled them to fly back to Malaysia frequently, to visit their parents or to collect the data for their research. The fourth reason was that, because most of the postgraduates involved in this study were married with children, the free primary and secondary education provided in Western Australia was an asset for them. This was in contrast to other parts of Australia, where postgraduate students had to pay school fees of AUD$5000.00 per year for each child. Finally, some of them considered the high numbers of Malaysian students in Western Australia to be welcoming, especially to those who did not know anyone here in advance of their arrival. They felt they could always rely on other Malays and other Malaysians (like Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups that comprise Malaysia’s plural society4) for assistance if they were in need.
4 Malaysia is a plural society (majmuk). However, it is very difficult to understand the Malaysian social structure because of its unique character. According to Furnivall (1945, p. 171), a plural society has come into existence when the only factor common to all groups and members has been the economic factor. Fisk and Rani (1982, p. 105) explained that before colonialism and the early period of the colonialism, Peninsular Malaysia was a place which was inhabited mostly by Malays, although there were a limited number of Chinese and Indians and some nomadic aboriginal people. It was during the colonial period that the British encouraged and accelerated the migrations to Peninsular Malaysia from India, China and Indonesia because of the need for a labour force which resulted in today’s Malaysian mosaic or a Malaysian Plural Society. Malaysia is anything but a homogenous society, being the home of numerous ethnic groups, each with their own sets of social mores and values. It is a conglomeration, and each group is only a part of it. In regard to the socio-cultural differences, Malayasian society today consists of three different sub-societies or segments, which are mainly the Malays, Chinese and the Indians. Each segment of Malaysian society, labelled a ‘race’ in governmental classification (i.e. on identity cards), has its own language, traditions and religious norms and value systems that are very different from one society to another. Not only the economic imbalance of the society leads to polarization, but also the socio-cultural elements create polarization between the Malays, Chinese and Indians (Fisk & Rani 1982, p. 106). The different institutions established to deal with the different ethnic backgrounds on social economic, judicial, and educational matters have worked to effect a strong emphasis on group identity. Therefore, scholars refer to Malaysia as plural (Fenton 2003).
3 It is important to consider all of these factors when addressing issues of identity, since each situation and reason can contribute to the idea of being Malay-Muslim overseas. I attempt to explore and discuss these elements further, in the hope of clarifying the many ambiguous ideas of ethnic and religious identity among Malay postgraduate students here in Western Australia. How have they adjusted or maintained their identity in the situations mentioned and if so, how? On the other hand, could it be that adjusting their ethnic and religious identity in Western Australia has depended on variable situational circumstances? Could it be that the high number of Malays and Malaysian students has contributed to their strong sense of group identity?
Based primarily on the feedback from my group of Malay overseas student informants, in this research I will try to address these questions together focussing on their insights into being Malay-Muslim outside of Malaysia. I also acknowledge that some Malay students pursuing their studies in Western Australia would prove to be exceptions in many ways from my own findings in this research. However, I would stress that the informants involved in this research were Malay postgraduate students with high family expectations, despite their different family backgrounds, their different Malaysian states of origin, or their being attached to different universities in Malaysia. The next section will introduce the idea of who a Malay is in this research, and will discuss the various definitions and ambiguous understandings of the concept in the Southeast Asian region.
Being Malay: Outlining Ambiguity and the Adjustment Process
Much has been written about ethnic Malays in Southeast Asia, but there is much ambiguity in relation to the question of Malay identity. ‘Malay’ is defined in Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia, as ‘someone born to a Malaysian citizen, who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs and is domiciled in Malaysia or Singapore’. This definition, however, leads to further ambiguity in the current world context: What if a Malay prefers to speak languages other than Malay? What if mixed marriages contribute to a new set of customs or cultures? What if cosmopolitanism leads the ethnic Malay to domicile somewhere else in the world besides Malaysia or Singapore? Are they then still to be identified as ethnic Malays? According to Shamsul (2001b, p. 76), the discussions and conflicts among Malays themselves centre on the question who could be called a ‘real Malay’ (Melayu asli or Melayu jati).
4 Shamsul (2001a, p.355) proposes that Malay ethnicity is not innate, but rather learned or constructed and that Malay-Malayness has been created as a result of intersecting historical, cultural and social factors at a particular moment. In Malaysia, most historians and other scholars in the humanities accept ‘colonial knowledge’ as the basis of Malaysian and Malay history (Shamsul 2001a, p. 358). According to Cheah Boon Kheng’s Writing on Indigenous History in Malaysia (1997), historical knowledge, a crucial element in all identity formation, is still based on colonial knowledge in Malaysia. Cohn (1996) highlights the set of ‘officialising procedures’ that the British used to establish and extend their authority in numerous areas:
‘...control by defining and classifying space, making separations between public and private spheres, by recording transactions such as sale of property, by counting and classifying populations, replacing religious institutions as the registrar of births, marriages, and deaths, and by standardizing languages and scripts’ (Cohn 1996, p. 1).
According to Shamsul (2001a), enactments realizing these procedures were instituted separately in the state constitutions of each of the eleven negeri (states) of Peninsular Malaysia. Each state constitution offered a slightly different definition of who was a ‘Malay’. For instance, a person of Arab descent was a Malay in Kedah, but not in Johor; a person of Siamese descent was a Malay in Kelantan, but not in Negeri Sembilan. Such enactments also made ‘Malay’ and ‘Malayness’ contested categories (Shamsul 2001a, pp. 360-361). However, Shamsul sees modern Malaysians as having become familiar with ‘facts’ that appear in various reports and statistical data. Hefeels that citizens of Malaysia rarely question these ‘facts’, as they are fine and often invisible manifestations of the process of Westernization.
Shamsul has further argued that the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 introduced a new dimension to the understanding of Malay and ‘Malayness’ as a result of the presence of the native peoples in Sarawak and Sabah, such as the Dusun and Murut in Sabah and the Melanau in Sarawak. Unlike the Malays in Peninsular Malaysia, these groups did not constitute, each on their own, the majority of the population. Therefore, according to Shamsul (2001b), to avoid further tensions and problems in state–federation relations, the term bumiputera became an important ethnic category in the federal government’s efforts to create solidarity. The Malays and the native Muslims and non-Muslims of Sarawak were then combined into a single category. However, the constitution does not use the term ‘bumiputera’: it defined only 5 ‘Malay’ (Article 160), ‘aborigine’ (Article 160(2)), ‘natives’ of Sarawak (Article 161A(6)(a)), and ‘natives’ of Sabah (Article 161A(6)(b)). In most public situations, definitions of ‘bumiputera’ vary among different institutions, organizations, and government departments and agencies. However, according to Milner (2008), the term ‘real Malay’ may have died with the colonial period, but the Malay people continued to be discussed in ways that imply the possession of certain fixed characteristics, a definable essence that includes such elements as the use of the Malay language.
According to Lian Kwen Fee (2001), when Singapore separated from Malaysia, defining Malay identity had to wait for nearly two decades in the new city-state before Malay identity was formalized through debates in Singapore's parliament. According to the definition that emerged, a ‘person belonging to the Malay community means any person, whether a Malay by race or otherwise, who considers himself to be a member of the Malay community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Malay community by the community’ (Constitution of the Republic of Singapore 1988, p. 46). Adherence to Islam has not been a criterion for being ‘Malay’ in the Singapore census process (Lily Zubaidah 1998, p. 81). Lian Kwen Fee (2001) also explained that in the case of Indonesia, the notion of Malay identity is a loosely defined regional identity. In other words, when the Indonesian Republic was proclaimed in 1945, the notion of Malay identity, which is closely related to ‘kerajaan’ (kingdom), gave way to national identity based on the revolution and ‘negara’ (nation-state). Therefore, in terms of defining the Malay, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia each have their own distinctive idea of who is Malay. In Malaysia, as well as some parts of Indonesia, occasionally we find Malays referring to conversion to Islam (regardless of their ethnic group) as ‘masuk Melayu’ (convert to Malay) when it really means ‘masuk Islam’ (convert to Islam). This situation needs to be examined further, since the term, as far as I am aware, is commonly used among rural Malays compared to urban Malays. As stated by an informant in Lindenberg’s (2009) study, which describes the idea of conversion to Islam as ‘masuk Melayu’, was, ‘the idea when you become a Muslim, you become Malay, you could not be different, you were expected to be a Malay, you had to talk like a Malay, dress like a Malay, walk like a Malay, speak like a Malay, and all this straight away’ (Lindenberg 2009, p. 228).
6 This situation was aptly described in a current statement by former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, in a Malaysian local newspaper5. He said that a Malay should be glad to be born as a Malay, because that directly makes them a Muslim (as defined by the Malaysian Constitution). There are only two nations in the world where their race is glued to the Islamic religion, that is, the Maldives and Malaysia. In other words, a person born in a Malay family will be a Muslim because they are not Malay if they are not Muslim6. The situation will never be the same if they are born in an Arab, Indonesian or Pakistani family because they are not habitually a Muslim yet. It is not defined in these countries’ legal constitutions that they – the Arab, Indonesian or Pakistani – are therefore a Muslim, unlike the Malays. I found this statement revealing (however empirically disputable) in explaining the distinct features of being Malay in Malaysia as compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. So, in considering Islam as a requirement, this certainly removes the vast majority of Filipinos, who are of course Christian (Milner, 2008), even though they still continue to express a strong ‘Malay’ consciousness (Salazar 1998) in the sense of a larger regional Malay identity. In other words, the idea of Malay consciousness in the Philippines is more comprehensive compared to the idea of Malay as a citizenship category in Malaysia. The next section discusses further the idea of being Malay and the ambiguity in defining Malays in the Malaysian context.
The general description of who is Malay that I found pertinent to defining being Malay in general is given by a well-known Malaysian poet, the late Usman Awang7. He was considered by most as a giant in the Malay literary world, especially due to his poem entitled Melayu (Malay). This poem explains the general characteristics of the Malay ethnic group, such as its members’ attitudes, manners, morals, cultural practices and also adat8. In this poem, he highlights the importance of maintaining a Malay identity whilst at the same time discussing the willingness of Malays to let go or to transform
5 This newspaper article, dated 23rd of March 2011, is in Malay and can be fully viewed at this website:
MELAYU (MALAY) - Usman Awang
Melayu di tanah Semenanjung luas maknanya: Jawa itu Melayu, Bugis itu Melayu Banjar juga disebut Melayu, Minangkabau memang Melayu, Keturunan Acheh adalah Melayu, Jakun dan Sakai asli Melayu, Arab dan Pakistani, semua Melayu Mamak dan Malbari serap ke Melayu Malah mua’alaf bertakrif Melayu (Setelah disunat anunya itu)
Translation9
Being ‘Malay’ in the Peninsula has a broad meaning: Javanese is Malay, Bugis is Malay Banjar is also called Malay Minangkabau is Malay Acehnese decendants are Malay Jakun and Sakai are native Malay, Arab and Pakistani, all Malay Mamak and Malbari are absorbed by Malay Even ‘mua’alaf’10 is of Malay status After they have been circumcised
Walaupun sudah mengenal universiti Masih berdagang di rumah sendiri. Berkelahi cara Melayu Menikam dengan pantun Menyanggah dengan senyum Marahnya dengan diam Merendah bukan menyembah Meninggi bukan melonjak.
9 Translations are my own, unless otherwise indicated. 10‘Mua’laf’ refers to a newly converted Muslim. A person is considered to have converted to Islam from the moment he or she sincerely makes the declaration of faith called shahadah (a term used in Islam to denote the all important confession or affirmation of the unity of God and the apostleship of Muhammad (s.a.w.), meaning ‘to attest’, 'to give decisive word’, hence ‘to acknowledge as true’ and is used in referring to eye witness testimony (like conversion to Islam) or other dependable evidence (Cragg 2005, pp. 8266-8267). 8 Translation
Even after they attend university Still doing business in their own home Fighting in a Malay way Stabbing with ‘pantun’11 Shouting with a smile Angered in silence Humble but not bowing down Proud but not boasting
Berdamai cara Melayu indah sekali Silaturrahim hati yang murni Maaf diungkap senantiasa bersahut Tangan diulur sentiasa bersambut Luka pun tidak lagi berparut
Translation
The Malay way of peace is most beautiful ‘Silaturrahim’12 of pure heart Apology uttered, always accepted Hands offered, always received Even wounds do not leave any scars
Bagaimanakah Melayu abad dua puluh satu Masihkan tunduk tersipu-sipu? Jangan takut melanggar pantang Jika pantang menghalang kemajuan; Jangan segan menentang larangan Jika yakin kepada kebenaran; Jangan malu mengucapkan keyakinan Jika percaya kepada keadilan.
Translation
How about the Malay in the twenty-first century? Are they still bowing their heads timidly? Do not be scared to violate the forbidden
11 ‘Pantun’ is a four-lined verse consisting of alternating, roughly rhyming lines. The first and second lines sometimes appear disconnected in meaning from the third and fourth, but there is almost invariably a link of some sort. Whether it is a mere association of ideas, or of feeling, expressed through assonance or through the faintest nuance of a thought, it is nearly always traceable (Sim 1987, p.12). 12 ‘Silaturrahim’ is an Arabic word meaning brotherhood or the bond of friendship, and examples of silaturrahim acts are building communities, family reunions and demonstrating kindness towards neighbours. Silaturrahim is also about reconnecting with the family, our society and, last but not least, ourselves.
Usman Awang describes the Malay ethnic group as being one of the major ethnic groups in this region, yet also conveys some of the ambiguity as to who the Malay is. According to Barnard (2004, p. ix), the word Melayu (Malay, Maleis) appears in seventh-century Chinese sources with reference to Sumatra, and it has been used in Southeast Asia ever since, carrying with it notions of a culture, a people and a location. The Malays are always on the move and transforming themselves, often very elusively, and theirs is a contested and wandering identity. However, this research reveals, in addition, that besides ethnicity and identity, Malay students also go through transitions in a foreign context. This explains the situation mentioned in the last paragraph of Usman Awang’s poem above on the Malay in the twenty-first century: they should not be scared to violate the forbidden, if the forbidden is going to prevent development or progress. The first thing that is of concern to some Malay students who have arrived in this foreign country is letting go temporarily of their home and leaving their families behind.
As one example of the problems of transition to foreign places, I came across one Malay student who shared her concern about her house in Malaysia that she had rented out to someone with the assistance of her parents, who were looking after the rent and her house. When her tenant wished to move out of the house and breach her agreement to stay for at least two years, the student was angry and frustrated. She was going to deal with the tenants, but her parents stopped her. They said she should just leave the matter to them and not call the tenant. The reason was that her parents were scared that the tenant would go to the bomoh13 and make the student’s life hard through ‘black
13 ‘Bomoh’ or dukun refers to the traditional practitioner of Malay folk medicine (Mohd Taib Osman 1972, p. 221). The term bomoh is more frequently used in Peninsular Malaysia than dukun, although the latter is a standard term for a traditional medical practitioner in Indonesia, particularly Java (Wazir 1984). According to Mohd Taib Osman (1972), perhaps there is no other social institution in Malay culture today which enjoys a longer continuity and yet is fully functional in everyday life when compared to the institution of bomoh. In it, one is able to see cultural accretions from the earliest period of the Malays' history to the present. Mohd Taib Osman suggested that the total belief system in Malay culture today can be graphically pictured as interactions between Islamic ideals, inherited traditional beliefs and empirical or scientific knowledge. According to him, on the ideal level, as typical of a Muslim community everywhere, prescribed Islamic teachings and practices are the paramount goals towards which members 10 magic’14. What I would like to note in this scenario is how the Malay student, as a Muslim as well as a Malay middle-class member in the making, still has to position herself between traditional beliefs and development. As a postgraduate student, she felt that, being in Western Australia would help her to develop as an exceptionally educated person. However, she finds that having to deal with the traditional belief in shamanism is obstructing her effort. How Malay culture/adat plays a role in the Malay students’ lives in relation to a foreign place and identity construction is discussed in Chapter Four. However, Malay culture and adat are two factors that are intertwined with each other and hard to separate in relation to Malay-Muslim life practice.
Barnard (2004) has suggested that the primacy of language has also been the basis of explorations into the boundaries of a Malay culture, a Malay nation, a Malay race, a Malay state or a Malay identity. A study by Nurliza (1986), for example, has illustrated how language has become a key marker of Malay-Muslim identity in Singapore. However, Andaya (2008, p. 14) feels that the discussion by Barnard overlooks an emerging culture in the northern portion of the Straits of Malacca that formed the antecedents of Malay culture in the Isthmus of Kra and the Malay Peninsula which he termed a ‘Sea of Malayu’15. According to Andaya, the long and profitable interaction within this common ‘sea’ produced a shared cultural idiom that helped shape Malay identity. This statement is consistent with O’Connor’s (1995, p. 987) suggestion that ecological adaptation, language, and agricultural techniques are significant shifts that can be used to explain the so-called ‘decline’ and ‘emergence’ of ethnic groups in Southeast Asia.
On the other hand, in Sarawak, the term ‘Malays’ refers to people who are from the same stock as some of their neighbours, but who, although not immediately related to the Malays in the peninsula, called themselves by that name when they were converted to Islam during the last few centuries (Milne & Mauzy 1986, p. 69). Kahn (2003, p. of the community are supposed to strive. But on the behaviourial level, the Islamic ideals have to contend with local beliefs or adat as well as scientific knowledge, which, in the case of most Muslim communities, is mainly brought about by the process of westernisation of their cultures (although a great deal of modern sciences has its roots in the Islamic civilisation). 14 See also other terms used in anthropological perspectives, such as witchcraft and sorcery. Some ethnographic studies (see Evans-Pritchard 1937; Middleton & Winter 1963; Stephen 1986; Geschiere 1997) have pointed out that, among other motivations, witchcraft is commonly motivated by envy and malice, rather than by the pursuit of material gain (Niehaus 2006). 15 Andaya proposed the term ‘Sea of Malayu’ as a community of settlements conjoined through extensive and intensive economic and cultural interactions (2008, p. 22). The spelling Malayu here refers to the older spelling of Melayu. 11 148), on the other hand, feels that the Malays are a community quite literally obsessed with their own uniqueness with respect to a godless, cultureless but nonetheless imperialist ‘West’. I see this as a statement relevant to my study of Malays who are exposed to Western-oriented culture where individuals’ personalities and behaviours, political/legal systems, economic conditions, and social mores are all intertwined with the national culture from which they originate (Berger 1991). Therefore, here in Australia, where Malay students are a distinct minority, I would argue that their renewed exposure beyond their ethnic frontiers has prompted them to protect and even enhance their Malay distinctiveness despite the need for accommodation. I will use the term identity adjustment in discussing the Malay student’s identity by referring to their idea of exhibiting agreement, compliance or even submission in regard to their ethnic and religious identity within wider Australian society. However, there are limits to this adjustment. The process of adjustment discussed in this thesis attempts to clarify how Malay students have adopted Malayness as an identity in order to justify their actions. Nevertheless, the nature or essence of Malayness still remains problematic, and it is still one of the most challenging and confusing terms discussed in the world of Southeast Asia (Barnard 2004, p. xiii). This thesis’s analysis of Malay postgraduate students in Western Australia reveals their belief that whatever possible adjustment to their identity they make, they should not disregard their religious beliefs, values and practices. This is one way Malay students in Australia create their distinctiveness compared to other Muslims. How and why Malays are distinctive from other Muslims in relation to their ethnic and religious identity adjustment is discussed further in Chapter Four.
Being Malay-Muslim: Channeling and Supporting Identity
In the opening of the twenty-first century, Malay-Muslim identity has been affected by the changes that have been underway within Islam, especially within the ‘Malay’ community in Malaysia. Means (1978, pp. 402-403) and Rosenthal (1965, p. 301) are among the academics who have predicted that with modernization there would be an increasing separation of state and religion, and that religious issues probably become somewhat less important. However, Wilson (1967, pp. 64-65) judged that Islam was simply ‘too integral a part of Malay culture for it to be a force for change and new involvement’. Milner (2008) stated that Malay-Muslims, as seen in relation to Islamists elsewhere in the Muslim world, have been critical of the notion of the ‘traditional Malay’ as having been too much influenced by pre-Islamic traditions. Islamic critique
12 has brought many changes to Malay-Muslims, the most obvious being in dress styles and language. More and more women have adopted conservative clothing, including wearing the veil; some men have begun to wear the Arab headgear (serban), skull-cap (kopiah) and robes (jubah); terms from Arabic vocabulary have become increasingly common, for instance, the Islamic greeting of Assalamualaikum (Chandra 1987; Nagata 1984; Wazir 1992).
Exactly how extensive the impact of Islam has been on ‘Malay’ society, especially outside Malaysia, is difficult to assess. Kahn (2006) in his investigation in the 1980s of how far traditional Malay culture among Malay middle- and lower-class residents was being threatened, suggested that cultural loss was not an issue for them, since Islam was their main priority. According to Kahn, some consider Malay culture as disappearing, but felt this was desirable to the extent that traditional Malay practices contradicted the tenets of Islam (Kahn 2006, p. 88). Martinez (2006) later extended the results of his survey of ‘Malaysian Muslims’ carried out in 2005, suggesting that the majority when asked what term of identity defined them best, chose ‘Muslim’ (72.7 per cent) rather than ‘Malay’ (12.5 per cent) or ‘Malaysian’ (14.4 per cent) (Martinez 2006). However, the survey was of ‘Malaysian Muslims’, not only Malay-Muslims. Martinez suggested that the heightened self-consciousness about being Muslim may be a result of the blurring of boundaries between Malays and others in Malaysia, because so many non- Malays have been engaging in Malay culture; but it may also, of course, point to an intensification of religiosity.
The anthropologist Michael Peletz (2002, pp. 225-227) agrees that Malays are increasingly referring to themselves as Muslim people rather than Malay people. Yet, Peletz further explains that the ordinary Malays who experience Islam as central to their daily lives and cultural identities regard dakwah agents who enjoin the sanitizing of Islam by eliminating their daily rituals and beliefs, such as their idea of local spirits or jin, as arrogant, hypocritical and supportive of harsher Shari’ah legal penalties. In other words, Peletz (2002, p. 1997) refers to this situation as something that is commonly perceived by ordinary Malays as a direct attack on sanctified elements of their basic values and cultural identities. Religion is then seen as playing a large role in Malay identity, and Islam has always been a key element of Malay cultural identity, though not an exclusive one. It has mixed with, rather than displaced, important pre-Islamic traditions and beliefs in relation to rules, rituals and obligations. Despite the universalist
13 nature of Islam, which rejects any form of ethnic identities in its basic principles (such as in the construction of the ummah16), the state has gradually moved toward an ethnic and religious nexus in which Malay ethnic identity is often equated with adherence to Islam (US Department of State 2000). In fact, the two identities, Muslim and Malay, have increasingly become intertwined (Derichs 1999; Hamayotsu 1999). Despite posing some apparent dilemmas, Islamic symbols have become a basic component of Malay cultural identity together with the elements of Malay language and education (M. Shamsul Haque 2003).
Based on his 1980s observations, Kahn (1992, p. 174) noted that Malaysia was ‘awash with the symbolism of traditional Malay culture’. He initially pointed to the UMNO (United Malays National Organization) government as not only engaged in the mainstreaming of Islam, but also resisting more stringent Islamic demands through the promotion of ‘traditional’ culture. Kahn further suggested that this may have been a strategy for advancing the Malay bangsa and the national leadership at a time when Mahathir’s leadership was in conflict with some of the sultans. As Kahn (1992, p. 165) reported, this might be one reason why Islam played a relatively minor role in this vigorous promotion of traditional Malay culture. In the post-Mahathir era, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has to a certain extent continued the mainstreaming of the Islamic movement and proposing the idea of ‘Islam Hadhari’ (civilizational Islam) as a guiding philosophy for society, spelling out an approach to development consistent with the teachings of Islam. Malays have accepted the Islamic way of life, and Islam is considered a part of them, a part of their heritage, a part of their identity and a part of their possessions that needs to be protected (Mohamad Abu Bakar 1984, pp. 140-41).
Shamsul A.B. (1997b, p. 210), on the other hand, has redefined Malay ethnicity through noting the transition from Islam as a pillar of Malayness to the idea of Malay ethnicity as centre stage in politics and society. Mutalib (1990) has argued that the political experiences of the Malays and government policies have caused the pull of ethnic interests to override and take precedence over Islamic considerations and values. This
16 The term ummah or umma designates one of the most fundamental concepts in Islam. Often translated as the ‘Muslim community’ of men and women, the term has assumed different meanings in evolving historical circumstances. The foundational source for the study of the Islamic concept of umma is, naturally, the Qurʾan. Nonetheless, the idea of an Islamic umma, as it is used in contemporary political discourse, carries the imprints of the nation-state with which it is competing. Despite substantial limitations on political and legal expressions of the idea of the umma, it remains a significant source of social identity for many Muslim men and women throughout the world (Dallal 2011).
14 means Islam has had to contend with ‘traditional’ norms (adat). Defining adat is difficult, but Geertz (1983, p. 185) argues that adat refers to something half-way between ‘social consensus and moral style’. In discussing Malay adat, in most instances it also refers to Malay culture. As in my informal meetings and communications with the elderly Malays, they tend to use the term adat in reference to the everyday practices of the Malays. However, the same situations are referred to as Malay culture by the younger generations. For example, Malays using their hand to eat is referred to as Malay adat by the earlier generations, while it is more commonly referred to as Malay culture among the later generations, including among my informants. Therefore, for many members of the younger generation, the term adat has become largely synonymous with culture and vice-versa. There is generally no clear distinction in the usage of these two terms in everyday communication. The role and position of adat in Malay-Muslim life, as suggested by prominent Malay scholars, is discussed in the next section in this chapter.
Kim Shively (2006) suggests that when one undertakes a review of works about the Muslim world, one runs the risk of falling into the old habit of privileging ‘Islam’ as a principal explanatory device when discussing politics and power (or anything, it seems) in Muslim-majority societies. Anzaldua (1999) has suggested the idea of facultad, where one deems religion an even greater aspect of one’s identity because one has fought to keep it. Anyone who has had their religion questioned, Anzaldua says, will come out even more religious than before. There is an underlying assumption that it is Islam – not economics or geopolitics or anything else – that makes ‘them’ the way they are (Shively 2006, p. 538). According to Mahathir Mohamad (1994, p. 6), the Muslim communities who are weak and oppressed seek solace in religious practice. In doing so, they interpret Islam in ways which are unIslamic; due to this Islam and Muslims have acquired a bad name. Kahn (2003, p. 148) argues that an outsider or non-Muslim does not have to spend a long time with the Malay people before they are reminded of the differences between Muslim Malays and Westerners.
Transmitting the practices that constitute being Malay-Muslim depends on the operation of the family, as the basic unit of Malay society. Family is an important institution in nurturing and moulding Malay social and cultural values among Malay overseas students. This is discussed in parts of Chapters Five and Six in this thesis. In Islamic practice, a family is endowed with great religious honour and divine blessing (Mohd
15 Kamal 1994, pp. 133-134). In other words, obedience to parents comes right next to obedience to God and His messenger. Furthermore, the traditional Malay family maintains the high esteem accorded to the parents by Islam, where the authority of the father as the leader is preeminent without diminishing the revered role of the mother. Children are expected to be taught how to read the Qur’an and join their parents in the daily prayers. According to Mohd Kamal (1994, pp. 134-135), the effective Muslim family is the one that is united and upholds the teachings of Islam in their daily life, projecting a life-style of moderation and religious piety, while maintaining friendly relationships with their neighbours. A culture of humility, respect for elders, teachers and authority, reverence for religious scholars, sharing of joy and grief, collective prayer and modesty are ideally nurtured in the Malay community. Findings on how these practices are adjusted or maintained among Malay university students in Western Australia are discussed further in Chapter Five and Six.
Malay Student Identity: Regulating ‘Adat’ and Reaffirming ‘Bangsa’
In discussing Malay society, it is essential to develop an understanding of the cultural formations and constructions of Malay adat (traditional customs)17. According to Zainal Kling (1997, p.8), adat represents a ‘commonsense’ construction of everyday life. Overall, Malay adat emphasizes peace and harmony, based on the precept of altruism (unselfishness) and proper respect for another’s feelings, status and position; it acknowledges change, but it establishes the means through which change is incorporated and accommodated and reintegrated. As a Malay folk model, adat provides the means by which identity is sustained. Apart from his work on adat, Syed Hussein Alatas (1996) has distinguished aspects of the ‘New Malay’ and ‘Old Malay’ by observing how the New Malays have claimed that Islam and their unique adat (culture) were features of their identity. Alatas referred to the New Malay as Malays with a new consciousness who ‘will be selective of positive and negative influences that have been left in the past’ (1996, p. 6) and he characterised the New Malay as rational, moral and selective. This means the New Malays have maintained their identity and culture, but ridded themselves of regressive traditions by being rational and selective.
17 Peletz (1987) describes adat as ‘customary law’. 16 The content of adat – as noted earlier – alters from one place to another, though it is a concept which at the most general level has been described as ‘unify(ing) the mind of the Malay world’ (Zainal Kling 1989/1990, p. 115). In other words, adat has often been recognized as both ‘traditional’ and ‘stable’. When we analyze adat in the contemporary context, we must take into consideration the fact that adat must be analyzed in a wider context and in relation to the historical influences of colonial rule and the present-day post-colonial situation (Hisashi Endo 1999). The ‘traditional’ adat and the ‘modern’ concept of ‘culture’ and ‘development’ are considered to be two sides of the same coin. The more culture and development are emphasized, the more adat is transformed in accordance with them (Hisashi Endo 1999, p. 22). In fact, Hooker (1970, p. vii) has also pointed out that adat is not a quaint system of customary law, but is a living system, enshrined in law reports, statutes, and administrative minutes.
A description of adat by Wilder (1982, p. 117) is summed up by a Malay proverb: ‘Other pools, other fishes; other fields, other crickets’ (Lain lubuk, lain ikannya; lain padang, lain belalang). That is to say, every community has its own accent, custom, personality and history. Another significant Malay proverb on adat is ‘Better to let one’s child die, but not one’s custom’ (Biar mati anak, jangan mati adat). This is the ‘tightness’ about which Provencher (1971, pp. 205-206) wrote when he warned that Malay communities only looked ‘loose’ to a ‘cognitively naïve Westerner’. In other words, the typifications as ‘loose’ or ‘tight’ would seem to depend on what exactly is being examined when we are considering the whole community of the ‘Malay people’. This study attempts to consider the position of adat outside the Malaysian context and the extent to which Malay students in Western Australia view adat as relevant to their everyday life. I discuss further examples given by my informants in Chapters Five, Six and Seven.
Malay adat also is characterized as the basis of social formation when discussing images of altruism or indecision among Malays (Zainal Kling 1997). In such cases adat, as inculcated by the Malays, may in reality dictate that not all decisions can be achieved on the basis of spontaneous consensus; instead differences are discussed through negotiation until consensus is hopefully achieved. This importance of achieving consensus could be found in another Malay proverb, ‘Bulat air kerana pembetung, bulat manusia kerana muafakat’ (Water is round because of its culvert, humanity is integrated because of their consensus or agreement – this is the closest translated literal meaning I
17 would suggest). What I emphasize here in this research on Malays outside Malaysia is the subjective construct of adat, not just its formulation as an ideological concept. I was once asked by a fellow scholar, whether adat is the same as ‘ideology’. I could not give a definite answer to this. According to Eagleton (1991, pp.1-31), the term ideology can refer to a wide range of meanings, and not all are compatible with each other, as each involves different conceptual strands. Some of the definitions of ideology listed by Eagleton to which I could relate adat in some ways are:
(a) The process of production of meanings, signs, and values in social life; (b) Ideas which help to legitimate a dominant political power; (c) Identity thinking; (d) The medium in which conscious social actors make sense of their world; (e) An action-oriented set of beliefs.
In this research, I explore how Malay students have understood adat through their personal experiences and socialization process. In other words, I am suggesting that the Malay adat could be viewed as functioning ideologically, but it is not an ideology per se. Adat has existed in parallel with civil law and Islamic law in Malaysia that was operational at least fifty years before the British Colonial period (Raihanah et al. 2010). Adat, then, may be seen as a way of affirming the idea of ‘bangsa Melayu’ (literally meaning ‘the Malay nation’). According to Reid (2001), like ‘race’18, bangsa depends upon a notion of common descent, but its Sanskrit origins refer to lineage or even caste. In the old texts someone who has no bangsa is of low birth. Malay identity took shape around the concept of bangsa Melayu, which dates back at least to Munshi Abdullah19,
18 The earliest uses of the term race is in the sixteenth century meaning ‘a nation or tribe of people regarded as of common stock’ (Fenton 2010, p. 17). However, race as a social construct downplays the extent to which sectors of population share certain characteristics on the basis of common historical origin, close-knit patterns of social interaction, and a sense of common identity (Scott & Marshall 2005, p. 543). 19 Munshi Abdullah or Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi, a Malay author who lived in Melaka and Singapore during the first half of the nineteenth century. Two of his works, Hikayat Abdullah (Tale of Abdullah) and Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan (Account of Abdullah’s voyage to Kelantan) are the stories most often singled out as those that form the bridge between traditional and modern Malay writing. Abdullah grew up in a multilingual environment, where Malay and Tamil were the main languages he heard and spoke during his youth (Putten 2006, pp. 407-440). Abdullah’s paternal grandfather had been the son of a Yemeni Arab and a Tamil woman. His mother’s kin, in contrast, has been Tamil Hindus settled in Kedah and had only converted to Islam when they shifted to Malacca some time in the eighteenth century (Tschacher 2009). Abdullah makes no attempt to conceal his religious identity as Muslim; on the contrary, time and again he emphasizes his Islamic faith. Abdullah’s emphasis on his Muslim identity is there for all to see, which is striking given that the text was written at the behest of missionaries and printed and reprinted on their printing presses. Moreover, Abdullah, for the first time ever in the history of Malay literature, wrote for a printing press (Putten 2006, pp. 407-440). Unlike 18 but was more widely internalised in the region from the 1920s as the equivalent of ‘Malay race’ in English (Reid 2001).
For Munshi Abdullah, the Malay term bangsa referred to the primary community or collective identity, but the political significance of the concept was not clearly realized until the turn of the twentieth century (Lian Kwen Fee 2001). Milner (1995, p. 89) also suggested that the intellectual construction of bangsa began at the turn of the twentieth century, at a time when British Malaya saw a mass influx of Chinese and Indian immigrants who had come to work in the tin mines and on the rubber plantations in Malaya. Compared to Malays the Chinese and Indians made considerable economic progress, and the Malays were in danger of being left behind to the point that bangsa Melayu might even disappear (Milner 1995, pp. 119-21). Such definitions raise problems regarding how to measure racial identity. With the increased immigration of Chinese and Indian labourers to British Malaya in the early 1900s, a plural society was created in which the concept of Malay as a race became fixed and indelible (Hirschman 1987).
In contemporary Malaysia, Shamsul A.B. (2001a) argues that the recently introduced concept of Bangsa Malaysia is by no means an uncontested one either. As a matter of fact, the very notion of one Bangsa Malaysia has generated a vital and healthy debate about how it has been authoritatively defined by people who are part of the dominant power structure or circles involved in forging such an entity (Shamsul 2001b). However, Shamsul A.B (2001b) has also suggested that bangsa as a form of identity can also be an ‘everyday-defined’ term, that is, according to how it is experienced by the people in their everyday lives. In this study, how the concept of bangsa Melayu is germane to the Malay student’s life in Western Australia will be discussed further in Chapters Five, Six and Seven. I argue that the idea of ‘bangsa’ is affirmed in the Malay students’ daily encounters and communications, and it is often used to describe the Malay postgraduate students in general.
typical Malay literary works that contain fantasies and legendary stories, Abdullah’s work dealt the idea of modernity and striving for excellence amongst the Malay community. 19 According to Leigh & Lip (2004)20, ethnicity has been asserted as the dividing line in Malaysian society, and the populations can identify themselves by their culture, their mother tongue, their religion and their locality. Those defining identities overlap, but they are not coterminous. Leigh & Lip stated that after Malaysian independence, the 1972 New Economic Policy (NEP)21 imposed a change on the perceived status of each ethnic community. Furthermore, before independence, under the colonial policy of ethnic ‘divide and rule’, each community had a different perception of its status. The government’s affirmative action policy and subsequent grants of business favours to ethnic Malays has served to enhance the perceived importance of the Malay community, since the Malays of the past have been extremely conscious of their status in what they saw as their homeland. The concept of Bangsa Malaysia was outlined in the policy outline Vision 2020 promulgated by ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir.22 This has already been a contingent reality because within Malaysia, people identify themselves according to their ethnic group, but outside Malaysia, self-identification customarily places country above ethnicity and they introduce themselves not as Malay, Chinese or Indian but as Malaysian (Leigh & Lip 2004). However, the concept of bangsa Malaysia is also ambiguous – nation or race? – depending upon the context.
Lukman (2001) has argued that the Malaysian nation or people were formerly known as bangsa Melayu (Malay nation), but the Malaysian nation underwent a dynamic transformation from one that symbolizes mono-ethnic Malays to one that symbolizes multi-ethnic Malaysians. He further claimed that this transformation is a result of the country’s independence and the need to downgrade the use of ‘Malay nation’ to ‘Malay race’ to truly represent the country’s three major ethnic groups as one nation. The
20 See also Clammer (1979); Nash (1989); Brown (1989); Zawawi Ibrahim (2004); Maznah Mohamad (2005). 21 The New Economic Policy (NEP) was a political response to the May 13 (1969) riots between Malays and Chinese. Increases in unemployment in the period between independence and the 1970s have been identified as one of the reasons for the riots. Therefore, the Second Malaysia Plan (1971-1975) had two important goals: first was to reduce and eventually eliminate poverty for all Malaysians regardless of ethnic identity, and second was to reduce and eventually eliminate the economic imbalance between ethnic groups (Frisk 2009, p.32). In other words, NEP in its basic motives and strategies was a continuation of the ethnic policies first introduced by the colonial government and later expanded upon by the Malaysian state (Shamsul A.B. 1998). 22 In 1991, Mahathir Mohamad, ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, proclaimed that Malaysia was to become an industrialised, modernised and fully developed country by the year 2020 – ‘Vision 2020’ (Frisk 2009, p.34). Vision 2020 and its implementation has earned Mahathir the description of ‘the man who set Malaysia on the world map’ or labels such as Bapa Pembangunan (father of development) (Khoo 2003, p. 2). Vision 2020 is seen as a departure from the old concerns of National Economic Policy (NEP) and Mahathir envisioned of structural transformation from previous dependence on primary commodity production to industrialized economy that could advance towards post-industrial conditions (Khoo 2003, p. 21). 20 Malays he likened to the Maori in New Zealand, people who have lost their country. He then concluded that Malays have then lost the land with which they can fully identify themselves, compared to the Chinese and Indians, who still can identify themselves with China or India. However, Malaysia has most often defended the preservation of its culture through debates on government-imposed policies in the fields of education and language usage (Leigh & Lip 2004).
Lian Kwen Fee (2001) has detailed how the colonial scholar-administrators took it upon themselves to educate the Malays in the Malay language. The intelligentsia was made up of teachers and journalists, mostly from rural backgrounds, who attended training college and who viewed their main task as raising the standard of Malay education and cultural life. It was hoped that when they started teaching upon their return to their own states, they would do so with new consciousness of the wider unity of the Malay world, its people and problems (Roff 1980, p. 144). Lian Kwen Fee (2001) concluded that in Malaya, and later Malaysia, the development of Malay identity had its roots in the dichotomous class structure of traditional society, dividing commoners from the aristocracy. He noted that egalitarian notions made their appearance among commoner Malay intellectuals who had been exposed to Western ideas.
Chandra Muzaffar (1987, p. 33) confirms that for many of Malaysia’s students, academics, politicians, and religious elites, the ultimate goal is an Islamic State. In relation to this research what is of interest is the making of future Malay intellectuals among the Malay postgraduates here, and how Islam is playing a major part in their identity overseas. At the same time, the Malay postgraduates are ultimately making every effort to be in a better position than the commoners in Malaysia, but somehow are not suited to the aristocratic position. These Malay postgraduate students will initially situate themselves among the middle-class in Malaysia. When Islamic revivalism started among the Malays and who is the middle-class in Malaysia are discussed next.
Islamic Revivalism and the Middle Class in Malaysia
Relating being Malay to being Muslim requires some review of how and when the Islamic transformation has occurred in Malaysia. However, this section does not seek to explain the transformation, but to give a brief review of one of the most significant phenomena in Malaysia, that is the growing of Islamic revivalism. According to Nagata
21 (1980a, p. 405), in the Western circles, the term ‘Islamic revival’ is regarded both as an academic and political problem, whose roots and meaning are somewhat perplexing. In other words, the various labels reformist, fundamentalist, conservative, anti-Western and militant have not been entirely satisfactory because certain themes and characteristics depend largely upon local conditions. As for Malaysia, the gradual change in the present direction of Islam began to take place in the late 1970s.
Barraclough (1983) explained that Islamic revivalism has made its impact throughout Malay society and has created a greater awareness of Islam in everyday life and a desire for more knowledge on Islamic matters. There have been a growing number of associations devoted to raising the level of Islamic consciousness; these groups are commonly known as dakwah23 organisations. As a consequence of the spread of dakwah activity, an increasing number of Malay Muslims have turned to the Holy Qur’an and Hadith24 for guidance (Mohamad Abu Bakar 1981). Malaysia is governed by a multi-party structure, with the ruling alliance Barisan Nasional (National Front) comprising a number of essentially communal political parties representing the interests of each of its principal ethnic groups25. Just when Malay unity and identity were becoming more secure, the ethnic ranks were broken by the Islamic Party, PAS (Parti Islam Semalaysia), from outside the Front in 1970’s. At almost the same time, youth and student movements exerted significant political force in Malaysia. Among the three
23 Dakwah literally means a ‘call’ or ‘invitation’, and is a generic term for any missionary or revival activity. In principle dakwah is as old as Islam itself, but for historical reasons has received more attention in some eras than others. In the contemporary form, in Malaysia, dakwah refers to a limited number of visible and distinctive religious activities which are subject to considerable local discussion and controversy. As the rest of the Muslim world, dakwah in Malaysia emphasizes ‘religion as a way of life’. Manifestations of dakwah in Malaysia range from purely personal commitment (between individual and God) through a variety of expressive behaviours such as distinctive dress, work, and worship habits, to formal group participation (Nagata 1980a, pp. 413-414). 24 Hadith, is an Arabic word which literally means ‘speech’ and also ‘new’, because speech is created as it is uttered, it is always new. Following Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w) death, people engaged in speech about him so much that the work ‘hadith’ was eventually reserved for speech related to the Prophet, including his own speech; it then came to refer to sayings of the Prophet and his companions, and finally in some circles only to the sayings of the Prophet himself (Kamali 2005, pp. 3726-3733). 25 Barisan Nasional is comprised of three main political parties, originally formed around UMNO (United Malays National Organization) in 1946, and joined by the MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) in 1946 and later by the MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress) in 1952. 22 major Islamic revivalist (dakwah) organisations are ABIM26, Darul Arqam27 and Jamaat Tabligh28 (Mohamad Abu Bakar 1981).
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid (2008) summarised how the ABIM’s relationship with the Malaysian state government has periodically shifted from being confrontational (1971- 1980), to cooperation in problem-solving (1982-1991), involved as a partner in nation- building (1991-1997) and exerting pressure for its pro-Reformasi29 activism (1997- 2005), and finally to become pragmatically supportive of the state’s agenda to safeguard Malay-Muslim hegemony within the context of the Federal Constitution (2005-present day). On the other hand, Darul Arqam also attempts to address itself to many of the nation’s problems, but is less politically inclined than ABIM. The distinctive feature of Darul Arqam is its emphasis on berdikari (economic self-sufficiency), not only for the residential community itself but as an ideal for all Malays (Nagata 1980a, p. 418). Like Darul Arqam, Jamaat Tabligh also aims both to revive and clarify the basic teachings of the Al-Quran, and to show their relevance to modern society. The expansion of Jamaat Tabligh has been achieved by the grafting of a new, cell-like congregation onto an existing mosque, whose resident imam (rightful leader of a community in prayer) has informally agreed to permit the use of the perimises for Tabligh lectures and retreats (Nagata, 1980a, p. 421). Interestingly, Jamaat Tabligh will search for candidates with some local status from the ranks of educated and respected citizenry to join the chain of volunteer missionizing (Nagata, 1980a, p. 422).
26 ABIM stands for Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia), which was founded in 1971 and quickly established itself as the most credible Islamist NGO in the country (Nagata 1980b, p. 136). 27 Darul Arqam or ‘House of Arqam’ germinated in the 1960’s but not until the 1970’s did it blossom into a full-fledged school, community and communication network (Nagata 1980a, p. 418). 28 Jamaat Tabligh is an Indian-inspired movement, whose nerve centre and organisational stimulus are still located in Delhi. It was founded in the 1920s. It’ message was first carried by Indian missionaries to the Malay Peninsula in the early 1950s (Nagata 1980a, p. 421). 29 Reformasi refers to the movement for social and political reform which grew out of ad hoc street protests and demonstrations held in support of former ABIM president Anwar Ibrahim, who was unceremoniously sacked from his positions as deputy prime minister and deputy UMNO president in September 1998, and later convicted and jailed on charges of corruption and sexual misconduct. Initially marshaled by two civil society alliances, viz. the People’s Democratic Scheme (GAGASAN: Gagasan Demokrasi Rakyat) and the Movement of Justice for Malaysians (GERAK: Gerakan Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia), Reformasi assumed tangible shape in 1999 with the establishment of the National Justice Party (KEADILAN: Parti Keadilan Nasional), which merged in 2003 with the People’s Party of Malaysia (PRM: Parti Rakyat Malaysia) to form the People’s Justice Party (PKR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat). Formally led since its inception by Anwar’s wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR has since the March 8 elections been the largest opposition party in Parliament (Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid 2009, p. 145). 23 What is considered an important and relevant issue here is how these organizations involved in the Islamic revivalism process in Malaysia originated from, bring forward the interests of, and focus upon the middle-class or the Malay intelligentsia. For example, as pointed out by Nagata (1980a), at present, most of ABIM’s principal actors are university lecturers who are engaged in an active lecture circuit, which now penetrates deeply into major national institutions in Malaysia, including universities, schools, the civil service, professional and occupational associations, the military and the police. Information gained from the ABIM official website in 2012 reveals that their principal actors have varied, but the principal criterion is a strong religious education background. Since its beginning until now, ABIM has been a knowledge-based organization. ABIM claimed to opt for a moderate attitude based on local social realities, while strongly holding on to the basic Islamic principles and knowledge growth in human development.30
Nagata also highlights how the Darul Arqam’s leaders, on the other hand, take pride in pointing out their ‘worldly’ qualifications, as its members are drawn principally from the ranks of the educated Malay middle-class. What is apparent here is the idea of the Malay middle-class. Who are its members, and where are they situated in relation to their ethno-religious identity?
Abdul Rahman Embong (2001) has listed a number of salient characteristics of the ‘new’ expanding Malay middle class. His approach to the concept of middle class is occupational: those who form the new middle class are salaried professionals along with the managerial and administrative employees. There is also the ‘marginal’ middle class, which is made up of lower-level white-collar employees. He describes this middle class as new because its members are a first generation, and it is thus characterized by upward social mobility, achieved largely through state-sponsored higher education. The middle class gives priority to, among other things, comfortable housing and cars, computers, hand phones, foreign holidays and leisure. Typically, the members of the middle class own their own homes – two-storey linked or terrace houses, apartments and even bungalows. Rokiah Talib (2000, p. 37) described how middle-class opulent lifestyles could be gleaned from their conspicuous symbols of wealth: the kinds of houses, modes
30 Please refer to ABIM official website < http://www.abim.org.my/v1/ > for current organizational chart (2012-2013). The current ABIM President, Amidi Abdul Manan was former President of the National Islamic Student Association (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia). 24 of transport, the parties thrown, especially during festivals and weddings, at five-star hotels, memberships of exclusive clubs, children’s enrolment in expensive private schools at all educational levels, and shopping in up-market malls.
According to Shamsul A.B. (1997a), the Malay middle-class in Malaysia could be divided into two broad analytical categories, the ‘old’ manually oriented middle class (e.g. small business people and the self-employed) and the ‘new’ mentally oriented middle-class (e.g. professionals and bureaucrats). My interest here is in exploring the ‘new’ middle-class Malay, where their very existence is directly related to the restructuring of the society, particularly in the field of education. Most of the Malay postgraduate students pursuing their studies here are fully funded by the Malaysian government in order to increase the number of qualified Malays in technical and non- technical fields. However, it is notable that Islamic resurgence or dakwah is felt most strongly in this new middle class (Shamsul 1994). Most of the ordinary Muslims or moderate Muslims emerging from this middle class are employed in both the private and public sectors in Malaysia, especially in the field of education.
Figure 1.1 Decisive Aspects and Identity Adjustments among the Members of the Malay Middle-Class in the Making (Overseas Context)
25 I summarise the position of the members of the Malay middle-class (including overseas Malay postgraduate students) in the making in relation to their identity adjustment (Figure 1.1). I will attempt to expand upon this figure in discussing Malay postgraduate identity formation and adjustment when they are overseas. In the figure immediately above, the Malay middle-class here covers the Malay postgraduate students. In their attempt to form and adjust their identity, some would situate their identity by referring to the Malay commoners’ practice or to the Malay aristocratic status, but the primary category of reference differs among each of them. In order to make decisions in the spheres of their various identity adjustments, as listed on the right side of the figure, they have to also consider various aspects related to their daily life practices, which I referred to as their decisive aspects. Therefore, if the Malay students try to make adjustments to their identities here, they must consider how to adjust in each of their decisive aspects. It is a complex process to relate directly because each of the decisive aspects has its importance in the Malay student’s life practice, and they are intertwined with each other in various ways. What could have contributed to them making those decisions? Has Islam inspired their decision to separate themselves from the traditional Malay peasantry or even from segments of the Malay nationalists/intelligentsia? These questions are discussed further in Chapters Four, Five, Six and Seven of this thesis.
Constructing Diverse Identity Dispositions
In earlier part of this chapter, I have introduced who the Malays are in general. In discussing further the idea of the construction of Malay-Muslim student identity in Western Australia, five forms of identity are hypothesized as being significant to them. These are ethnic identity, religious identity, national identity, cosmopolitan identity and gender identity. I discuss diverse identity dispositions in the context of their significant role in Malay student’s lives.
Ethnic Identity
Shamsul A.B. (1996, p. 16) has argued that Malay identity, in itself, has an obscure history that has yet to be seriously examined. His early attempt to examine Malay identity formation in Malaysia was through a concrete systematic analysis of the concept of kampung (village), a term that has been taken for granted by Malaysians as synonymous with ‘Malay’ or ‘Malayness’. Shamsul A.B. (1996, p. 16) has also
26 challenged the way in which ethnic categories are articulated in Malaysia. ‘Malayness’ has been seen in regard to natural categories or ‘boundaries’, and he notes that those studies which focus on a single ethnic group tend to give little consideration to the constructed nature, ‘inventedness’ or even artificiality of the social category ‘race’ or ‘ethnicity’ both in general and in the Malaysian cases. At the macro level, he investigates the sociopolitical concepts of bangsa (nation), negara (state), ketuanan Melayu (Malay dominance), gerakan kebangsaan (nationalist movement), jatidiri bangsa (national identity) and bangsa idaman (nation-of-intent), along with the inevitable issues of the role of Islam, dakwah, the Malay language and Malay royalty. According to Shamsul (2001a, p. 365),
[L]ike most social phenomena, identity formation takes place within two social realities at once: ‘the authority-defined’ reality – the reality that is authoritatively defined by people who are part of the dominant power structure – and the ‘everyday-defined’ reality experienced by the people in their daily life. These two realities exist side by side at any given time.
Besides the constitutional definitions of who is ‘Malay’ in Malaysia, there have also been studies that define ethnic identity at the intra-Malay level and in the urban setting. Armstrong (1986, pp. 104-127), in her study ‘Ethnic Identity Manipulation by Urban Malays’, concentrates on the flexibility in self-identifications and other identifications, as well as individuals’ manipulation of their origin-based identities. There is general agreement that linguistic (dialect) differences are the most significant marker of who is Kelantan Malay, Javanese Malay, etc. Other forms or indicators used to indicate Malay origin are dress, mannerisms (such as hand gestures and other modes of nonverbal communication), and physical appearance (complexion, skin colour and so on). Furthermore, we find that most knowledge about the Malays has been constructed and elaborated in an Orientalist mould by colonial administrator-scholars and anthropologists and other specialists in Malay studies who have subsequently used this knowledge, usually without problematising many of the key terms (Shamsul A.B. 2001a, p. 356). As Bhabha (1994, p. 66) has commented:
[A]n important feature of colonial discourse is its dependence on the concept of ‘fixity’ in the ideological construction of otherness. Fixity then is the sign of cultural/historical/racial difference in the discourse of colonialism. Likewise the stereotype, which is its major discursive strategy, is a form of knowledge and identification that vacillates between what is always ‘in place’, already known, and something that must be anxiously repeated.
27 S. Husin Ali (1984, p. 16) has pointed out that although it may appear that each ethnic group is a homogeneous entity quite distinct from the others, within each group there exist differences. According to him:
[F]or example, the Malays consist of various categories of people, including those who have migrated to the Peninsula from different parts of the Malay Archipelago. The latter are represented by the Minangkabau and Achehnese from Sumatra, Javanese from Java, Bugis from Makasar and Banjarese from Borneo. Each of these categories…has its own language and socio-cultural practices pertaining to family life. Among all the sub-ethnic groups who make up those who regard themselves as Malays, new internal group differences which are becoming more marked now have been produced by the socio- economic changes taking place in the country.
According to Zainal Kling (1994), ethnicity as an identity is a combination of various identities, including race, culture, language, religion, and social norms, but it is not permanent and is constantly influenced by social developments. As an ethnic group, the ability of the Malays to absorb external elements whilst enhancing their social-cultural system and maintaining their identity, is mediated through an interesting process of ethnic encounter. Zainal Kling (1994, p. 173) has suggested that the concept of Malay is being interpreted based on colour range and physical attribution and not according to any exacting or rigid aspects. According to Zainal Kling (1994), while some have spelt out with passion various visions of ‘Malayness’, the view that this type of solidarity is a diversion away from more important types of community and commitment is also gaining ground. In other words, in one perspective ‘Malayness’ is presented as a force with the capacity to challenge the current nation-state configuration; from another it is actually vulnerable.
Basing his research on materials on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Reid (1997, p. 7) has associated the term ‘Malay’ and ‘Malayness’ with two major elements:
i. ‘A line of kingship acknowledging descent from Sriwijaya and Malacca’. The kingship was the prominent pillar of ‘Malayness’ in the Strait of Malacca, and Islam was considered as another pillar because it provided kingship with some of its core values (Kipp 1996, pp. 20-38). ii. ‘A commercial diaspora (constituted by groups of people outside of Straits of Malacca like Makassar and Java) which retained some of the customs, language and trade practices in the emporium of Malacca’.
28 Malay identity is then strengthened by the continuous practice of Malay culture. Identification through communication of shared systems of symbolic verbal and nonverbal behaviour is meaningful to group members, who have a sense of belonging, share traditions, heritage, language, and similar norms and appropriate behaviour (Fong & Chuang 2004, p. 6). According to Eriksen (2001, p. 42), ethnic identity is based on a ‘socially sanctioned notion’ of cultural differences, not ‘real’ ones. Eriksen (2002, p. 69) also presupposes that ethnic identity rests on a notion of shared ancestry and social context; social identities appear fluid, negotiable, situational, analogic and segmentary. All categorizations of group membership must have boundaries; they depend on others in order to make sense. Identity is also seen as a process ‘located’ in the core of the individual, and yet also in the core of his or her communal culture, hence making a connection between community and individual (Scott & Marshall 2005). The idea of ethnic identity is further widened in the psychological arena, whereby according to Rotheram and Phinney (1987, p. 13), ethnic identity refers to one’s sense of belonging to an ethnic group and the part of one’s thinking, perception, feelings, and behaviour that is due to ethnic group membership. They further evaluate the idea by looking into the concept of ego identity and ethnic identity, as well as how family provides the earliest context for a developing sense of ethnicity and is a continuing influence throughout adolescence. Family influences on the formation and maintenance of ethnic identity in childhood are powerful and pervasive beside community and societal contexts (Phinney and Rosenthal 1992).
Frith’s (2000) study has important bearing on the current study. Frith explored the way that urban Malays forge ethnic identity around the dialectic between being Muslim and being Malay. Using Bourdieu’s (1984) concept of habitus and Giddens’s (1991) notion of reflexivity, Frith concluded that the Malay experience requires the Malay/Islam dialectic to be resolved in different ways through individual perception on a day-to-day level and through face-to-face interactions with other ethnic groups. One point of my argument relates to how Malay students maintain their ethnic identity through interpersonal communication. Findings on face-to face communication in relation to communication with other Malays, other Muslims, and others are discussed in Chapter Six.
29 Religious identity
Islamic religious consciousness or religious identity is a symbolic discourse that gives expression to deeply held religious beliefs (Riaz Hassan 2008, p. 60). For Malaysian Muslims, religious identity is seen in their faithful adherence to the traditional Islamic beliefs and duties. This draws on the importance of religious identity in determining the maintenance of Malay identity. I argue that the ideas of ‘hikmah’ (hoping for a good outcome in the future after facing challenges in their life or hard work) and ‘nasib’ (things happen as they are meant to happen) are considered as part of a symbolic religious boundary in maintaining their Malay and Muslim identity. Malay-Muslim students embrace the idea of ‘hikmah’, ‘nasib’ and ‘tawakal’ in their daily encounters. This idea is discussed throughout the treatments of the Malay students’ life experiences in Chapter Four and Five.
Some of the efforts Malay-Muslim students make to preserve their Malay customs and traditions are conducted through Islam-based activities, such as congregational prayers, activities during the fasting month, and inviting other Malays to break the fast at their respective houses. The reason for the emphasis on prayer in congregation is to unite Muslim society. In these gatherings, Malays normally exchange stories about each other and recall some personal experiences and encounters in their daily lives. Newcomers, including new students, consider such experiences valuable. The importance of their religious identity is extended to their ability to learn the local cultural norms and make an appropriate religious response to them. This includes the Malay students’ ability to accept or reject invitations to social gatherings that they feel proper or improper to attend. Relevant examples are discussed in detail in Chapters Five and Six in this thesis. The level of acceptance or difficulties encountered by the Malay students differs from one to another depending on the context of their religiosity and personal attributes and backgrounds.
National Identity
In Malaysian history, the shape of its national identity has been a crucial and unsettled question. According to Smith (2001, p. 18), national identity, which has replaced earlier terms such as ‘national character’ or ‘national consciousness’, is ‘the continuous reproduction and reinterpretation of the pattern of values, symbols, memories, myths
30 and traditions that compose the distinctive heritage of nations, and the identification of individuals with that pattern and heritage and with its cultural elements’. In other words, we need to maintain a balance between continuity and change, and be aware of processes of ‘reinterpretation’ of the pattern of memories, values, symbols, myths and traditions that compose the distinctive heritage of nations. As identity connotes a measure of stability, of sameness over time, change can only operate within clear boundaries. In relation to this research, what is anticipated is that national identity is a combination of religion and nationalism as a powerful identity-signifier in times of change and uncertainty (Kinnvall 2004, pp. 741-67).
Although national identity need not necessarily include religion, according to Parekh (1999, p. 71), in Malaysia, three ‘pillars’ are considered central to its national identity – ‘bahasa’ (language, specifically Malay), ‘agama’ (religion, specifically Islam) and ‘raja’ (monarchy). This research reveals the tendency for Malay students to identify themselves not only as Malaysian (national identity) to the general public, but at most times to remind themselves as well that they are Muslim and Malay in a symbolic way. This is shown through their concerns about issues related to their daily lives as discussed in Chapter Five, treating the different ranges of their daily encounters with other Malays, other Muslims, and other ethnic groups. Concern with their national identity is also apparent in efforts taken in conducting gatherings and celebrations by most Malay students.
Cosmopolitan Identity
In conducting my research among Malay students outside Malaysia, I have also explored the idea of cosmopolitan identity. Cosmopolitanism, derived from an ancient Greek term meaning ‘citizen of the world’, captures a receptive and open attitude towards the other (Kendall, Woodward & Skrbis 2009, p. 1). Kristeva (1991, p. 13) has proposed an alternative basis of identity for the new cosmopolitan by suggesting that, living with the other, with the foreigner, confronts us with the possibility (or not) of being an other. It is not a matter of our being able to accept the other, but of being in her or his place, and this means to imagine and make oneself for oneself. Upon conducting interviews with my Malay informants, I have categorized them into two main groups, one of which has never had experience of living overseas and the other of which has had previous experience living or visiting overseas, pursuing study, work or
31 leisure. I argue that constructing a cosmopolitan identity is not as important to the Malay students compared to their ethnic and religious identity. They are aware of the idea of cosmopolitanism, but treat it as referring to people who have contacts with the wider world. The idea itself does not bear any considerable meaning to them and is felt to be more ‘economically’ than ‘culturally’ or ‘morally’ oriented.
Hannerz (2004) emphasizes cosmopolitanism as referring to a willingness to engage with others. Therefore, cosmopolitans are those individuals who make their own individuality the locus for determining what they want to accept and what they want to reject. In this case, cosmopolitanism is an international outlook wherein the individual picks and chooses from all the cultural traditions to which s/he has been exposed, negotiating an individual intercultural stance among all of those. What my discussion in this chapter shows is that continuing communication among Malays when abroad militates against that individualist stance of wholesale self-constructed cosmopolitanism. Besides its function of promoting solidarity, it also has the policing function of community surveillance and enforcement of religious observance and customary behaviour in accord with Malay-Muslim standards. As pointed out in the case of Hana’s friend, continuing communication among Malays displays the dangers of cosmopolitanism. So, the very success of Malay-Muslim identity maintenance and adjustment runs counter to many cosmopolitan ideals. Given such ambivalence in the case of the Malays, I would characterize them as ‘rooted cosmopolitans’. This rooted- cosmopolitan idea rests on a complex tension between the particularity of local place and dwelling, on the one hand, and universalistic dispositions, on the other (Szerszynski & Urry 2006). A major focus of this thesis is analyzing the centrality of interpersonal communication in the processes of identity negotiation.
Hannerz (1990) also highlights the question of who is a true cosmopolitan. Does it refer to someone who exhibits a culturally open disposition and interest in others, or does that person simply want some experience of ‘home plus’ when going abroad? Generally, the term cosmopolitan, describes just about anybody who moves about in the world. But among such people, some would seem more cosmopolitan than others, and others again hardly seem cosmopolitan at all (Hannerz 1990). Hall (2002, p. 26) further discusses cosmopolitanism as the ability to stand outside of having one’s life written and scripted by any one community, whether that is a faith or tradition or religion or culture, and to draw selectively on a variety of discursive meanings. In contrast, Kahn (2006, pp. 167-
32 68) suggested that cosmopolitanisms also govern the practices of localized individuals and institutions. This could occur in everyday social interactions between individuals and groups or forms of religious worship in different parts of the world. Anderson (1992, p. 11) coined the term ‘long-distance nationalism’ to describe continued allegiance to a country or region where one either no longer lives or indeed has never lived. Kahn’s (1992) review, in his work titled ‘Malaysians are images of diversity’, pointed out that Malays identify themselves differently in different contexts, just as Australians do.
I have found this dichotomy of Malays identifying themselves differently in different contexts useful in comprehending Malay students’ idea of ethnic and religious identity when they are overseas. Early exposure living overseas facilitates regarding experiences differently. The group of Malay students with previous experience living overseas has a tendency to make some comparisons with their current situation in Western Australia, especially in relation to their ethnic and religious identity. However, a different view is highlighted by students who had never been overseas before, as will be further discussed in Chapter Five. I have also explored the idea of cosmopolitan identity among the Malay students in relation to their exposure to the new environment and culture. This includes their efforts to be ‘accepted’ within the local culture whilst at the same time maintaining their Malay values and cultures/adat and being guided by Islamic practice. This is explored further in Chapters Six and Seven.
Gender Identity
Gender describes the ideas and practices that constitute femininity and masculinity (Holmes 2009, p. 2). Femininity and masculinity as one's gender identity (Burke, Stets & Pirog-Good 1988; Spence 1985) refer to the degree to which persons see themselves as feminine or masculine given what it means to be a woman or man in that society. Femininity and masculinity are rooted in the social (one's gender) rather than the biological (one's sex). What are of interest in this research are the relationships among gender identity, Malay adat, and Islamic practice. Accordingly, gender identity can be seen as multiple and fluid, and never complete (Jaworski & Coupland 1999, pp. 412- 13). A study on Malay women by Wazir Jahan Karim (1992), a Malaysian anthropologist, explains the foundation for the relatively equal relationship between men and women in Malay adat as comparable to the Islamic system of ideas and laws.
33 According to Frisk (2009, p. 55), boundaries between men and women, as well as between Muslims and non-Muslims, have to be redrawn in the process of recovery of the ummah,31 and in dealing with the breakdown in the social boundaries that had traditionally defined the Malay group identity. This has been done through promotion and adoption of certain Islamic traditions relating to prayer, diet, clothing and social life.
Malaysian women constantly negotiate an ethnic identification that may be highly normalized and regulated within various social institutions (Cynthia 2006). Here, I argue that apart from their roles as mothers and wives, female informants in this research revealed their positions as educated professionals. Malay women in Malaysia are constantly reminded that they have a moral duty to construct and nurture the modern Muslim-Malay community that is being aspired to (Ong 1995). My treatment focuses on the issue of gender concerns revealed by female Malay students when dealing with outsiders in relation to their ethnic and religious identity, particularly the practice of wearing a headscarf among female Malay students as their key visible religious identity marker. Some Malay female students felt that they were mistreated or faced racist remarks due to their appearance. However, in discussing gender identity, what is also considered problematic for a female Malay-Muslim student is the idea of mixed cohabitation involved in such contexts as group houses. Malay female students are not accustomed to the idea of living with the other sex under one roof, unless they are married. Some of the guiding Islamic values and practices in Malay students’ life revolving around gender are discussed further in Chapters Six and Seven.
Research Aims
My research is located in the broad fields of ethnic identity and ethnic relations, migration and culture, as well as the sociology and anthropology of culture. The central research question is: How do Malay-Muslim postgraduate students identify themselves in a foreign environment and how do religion, culture/’adat’ and interpersonal communication contribute to the adjustment of their identity? This research focuses on the cultural aspects of their social identity development. I have posited three major aims for this study.
31 Ummah refers to the community of Muslim believers. 34
The first aim is to determine what criteria are associated with ethnic and religious identity among the Malay-Muslim students in Western Australia. I will develop an outline of the criteria considered important or vital in their lives when they identify themselves to each other, to their fellow Muslims from other countries (e.g. from the Middle East and South Asia) and also to the broader Australian communities. The findings include issues relating to Malay students’ daily life encounters in the realms of consumption, recreation, gatherings and community interactions in which their ethnic and religious identity are signified.
Second, this research aims to recognize which aspects of identity are adjusted, in Malay-Muslim students’ lives in their new environment. By looking into these aspects, it will assist me to categorize what aspects of identity are considered as of more or less in importance in their new settings. Furthermore, the research also looks into the social and cultural aspects relating to their Malay practice, religious practice and daily experiences that are being adjusted or sustained through social contact and communication. I emphasize their relationships with other Malays, changes and continuities in cultural or religious practice, and the extent of adjustment to their identity, their community and their religious observance.
The third aim of this study is to evaluate how aspects of religion and interpersonal communication contribute to the process of solidifying or reconstructing their existing identities. Evaluation and discussion will be extended to include the role of religion or interpersonal communication in adjustment of Malay student identity. During my fieldwork I also looked into the views of some of the former Malay students to Western Australia who have since returned to Malaysia to determine their identity adjustments during their stay in Western Australia. In relation to this I will explore the idea of Malay cosmopolitanism and what their ethnic and religious identity means to them in both settings. I feel the need to explore the idea of Malay cosmopolitanism since I have divided my informants into two groups, the first-time cosmopolitans and the experienced cosmopolitans. My emphasis will be on how these two groups are adjusting their identities in their new environment, and how some relate their previous experiences to their new experiences in Western Australia.
35 With these aims I argue that the ethnic and religious identity of these students is increasingly important to them when they are encountering others in different countries. Their perceptions of the importance of adjusting or maintaining their identities are strong in comparison to ideas of transforming their identities. Their efforts to adjust or maintain their ethnic and religious identity are evidenced in their need for interpersonal communication as a means of conveying information, and sharing knowledge and advice within the Malay student community in Western Australia.
Significance of the Study
On the pragmatic level, this research is significant in documenting and analyzing Malay students’ experiences, problems and adaptation in relation to their ethnic and religious identity. There has been little research on the experience of Malay students overseas to date. More and more Malays are pursuing their studies overseas and they are encountering problems for which they are not prepared, such as racist remarks or acts and different cultural practices and ethics. It is therefore important for them to have some ideas and preparation in dealing with a new cultural context. This research identifies some of the positive and negative experiences they encounter during their period of study abroad.
Furthermore, this research will discuss problems and steps that can be taken to overcome these problems, such as the importance of communication among Malays themselves. Through interpersonal communication, Malay students have managed to generate other activities in the process of adjusting their identity overseas. This relationship is important because the Malay students are exposed to a culture, setting and environment that are generally new to them (unless they have had some previous experience studying overseas). This research will also look at the idea of Malay cosmopolitans having to face new problems in their new experiences or adaptating their existing experiences as Malay cosmopolitans. As educated Malays returning to Malaysia, they are seen to have an important role in assisting in Malaysian nation building and social development.
More comprehensively, this research will contribute to the understanding of Malay students’ ways of being Malay in relation to their ethnic and religious identity, especially in the overseas context. Furthermore, it will attempt to identify what are
36 issues of concern for the Malay postgraduate students outside Malaysia during their adjustment and adaptation process in dealing with the existing Malay-Muslim cultural values and their interaction with the local Western Australian culture. At the same time, it will provide some useful insights for policy makers, academics and other students in understanding Malays. There is also the issue of religious identity that arises among the Malays, insofar as they see themselves as Muslims and thus a ‘people set apart’ (Johns & Abdullah 2002) overseas.
On the theoretical significance of this study, especially in the case of Malay students in Western Australia or more generally outside Malaysia, I would argue that historical facts do not contribute much to how they form their social identity in their foreign site of study; rather, identity there is more attributable to their communication process. Therefore, the theoretical contribution of this research is grounded in the importance of communication processes in Malay student identity formation, adjustment and maintenance (and perhaps even transformation!) in Western Australia.
Progression of Chapters
This chapter has provided background to the notions of being Malay and Malay- Muslim, pointing out as well the ambiguity in defining these terms. It has also outlined related concepts and issues pertinent to Malay students’ identity formation and adjustment, including the diverse forms of possible identity, and the Malay concepts of ‘adat’ and ‘bangsa’. Some of the changes that occur in the Malay students’ lives or in the process of their identity adjustment are governed by their cultural and religious practices. I propose that identity adjustments can be anticipated in their ethnic identity formation, but not in their religious identity. Malay culture in most cases remains undergirded by Islamic values and teachings. Therefore, changes in Malay students’ identity are likely as long as they do not contradict Islamic values.
In Chapter Two, I further develop my discussion by embedding the idea of interpersonal communication as a criterion contributing to student identity formation and adjustment. In this literature review, I further explore the evolving literature on international student identity overseas, particularly in regard to Malay identity studies in Malaysia and overseas. I begin the review by outlining the main contextual framework of this thesis.
37 The key analytical frameworks – the primordialist view as part of cultural views, the situationalist view, and the relational view – are introduced in this chapter.
Chapter Three discusses the methodological framework that I employ for this research. It describes the use of ethnographic methods used. I also outline the challenges of being an insider/outsider researcher. The objectives of this research along with the settings and informants’ backgrounds are also presented in this chapter. I also elaborate further on the possibility of identifying how Malay students involved in interviews are being courteous or cautious in interviews due to their distinct culture and identity.
Chapter Four provides further insight into how the Malays are distinctive from others, as well as a transition to discussing the findings of this research. Cultural values and religious practices are then examined in relation to identity formation overseas. Here I also explain more about other forms of attributions involved, such as language, aesthetic values and personal attributions, as well as others.
Once these attributions have been identified, Chapter Five then looks into the life of Malay students in Western Australia. This discussion concentrates on their life routines, events, and leisure activities, and how they form or adjust their identity in their everyday routines. The students’ experiences are explored to assess whether they are facing any similar experiences overseas. These include their experiences in academic life, social life and personal life. Discussions concentrate on their willingness to adjust their ethno-religious identity. It also explores how the Malay students are reinforcing their identity through interaction with other Malays, other Muslims, and others (Asian and locals).
Chapter Six then examines further the significant role played by interpersonal communication in the way Malay students form or adjust their identities. This chapter therefore focuses on the importance of interpersonal communication at various levels of their adaptation process, that is, upon their arrival, in everyday life encounters, as well as at public places and gatherings. It also discusses situational contexts relating to the Malay students’ efforts to maintain their ethnic and religious identity.
38 Identity transformation is limited, and Malay students are much most likely to adjust or maintain their identity. Thus Chapter Seven explores to what extent Malay students are willing to adjust their identity and what are the factors that restrict the process. The importance of religious values and practices is identified as a significant factor that contributes to the course of adjusting or maintaining one’s identity rather than transforming it. This chapter will readdress some related issues of discussion from earlier chapters in order to identify related forms of identity that are willingly negotiated for adjustment rather than transformation, in particular, and their sustaining of ethnic and religious identity.
In conclusion, Chapter Eight discusses and synthesizes my findings by reviewing the issue of ethnic and religious identity in the context of boundary maintenance and border crossing in the Malay world view. This chapter highlights the significance of uniting the religious elements in the Malay student identity adjustment. It is argued that religion is the underlying idea in supporting Malay identity and inhibiting border crossing.
Chapter Summary
How earlier scholars have analysed the idea of being Malay-Muslim in Malaysia has contributed much to my perspectives upon how one is being Malay-Muslim when encountering ‘others’ outside Malaysia. Discussions in the earlier part of this chapter lead to the formulation of questions and ideas about how Malay-Muslim students react and express their distinctiveness in their new temporary social setting. What is the significance and influence of Malay culture/adat? How is interpersonal communication within the Malay groups and with others enacted? Are there any boundaries marked around the Malay-Muslims as individuals and groups? If so, are these boundaries more rigid or flexible when the students are outside Malaysian national borders?
These questions apply to the growing number of Malay students pursuing their studies overseas in the cosmopolitan international education arena and thus will have an impact on Malaysia’s future academic growth, either formally or informally. The lack of studies relating to this group of Malay students pursuing their studies and experiences while living overseas has stimulated this study in the hope that future studies will deepen our understandings of their experiences. In the earlier part of this chapter, I have attempted to introduce who are the Malays in Malaysia and in the Southeast Asian
39 region. This was followed by highlighting some notions that will frequently be used throughout upcoming chapters in this thesis, such as ‘adat’ and ‘bangsa’, in discussing their ethnic and religious identity.
I have also reviewed the roles of Islam in Malays’ lives and the emergence of the Malay middle-class in Malaysia. Rooted in the student movement and coinciding with the expansion of educational opportunities for Malays under the New Economic Policy (NEP), Islam became a stronger marker of Malay identity (Welsh 2008). Ethno- religious identity is then still seen as an important platform for Malay students’ identity maintenance, and their willingness to adjust their identity is still minimal in a global context. I have discussed the five principal forms of identity that are significant to them here: ethnic identity, religious identity, national identity, cosmopolitan identity and gender identity. Saliha Hassan (2002) concluded that many of the overseas Malay students in professional graduate studies abroad returned to Malaysia committed to incorporating their religious values into their professional lives.
I also propose that Malay students who are pursuing their study overseas look at various forms of their identity in a situational context. For example, Malay students will negotiate making adjustments to their identity, only as long as they do not override their religious beliefs and practices. This highlights their willingness to make adjustments in most aspects of their daily lives, as long as they do not go against Islamic religious values and practices. In my research, I attempt to emphasize the importance of interpersonal communication as a channel contributing to ethnic intimacy among Malay students making the adjustment to living overseas. In the next chapter I discuss various theoretical approaches and how these play an important role in my research In addition I consider some previous studies on identity, particularly ethnic and religious, that have been conducted in Malaysia and beyond the Southeast Asian region.
40 CHAPTER 2 Malay International Students: Contextualizing and Conceptualizing Identity and Ethnicity Discourses
Without establishing the state of the previous research, it is impossible to establish how the new research advances the previous research. (Randolph 2009, p. 2)
Introduction
This chapter will provide theoretical background on identity discourses and illuminate the significance of this study. I will indicate the need for more extensive research on international Malay student identities. In order to discuss further the theoretical context, I start by providing a conceptual review of various frameworks for studying identity. I review the main theoretical approaches relevant to this study in relation to the various Malay student identity discourses. In particular I examine the role and importance of interpersonal communication in the process of Malay student identity formation. Several past studies have focused on interpersonal communication and identity formation, but few indicate its importance in Malay student identity discourse. I then examine previous studies on student identity in domestic and international contexts. In the domestic context, I discuss previous studies on identity in Malaysia. In the international context, I explore studies of identity beyond the context of Malaysia to highlight the lack of discourse on Malay international student identity within the wider global context. I will attempt to explore Malay student identity formation, adjustment or maintenance outside Malaysia from an insider perspective.
Contextual Discourse of Identity and Ethnicity
Generally, anthropologists have used the term ‘identity’ to refer to an idea of selfhood based on the enduring uniqueness and individuality which makes a person distinct from others, a perspective sometimes referred to as the Eriksonian way (Erikson 1968). Anthropologists have become more interested in looking at identity with the emergence of modern concerns with ethnicity and social movements in the 1970s. Identity for social anthropologists is a 'volatile, flexible and abstract thing' (Rapacha 2009, p. vii). In other words, its manifestations and the ways in which it is exercised are often open to
41 contestations. According to Parker (1991, p. 55), identity is made evident through the use of indicators such as language as an element of ethnic identity, as well as an indicator of the character of cultural negotiation; however, language cannot be used as a sole measure of change. Identity could also be rendered evident through the use of dress, behaviour and choice of space and communication, whose effects depend on their recognition by others. Rapacha (2009) sees those elements or markers helping to create the boundaries that define similarities or differences between the marker wearers and the marker perceivers; their effectiveness depends on some degree of shared understanding of their meaning, though across such boundaries this sharing is limited to at least some extent. Hence, in a social context, misunderstandings can arise due to a misinterpretation of the significance of specific markers, but an individual can use markers of identity to exert influence on other people without necessarily fulfilling all the criteria that an external observer might typically associate with such an abstract identity.
Fenton (2010, p. 3) argues that the term ethnicity itself cannot be ‘anything more than a broad and loose denoting of an area of interest; it is not, on its own, a theoretical standpoint, nor is it likely that there can be a unitary theory of ethnicity’. He suggests that ethnicity should be referred to as social identities, typically about descent and cultural difference, which are deployed under certain conditions. In other words, ethnicity can be referred to as the social construction of descent and culture. People or peoples do not just possess cultures or share ancestry; they elaborate these into the idea of a community founded upon these attributes (Fenton 2010, p. 3). Fenton (2010, p. 20) distinguishes analytically between cultures and religions, the first referring to custom and practice often concerning a particular group, and the second referring to a community of faith. In practice, culture and religion are very much bonded with each other. Religious culture, such as that of Islam, is part of the definition of culture, but the global presence of Islam goes beyond any community or even any nation or state.
According to social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), one’s identity consists of both personal identity and social identity. Personal identity is how a person conceptualizes the self in relation to others, and social identity refers to the aspects of self-concept derived from the person’s membership in salient social groups. Social identity can comprise many overlapping components, including gender, roles, ethnic, religious, and national identity. Social identity is then defined by the ways that
42 individuals would like to label themselves as members of particular groups defined by such criteria as ethnicity (e.g. Malay), religion (Muslim), nationality (Malaysian), gender (female/male) or social class. Therefore, social identity can be examined from the perspective of social and historical change. As noted earlier, one can become Malay by converting to Islam, as with Muslim Indians, Chinese or others, without having been born as such. This again reveals the ambiguous definition of who is a Malay. Yet for this research, the basic idea of ‘being’ Malay is conceptualized as being a member of a particular cultural group, referred to as ‘being Malay’, where the person involved was born Malay, looks Malay, and whose identity as a Malay is presented by the Malays to others as an inevitable fact32.
A social constructivist perspective, including some varieties of postmodernism, would view social identity as a construct of historical facts, though one with real consequences in the lives and behaviours of human beings (Rapacha 2009). However, in the case of Malay students in Western Australia or more generally outside Malaysia, as mentioned in Chapter One, I argue that historical facts alone do not contribute much to how they form their social identity in their foreign site of study; rather, identity there is more attributable to their communication process. However, communication processes themselves are also historically inflected. According to Carey (1989, p. 15), in the nineteenth century the movement of information was seen as basically the same as the transport of goods or people, both being described as 'communication'. In other words, Carey argues that it is a view of communication that derives from one of the most ancient of human dreams, that is the desire to increase the speed and effect of messages as they travel in space (1989, p. 15). In relation to this, communication is more about meaning rather than information. That is, when one communicates, we are basically conveying the meaning, getting the idea across, rather than just transferring information. Therefore, meaning is not extracted, but constructed.
Miller & Steinberg (1975) have pointed out that people exchange information on the basis of group membership and social roles that might be based upon the interactants’ occupations, ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, or social classes; that is, there are certain communication conventions which are tied to group membership and roles. Malay postgraduate students studying in Western Australia do get together on the basis
32 See also Malhi et al. (2009), Tsang et al. (2003) and Ullah (1990). 43 of being in the same situation academically and facing similar experiences in relation to their academic and social lives. In general, they prefer to have conversations with other Malay students from similar ethnic and religious backgrounds. However, it is also possible that those who do understand and are able to communicate in another language, like English, would try not to use the Malay language when speaking with other Malays as a social identity marker in the new environment, as discussed in Chapter Seven.
Amin Maalouf (2000) argues that identity cannot be compartmentalized. According to him, one cannot divide it up into halves or thirds or any other separate segments. One does not have several identities, but just one, made up of many components combined together in a mixture that is unique to every individual (Amin Maalouf 2000, p. 3). Each individual’s identity is made up of a number of elements, and these are clearly not restricted to the particulars set down in official records, but for the great majority these factors include:
[A]llegiance to a religious tradition; to a nationality – sometimes two; to a profession, an institution, or a particular social milieu. A person may feel a more or less strong attachment to a province, a village, a neighborhood, a clan, a professional team or one connected with sport, a group of friends, a union, a company, a parish, a community of people with the same passions, the same sexual preferences, the same physical handicaps, or who have to deal with the same kind of pollution or other nuisance (Amin Maalouf 2000, p. 10).
The sociological approach of symbolic interactionism (Blumer 1969; Cooley 1902; Mead 1934), which concentrates on shared meaningful symbols as the keys to the emergence of self or identity, regards both self and society as created, sustained, and changed through the process of symbolic communication. George Herbert Mead (1934) provided a basic idea of identity through his work, which was later expanded by Caplow & Stryker (1964). Mead (1934) asserted that the process in which an individual interacts with others in order to create an identity is called identity negotiation. According to him, the purpose of identity negotiation is to develop a consistent set of behaviours that reinforce the identity of the person. In general, a person will have to negotiate separately on each identity he or she possesses by interacting with those who are affected by the role in question. This perspective somewhat differs from Maalouf’s statement and is more in keeping with the five types of identities I discussed in Chapter One. What symbolic interactionists suggest is that a person possesses several forms of identities, whereas Maalouf claims that a person has only one identity with multiple
44 identifications. In this research, I found that the symbolic interactionist assertion of multiple identities is more productive since Malay students tend to highlight a certain identity first in various situations they are in, as revealed by them during the interview session. This is discussed further in Chapter Four, Five and Six.
In regard to my research, for example, from such a perspective a Malay’s identity as a postgraduate student would be negotiated separately from his/her identity as a Muslim or a parent, because this negotiation depends upon the collectively established role of a student who is involved with co-students and supervisors, and not directly with another Muslim or with her/his children. Mead (1934) also suggested that by using symbols, one is able not only to classify, think about, and act toward meaningful social objects, but also to reflect on oneself as a meaningful social object from the perspective of others. In this case I propose that the shared meaningful symbols are to be found in the interpersonal contact among the Malay students and in their use of the Malay language at social gatherings of Malay students in Australia where the Malay language is the norm for interaction. As Fishman (1989, p. 673) puts it, language is symbolic in behaviour. In other words, in looking at ethnicity, as ethnicities meld, change or absorb and replace one another, it is inevitable that the languages of these ethnicities will be modified.
Among other evaluations of the discourses on identity, Weigert (1986) has noted that identity has become an indispensable analytic term and also a cultural buzzword. In an argument with Gleason (1983), he concluded that the widespread acceptance of the concept of identity does not imply agreement on or even a clear understanding of its various meanings. Stryker (1980, p. 60) argued that the ‘self’ must be complex, organized and differentiated as well, expanding on the dictum that the ‘self reflects society’. Identities are the meanings one has as a group member, as a role-holder or as a person. According to Stryker and Serpe (1994), identity salience and the psychological centrality of identities are usually related. Identities, therefore, can be inherited, chosen, assigned, or merely inferred from some bit of evidence. According to Royce (1982, p. 187), ‘adequate performance in an identity is much more rigorously judged within a group than it is by outsiders. For the latter, a few tokens of the identity are usually sufficient.’
45 However, identity studies have also had their critics. Brubaker and Cooper (2000, p. 1) argue that identity ‘tends to mean too much (when understood in a strong sense), too little (when understood in a weak sense), or nothing at all (because of its sheer ambiguity).’ According to them, these different explorations of ‘identity’ demonstrate how difficult it is to pin down the idea of identity, since identity is a virtual thing and it is impossible to define empirically. Discussions of identity also use the term associated with different characteristics, from fundamental and abiding sameness, to fluidity, contingency, negotiated character, and so on. Brubaker and Cooper also note how many scholars have the tendency to confuse identity as a category of practice and as a category of analysis (Brubaker & Cooper 2000, p. 5). In other words, an identity might then be a category of practice of a cognized subject that can be taken as an object through the lens of identity as a category of analysis (Guillaume 2002). Therefore, Guillaume argues that at this point what is felt as an identity by a subject can be interpreted only through its objectivation that is the constitution as a category of analysis.
This idea of looking at identity as a category of practice can be referred to Hall (Hall & Gieben 1992; Hall & Paul Du Guy 1996), who suggested treating identity as a process and taking into account the reality of diverse and ever-changing social experience. According to Hall and Gieben (1992), the construction of an individual sense of self is achieved by personal choices regarding who and what to associate with. Therefore, identity is made evident through the use of markers such as language, dress, behaviour and choice of space, whose effect depends on their recognition by other social beings. In a social context, misunderstandings can arise due to a misinterpretation of the significance of specific markers. Bendle (2002, p. 1), on the other hand, argues that identities are inconsistent, under-theorized and incapable of bearing the analytical load required. However, Patchen (1999, p. 27) concludes that the strength of any social identity relies both on the extent to which this identity depends on the reactions of other people and the extent to which the individual finds that the identity brings satisfaction. In other words, the more reliance on the actions of other people will contribute to weaker social identity. Social identity is then considered to be a determinant of accessibility (Turner et al. 1987) or perceiver readiness (Oakes et al. 1994) in that people with high levels of social identity are more likely to categorize themselves as belonging to a particular social group.
46 In his book The Challenge of Youth (1965, p. 9), Erikson explains that society recognizes the young individual as a bearer of fresh energy and that the individual so confirmed, recognizes the society as a living process which inspires loyalty as it receives it, maintains allegiance as it attracts it, and honours confidence as it demands it. This statement indicates the importance of looking at youth and society’s role in contributing to the youth identity formation and transformation. Rosenthal (1987) also believes that achieving a sense of identity is one of the most imperative tasks for youth. He considers many social contexts that give rise to a variety of specific social identities based on gender, class or ethnic group membership.
My research also aims to point out how interpersonal communication contributes to Malay postgraduate students’ ethno-religious identity formation, maintenance, adjustment or transformation. Therefore, I explore the contextual relationships between interpersonal communication and Malay student identity formation. My exploration of the importance of interpersonal communication in relation to maintaining Malay students’ identity overseas distinguishes my analysis from those of other scholars, as will be discussed later in the chapter. In order to contextualize my own research, I will discuss the different approaches to understanding ethnic identity. My research suggests that formation, adjustment or maintenance of Malay students’ ethnic and religious identity is important in their everyday lives. In order to explore this position I need to evaluate the culturalist, situationalist and relational views in analyzing Malay students’ identity. These approaches are used as a guide in exploring the views and findings related to Malay students’ ethnic and religious identity formation, adjustment or maintenance through the processes of adaptation and continuous interpersonal communication with other Malays and non-Malays.
Theoretical Review on Ethnic Identity: Culturalist, Situationalist and Symbolic
Scholars of anthropology and sociology who focus on ethnic identity use various political, cultural and historical frameworks that put much emphasis on ethnic identity, cultural identity, ethnic conflict and ethnic boundaries. In looking at the idea of ethnicity, Clifford Geertz (1973, pp. 259-60), in The Interpretation of Cultures, outlines the concept of primordialism as one that stems from people’s own perceptions of the ‘givens’ of social existence, including immediate contiguity and kin connection, being born into a particular religious community, speaking a particular language and
47 following particular practices. The general strength and type of such primordial bonds differs from person to person, from society to society, and from time to time. Geertz also discerns two powerful drives for personal identity, based on the continuing strength and hold of attachments to kin, race, language, religion, customs and territory and the desire for efficiency and stability. What Geertz is claiming is that individuals as members of collectives feel and believe in the primordiality of their ethnicities and nations – their naturalness, longevity and power – and that if we ignore these beliefs and feelings; we evade one of the central problems of explanation in the field of ethnicity and nationalism (Smith 2001, p. 54). In other words, Geertz’s articulation of the concept of primordialism is that humans in general attribute power to primordial human ‘givens’ such as blood ties, language, territory and cultural differences (see Smith 1999). Geertz’s articulation of the notion primodialism was perhaps most cogently developed by sociologist Edward Shils (1957). The term ‘primordial’ is thus not an etic analytical term, but an emic descriptor, translating how human beings feel their belonging through cultural frameworks in their experiences. In that sense the theory of primordialism can be viewed as a type of culturalist theory of ethnicity.
In another word, primordialist theory focuses on the inherent tendency of humans to identify themselves as members of a group through shared allegiance to certain cultural notions (Banton 2000, p. 482). Primordialists see this as a phenomenon based on the generic tendency of people to be drawn to those with whom they have obvious similarities of appearance, geographic origin or socio-economic context; in their view such ethnicity has a profound effect on every aspect of our lives (Tharoor 1999, p. 2). In other words, the primordialist view holds that ethnic groups and nations are formed on the basis of attachments to the cultural givens of social existence (Smith 2001). In Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds, Dorothy Holland (2001) explains that people tell others who they are, but even more important, they tell themselves and then try to act as though they are who they say they are. These self-understandings, especially those with strong emotional resonance for the teller, are what we refer to as identities.
In contrast to the culturalist view of ethnicity, the notion of situationalism indicates that ethnic identities are flexible, changeable and situationally adaptive. This view was derived, in part, from Leach’s (1954) Political Systems of Highland Burma with its discussion of Kachins ‘becoming’ Shans. A notion of situationalism also appears in Moerman’s (1965, 1968) work on the Lue. However, the use of situationalism most
48 frequently cited in Malay studies is that by Judith A. Nagata (1974, pp. 331-50) on the situational selection of ethnic identity for Malays in Malaysia. She relates choice of identity to social solidarity and social distance, expediency, concern with social status and social mobility. Nagata’s conceptualisation suggests that not all situations permit manipulation of identities and choice among them. Clammer (2002) in his book Diaspora and Identity claimed that migration, diasporas and culture-contact are the very elements out of which contemporary Southeast Asian identities are constructed. Okamura (2008, p. 94) suggested that while ethnic groups have identities, even if they only have been assigned to them, not all groups can or seek to ‘forge’ and ‘construct’ identities for themselves. Okamura (2008, p. 124), in his study, also indicates that ethnic identities change in their meaning, significance, and expression over time, especially as a result of actions initiated by a group. Brah (1996, p. 83-84), in his discussion of South Asian Britishness, states:
[T]he identity of the diasporic imagined community is far from fixed or pre- given. It is constituted within the crucible of the materiality of everyday life, in the everyday stories we tell ourselves individually and collectively. As such, all diasporas are differentiated, heterogeneous, contested spaces, even as they are implicated in the construction of a common ‘we’.
Kahn’s work Other Malays (2006) stresses the idea of situational ethnicity. According to Kahn, in this alternative Malay world, Malay is not a fixed identity. He advocates the idea of identity in modern Malaysia as a discursive process of cultural construction rather than a mere reflection of pre-existing cultural differentiation. It is interesting that Kahn has been able to grasp the diversity that exists in Malaysia, especially among the Malays; for instance, among the Malays there is a constant mix of people from Indonesia, Java, Sulawesi, Portugal, Thailand, Burma, etc. Some Malays even have Indian and Arabic ancestry. But they are still thought of as Malay. For example, Bibijan Ibrahim (1977) in her article on the process of ‘Malayization’ among the Indian Muslims has posited that on one end of the spectrum were the acculturated Indian Muslims, who adopted Malay culture, but maintained a small degree of ‘Indianness”. At the other extreme were the assimilated Indian Muslims who became ‘Malays’ in totality as asserted in Chapter One.
According to Levine (1999), Barth developed an approach to ethnicity that contained elements of both primordiality and situationalism. Barth’s (1969) approach to ethnicity has became far more influential in his work Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, where he 49 analyzes ethnicity or ethnic identity as an aspect of social organization, not of culture. His critical focus for investigation becomes the ethnic boundary that defines the group rather than the cultural content that it encloses and the characteristics of self-ascription and ascription by others. For him, ethnic identity was also seen as a category of meaning. Barth also stressed the importance of boundaries of ethnic groups. Demarcating self from other, in-group from out-group, the boundary-marker component of ethnicity remained stable, while society and culture changed. In other words, individuals, moving across boundaries in response to changing conditions, could choose their ethnic identities from those available to them. Barth's focus on the way an individual could adopt an identity (or choose a course of action generally) was initially attractive as an antidote to the ills of the functionalist preoccupation with the maintenance of groups (Levine 1999, p. 167). In this research, my interest is to discuss the idea of boundaries as both inclusive and exclusive depending on how they are perceived by the Malay students. I explore further the idea of exclusive boundaries, in the context of how Malay students’ make adjustments to their cultural/religious/ethnic markers by setting restrictions on the behaviours of others as well as their own. On the other hand, inclusive boundaries will be seen as markers used by other people to identify Malay students. I will also explore how certain restrictions act to limit the process of inclusion within other boundaries as discussed in the next section.
The works of Cohen (1994a) and Roosens (1994) have proceeded from that of Barth. Cohen (1994a, pp. 59-79) concentrates on collective and individual consciousness, where boundaries can be viewed either in interactional terms or as boundaries of consciousness. Ethnic identities are products of classification, ascription and self- ascription and are bound up with ideologies of descent. The boundary itself is a social product which may have variable importance and, which may change through time. In other words, Cohen (1985, p. 118) concludes that whether or not structural boundaries remain intact, people construct community symbolically, making it a resource and repository of meaning, and a referent of their identity. His idea of the symbolic also refers to his idea of a boundary, which in the first place was defined as something, such as a mountain range or a sea that physically marks the beginning and the end of a community.
50 However, Cohen (1985, p. 12) feels that not all boundaries or not all the components of any boundary are so objectively apparent. Cohen’s idea of the symbolic construction of a community boundary may be used to analyse how the Malay students construct their community overseas. He has delineated the emphasis on the boundary as a circumstance in which people become aware of the implications of belonging to a community, and describes how they symbolise and utilise these boundaries to give substance to their values and identities. The Malay postgraduate students became conscious of their Malay identity through their continuous interaction. This could be because they share the same symbols, like language, duty or nationalism, but they do not necessarily share their meanings. Instead, these symbols provide them the means to express themselves. Apart from Cohen (1998), Bray (2004) has also shifted the focus of the analytical study from identities to idea of boundaries that are used for purpose of identification. Cohen and Bray have concentrated on how the idea of community belonging is differently constructed by individuals and how individuals within the group conceive their ethnic boundaries. In other words, Jenkins (2002, p. 118) explains Cohen idea of belonging as a central membership theme in relation to social identification. The idea of belonging here referred to the shared sense of belonging that comes through participation in a common symbolic world (culture); therefore community and belonging are thus imagined but not imaginary.
Roosens (1994) felt that Barth neglected the idea of kinship metaphors. According to Smith (1999), kinship primordialism is basically derived through kinship or clan ties where the choices of cultural signs (language, religion and traditions) are made to show this biological affinity. In other words, the common biological ancestries that are defining the ethnic communities are representing actual biological history (Smith 1999). However, Roosens (1994, pp. 81-104) argues that boundaries may create identities, but not necessarily ethnic identities. Of particular interest is what Barth says about boundaries changing through time. While Barth (1969) is correct to insist that cultural traits themselves do not constitute ethnic difference, Handelman (1977) and Cornell (1996) are equally correct to remind us that cultural factors are not irrelevant either. Therefore, our culture (language, non-verbal habits, dress, food, the structure of space, etc.) as we encounter it and live it, is for us simply something that is (Jenkins 1997, p. 76).
51 Anthony Giddens (1991) noted that all human action is defined by reflexivity, meaning that people constantly examine and reform their social practices in the light of incoming information about those very practices, thus constitutively altering their character. So, from the conception of ethnicity and boundaries outlined here, the works of the above theorists are particularly important to my research, as they examine problematic matters related to ethnic boundaries, unlike many writers on Malay ethnicity. According to Verkuyten (2005, p. 41), having an ‘identity’ is considered good and desirable, whereas the situation of ‘no identity’ is evaluated negatively by the person themselves. Ethnic and cultural identities should be recognized and respected, particularly in the face of their denial or repression by others. For example, in various cases, new cultural identities among youth are commonly denied and repressed. Often they are simply not accepted, as in Malay society. This includes the phenomena of subcultural identities which are often seen as inappropriate to and not fitting of Malay culture and practice. According to Božilović (2010, p.46), a particular way of life is based on a specific cultural pattern, and may include a certain value system, ideas, norms and rules of behaviour, symbolic formation and usage, taste, play, music, appearance and speech, each largely distinctive of a particular social group. When this way of life contrasts to the mainstream or dominant cultural model, it gets transformed into a cultural style that can be referred to as a ‘subculture’. Some people identify themselves with a certain subculture while others may freely move among many different subcultures, such as those associated naturalists, Goths, hackers or hippies (Giddens 2003, p. 27).
Apart from Barth on boundaries and Giddens on reflexivity, Anthony Cohen (1994b, p. 120), writing on the primacy of the self, has pointed out that the nature of cultural identity is not merely dependent on associating oneself with a set of characteristics: one also distances oneself from others. Following this insight, once I have identified the criteria involved in forming an individual’s identity, I enquire into how these characteristics are used by individuals in distancing themselves from one another. Calhoun (1994, p. 329) looks into the politics of identity in the context of globalization. According to him, nationalism and the discourse of national identity are likely to remain of central importance in an increasingly globalized world. A more conventional idea put forward by Max Weber (1977) is how in-group affinity can have important consequences for the formation of a political community. He defined the basis of an ethnic group as a subjective belief in common descent because of similarities of physical types or customs or both, or because of memories of colonization and
52 migration, whether or not an objective blood relationship exists (Weber 1977, p. 20). Furthermore, Weber (1977) argued that this belief must be important for the propagation of group formation, but does not ‘constitute a group; it only facilitates group formation of any kind, particularly in the political sphere.’
This points us to the idea of nationalism, which according to Gellner and Ionescu (1970) is basically a movement which conceives the natural object of human loyalty to be fairly large and anonymous until defined by a shared language and culture. Gellner & Ionescu view the role of language as fundamentally integrative, although it also sets the boundaries of political units. Unfortunately, language today can be as disruptive a force as any cultural marker. Undoubtedly, common language enhances communication and creates a more intimate understanding among its speakers (Smith 1981, pp. 48-49).
Wimmer (2008) undertook a review of past ethnographic literature on ethnic constellations and organized these works according to four dimensions of variation in ethnic forms related to features of social boundaries.33. The four dimensions are: (i) the political salience of boundaries, where boundaries are salient and political alliances are more likely to be formed between co-ethnics than between individuals on opposite sides of the boundary; (ii) social closure and ‘groupness’, which refers to those ethnic groups that have firmly closed themselves off to outsiders, i.e. where ethnic boundaries are associated with high levels of discrimination and exclusion; (iii) cultural differentiation, in which cultural differentiation may be reinforced in a two-way process; either, first, it makes a boundary appear self-evident or, second, ethnic boundaries do not divide along obvious cultural lines, but unite individuals who follow heterogeneous cultural practices34 (iv) stability, where it seems that the degree of stability is linked to various modes of transmitting ethnic membership. The most stable boundaries are found among people who identify individuals through multigenerational, unilineal descent lines, such as among Mongols, Pathans, and Germans, instead of through more unstable boundaries, based, for example, on behavioural, rather than genealogical, membership criteria, like the Vezo of Madagascar (Astuti 1995). The Malay students in my research also exemplified the idea that identity boundaries are unstable. They preferred to identify themselves according to their various positionings in different situational contexts. This emphasis upon situation as playing an important
33 See also Horowitz (1971); Cohen (1981); Shibutani & Kwan (1965) and Stinchombe (2006). 34 See also Patterson (1975); Saetersdal (1999). 53 role in the expression of their identities is discussed further in Chapters Five, Six and Seven.
The foci of these analyses have provided me with a way of conceptualizing Malay students’ ideas of their ethnic and religious identity. In adjusting their life and identity, some students will consider the importance of their religion, language and kinship. However, some orient more to the factors of considered by the situational approach, like distance, status and social mobility, in making adjustment to their life and identity in Western Australia. The next section explores how interpersonal communication and relational approach is use in analyzing the practicality of Malay student choices in adjusting or maintaining their identity.
Interpersonal Communication: Introduction and Review of Relational Approach
Treatment of interpersonal communication in relation to identity construction has been a conspicuous omission in many approaches to various contexts. Schmidt’s (2004) work emphasises the conditions and legal system of the host nation-state in identity formation in relation to young Muslims in the United States, but is not concerned with their interpersonal relations. Mostofi (2003) outlines the impact of Iranian culture on immigrant identity and how American civil society has treated these immigrants, but also leaves out the more interpersonal aspects. McAllister (2000) relates religious identity to political problems in Northern Ireland and the effect of social and economic mobility in resolving the political problems. Bennett (2006) considers neighbourhood factors in the development of African American youth identities. Jacobson’s (1998) study of young Pakistani Muslims in London shows how Muslim social identity functions and reproduces itself. In contrast, my study looks at how interpersonal communication among Malays students contributes to the formation and/or maintenance of Malay students’ identity and how they view their interactions with others (see Chapter Five).
In an argument concerning the function of language in anthropology, Ashton (1984, p. 131) suggests that instead of learning a people’s language in order to converse, it is important to discover the culture within the language and conversations themselves. In other words, this is also known as communicative competence (sometimes referred to as speech competence) instead of linguistic competence in the context of ethnography of
54 speaking (Bauman & Sherzer 1989). Wiemann (1977, p. 198), has defined communicative competence as:
[the] ability of an interactant to choose among available communicative behaviours in order that he may successfully accomplish his own interpersonal goals during an encounter while maintaining the face and line of his fellow interactants within the constraints of the situation.
According to Berger & Bradac (1982, p. 1), every day we come into contact with and talk to different people whom we know in differing ways. There are two kinds of uncertainty which can be discerned in interaction situations. The first is cognitive uncertainty, which refers to the uncertainty we have about our own and the other person’s beliefs and attitudes. The second is behavioural uncertainty, concerning behaviour that is unpredictable in a given situation (Berger & Bradac 1982, p. 7). Tajfel and Turner (2004, pp. 39-68) assert that some social interactions can be viewed as primarily based upon interpersonal relationships and individual characteristics (inter- individual encounters), while other social interactions may be based upon membership in social groups (inter-group encounters). Therefore, communicative competence, while based on language competence, also includes knowledge of the rules governing communication interaction and the ability to use these rules appropriately and effectively (DeVito 1992, p. 5).
However, as Hartley has argued in regard to communication, if communication is so ‘universal’, then perhaps we can assume that everyone knows what it is, and move straight on to the next chapter! Unfortunately, things are not so straightforward (Hartley 1999, p. 17). In other words, communication involves not only techniques, but also attitudes and beliefs (Harvey 1974, p. 14). According to Roloff (1981, pp. 27-31), there are four characteristics of interpersonal communication: it occurs in a relational context; it is guided by knowledge of one’s relational partner; it involves the transmission of various types of symbols; and, finally, it is functional, i.e. it serves some purpose. Therefore, he suggests that interpersonal communication can then be analyzed as a symbolic process by which two people who are bound together in a relationship provide each other with resources or negotiate the exchange of resources. This idea will be discussed in Chapter Three in the context of my experience as an insider interviewing the Malay students.
55 To avoid defining communication as dealing with passive listeners, Clampitt (1991) suggests communication could be like a dance. He uses the analogy of a dance where partners have to coordinate their movements and arrive at a mutual understanding of where they are going. There are rules and skills, but there are also flexibilities – dancers can inject their own style into the movements. Therefore, interpersonal communication should have the following characteristics: communication is from one individual to another; communication is face-to-face; and both the form and content of the communication reflect the personal characteristics of the individuals, as well as their social roles and relationships (Hartley 1999, p. 20).
While communication is repeatedly referred to as a social interpersonal process, Richmond and Buehler (1962, p. 3) have defined interpersonal communication as:
[I]nitiated by a signal act by an individual. The sequence of communicative acts which follow the initial signal act is the interpersonal communication process. These acts, including the initial signal act, may be described qualitatively and/or quantitatively depending upon many variables, such as: whether the signal act or the subsequent acts involved the use of mechanical devices; language plus motor gesture, language alone or motor gesture alone; and upon such additional factors as spatial, cultural, temporal, psychological, psychiatric, and so on.
In addition to sign use, communication is also a process of relating (Condit 2006). According to Condit (2006), communication is not primarily or essentially a process of transferring information or disseminating signs, instead, communication is weaving and reweaving matter and ideation during individual discourse. Condit also sees signs and symbols as merely components in the process of communication, which is better understood as a process of relating. Furthermore, he believes that communication constitutes a relationship that reconstitutes the entities that are related. Condit (2006, p. 11) states:
[T]aking seriously the concept of communication as relating will allow us to take seriously communication as a process with a distinctive ontology and unique methods. It will thereby allow us to better understand communication, which means to better understand the human animals who relate, and thereby constitute their being, through such incessant communication.
In other words, in constructing social relationships, there is an intimate tie between communication and relationship, each interwoven with the other (Rogers & Escudero 2004, p. 3). A relational approach is based on the interconnection of these two elements. 56 Rogers and Escudero (2004) claims that social relationships lie in our humanness, and communication lies in our relationships. Thus, relationships are seen as influencing our lives, constituted and shaped through our interactions and communications. Therefore, in relation to the idea of identity formation, transformation or maintenance, relational theory offers insights into how communications make sense for members of the group in their cultural context. This view is used in different ways, different contexts and in differing degrees.
I would not say that the relational view provides an adequate explanation on its own of the types of identification evident in Malay students’ communication, but extending this view posits that people are inherently sociable by nature and is useful in explaining Malay student cultural identity. Furthermore, during the development of Malay students’ interpersonal communication, their cultural practices doubtless amplify or attenuate, redirect, and transform their relational needs, and socio-moral emotions guide them to seek, create, sustain, sanction, transform, or terminate relationships (Fiske 2002). However, the relational view has its setbacks in setting aside other forms of human activity that lead to interpersonal communication among Malay students, such as language and taboos concerning sexual relationships and food. These points are further discussed later in relation to the importance of interpersonal communication among Malay students for which language, food and religious practice constitutes a platform that guides their interactions with others.
Based on my discussion of these authors, I have constructed my idea of the Relational Approach below (Figure 2.1), as I will use it to describe interpersonal communication among the Malay students at Western Australian universities. I support Takai and Ota’s (1994) assertion that culture has an impact on the appropriateness dimension, implying that differing conceptions of interpersonal norms and rules may complicate communication. However, in this research I would propose that, besides Malay culture, religion is seen as another factor contributing to the interpersonal communication process for the Malay students in relation to their identity adjustment, as shown below:
57 Figure 2.1: Interpersonal Communication and Relational Approach Model to Malay Student Identity Adjustment
Although only implicit in this diagram as part of culture, this relational approach also includes the non-verbal elements of communication in the Malay students’ everyday discourse. These non-verbal elements, including body language, and the ‘hidden’ meaning of speech utterances, are discussed further in later chapters. Non-verbal communication was also sometimes used as a communication tool with other people of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This includes the usage of gestures like thumbs-up and clapping, head movements like moving one’s head up and down to agree or side-to-side to disagree, and also emblems to symbolise religious belief, like the sign of the crescent moon and star to symbolize Islam. Relationally, this sign plays an important role in Malay student lives in locating a mosque in which to pray, ‘halal’ (permissible) foods, ‘halal’ restaurants and Islamic celebrations. My findings show that one of the significant criteria associated with Malay-Muslim identity relates to the consumption of ‘halal’ foods. Chapter Four of this thesis provides more in-depth explanations on what ‘halal’ foods mean to Malay Muslims students outside Malaysia. As this research seeks to complement the already existing studies on identity in Malaysia and outside Malaysia, I will review some of the previous studies on this topic that I have found important and significant to my own research, especially in assisting me to construct my own view about Malay student identity formation, maintenance or adjustment outside Malaysia's context.
58 Review on the Study of Identity in the Malaysian Context
In the humanities and social sciences, there is a large volume of literature from psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science and history on their respective theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of ethnic identity in Malaysia. My research is generally grounded in cultural and social anthropology. Other more specific approaches are in the studies of ethnic relations, ethnic identity and the anthropology of religion. In pre-colonial times the people called the Malays were living in numerous settlements along the coasts of the Southeast Asian archipelago. Intensive trade interaction and population movements occurred between the many islands of the archipelago and beyond, and many Malays were intensively involved in this trade (Li 2003, p. 138; Reid 1989, p. 282) - hence, the status of the Malay language as a lingua franca in the region.
In looking at ethnicity and identity in the Malaysian context, Mansor Mohd Noor (1992) suggests that ethnicity is on the wane as a force for identification in Malaysian society. He adopts a ‘rational choice’ approach to argue that economic growth and modernisation contribute to a thinning of the ethnicity concept in Malaysia. He initially criticises political leaders who play up the ethnic card for exigencies of political power, claiming that rational choice is a tool for harmonising ethnic relations. What Mansor questions in his thesis is the idea that individuals can be always swayed by bringing up issues of ethnicity. However, my discussion among the Malay postgraduate students shows that Mansor’s propositions on the decline of ethnic identity in Malaysian society are too simplistic as I demonstrate in my research findings. Although religious identity is found to be more important than ethnic identity, the latter still plays an enormous role in the Malay student’s life in Australia as documented in Chapter Four.
Soda Naoki (2008) in his PhD thesis on the formation of Malay Identity in Colonial Malaya discusses the indigenization of colonial knowledge in identity formation, dividing it into two phases. The first phase is the ‘transmission’ that lies in the process through which new apprehensions of colonial society were transplanted from British colonizers to Malays. The second phase is the ‘appropriation’ through which Malays themselves reorganized their acquired knowledge and made use of it for their own sake. Malay identity was then defined with reference to the concept of Malay territorial boundaries at three levels: individual Malay states (negeri-negeri Melayu), Malaya
59 (tanah Melayu), and the Malay world (alam Melayu). According to Soda, the framework of knowledge brought by the British colonizers was not totally absorbed by the Malays since the latter also accommodated a modern concept of Malayness in terms of their positive transformation and appropropriation. Soda’s distinction between transmission and appropriation suits my discussion on how Malay postgraduates defined themselves as Malay and to what extent they were willing to make adjustments to their identities in the countries in which they were staying. This is highlighted by my informants, as reported in Chapters Three, Four and Seven.
According to Lee (2004), in his study of race relations in Malaysia from 1993-2003, Malaysians are under no illusion that they have shed their racial identities to embrace a single national identity. The questions of race relations in Malaysia centres on how multiculturalism and nationalism are successfully presented as vehicles of integration, overshadowing the everyday issues of racial politics, and the extent to which the latter have become less transparent as national identity is developed as an arena of new imagery. Chapter Six and Seven of this thesis further discuss the idea of how Malay postgraduate students are building their rapport with people of other ethnicities in Australia and at what point does their own ethnic and national identity plays a role in their everyday encounters with others.
Lee Su Kim (2003) in her research paper looks into the idea of identity and English language in Malaysia. Viewing Malaysia as a multilayered society she considers how identity shifts take place frequently in strategic and non-strategic ways as people navigate their way in society in search of acceptance and belonging. One of her respondent, who is proficient in English, claimed that mastery of English language does not in any way detract her from her Malay identity. The same respondent also says that when one learns a language, one also learns about the culture as well, but does not necessarily internalize the values of that culture, especially if one has a strong alternate cultural identity (Lee Su Kim 2003, p. 145). Her findings also suggest that language is seen as a tool for both acceptance and distancing. Accordingly, one will employ identity shifts as they seek acceptance, belonging, or both. One’s personal journey thus highlights the often intricate relation between language and identity. A similar situation also is discussed in this thesis where Malay students felt that using English language was a way for them to be accepted by the locals and it allowed them to trancend the
60 cultural borders of their own language group and access the views and ideas of others. These issues are discussed in Chapter Seven.
According to Spaan, Naerssen and Kohl (2002), the question of Malay identity is complex. On the one hand, it is related to Islam and the Islamisation of Malaysian society. On the other hand, economic modernisation has weakened the society’s traditional aspects. Communitarian values have given way to individualistic values, shared by members of the middle classes, regardless of their ethnicity. Nation building is making headway, albeit slowly, and more and more young Malaysians identify themselves first as Malaysians rather than Malays, Chinese or Indians. A study by Krauss et al. (2006) looked at the regional differences in religiosity between rural and urban Muslim youth in Malaysia. Their findings indicated higher levels of religiosity for rural Muslim youth than their urban counterparts across all the religiosity variables. According to them, whereas ethnic Malays are the majority in Malaysia, ethnic Chinese constitute the predominant group in urban centres. This factor is also discussed in Chapter Three on my respondents’ backgrounds; respondents came from various states in Malaysia, some from urban areas and some from rural areas. The differentiation among them will be reviewed further in other chapters of this thesis in relation to their existing ethnic and religious identity.
Wendy Mee (1998), in examining issues of cultural and technological change in Malaysia, focuses on the impact of new communication technologies, the internet in particular, on ethnic identity in Malaysia. Her argument tends to focus on the technological changes, but posits that among the Malays there are issues that tend to be unchangeable and non-elastic, especially in relation to a person’s religion. Ethnic identity is a variable construct influenced by the process of modernisation (Okamura 1981; Nagata 1974). Modernisation should not be treated as a present reality, but as continuous stages of socio-political and economic development. It can be inferred that, throughout history, modernization has had a critical impact on ethnicity; not only does it break down ethnic divisions, but also (re)creates new ones (Melson and Wolpe 1970).
A different view of ethnic identity was put forward by Amira Firdaus (2006) by looking at media preferences. She argues that ethnicity is associated with news and media preferences, with each ‘race’ preferring certain newspapers, television channels and radio stations. She also pointed out that the media’s government-sanctioned practice of
61 ethnic-narrowcasting is successful, and national integration is virtually ignored in Malaysian media. On the other hand, according to Turner (2002, p. 1), despite modern technologies that mediate communication among individuals, face-to-face interaction is still primary in one’s identity formation. Turner asserts in his social theory that despite dramatic changes in the nature of human relationships in the period of post-modernity, certain basic human tendencies toward emotionally inflected, physically co-present social interactions remain strong.
Kaur and Sidhu (2009), in their study ‘Postgraduate Student’s Learning Experience in Malaysia’, concluded that diverse student cohorts bring with them an array of cultural and linguistic knowledge and learning experience which can enhance the student experience. Also, having a thorough working knowledge of postgraduate students’ actual learning experiences can have a tremendous impact on a university’s curriculum, discipline, cultures and work practices. Kaur and Sidhu’s study focuses on experiences of postgraduates in Malaysia, while I will attempt to provide findings on some experiences of Malay postgraduate students outside Malaysia. However, my focus is relating the Malay postgraduate experiences with their identity adjustments or maintenance in the more inclusive context of studying outside Malaysia.
Review on the Study of Identity beyond the Malaysian context
Following from the discussion of studies on identity above, there have been numerous articles and studies that focus on and/or attempt to examine the formation of Malay identity, but little scholarship has analyzed Malay identity outside Malaysia. Australia's relationship with Malaysia is diverse and is underpinned by strong people-to-people links, notably in education (Australian Bureau of Statistics Year Book, 2009-2010). According to the Australian Education International Enrolment Data (2009), the number of Malaysian student enrolments in Australia was 23,103 for 2009, as shown in Table 2.1. Furthermore, the state of Western Australia is the second preference for Malaysian students after Victoria (Table 2.2). The continuing high numbers of Malaysian students in Australia gives us an idea of how Malaysians are getting heavily involved in international relations and world culture. However, there is no breakdown of Malaysian
62 students’ enrolments according ethnic groups available in Australia or Malaysia in my ascertainment.35
There have been numerous studies regarding other foreign students’ identity and some will be reviewed in regard to issues comparable to this study. Adibi (2003) looks into identity and cultural change among Iranian youth in Australia. His findings indicate that Iranian youths in Australia are not clones of their parents. Their life experience is different and thus their attitudes, values and behaviours. Adibi also concludes that the emphasis now is the shifting of individual identity towards collective identity, where one can see that while Iranian youth has many similarities with mainstream Australian youth in their attitudes and aspirations, many differences still exist. In this research what is of interest to me is the idea of shifting identity towards creating their collective identity in a new environment. Table 2.1: International Student Enrolment in Australia from Top 10 Source Nationalities, 2005-2010
Nationality 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 China 84,476 93,533 110,846 131,210 154,777 167,767
India 27,436 38,649 62,818 96,407 120,913 100,310
Republic of Korea 26,107 30,861 34,230 35,133 35,708 33,986
Vietnam 5,295 6,711 9,626 15,844 23,755 25,788
Thailand 16,404 17,708 19,736 22,229 26,460 24,882
MALAYSIA 19,249 19,029 19,732 21,091 23,103 23,247
Nepal 1,279 2,670 9,076 18,002 24,579 22,019
Indonesia 16,053 14,885 14,776 15,975 17,867 18,378
Brazil 7,022 10,086 12,433 15,899 17,529 16,072
Saudi Arabia 1,035 1,864 3,631 7,788 12,599 13,271
Other nationalities 139,827 143,957 153,171 161,566 174,645 173,399
Total 344,183 379,953 450,075 541,144 631,935 619,119 - Source: AEI International Student Enrolment Data 2009 (Table A)
35 I have searched through various sites and statistics departments in Malaysia and Australia, but have been unable to get the statistics on student enrolment in Australia's universities according to ethnic differences. I am also aware that issues of ethnicity are considered sensitive by Malaysians and possibly a private matter to Australians. 63 Table 2.2: Malaysian Student Enrolment according to Australian State/Territory, 2008-2010
Australian State/Territory 2008 2009 2010
Victoria (VIC) 7,995 8,641 8,592
WESTERN AUSTRALIA (WA) 4,012 4,312 4,223
New South Wales (NSW) 3,539 3,912 3,852
South Australia (SA) 2,258 2,482 2,538
Queensland (QLD) 2,104 2,444 2,670
Tasmania (TAS) 721 755 759
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) 450 531 574
Northern Territory (NT) 12 26 39
Total 21,901 23,103 23, 247
Source: AEI International Student Enrolment Data 2009 (Table D)
A research report by Brown and Hartwell (2010) examines how international postgraduate students in Britain attach meanings to food they eat in a new culture. According to Brown and Hartwell, these research students preferred to eat mostly home-cooked national dishes because they perceived those foods to be healthy, tasty and emotionally comforting. In other words, the local dish is also seen as contributing to harmful effects on physical health due to high fat and sugar content, as well as being less tasty. One of the main issues discussed in this thesis shows that the Malay students tend to cook their own meals. One of the reasons highlighted by my informants is because foods in Australia are expensive. However, another main reason identified for this is because Malay-Muslim students are only consuming ‘halal’ foods, as discussed further in Chapter Four.
Alhazmi (2010) in his doctoral research looked into the transition from a gender- segregated culture among Saudi international students into a mixed gender environment in Australian institutions. His study indicates that the Saudi culture of extreme gender segregation has impacted the Saudi students, particularly in their ability to relate to their peers in a coeducational environment, even though not all experiences in the new mixed gender environment were negative. My study shows how maintaining their gender position in accordance with their religious identity is taken into context of the Malay
64 postgraduate gender identity. Further discussions on the issue of Malay postgraduate gender identity adjustment in relation to their religious identity are to be found in Chapters Five, Six and Seven.
Chaudhury and Miller (2008) in their study attempt to explore some preliminary understanding of religious identity formation among Bangladeshi American Muslim adolescents. In their findings, they uncovered the presence of two distinct groups of adolescents with respect to religious identity formation, to which they refer as ‘internal seekers’ and ‘external seekers’. According to Chaudhury and Miller, the external seekers are the ones who look outside of their religion for answers by exploring other faiths or abandoning religion altogether in making a decision about their personal religious stance, while the internal seekers are the ones who look within their pre- exisiting religion to resolve any conflicts or questions that they have about their faith. In reference to the Malays, my data supports the relevance of the idea of the external seeker, in as much as my informants made religious and cultural adjustments, but they did not fundamentally change their identities as Malay and Muslim. Their religious identity adjustments emerged only from within the Islamic religious context and did not require a departure from expected religious practice. Internal seeking was achieved by reading and understanding the Al-Qu’ran and other Islamic texts and through discussion with religious leaders or religious study groups (sometimes refer to as ‘usrah’). I have related and discussed some of these situations, such as the position of the ustaz or religious teacher and the usrah group, in Chapters Five and Six.
Schmidt (2004), on the other hand, analyses Islamic identity formation among young Muslims in Denmark, Sweden and the United States. She describes the process of transnational identity formation according to four different themes: (1) visibility and aesthetics; (2) choices; (3) transnationalism; and (4) social ethics. In this article, she points out the existence, paradox and challenges of transnational Muslim identity formation in the West Europe and the United States and the significance of the legislative framework of nation-states as aspects to which Muslim must constantly relate and which affect the localized practice of boundless Islam. She concludes by underlining the importance of comparative research among Muslim minority communities in those regions and beyond.
65 Lewthwaite (1996) explores how international students adapt to their new academic, social, cultural and linguistic environment at Massey University, New Zealand. Lewthwaite’s study is similar to mine, but his study covers international students from Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan. In his findings, Lewthwaite suggests that besides identifying the obstacles to integration, such as loneliness, cultural mismatch, frustration at a lack of integration with the locals, there was no high level of stress reported. Lewthwaite concluded that the greatest block to the adaptation process was the lack of intercultural communicative competence. This refers to the inability to deal with misunderstandings and to empathise with host students, along with an inability to establish interpersonal relationships, resulting in slow integration. Based on similar observations, I would argue that interpersonal communication is an important element in Malay student life outside Malaysia as well. Chapter Six of this thesis discusses further the significance of interpersonal communication in Malay students’ identity formation or adjustment.
Swami et al. (2010) in their recent study have looked into sociocultural adjustment among sojourning Malaysian students in Britain by focussing on Malaysian Malay and Malaysian Chinese undergraduate students. They report that Malay students are significantly poorer in their sociocultural adjustment than Chinese students. They observe that this situation is basically due to factors associated with the students’ family income, language proficiency, perceptions of cultural differences, and discrimination. They suggest that participants with higher English proficiency were better adapted, partially because they perceived less cultural differences and had more contact with host nationals. They conclude that the effects of income on socio-cultural adjustment are not difficult to understand. For example, higher incomes may afford greater use of cultural resources such as community resources (Garcia et al. 2002) and more contact with networks left behind in the home country (Schultz 2001). In contrast to this, with the increasing number of sponsored Malay postgraduate students going overseas, I argue that the effects of family incomes do not contribute much to their adaptation process. However, my observations support theirs that English language proficiency is a positive factor in establishing contact with the host nationals. This is also revealed by my informants in relating to their academic pursuits, as discussed in Chapter Seven.
66 Sato and Hodge’s (2009) research presents findings that could be associated with my own findings regarding the importance of religion in Malay student life. According to Sato and Hodge, Asian international students involved in their studies were proud to be Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese respectively. Their findings show that during their doctoral experience these students came to a deeper appreciation of their own culture, values, and beliefs as Asian people. They also became increasingly aware of how their values and beliefs helped sustain them during this experience, especially as they felt isolated or marginalized by others. As will be demonstrated, the same situation could be seen in the Malay postgraduate students’ experience in Australia, even though their stress centres more on their religious beliefs and practice that keep them going throughout their journeys as doctoral students. I propose that Malay-Muslim students embrace the ideas of hikmah (hoping for a good outcome in the future after facing challenges in their life of hard work), nasib (things happen as they are meant to happen) and tawakal (resign or to trust in God) in their daily encounters. I also argue that ideas of hikmah, nasib and tawakal are viewed as parts of a symbolic religious boundary that the students use to maintain their Malay and Muslim identity, as further discussed in Chapter Eight.
Tang (2010) discusses the issue of transnational migration and diaspora that fractures the parameters of nation and identity in Chinese-born American writer Chuang Hua’s novel Crossing (1968). Tang points out that the act of going global through transnationalism implicates the simultaneous act of going local. This entails both an embedded hybridity and a cultural locality of an imagined homeplace that double back on the migration routes (Tang 2010, p. 25). In other words, instead of merely destabilizing and disintegrating the concepts of nation and identity, migration paradoxically contributes to their reinstallation as re-imagined culturalized entities (Tang 2010, p. 26). The situation mentioned by Weimin Tang as double act migration also applies to the Malay postgraduate students’ as their act of going global involves a simultaneous act of going local, towards a localized hybridity and a temporary state of re-imagined homeplace in Australia. The various forms of temporary adjustment made in this context are discussed in Chapter Seven.
An attempt at looking at Malays in Australia has been made by Asmah Haji Omar (2008). In her book titled ‘The Malays in Australia: Language, Culture and Religion’, she considers Malays migrants who have become citizens and permanent residents in
67 Australia. They constitute a minority group who have sought to make a better living for themselves by leaving their homeland. According to Asmah, the Malays in her study have to be able to participate in the mainstream way of life of Australians in terms of their language use, formal education for themselves and their children as well as in understanding the policies, rules and regulations of their new country (Asmah Haji Omar 2008, p.x). Asmah manages to highlight the significant aspects of the Malay lives which make-up their Malay identity in Australia, in particular their language, culture and religion. While my research likewise highlights these three dimensions of Malay postgraduate student’s ethnic and religious identity, a key difference lies in the fact that, unlike Asmah’s subjects, the Malay postgraduate students with whom I worked will return to Malaysia once they have completed their studies. They thus experience and view their time in Australia differently. The adjustments of and restraints on Malay studentidentity is discussed further in Chapter Seven.
Similarly, an earlier examination of Malays in Western Australia was made by Wan Hashim Wan Teh and A. Halim Ali (1999) in their book ‘Rumpun Melayu Australia Barat’ which seeks to learn about Malays in a global perspective. The authors consider the idea of Malays as a minority or ‘diasporic Malay’ that has moved out of the Malay World, into Sri Lanka, Mecca, South Africa, England, Surinam, United State of America, Australia, Canada and Europe (Wan Hashim Wan Teh 1999, p. 11). Wan Hashim Wan Teh reviews his study by referring to Robert E.Park’s idea of race relations cyle. This idea stated that encounters and interactions between minorities and a dominant group will cause the minorities to assimilate into the dominant group culture. Findings revealed that migration has transformed Malay economic and cultural life. Despite this, Malays did not lose either their Malay or Muslim identity. Instead their exposure to and involvement with the locals helps them to strengthen their Malay identity. Nevertheless, Wan Hashim also notes that there was no assurance what will occur among the second or third generations to come. Despite the adjustments they make, Malay-Muslim postgraduate students involved in this study still demonstrate a strong lived commitment to their Malay-Muslim identity as highlighted in Chapters Four and Five.
In looking at the Malay Muslim students in Western Australia, I also acknowledge a certain unevenness. Some of the students prefer to be closely associated with the wider Australian community and have an open, confident attitude to the outside world, while
68 others feel the need for an Islamic space in a community of their own, where they can ‘be themselves’ (John & Saeed 2002). Therefore, discussion of the findings will look at the idea of how some Malay students prefer to interpret their experiences and ideas broadly, while others are more conservative and guided by norms of conduct set out in particular traditions of Islam. By whatever means, they will have to find a way that suits them in order to respond to this new situation, whilst adjusting or maintaining their ethno-religious identity.
Chapter Summary
In the context of the theoretical frameworks discussed in this chapter, I have explicated a number of perspectives on identity: the culturalist perspective, particularly that is known as primordialist perspective, the situationalist perspective, and the symbolic perspective. I have also reviewed the relational approach of interpersonal communication as a framework for understanding identity issues. In figure 2.1, shown in the earlier part of this chapter, I show how I positioned the Malay postgraduate students’ identity process and adjustment in their new environment. The idea put forward by Barth provides an important overview of an approach that contains elements of both primordiality and situationalism. I found Barth’s (1969) variant of situationalism, to be influential in analysing ethnic identity as an aspect of social organization. Other theorists, influenced by symbolic approaches, have noted the necessity to treat cultural elements as well. In terms of the ethnic and religious identity of Malay postgraduate students, I argue that Malay culture, adat and religion are important elements in their identity adjustment or maintenance decisions. This literature review reveals that there is a dearth of research into Malay students’ identity and life experience outside Malaysia. I have explored some of the approaches significant to this study by showing how these approaches are used differently in different contexts.
This chapter also provides some overview of studies on ethnic identity, ethno-religious identity and identity adjustment that have been conducted in Malaysia and beyond Malaysia. Various research foci and findings have been highlighted as pertinent to my study. However, there has not been much study relating to Malay postgraduate ethno- religious identity outside Malaysia. In my treatments of research by others, I have foreshadowed the upcoming discussions of my own findings in relation to the Malay postgraduate students’ identity adjustment, including such aspects as consumption of
69 ‘halal’ foods, religion, academic position, communication and recreational patterns, and use of the symbolic perspectives of hikmah, nasib and tawakal.
Malay students selected in this research are found to be quite aware of the importance of forming and maintaining their ethnic and religious identity when dealing with others. Their concerns are apparent in making adjustments or maintaining their religious identity in different situations in their everyday life. Seldom do the students transform their ethno-religious identity whilst in Australia in any manner that goes against their religious beliefs. The next chapter will discuss further the methodological framework adopted for this study, including discussions on the setting and informants’ backgrounds.
70 CHAPTER 3 Methodological Framework: Setting and Informants’ Backgrounds
Well-crafted ethnographies possess a ‘weblike character’, allowing readers to use data offered in support of one idea to confirm or disconfirm other ideas. (Katz 1988, p.142)
Introduction
This chapter discusses the overall background of my research design and methods used in this study. It will begin with the background of my study by outlining the research aims and methodology used to collect data from my informants. It provides justification for the ethnographic and qualitative approach taken in the study and explains how recruitment of informants took place. This is followed by a more general discussion of the background of the informants involved in this research.
Researcher as Ethnographer and Insider: A Review
I noted earlier that as a Malay student pursuing my study in Western Australia, I am both an ethnographer and an insider researching within my own subculture. This is also one of the reasons that prompted me to look at the adjustments of Malays outside Malaysia. I will explain further my position as an ethnographer and also an insider in obtaining the data that I needed. What has engaged me is the idea that most anthropologists, sometimes referred to as ethnographers in the context of their field research, are ‘outsiders’ immersing themselves in an entirely different culture (Malinowski 1922; Barth 1993; Evans 1999). Gellner (1995, p. 17) stated that those who investigate ‘primitives’ can no longer indulge in the fantasy of the ‘ethnographic present’. According to Gellner, anthropology is currently being pulled in different directions by its substantive and methodological definitions. There are some relatively stable societies, but they are not primitive. There are some ancient societies, but they are not stable. Ethnographers often write their ethnography in the past tense, but develop their analytical points in the ‘ethnographic present’ (Emerson 1988). So, ironically, anthropologists are liable to be historians of ancient societies, and presentist students of developed ones. According to Hammersley and Atkinson (2007, p. 1), ethnography refers to an integration of both first-hand empirical investigation and the theoretical and 71 comparative interpretation of social organization and culture. In terms of data collection, ethnography usually involves the researcher participating, overtly or covertly, in people’s daily lives and gathering whatever data are available to shed light on the issues that are the emerging focus of inquiry.
I have conducted fieldwork based on participant-observation, which hinges on the dynamic of the contradictory synthesis of subjective insider and objective outsider. McCall and Simmons (1969, p. 1) defines participant-observation as a characteristic blend or combination of methods and techniques that is employed in studying certain types of subject matter. Angrosino (2007, p. 38) sees participant-observation occurring when a researcher interacts with the people studied in ways that go beyond the simple researcher-and-subject and carries out observations from the perspective of an insider to the group. Ethnographers are committed to going out and getting close to the activities and everyday experiences of other people. ‘Getting close’ minimally requires physical and social proximity to the daily routine of people’s lives and activities, and seeks a deeper immersion in others’ worlds, to grasp what they experience as meaningful and important (Emerson, et al. 1995, p. 2).
According to Barrett’s view (cited in Bruenjes 1998, p. 67), anthropological researchers who are not outsiders can identify themselves as insiders (that is researchers from a dominant ethnic group conducting research at home), as native anthropologists (that is, researchers from a minority group studying their own people), even as Indigenous anthropologists (those one who conduct research in their own society)36. In relation to this research, I would qualify myself as a native anthropologist since I am not conducting this research in Malaysia. One of the dilemmas I have to face as a ‘native’ anthropologist was to deal with the assumption that I can represent an unproblematic insider’s perspective (Narayan 1993). An ‘insider’ refers to the person who conducts research on the cultural, racial, or ethnic group of which he himself is a member (Jones 1970, p. 251). I find Jones’ interpretation suits the position I occupy in this fieldwork even though my position as native anthropologist still suits me best because I am looking at my own society outside Malaysia. If I were to see myself as an insider anthropologist here (by considering Western Australia as temporary home), then there
36 Messerschmidt (1981, p. 13) also breaks the anthropology researcher into three categories. (insider, native and indigenous) According to Messerschmidt, the term ‘indigenous’ anthropologist refers to Third World anthropologists who do their fieldwork in their own societies. 72 would be no ‘outsiders’ in relation to my study. However, being an ‘insider’ (as a Malay) gives me entrée into settings and situations and to become part of their everyday scene, so people do not bother to consciously modify their behaviours to accommodate my presence (Angrosino 2007, p. 39). Wolcott (1981) described his experience in conducting fieldwork at home and abroad. When he conducted his fieldwork abroad (Africa) he avoided confronting sensitive issues and was highly apart, instead he was deeply involved and critical when conducting his fieldwork at home (the United States).
Sluka and Robben (2007, p. 2) believe that as an insider, the fieldworker learns what behaviour means to the people; as an outsider, the fieldworker observes, experiences, and makes comparisons in ways that insiders cannot or would not, that is when the outsider discerns patterns of behaviour of which the actors are unaware. Insiders who are able to step back from time to time to record the scene in an objective manner (i.e., to see the scene independently of their autobiographical interest in it) become participants-as-observers (Gold 1958). Participant observation requires a degree of self- awareness and, according to Smith (2005, p. 96), once we have a good sense of who we are, not only as researchers, but also as human beings, we are more likely to be effective participants-as-observers.
I believe that one’s position as an insider in her or his own community helps facilitate interviews with the participants. Therefore, it is important to consider the idea of reflexivity, which refers to the researcher’s own representation of self (Coffey 2002; Lichtman 2006). In undertaking seemingly solitary tasks, individuals engage in reflexive activities in which they are able to address themselves and respond, explicitly and implicitly, using a shared language (Perinbanayagam 2005). In Mead’s (1936, p. 134) words, ‘It is by means of reflexiveness – the turning back of the experience of the individual upon himself – that the whole social process is brought into the experience of the individual.’ To be reflective is therefore to think back and possibly describe to someone who said what in the argument; to be reflexive is to stand back, reflect on the argument and reflexively ask questions about one’s own involvement (Watt 2010, p. 187).
Being an insider researcher, I have also incorporated autoethnography, ‘the ethnography of one’s own group’ (Reed-Danahay 1997, p. 2), in this research. The basic assumption in autoethnographic representation is that the researcher is a member of a cultural or
73 social group, and her or his personal experiences accurately mirror the experiences of the group as a whole (Angrosino 2007, p. 65). I have chosen this method because I believe that the study of self-narratives and self-discovery is beneficial for understanding others. According to Chang (2008, p. 34), if ‘others’ refers to member’s of one’s own community (others of similarity, in this case, other Malays), the self is reflected in others in a general sense and can act to smooth the transition to understanding the self. If ‘others’ refers to members of other communities (others of difference), understanding the similarity between self and others captures only a portion of understanding others. All ethnographers will select and edit their observations, but in dealing with one’s own culture, there is a tremendous amount of selecting out. The way to select and edit one’s observation to preserve more ethnographic comprehension is to find the unfamiliar within the familiar, to make clear that things are not what they seem and to reach behind the façade of ordinary behaviour and belief to the deeper implications of social action (Goldschmidt 2009, p.18).
Even though autoethnography has been criticized by some as self-indulgent (Coffey 1999) and the researcher-self as problematic (Holt 2003), I feel that some of my personal experiences can be considered a part of the experiences that the Malay students face in their everyday life. Thus, I do not agree with the attribution of self-indulgence, but realize that most of the insights and experiences shared with me by other Malay students are useful evidence in this research, as well as in relation to my own experience. In this research, my status as an insider alone does not exhaust all information and findings for this research. Instead, I have also relied on various other methods and not just autoethnography. As Fetterman (1998, p.96) writes, researchers need to see patterns of thought and action repeated in various situations and with various players; the search for pattern is, therefore, an important test of the reliability of the research.
I also believe that my position as an insider in my own community has helped to facilitate my research. My experience and knowledge of Malay adat and Islamic religion, which govern the Malay students’ lives, is an advantage in my research. However, regardless of my familiarity with Malay society, it is also clear to me that I am facing my own community – ‘others of similarity’ – in an environment of a surrounding society – ‘others of difference’ – to reveal ways the student informants in this study transform, adjust or maintain their identities (Chang 2008, p. 34). In other
74 words, both the researcher and the informants are experiencing the transnational concept of ‘home’ and ‘away’ (Amit 2000, p. 15). I realized that my insider status is exceedingly relevant in studying my own ethnic community. I could hardly separate my private life from my field work. In a way it brought a kind of easiness for me to be involved with people of the same ethnic background, but at the same time I would say I do feel a bit awkward, meaning in some situations it would be an advantage to me, but in other ways it involves setbacks. Therefore, it is also necessary to review possible different experiences by an insider and outsider researcher in conducting research among Malays, as will be discussed in the next section
Being Courteous or Being Cautious? An Insider versus Outsider Review
This research was conducted among the Malay students to document and to analyze their experiences, problems, and adaptation processes in relation to their ethnic and religious identity. This includes unexpected encounters like racist remarks or actions, different cultural practices and ethics. What I would argue here is that Malay students in Western Australia still hold on to the ethical ways instilled by Malay culture, which include knowing proper and acceptable ways to talk to parents, friends and strangers. Some of the important aspects of interviewing Malays are to conduct the interview in a calm and courteous way, to articulate issues, and to use appropriate non-verbal communication. These elements will be discussed further in relation to insider versus outsider positions and possible feedback from Malay participants.
I was aware of how difficult it is to get Malay participants to open up during interviews. The idea of friendship as part of the method of qualitative inquiry appeals to me (Tillmann-Healy 2003). Gaining entrée as a researcher is not easy and making friends with informants is seen as a much ‘softer’ way to introduce myself to them. As Abdullah (1996) has noted for Malays, building relationships comes before getting down to business and engaging in social pleasantries is seen as a form of ‘ice-breaker’ which can smooth the flow of conversation, unlike Westerners who are more direct and explicit. Silence is an important element of Malaysian communication. Pausing before responding to a question indicates that they have given the question appropriate thought and considered their response carefully. Many Malays do not understand the Western propensity to respond to a question hastily and can consider such behaviour thoughtless and rude.
75 Conducting an Interview in a Calm and Courteous Manner
As an insider, what I noted during an interview is the tendency of the participants involved to get carried away in discussing issues that are not related to the questions asked of them. The situation is due to the researcher being an insider because there are other issues or matters they wish to point out that are irrelevant to the research, but could be relevant to the researcher as a fellow Malay. Therefore, it is best to stay calm and courteous in receiving their views on matters that are not pertinent to the posed questions. In this situation, being an insider is a challenge compared to being an outsider. In one interview a participant was asked about the subject of communication between family members among the Malays as compared to the Western Australian family. One of the participants answered how in Australia children communicate with their parents with no sense of respect (i.e addressing their parents with their first names).
As an insider, it was assumed that I understood the implicit comparison made by the participants in relation to communication between parents and their children in Malay cultural practice, that is, that among the Malays the common form of communication for children to use involves terms like ‘ibu’, ‘mak’ or ‘ummi’ (all terms relating to mother) and ‘ayah’, ‘bapa’ or ‘abi’ (all terms relating to father), to name but a few. Children should never address their parents by name because it connotes disrespect and a lack of manners. The Malay participant therefore is being courteous in answering the questions through indirection because they are willing to make the comparison between the two cultures. This points out how communicative cultural practice among the Malays frequently involves indirect statements (Figure 3.1). They tend to give the listener a hint rather than making a direct statement about something. This form of communication tends to be indirect and subtle. Here, one might have to rely on the non-verbal communication like their facial expressions, voice tone or body language.
Figure 3.1 Western and Malay Ways of Expressing Views
Western way Malay way
76 If the interviewer were an outsider and the same question was asked, the participant would provide a more precise answer in assuming the researcher’s unawareness of their culture, except regarding the questions asked. In relation to this, the participants are being more courteous to the outsider researcher compared to the insider researcher. The tendency of the Malay respondents to explain further the reason for the usage of the terms is highly desirable and is considered a positive point for the interviewer. However, the setback to the situation is that further explanation from the Malay participant should not be anticipated. The reason is that Malay participants tend to fix their answer to the questions asked rather than going into details about the Malay practices in everyday life, unless the next question requires them to explain further the idea of communication in the parent-and-child relationship among Malays. The participants are more cautious in relating their culture to the outsider if they see their culture as being better compared to the outside culture. In another participant’s interview, she told me how she came across a local from Western Australia whom she considered rude, but then continued by saying that maybe the local was not rude, but was a bit rough. She might not say this out loud if the researcher was an outsider.
The Concept of Face
Malays have a strong moral-cultural stance about saving ‘face’ and avoiding hurting the feelings of others. The concept of ‘face’ in origin is Chinese (Ho 1976, p. 867), yet many other cultures and languages use the term face in reference to one’s honour or reputation. For the Malay, the term that is used to describe the idea of saving face is ‘jaga air muka’ (saving one’s face). Ho (1976, p. 883), defined face as ‘a concept of central importance because of the pervasiveness with which it asserts its influence in social intercourse; thus it is virtually impossible to think of a facet of social life to which the question of face is irrelevant’. In other words, people from some cultures tend to favour directness, while people from other cultures (like the Malays) favour less directness (Bowe & Martin 2007, p. 4). Goffman (1967, p. 13) suggested that ‘each person, subculture and society seems to have its own characteristic repertoire of face- saving practices, yet these are all drawn from a single logically coherent framework of possible practices.’ In this paper ‘face’ is used in terms of persons and societies and not just individuals. Among the Malays, to ‘jaga air muka’ (maintain face) of others is one way to strive for harmonious relations.
77 Furthermore, as an insider researcher, the ability to conduct an interview among the Malays in a manner that is anticipated by the Malays is a must. The tendency for the participants to look at me as one of them, assuming that I understand the proper way of communicating with them, is an asset, but also a disadvantage. Twenty-five out of the thirty participants chose to use the Malay language during the interview because it is their mother language. It was easier for them to express their thoughts and opinions in relation to the questions asked, and they felt there are many expressions in the Malay language that are hard to translate in English. The other five participants used the English language to help reduce my workload in transcribing and translating. The idea of helping each other is another aspect of Malay culture that is understood. However, I believe that as a tool in the interview, it is important to be critical without being judgmental (Kvale 2007). Furthermore, this ethnographic interviewing is semi- structured to allow flexibility for the participants to express themselves (Spradley 1980; O’Reilly 2005; Kvale 2007).
In the case of an outsider researcher, the Malay participants would not be as cautious or put forward information in the same manner as they do with the insider researcher. To an outsider their answers would be more detailed in comparing Malay culture with the other culture because they would explain the Malay culture first before making any comparisons. This could possibly be because the outsider is seen as someone who has no knowledge of Malay culture and needs to be taught about it. So the Malay participants will be more courteous in answering, while at the same time, being cautious not to mention or compare things that describe the negative side of their own culture. This all goes back to understanding the Malay culture and way of life. The well-known traditional Malay saying referred to earlier in chapter one, ‘biar mati anak, jangan mati adat’ (‘better your children die than your traditions/customs’), is related to the Malay idea of the importance of maintaining Malay culture and identity.
Articulating Issues in an Indistinct Manner
The ability of an insider or outsider researcher to articulate more explicitly the answers put forward by Malay participants is important. I would argue that Malay research participants will attempt to articulate an issue without mentioning the person or party involved in the respective situations. In this case, the researcher will be provided information about issues relating to Malay students lives, such as their problems, their
78 adaptation processes, and their experiences with the locals. However, the articulation of these issues can be indistinct, and it can be difficult for the researcher to get the ‘real answer’ out of the Malay participants. A participant recalled her personal experience while walking in the city by saying, ‘they were making noises, and then they were showing signals, whatever, that we all know.’ From her statement, she assumed that the researcher, as an insider, would understand to whom she was referring and what the signals meant. It is difficult for the researcher to write down what really happened. The situation might be interpreted in two ways, either she might have come across others of a different ethnic group, and the signals were warning signals or she was facing locals who see her as an outsider and were making improper remarks to her. This example shows the ambiguity faced by the insider researcher, even though I was able to disambiguate her words and interpret what she meant after further conversation.
In the case of an outsider researcher, the Malay participants might actually articulate the issue in a more straightforward way by mentioning what the signal means and what the signals look like. However, whether the outsider researcher would be able to interpret the signals in the way the Malay participants understood them is uncertain and is related to the issue of the diversity of symbolic meanings that can be assigned to the same sign, which may have different meanings to others.
Usage of Non-verbal Communication
In addition to the use of the Malay language, some ‘non-verbal’ communication serves a number of purposes, depending upon the context in which it is utilized. ‘Non-verbal’ is commonly used to distinguish all forms of human communication which are not controlled by the spoken word. Some of the obvious functions it has are to replace speech, complement the spoken word, emphasize parts of the verbal message, help to regulate the flow of communication between the speaker and listener, and to define acceptable patterns of behaviour in a variety of social settings (Hargie & Dickson 1981, pp. 18-23). In other words, it involves functioning body activity, gesture, facial expression and orientation, posture and spacing, touch and smell and those aspects of speech that can be considered apart from the referential content of what is said (Kendon 1981, p. 3).
79 The insider researcher’s ability to interpret the meaning shown by Malay participants through the usage of non-verbal communication is an asset in understanding what they ‘actually’ mean when answering an interview question. This aspect also involves the paralinguistic stress and intonation when uttering certain words. Malay respondents have a tendency to use a word with ‘hidden’ or ‘subjective’ meaning and not as a straightforward answer. One participant exclaimed she is less open with outsiders and only talks about positive things in her life if she is around them. Instead, if she is with another Malay, it will be easier to express her feelings. A common non-verbal form of communication used by the Malay respondents that was identified in this research was the usage of their eyes when using words that actually portray an ‘opposite meaning’ to the said words, like stressing a ‘Yes’ answer that instead means ‘No’, a reversal that could be reinforced by facial expression and describing things using their hands. As an insider, I easily read such paralinguistic and kinesic cues in interpreting their real answers.
For an outsider researcher non-verbal communication may pose problems, especially if one does not understand the Malay culture/adat and their repertoire of face-saving practices as mentioned by Goffman (1967). In other words, a person also acts in terms of values that are important to her or him because s/he forms a part of certain groups and takes part in institutionalized activities, with their own internal value systems to which s/he subscribes. In short, a person does or does not do certain things because moral values, or in this case, the Malay culture/adat, as well as the social, cultural and physical environment, form the constraints within which s/he acts (Boissevain 1974, p. 8). It is therefore important for an outsider researcher to understand the importance of staying calm and being courteous when conducting an interview with a Malay participant, being aware of their way of articulating issues and also of their usage of non-verbal methods of communication that could signify a ‘hidden’ meaning. Therefore, I would suggest that if one is unsure about the affirmative response received from Malay participants, a researcher should continue with the discussion by rephrasing the question in several different ways so that more subtle answers are elicited. Malay participants may laugh at what may appear to outsiders as inappropriate moments, such as when a sensitive question is asked. This strategy is used to conceal uneasiness.
80 Considering all these facts in my research, I am convinced that it is important to examine and understand the Malay participants first, before proceeding further into how they perceive and identify themselves. The next part will highlight some the major aims of this research in identifying how the Malay participants revealed their experiences of being Malay-Muslim in Western Australia, while also maintaining their ethnic and religious identity.
Recruiting Informants, Field Sites and Fieldwork Duration
The informants for this research are Malay postgraduate students pursuing either their Masters or Doctorate in Western Australia (as am I). I was first introduced to the Malay students in Western Australia by a female Malay friend I knew in Malaysia through a preparatory course, the Biro Tata Negara (BTN)37, before pursuing our study abroad. The course is compulsory in Malaysia for all sponsored students who are pursuing their studies overseas. BTN is an effort to cultivate the spirit of national citizenship; in Malaysia, national education and unity became, in the government’s own words ‘the over-riding objective’ of the education system (Lim Teck Ghee et al, 2009). BTN is also intended as a devise to nurture the spirit of patriotism among Malaysian students, making it possible for them to avoid conflicts, or to resolve them peacefully, by respecting the different cultures and values of each ethnic group. Indeed, such policies have been to some extent successful in eliminating ethnic tensions in Malaysia. According to Shamsul (2008), if education policy is not sensitive to the issue of social cohesion and does not incorporate the perspectives of key stakeholders, it can be divisive and alienating, contributing to injustice and violence.
I first arrived in Perth on the 30th December 2008. I was lucky to know other Malay students such as my friend who had arrived a semester before me. Even though I did not
37 Biro Tata Negara (National Civics Bureau, or simply BTN) was established in 1974 as the Youth Research Unit. BTN's stated objective is to nurture the spirit of patriotism and commitment to excellence among Malaysians, and train leaders and future leaders to support the nation's development. More information on BTN can be found at its official website:
The process of recruiting informants was based primarily on a snowballing sampling procedure and the informal Malay students’ yahoo mail account list known as MAWAR (Malaysian Student Western Australian Ring). Through friends I managed to get in touch with my informants by e-mail. In relation to the university ethics, all informants participated voluntarily, read the information sheet on my intended research and signed a consent form. On the 18th of April 2009, the MAWAR email group formally re- established itself as the Malaysian Postgraduate Students’ Association Western Australia (MyPSA).38 Its members are postgraduate students studying in universities throughout Western Australia,39 including The University of Western Australia (UWA), Curtin University, Murdoch University, Edith Cowan University (ECU) and Notre Dame University.40
Therefore, my main field site for this research comprises the four government universities in Western Australia where most of the Malay postgraduate students in the state are pursuing their studies. However, I did not include Notre Dame University as a field site since I have not come across any Malays who are pursuing their study there or even know anyone from there.41 During my fieldwork, I have examined the experiences of the students as Malays and as Muslims living in Perth. I asked the informants about the significance of their identities in their daily lives, the difficulties in maintaining
38 Information’s regarding the history, organizational chart, objectives and activities of MyPSA can be found at
I interacted with my informants in various field sites. Since some informants even invited me to their home, office or other places around the university campus, I was able to gain insight into their daily routines and surroundings. I have also met with some of my informants informally, for example at the market, shopping complex, restaurant, health clinic and hospital. I feel that besides the formal sites, the other settings that are involved in this research constituted part of this ethnographic research, giving it greater depth.
The primary concentrated period of my fieldwork took approximately twelve months (January to December 2009). However, my preliminary involvement with the informants began about six months prior to the start of my fieldwork. During this time I gathered as much information about Malay students in Western Australia as I could, getting in touch with a few of them to talk about their personal experience during their time in Western Australia. Much of the information that I gathered was focused around their experiences being Malay and Muslim in Western Australia. Some of the earlier encounters in my preliminary informal fieldwork were with the Malay senior postgraduate students and those who were returning to Malaysia. They provided me with useful insights and ideas of what the Malay students are going through. The salient issues from my preliminary fieldwork guided me through my research. My fieldwork officially terminated at the end of 2009, but the journey to gain rapport with the current and new Malay students still continues. New issues arising in relation to the Malay and Muslim identity have been noted up to the completion of this research.
Collection of Data
The methods selected for this research are those used in cultural anthropology and sociology, which conform to the standard techniques that emphasize confidentiality and
83 voluntary participation based on informed consent. This is a qualitative study using an ethnographic approach. Qualitative research seeks to understand the what, how, when, why and where of an event or an action in order to establish its meaning, concepts, definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols and descriptions (Berg 2007, pp. 2-3; Creswell 1998, pp. 14-16). It does so by analyzing words, actions and inter- relationships rather than numbers, and by reporting the detailed views of the people who have been studied. Therefore, I used a variety of data collection methods, such as participant observation, in-depth interviews and discourse analysis. My analysis relies heavily on data from these sources. As an insider to the Malay student community in Perth, I reflect on my own experiences as a Muslim Malay student studying abroad and use this insight in my reflexive analysis of the comments and experiences of the postgraduate students whom I interview (Goffman 1989, p. 125).
Participant Observation
Participant observation is one of the main methods I have used to collect data. This method has enabled me to get better acquainted with the Malay students I met. I also managed to immerse myself with other Malay students to see how they respond to events as they happen and experience these events and the circumstances that give rise to them (Emerson et al. 1995, p. 2). Liamputtong and Ezzy (2005, p. 169) explained:
[I]mmersion in ethnographic research is about being with other people; it is about learning about how people respond to situations, how they organize their lives; it is about learning what is meaningful in their lives. Through this immersion, the ethnographers themselves experience events in the same way as the local people. They then are able to see things from the people’s perspectives and hence to have a deeper understanding of the people they are learning from.
I have spent my time with my key informants and the Malay student group by visiting them and participating in various informal and formal gatherings, including outings organised by them. Sometimes I was also invited to participate in ‘open-houses’ hosted by the Malay students at their houses, to the park or even on trips to places like Arraluen Botanical Garden, strawberry picking in Wanneroo and the Malaysian Postgraduate Family Day’s gathering. These gatherings were mostly limited to the Malay student network, but there were a few rare exceptions in which other ethnic groups joined in. The reasons for this are discussed further in Chapter Five.
84 As observers, what we see through our eyes, how we see it and how we represent what we see are crucial in constructing as true a picture as we possibly can of the research culture we study (Scott-Jones & Watt 2010, p. 107). My position as an insider made me comparable to my informants in many ways: as a Malay, a postgraduate student, a Muslim and someone having same contact and networks as they do. However as an ethnographer and anthropologist, this whole new experience was something that I looked forward to. I began my journey with so much on my mind and hoped to make new findings and to gain experience and knowledge, but at the same time I questioned myself on where and how I should start. I began by establishing rapport with the Malay students and being friendly with them.
Semi-structured Interviews
Conducting informal or formal interviews is another method that I have used in this research. Formal interviews were conducted with my key informants on a one-to-one basis. Each interview lasted between one to two hours. The interviews have helped in gathering more thorough information and also in understanding the informants’ opinions, backgrounds, comments and recommendations on various issues relating to Malay students. The data gathered from interviews provide useful insights into the informants’ lives. Each informant gave informed consent for the interview to be digitally recorded aurally. The more informal interviews were more like informal discussions throughout which I took notes. In the case of those Malay students who have returned home, interviews and discussions were conducted via e-mail.
During the formal interviews, twenty-five out of my thirty key informants chose to speak Malay, their mother tongue, as noted above. It was easier for them to express their thoughts and opinions in relation to the questions asked. They felt that many Malay expressions are difficult to express in English. I translated some of these words into English to reflect original meanings as closely as possible. However, five of my key informants chose to use English during the interviews. They thought this would make it easier for me to transcribe and help to reduce my workload. This, I would suggest, is one of the positive outcomes of the friendship methods I discussed earlier. However, when translating from Malay to English I attempt to be faithful to the original words and also attempt to evoke the same emotional response to the original text (Larson 1984, p. 33). Therefore while translating I have endeavoured to maintain the emotional
85 tone of a passage in creating the feeling or urgency, persuasiveness, tentativeness, exuberance or despondency (Larson 1984, p. 425).
As Kvale (2007) puts it, the researcher him-/herself is the tool for interviewing and should be critical without being judgmental. Furthermore, most ethnographic interviews are relatively unstructured to allow flexibility for respondents to express themselves (Spradley 1980; O'Reilly 2005; Kvale 2007). With that in mind, I prepared some guiding questions which I divided into two sections. Section A questions were related to general information on informants, including personal background, marital status, family background, educational background, reason for choosing their respective universities and their feelings when they first arrived. Section B continued with questions relating to their experiences living in Western Australia in relation to their being Malay and Muslim, and included the socio-economic and personal issues that they encountered in the new environment, their expectations, difficulties and concerns.
Discourse Analysis
Discourse analysis has been used to analyze all observations and recordings of a series of interactions between participants at social events or gatherings. According to Harris (1952, p. 1), who first coined the term, discourse analysis concerns a method of examining connected speech or writing. Harris (1952, p. 30) pointed out that discourse analysis yields considerable information about the structure (in terms of what is subject and what is predicate, or the like) of a text and the role each element plays in such a structure. Unlike conversation analysts, who focus exclusively on talk in interaction, discourse analysis examines all forms of verbal and textual materials: spoken and written accounts, letters, scientific journals, newspaper reports, and so on. The object is to describe the way that such discourse is constructed, and to explore the functions served by specific constructions at both the interpersonal and social level (Gilbert 2008, p. 445).
Geertz (1973, p. 19) pointed out that the ethnographer ‘inscribes’ social discourse; s/he writes it down. In doing so, s/he turns it from a passing event, which exists only in its own moment of occurrence, into an account, which exists in its inscription and which thus can be reconsulted. The discourse analysis here focuses on knowledge about the speech needed for successful communication beyond the word, clause, phrase and
86 sentence. I also consider the ways in which the use of language presents different views of what is considered to be Malay identity. I examine how the use of the Malay language influences relationships among students, as well as the effects the use of language has upon their social identities. Discourse (conversational) analysis focuses on talk. But talk, and other human sound, is only one component of interaction (Moerman 1988).
A discourse is therefore seen as a communication of thought by words, talk or conversations that relates to identities in this research. However there are many approaches to discourse analysis (see, for example, Schiffrin 1994; Van Dijk 1997; Tannen et al. 2003; Rogers 2004); these different approaches fit different issues and questions, but sometimes reach similar conclusions (Gee 2005, p. 5). Based on these assumptions, Gee (2005, p. 98-101) has listed seven components of any situations in using discourse analysis:
1. Significance (how and what different things mean) 2. Activities (activity as a component of any situation) 3. Identities (identity seen as a component of any situation) 4. Relationships (the relationships that the people involved, enacting and contracting with each other) 5. Politics (the distribution of social goods) 6. Connections (how in any situation things are connected or disconnected, relevant to or irrelevant to each other, in certain ways) 7. Sign systems and knowledge (various ways of knowing as operative, oriented to, and valued or disvalued in certain ways)
In interpreting and analyzing my data, I occasionally return to these elements which are integrally intertwined with one another. For example, when I used a small room in the library to conduct my interview, surrounded by four walls, the interview activity, the talk, identities, the relations, the questioning and answering, take on different meanings that emerge in the interaction than if I were to conduct the same interview in a different material setting (in the open space or in the informant’s house).
87 In another review, Gilbert (2008) has explicated the distinct approach of Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), as drawn from the writing of Michael Foucault. Broadly, Foucault tried to identify the regulative or ideological underpinnings of dominant vocabularies that constrain the way in which we think about and act in the world. Parker (1992, p. 61), on the other hand, defines the notion of discourse as ‘a system of statements which constructs an object’. Discourse, according to Parker, shapes how we might participate in social life because it furnishes subject positions, roles or parts with expectations about the behavior of incumbents. Therefore, Parker sees Foucauldian Discourse Analysis as examining how ‘discourses facilitate and limit, enable and constrain what can be said (by whom, where, when)’ (Parker 1992, p. xiii). Discourse is thus not only about method; it is also a perspective on the nature of language and its relationship to the central issues of the social sciences. More specifically, discourse analysis is a related collection of approaches to discourse, approaches that entail not only practices of data collection and analysis, but also a set of metatheoretical and theoretical assumptions and a body of research claims and studies (Wood and Kroger 2000).
In this research, the discourse analysis I used is based on Fairclough’s (2001) framework as shown in Figure 3.2. According to this framework, discourse is seen as simultaneuously a piece of text, an instance of discursive practice, and an instance of social practice (Fairclogh 1992, p.4). Here, the text refers to the language analysis of texts, discursive practice refers to the nature of the processes of text production and interpretation, and social practice refers to issues of concern in the discursive event and how it shapes the nature of the discursive practice (Fairclough 1992, p. 4). In viewing the discursive process of my informants, and the Malay postgraduates as a whole, the materials or documentations that were used include the MyPSA e-mail groups discussions, newspaper clips, posters of activities conducted, and feedback letters by respective parties in relation to the Malay postgraduates (including their family members) everyday issues like ‘halal’ food, health insurance policy etc.
88
Figure 3.2 Fairclough’s three-dimensional conception of discourse
According to Moerman (1988), most of the conversation analysts have worked on English, and his study of Lue, a minority language in Thai conversation reveals it is different from American conversation. This is due to the fact that not only is it in Thai, but the people doing it are being Thai together, and Thai conversation must be radically different in what it substantively communicates, expresses and represents. This means the specific features that the transcript reveals are features of the ‘natural’ world in which the talk actually occurs (Moerman 1988, pp. 3-13). The need to consider specific relationships was demonstrated by Lawson and Sachdev (2000), who found that code switching occurred most often within friendship contexts. This suggests that identity, as well as how one expresses oneself, can vary across social situations (Kiang, Harter & Whitesell 2007, p. 279), and discourse is what makes us human (Graesser et al. 1997, p. 165). Therefore, I have attempted to analyze the discourses shared among Malay students in forming, adjusting or maintaining their ethnic and religious identities in Western Australia.
I also analyze the ‘nonverbal form of communication’ in which interpersonal communication is conducted by means other than words (Kendon 1981, p. 3), such as body movements, gestures, facial expressions, posture and spacing, touch and smell and those aspects of utterance that can be considered apart from the referential content of what is said. These inform the notion of co-presence, a term used by Goffman (1963), in which interactions are seen to be ‘focused’ (instances where individuals come to jointly sustain a common focus of attention) or ‘unfocused’ (mutual adaptation when they merely co-present to one another) (Goffman 1963).
89 With regard to qualitative databases for analyzing ethnographic data (the most popular today are NVivo and Ethnograph), Hammersley and Atkinson (2007) provide a strong critique of the limitations of software, in particular Ethnograph. According to them, understanding and interpretation are the outcome of interactions between ethnographer and the data, which are themselves constructs. Therefore, there are no mechanisms for those complex processes of reading and interpretation; for these tasks, computer programs are no substitute for the human ethnographer. In other words, the key skills required for analysis of ethnographic data are reading, reflection and interpretation (Geertz 1984). These processes will guide my interpretation and analysis of the fieldwork data.
The data I have collected in this research give an overview of the lives of the Malay students outside Malaysia and their efforts in maintaining and adjusting their ethnic and religious identity. I have classified my data and information to identify the informants’ ideas of Malay and Muslim identity. In this case, I have discussed with my informants to whom I shall refer as Saudara (for the male informants) and Saudari (for female informants) followed by an initial from the alphabet, but not referring to their real name’s initials in order to maintain privacy. I used Saudara or Saudari in my conversations since it is considered a common and polite way to address someone informally. At the same time it helped the informants feel more comfortable around the researcher. This term is commonly used in Malaysia when addressing someone, regardless of their position, except when referring to family members. It does not refer to someone’s status or other professional position. There are other terms that can be used, such as ‘Tuan’ (Mr.) and ‘Puan’ (Mrs.), but these are too formal for daily conversation and are more often used to address a person of higher status or in formal functions. I also initially avoided using the terms ‘Abang’ (Brother) and ‘Kakak’ or ‘Kak’ (Sister) since this would sound too informal, and it is commonly used for close acquaintances, relations or friends who are older than the addresser. The terms Abang and Kakak are commonly used explicitly when addressing one’s elder sibling. As an insider, my understanding of the appropriateness of using these terms besides addressing a sibling, as generally understood by an outsider, is an asset in the research process. This helps to avoid any misapprehension and awkwardness between the informants and the researcher during conversations.
90 Through the course of my fieldwork, I got to know my informants better and joined activities and shared experiences with them. By spending time with them and becoming their friend, I started addressing those of the same age as me by their name and for informants who are older than me I used ‘Abang’ or ‘Kak’ in informal conversations. This allowed me to gain more insight into their lives. As a result, the relationships I have developed with the informants help me expand my social networks with the Malay student community in Western Australia. Since I am also an ‘insider’ and shared similar experiences in Western Australia, they felt at ease in sharing their problems and feelings related to their academic studies, their families, their friends and their experiences as Muslims. However, my only setback as an insider, a Muslim and Malay, was the extent to which I could interact with male informants. These interactions were often limited to formal discussions lasting only a few minutes during informal gatherings, since it is a common practice among Malays that during any gatherings women and men mingle ‘separately’. There are no specific boundaries to this, since males and females share child-minding roles, but it is ‘expected’ that the men and women will form sex- segregated groups at social gatherings. In this case, I overcame my problem by getting to know Malay males in advance, especially through their contacts with my husband. The informants provided me with feedback on issues related to Malay male students’ experiences in Western Australia, which are discussed further in Chapter Four. In this case, my husband sometimes played a role as my unofficial intermediary and sometimes informant. He sometimes highlighted issues relating to activities that were being held or were going to be held by the male postgraduates and the ‘Turist’ (a group name created for postgraduate student spouses, consisting of either males or females), such as sports, fishing trips, or get-togethers at various ‘halal’ restaurants around suburbs in Western Australia.
Like other Malay students, I belong to this group and share many of the same feelings, as revealed during my contact with them (as discussed in Chapters Four and Five). As an insider in an outsiders’ world, I feel my status is not at all that easy to interpret. I have access to my own culture, but in different cultural settings. I identify myself as Malay among Malays or Muslim among the others, but my challenge here is to look at how Malay cosmopolitans are maintaining their identities in a different cultural environment. However, the strategies and approaches I use, such as building rapport and friendship with informants during my fieldwork, have helped me gain a richness of experience and many insights from my informants.
91 Informants: General Backgrounds
In order to understand my informants’ broader experiences of studying abroad, it was necessary for me to evaluate their general social backgrounds. The data presented below present a summary of the responses of informants to simple questionnaire handouts distributed during my fieldwork. Table 3.1 summarises the general backgrounds of the thirty interviewees.
As shown in Table 3.1, eighteen informants have had some previous experience visiting, living or studying overseas, before pursuing their studies in Western Australia. It is notable that among these informants, one has lived in the United Kingdom because her father was working there for about two years, and another informant has worked temporarily as a stock-broker in Wall Street, New York, in the United States. There are four informants who have been overseas for short periods of time, between two weeks and one month, staying variously in the UK, Belgium, India and Australia to visit family members, on work visits, or to present papers at conferences. Another twelve informants had earlier pursued their Bachelor or Masters degree overseas in the United Kingdom, United States and Korea. Two informants had previously been Curtin University students when they were doing a twinning program at Masters level. They say they only stayed for six months and felt they had not really explored Perth in those days because of the tight class schedules.
92
Table 3.1: General Profiles of 30 Informants (Categorized by Groups)
Categorization Sub-characterization Total
Gender Female 17 Male 13 Marital Status Married 26 Single (Never married) 3 Others (Single parent/Divorcee) 1 Age (years) 25-30 5 31-35 13 36-40 12 Postgraduate Level PhD 28 MA 2 University in Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) 10 Curtin University of Technology 10 Murdoch University 5 Edith Cowan University (ECU 5
Previous overseas visit(s), Experienced 18 living or studying No Experience 12 experience
93 In identifying my key informants through the discussions in Chapters Four, Five and Six, I use pseudonyms to protect their privacy. I informed them that I would not reveal their true names and it was on this basis that they trusted me with their personal details. Informants involved in this research are from the Malaysian middle-class which was discussed earlier in Chapter One. The number of siblings the informants have varies between one to eleven persons. Among these informants, eleven are eldest children in sibling groups ranging from two to nine. Two hold the position of second child in sibling groups of four and seven, two are the third child in groups of five and eight siblings, one is the fourth child of five siblings, two are the sixth children of eight and twelve siblings, and two are the youngest of three and four siblings.
All informants were born in states located in the Malaysian Peninsula: eight are from Perak, eight are from Johor, four are from Kelantan, three are from Kedah, three are from Kuala Lumpur, two are from Pahang, one is from Malacca and one is from Penang. However, during their childhood most informants have resided in other states than those in Peninsular Malaysia, notably Sabah or Sarawak, many following their father’s work commitments. Six informants’ fathers are retired teachers, seven are retired government officers, four are businessmen, one is a bank employee, one is an accountant, and one is a factory worker. Another two work and live in FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority)42 areas, and five worked and managed paddy fields. However, informants who were born in rural areas moved to pursue their study in boarding schools in other states after they had completed primary schools. Their personal background information is summarized in Table 3.2 below.
42 FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority) is a Government agency that handles resettlement of rural poor into developed areas, and it is the world’s largest plantation operator of oil palms, mainly across Peninsular Malaysia. The official website for FELDA can be found at
94
Table 3.2: Personal Background Informations of Informants
Eldest child 11 (out of two, three, four, five, six and nine siblings) Second child 2 (out of four and seven siblings) Third child 2 (out of five and eight siblings) Siblings Fourth child 1 (out of five siblings) Sixth child 2 (out of eight and twelve siblings) Youngest child 2 (out of three and four siblings)
Total (20)
Perak 8 Johor 8 Kelantan 4 States of Origin in Kedah 3 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 3 Pahang 2 Malacca 1 Penang 1 Total (30)
Retired government officer 7 Retired teacher 6 Businessman 4 Bank employee 1 Parent’s occupation Accountant 1 Factory worker 1 FELDA settlers 2 Manage and work in paddy field 5
Total (27)
95 Table 3.3 shows the responses of twenty-seven informants on the basic criteria they associated with the idea of being Malay. Three informants stated that they felt they had discussed the issues in depth with me during the interview and had already answered the questions.
Table 3.3: Basic Criteria Associated as ‘Malay’ by 27 Informants
Basic Criteria Associated as Malay Yes No Not Available Born in Malaysia 20 6 1 A Muslim 25 2 0 Speaking the Malay language 24 3 0 Adhering to Malay custom/practice 25 2 0 Eating ‘halal’ foods 26 1 0 Interacting with other Malays 23 4 0 Assisting other Malays 23 3 1 Joining Malay/Muslim major celebrations 26 0 1
Informants in this research are enrolled in various fields of study in one of the universities involved, as shown in Table 3.4. Twenty- seven informants are students sponsored by the Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education and their respective universities in Malaysia. Two are sponsored by government agencies in which they work in Malaysia, and one informant was self-funded. In Table 4.3, the various fields of study of the informants reflect how the Malaysian government is trying to enhance the qualifications of their academic professionals in all related fields to assist in the country’s educational development. Engineering is among the fields most in demand in Malaysia to develop the economic sector. The number of informants attached to the universities in Malaysia is shown in Table 3.5.
96
Table 3.4: Informants’ Field of Studies Enrolled in UWA/Curtin/Murdoch/ECU
Course / Field of study Total
Engineering (Chemical / Instrumental / Mechanical) 6 Accounting 4 Taxation and Audit 2 Human Science 2 Human Resource Management 2 Education 2 Mathematics 2 Business Management 2 Soil Science 1 Bioscience 1 E-commerce 1 Mass Communication (Mascom) 1 Information Technology 1 Veterinary Science 1 Construction Management 1 Computer Science 1
97
Table 3.5: Informants’ University or Government Department Attachments in Malaysia
University or Government Department in Malaysia Total
MARA University of Technology / Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) 4 Northern University of Malaysia / Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) 4 University of Malaysia, Terengganu / Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) 3 Putra University Malaysia / Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 3 International Islamic University Malaysia / Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIA) 2 University of Technology, Malaysia / Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 2 University of Malaya / University Malaya (UM) 2 Tun Hussein Onn University of Malaysia / Universiti Tun Hussein Onn (UTHO) 2 Sultan Idris University of Education /Universiti Pendiddikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) 1 Islamic Science University of Malaysia / Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) 1 University of Malaysia, Sarawak / Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 1 Malaysian Public Works Department / Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia (JKR) 1 Department of Veterinary Service, Malaysia 1
What I have provided here is a limited overview of the postgraduate informants in regard to their academic and government service backgrounds. I am aware that in looking at their identities as Muslims they can potentially be associated withvarious ethnically heterogenous ummah, and some Malays might subscribe to certain religious or organizational orientations43 such as those of Jamaah Tabligh, Jemaah Islamiah Malaysia, Darul Arqam or other Sufi schools. However, the informants involved in this research all identified themselves as Muslims, but did not specify whether they subscribed to any particular religious orientation beyond that. I did raise the question but none were willing to describe their religious orientation further except to say that they are Malaysian Muslim. Respecting my informant’s personal feelings on this matter,
43 Allport and Ross (1967) explain the emphasis on religious orientation as general rather than unique to certain religious denominations or modes of conduct. They identified two major motivations underlying all religious behaviors which they refer to as intrinsic and extrinsic. According to them, people with an intrinsic orientation find their master motive in religion. Other needs, strong as they may be, are regarded as of less significance, and they are, so far as possible, brought into harmony with one’s religious beliefs and prescriptions. Having embraced a creed the individual endeavors to internalize it and follow it fully. It is in this sense that one lives his/her religion (Allport and Ross 1967, p. 434). 98 no further questions were asked along these lines. However, I can generalise that, all spoke the common language of Malay and identified with the Shafi’e branch of the Sunni Islamic order (Peletz 1995, p. 80). Therefore, it can be assumed that all of them belong to Shafi’e Mazhab (Madhab)44 as practised by the majority of Malaysian Muslims.
Since nearly all informants are sponsored students, I examine in this chapter the issues related to their social and economic life with the limited funding received from the government. Informants also shared how their continuous interaction and contact with other Malays assisted them to overcome some financial difficulties, including through donations that were planned to assist Malay students who faced mishap or misfortune during their stay here. I consider these issues to emphasize the importance of interpersonal communication in assisting with their distinctiveness as Malay students in dealing with their new environment as discussed next.
Chapter Summary
As a Malay and Muslim student myself, conducting this research was at times strenuous and demanding. I have overcome this by sharing these feelings with other Malay students. Getting to know the informants personally and understanding their backgrounds assisted me in looking at how the overseas experience affected them and how they were adjusting or maintaining their identity in order to fit into the new culture. I have also discussed the reasons behind and advantages in using an ethnographic approach based on friendship to gain rapport with my Malay informants. I argue that being an insider or ‘native’ in ethnographic research, while being different, is as strenuous and demanding as being an outsider. I believe that using ethnographic methods to study Malay overseas students has proved more insightful to other qualitative methods available. This is related strongly to who the Malays are and to their
44 Mazhab or Madhab can be translated as ‘way’, meaning different Madhab reflect different opinions on some laws and obligations of the Shariah (Islamic law). There are four main Madhab in Islam, Shafii, Maliki, Hanafi and Hanbali. The Madhab in reality constitutes a mercy and means of unity in Islamic Ummah.
99 cultural practices. I have also attempted to summarize how my thirty informants were recruited.
In an effort to recognize whether a Malay participant is being courteous or being cautious, it is best to understand their culture and adat in advance. Thus, as noted earlier in this chapter, the best way to understand the Malays is by living among them and observing their daily life. The expectations of the members of the community towards an insider researcher, I believe, are stronger. Here I refer to G.H. Mead’s idea of trying to be ‘reflexive’ by turning back the experience of the individual upon him/herself. However, all insider or outsider researchers, in some way, will come across difficulties in accessing information from participants because of their own personal attributes, such as age, sex, skin colour or even social class (O’Reilly 2005). In Chapter Four, which follows, I provide further insight into how Malays are distinctive from others.
100 CHAPTER 4 Malay Distinctiveness: Insights on Identity and Other Cultural Features of Malay Students Overseas
Cultures are made of continuities and changes, and the identity of a society can survive through these changes. (Kwame Anthony Appiah 2007, p. 3)
Introduction
Malays have distinctive ideas of who they are, as an ethnic group and as Muslims. This chapter explores conceptions of Malay distinctiveness in a new environment. To begin, I will present information on the general backgrounds of my informants. I will then provide an insight into the features that Malay students associate with their ethnic and religious identity. This encompasses the importance of these features in their daily recognition of themselves and their distinctiveness with respect to other ethnic groups, other Muslims and other Malays. The strength of social identities, as discussed in Chapter Two, relies both on the extent to which these identities depend on the reactions of other people, and the extent to which they bring satisfaction to the the Malay postgraduates themselves. Such identities are made evident through the use of behavioural, linguistic and other markers. Some of the features that will be discussed in the following, include usage of the Malay language, Islamic religious practice, evident in dress codes and the consumption of halal (permissible) food, providing insight into the students’ Malayness in Western Australia. These insights are important in describing how their identity, which they considered less compelling (i.e. took for granted) in Malaysia, has become significant once it is formulated in relation to the local population of their country of sojourn, Australia. In summary, I will argue that the idea of being distinctive is socially important in a foreign or new environment in avoiding a mistaken identity or being confused with other ethnic groups found in the Southeast Asian region.
Engaging Malay Distinctiveness in Identity Features
One of the first things Malay postgraduate students need to do upon contact with others is to act outtheir Malay-Muslim identity. In doing so, they conform o the process long
101 ago formulated by Mead (1934) in which an individual interacts with others in order to create an identity. Mrad called this process ‘identity negotiation’ and here it entails the development of a consistent set of behaviours that reinforce the Malay-Muslim postgraduate identity. I was ready to listen to various representative answers from the Malay students regarding how they understood the idea of being Malay-Muslim. My expectation in embracing a typical definition of Malays was also moderated in regard to Malay-Muslim participants who are of mixed descent and mixed parentage. I anticipated earlier that my informants would come from heterogeneous ascendants, but at least identify themselves as Malay. Given my own descent, the circumstance is comprehensible, since I am Malay. My parents are also Malay, but my grandparents on both sides are of mixed descent. As discussed in Chapter One, the ambiguous definition of the term Malay is considered a part of being Malay in Malaysia. To begin with, Zie45, a Malay female postgraduate student, is of mixed parentage. Her father is Malay, and her mother is Chinese. Zie believes that Malays are just a group of people who actually adhere to the constitution. Their Malayness is a way they identify themselves in public, in Malaysia. This is because Malaysia is also comprised of other major ethnic groups, such as the Chinese and Indians. So if you happen to adhere to the characteristics of the Malay people, as stated in the Malaysian Constitution, or practise the Malay culture, you are therefore Malay. Zie believes:
[T]he main principle of a household, or my home is that we have been brought up as a Muslim. So, my parents never really brought us [her sister and herself] up to identify ourselves on the emphasis of being Malay but more on being Muslim. The Chinese will see me as Malay; the Malay will see me as Chinese. So, where do I fit in? So, in our home, the principles that we hold on to are basically based on religious background rather than ethnicity.
(Interview excerpts with Zie)
This situation is common in Malaysia, and I agree with Kahn (2004), who articulates how people who classify themselves as Malay are basically the descendants of linguistically and culturally diverse peoples from different parts of the archipelago, sometimes including descendants of Indians, Arabs, Chinese and others who may have come to the region centuries ago, usually intermarrying with the local Malays. In other words, in the case of Zie, her family, especially her father, as mentioned by her several
45 Pseudonyms are used to refer to all research respondents to maintain privacy. 102 times during the interview, has provided her with the parameters of her religious consciousness (Cohen 1994b). Here, I would argue that it is important to acknowledge individual Malay students’ own consciousness of their differences from other Malay students. Even though they are also marked by their collectively imposed Malay identity, as underlined by the Malaysian constitution or general public manifestations of being Malay, many are able to articulate distinct personal identities as well.
Safi, another Malay female postgraduate student, said that it was sometimes complicated for her to describe her identity because her name reveals that she is of Arab descent46. Eventually, she faced problems when filling out forms in Malaysia that required her to state her ethnic group or descent. In this case, she decided on using Malay as her ethnic background. The reason given was to avoid needing to give any further clarification about her Malay identity. However, she admits that she does not face this problem here because questions of ethnicity or religion are seldom or not at all asked when filling in forms here. In contrast to this, I am also aware that here when questions of ethnic background are asked, they normally distinguish those who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, but do not specifically ask for one’s ethnic group affiliation. The same situation also occurs in relation to one's religion.
Safi stated that if she was asked about her keturunan (descent), then she would say Arab, meaning she is a descendant from Middle Eastern countries, though her mother sometimes asked her to use Malay instead. However, the idea of Arab descent is still much emphasized within the rest of her family. Safi clearly stated that when she goes about her daily business and encounters with others, she will highlight her Malay identity if required. As stated by Safi:
[I] think being a Malay, you are born with it. Wherever you go, it is there with you, but I don’t think you need to act by admitting to it. However, being a Muslim, you have to pray, and act in accordance to your relationship with God. This is because it is always your core. But, a Malay, that is just where you are
46 In Malaysia, names that start with Sharifah (female) and Sayyid (male) are often associated with Arab descent. Sayyid in Arabic literally means Mister. As an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (p.u.h.) through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husin ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali bin Abi Talib. Daughters of Sayyids are given the titles Sayyida, Alawiyah, Syarifah, or Sharifah. Children of a Sayyida (Alawiyah, Syarifah or Sharifah) mother, but to a non-Sayyid father cannot be attributed the title of Sayyid. However, they may claim the title Mirza by maternal descent (Ho, 2006, p. 149).
103 from and that is part of your identity. You would not change [it] at all regardless of how long you stay away [from Malaysia]. (Interview excerpts with Safi)
Safi presents herself as most Malay-Muslim women do in general. For example, she seems to take things more lightly and moderately. This is what is meant by the concept of ‘hikmah’ (hoping for a good outcome in the future after facing challenges in one’s life or hard work) and ‘nasib’ (things happen as they are meant to happen) as part of a symbolic religious boundary in maintaining their Malay and Muslim identity, as mentioned in Chapter One. In relation to her own situation of mixed parentage and the mix of different cultures in her upbringing, Zie emphasized more forcefully her Muslim identity and how religion and faith played an important role in her life. According to Zie, her Malay identity appears more significantly when she is with a group of Malaysians students.
[W]e [referring to her other siblings and herself] used to have problems because we did not behave like either one [as Malay or as Chinese]. I got a bit of this [Malayness]; I got a bit of that [Chineseness]; but I am neither here nor there. So, where do I go [fit] in? I cannot go all the way through with this [Malay] group. Neither can I go all the way through with that [Chinese] group based on religious beliefs. I formed my own identity, my own balance which is different, so that is where I learn to balance it. That is why I cannot follow through totally on both sides. So, it is always religion. As long as I am along the religious path, that is it, that is my guideline. (Interview excerpts with Zie)
Zie is my only female informant who does not wear a head scarf, but in my opinion, she has shown a very strong stand in her religious faith. However, I am not making any proclamation about the level of religiosity of my other informants. In the interview and my informal conversations with her, Zie stressed the importance of her religious faith as a Muslim in guiding and supporting her through her daily life and in dealing with her emotional and psychological situations. Being a Malay is not something she would stress herself, but she resorts more to the importance of her religious identity in her life. When questioned about how she identifies herself as a Malay-Muslim woman, given that she does not wear a head scarf, as is common among Malay-Muslim postgraduate students studying abroad, Zie answered that what is inside [one’s heart] and one’s niat (intention) is most important because the religion does not set forth a guideline about how to see this character. Therefore, she proclaims herself a Muslim. Here, Zie is referring to one’s intention as the real basis of their religion. The use of the word 104 ‘intention’ signifies that when someone is intent on doing something, they do it of their own volition, not by being forced to by others.
Zie feels that Muslims students studying overseas should try to perform well and do their best as postgraduate students to achieve their goal of attaining a Masters or Doctoral degree. These, she says, can be achieved through hard work and dedication, but not through the wrong ways (such as cheating, working for an income rather than studying, etc.). These efforts, she says, are the things that come from your heart because you are a Muslim. The outcome is not determined by outer surface characteristics, like wearing a headscarf, in identifying yourself as a Muslim, but by acting in accordance with Islamic principles. Zie thus stressed that collective identity itself is the product of individual members’ intentions and efforts, and that this is the most appropriate way to understand one’s collective identity. It is clear that her Islamic religious principles have given her ways in which to think about herself and how to locate herself while she is studying in Perth.
This reminds me of how my late father reacted when I told him of my intention to wear the headscarf. He asked me if the reason I wish to wear the headscarf was because of current fashion or because of my own personal religious devotion. My answer was the latter, and he supported me. However, if it was because of fashion, then he would have been against it. The reason given was that it would bring disgrace to my family and me if I take the headscarf off once I do not like it anymore. This is what Zie meant about one’s intention as an important factor in looking at one’s religious identity; this intention will guide one in being a true Muslim, but not Malay. It all boils down to one’s faith. She also explained that you can never judge a person on appearance, but that it is what is on the inside that is most important. It is an individual thing, and it is between oneself and God.
Wani, another female postgraduate illustrated her ideas on assertive features of Muslim identity, but without full Islamic practice. According to her, when she was in the United States, her Arab-Muslim friend asked her to go to a bar. She declined the invitation, but her friend said that they could just have juice (non-alcoholic drinks). Wani felt herArab- Muslim friend still follows the common practices of a Muslim (like praying, fasting in Ramadan, eating halal (permissible) food and not drinking alcohol), but pursued an inconsistent lifestyle when measured by her conception of true Islamic teachings.
105 In another instance, Wani also mentioned that even though she is a female Muslim, she still shakes hands with non-Muslim males. According to her, her practice is meant to show her respect to such people as her supervisor, her colleagues, friends and people she has met in such formal circumstances as meetings, seminars or conferences. Wani, under certain circumstances (i.e. on a situational basis), will shake hands with males of non-Muslim background, but would hesitate to or not at all shake hands with a Muslim male. She explained that she will only shake (non-Muslims’) hands if they were the first one to hold out their hand on a professional basis. Here is an example of an adjustment of behaviour associated with Malay women’s gender identity with respect to their religious faith. It has been modified by such factors as education, status, occupational residence, social class, and social network (Nagata 1995).
My observation and participation also revealed that Malay male students realized their religious identity through congregational prayer. All of the male informants in this research proclaimed that their Muslim identity is authenticated through Friday congregational prayer. Friday congregational prayer is performed during the noon prayer time (Zuhur) and is compulsory for all Muslim men. They need to be present at the mosque or prayer house (surau or musolla) at that time. It is not compulsory for Malay-Muslim women to attend them, but they can take part in the prayer if they want to. In fact, women are seldom present at the Friday congregational prayer because it is not normative practice in Malaysia. However, female Muslims from other ethnic groups like the Middle-Easterners are commonly seen joining the Friday Congregational prayer. This can be viewed in relation to their religious practice and beliefs in accordance to their ‘Mazhab’ (Madhab)47 The Malay men will get together, and their Muslim identity is their principal identity in conjunction with the Friday prayer, alongside other Muslims from other regions. Congregational prayers, therefore, emerge as an influential factor in identifying a male Malay-Muslim student in Western Australia.
47 Mazhab or Madhab meaning different Madhab reflect different opinions on some laws and obligations of the Shariah (Islamic law). Please refer to Footnote 44. 106 Salat (praying)48, one of the five pillars in Islam is still one of the main features that Malays tend to use to identify themselves as Muslims regardless of their sex. As Muslims, my informants direct their explanations of being a Muslim to their practices; praying and fasting are the most common practices. The inclination for the interviewees to emphasize praying is apparent. The inclination for the interviewees to emphasize praying is apparent. The Malay-Muslim students highlight the importance of performing their prayer regardless of where they were. This does not mean that they are not proclaiming the same thing in Malaysia, but if they are in Malaysia, it is assumed that everyone knows that a Muslim will pray five times in a day. To justify this, in Malaysia, one can easily find mosques or surau or musolla (a smaller praying place than a mosque)49, even in big shopping complexes, where it is essential to provide a place for Muslims to pray.
Malay students in Western Australia take a more pragmatic stand in maintaining their Muslim identity. Statements from Wani and Azam draw attention to how Malay students, are making adjustments to their daily life to maintain their religious identity.
[I]f you are talking about religion [Muslim identity], definitely your prayer. For me it is not my routine, instead I believe I should do it [where ever I am]. I will bring along [a] compass and the prayer mat and I will pray. I do not feel ashamed, and I do not feel awkward. I can also pray under the tree. Like last time when I went to Caversham [Wildlife Park], there was no place to pray, but I still prayed. It was very easy and it only takes five to ten minutes.
(Interview excerpts with Wani)
[W]e really felt the importance of solat [performing prayer] especially when we are overseas. Everywhere we go, we will also think where to perform solat. It does not matter where, as long as we can perform solat, like on the field. There was one time, even when I was in the cinema, I thought we [with his other
48 Ṣalāt, in most books of fiqh, is literally defined as duʿāʾ: prayer, supplication, or invocation of God. In prayer, Muslims recite verses of the Qurʾān, pray to God and appeal for His forgiveness and praise and glorify His names. All recitations must be in Arabic, although the person praying may not know what he or she is reciting. In most cases in Southeast Asia, most women do not know the meaning of the entire duʿāʾ they pray in Arabic. All of them know the meaning of a few words, of course, but as this is not considered compulsory many women are not much concerned with the meaning of what they recite in the prayer, although they count it as important. In any Muslim community in Southeast Asia, as in any Muslim communities in the world, ritual prayer (ṣalāt) is observed five times a day: ṣubḥ, ẓuhr, ʿaṣr, maghrib, and ʿishāʾ. These five prayers are held to be compulsory (wājib). Other prayers are considered optional, such as the night prayers (ṣalāt al-tarāwiḥ) during the month of Ramadan (Zulkarnaini 2011). 49 The surau or musolla could just be a small room converted into a prayer room or even sometimes a small surau is provided in the basement or top floor of most shopping complexes.
107 friends] were going to miss our Asar prayer, so we even pray in the cinema [at the back where there was space] and there was no problem.
(Translated interview excerpts with Azam)
Azam’s admission was a surprise to me. This could be because, as a Muslim myself, it never occured to me that I should be willing to perform salat in a cinema. However, this is another matter that I have to be reflective about; since some Muslims, especially those students who have children, suggested that a cinema is not a suitable place to pray. In performing the ritual salat regardless of place, Azam is holding strong to his Muslim identity regardless of where he is. So, Azam is being assertive about his religiosity, even if he is trying to enjoy himself in a cinema. On the other hand, performing salat in a cinema is unlikely to be followed by those Malay-Muslim students with children and also in reference to a clean place for performing their prayer. Even so, as Malay-Muslims, the important thing for them is their continuous Islamic practice, and commitment is an important criterion to support their Muslim identity.
Wani clearly stated that her belief and practice as a Muslim have been part of Malay Muslims’ upbringing. Since it is part of their upbringing, their level of religiosity is something that is conveyed and taught as part of their Malay cultural lifestyle. It is not easy to define Malay lifestyle. The World Health Organization (WHO 1986, p. 117) broadly defined ‘lifestyle’ as ‘a general way of living based on the interplay between living conditions in the wide sense and individual patterns of behavior as determined by socio-cultural factors and personal characteristics’. In this study, I would define Malay lifestyle as a set of behaviours which influenced their choices of identity with no implications with regard to the natural or social characteristics of their individual environments50.
For Malays, there are many people whom one does not question – parents, friends or sometimes teachers – in matters related to cultural or religious practices. During their socialization process, it is not that no questions are asked, but it is more related to the idea of respecting the elders, and what the elders ask or want one to do is for one’s own good. Therefore, when Malay students are overseas and questions of their ethno- religious identity are raised, it makes them become more aware of who they are and all
50 See also Contoyannis & Jones 2004. 108 the things that they had taken for granted before when in Malaysia. In this case, we see Azam and Wani publicly portray their Islamic self-images as believers both descriptively and analytically to explain the nature of Muslim religiosity overseas. Therefore, their religious consciousness, as a product of interpretive Malay communities, is constituted by their symbolic religious beliefs and convictions that guide their religious behaviour and practices of being faithful as Malay-Muslim (Riaz Hassan 2008).
In relation to this, how Malays are socialized to hold on to their Muslim identity is actually much related to Malay culture itself. The Malayness exhibited by Malay- Muslim postgraduate students is detectable in a wide range of their cultural and religious practices (Harris 1996). The Malay language has become another distinctive feature of Malay-Muslim identity in the context of personal identity and social identity formation. This means that language reflects and expresses the culture of its speakers, or the way of life they lead, as well as their physical and social environment, as shown schematically in Figure 4.1 below. As suggested by Sapir (1963) this function is borne by the vocabulary of the language concerned. This will be discussed next in the context of how languages distinguish the Malay students as Malay-Muslims from other Muslims, and from other ethnic groups.
Figure 4.1: Malay-Muslim Postgraduate Reflections of their Malayness and Aesthetic Features – Overseas Context
109 Malay Language: A Distinguishing Feature of Malay Students’ Identity
It is undeniable that one of the most important symbols in group life is language, and it is also the major legitimizing factor in all institutions (Katz 1996). Language, therefore, is recognized to be of major importance in explaining one’s identity and its ability to influence social identities and relations among Malays. My focus of discussion is on the importance of the aesthetic values in Malay speech. The concept of the aesthetic descends from the concept of taste and is also used to designate, among other things, a certain kind of object, judgement, attitude, experience and value (James 2009). Kant (1790) brought the concept of taste into opposition with the concept of morality, and so into line, more or less, with the present concept of the aesthetic. The term “aesthetic” derives from the Greek term for sensory perception, and so preserves the implication of immediacy carried by the term taste (James 2009). Aesthetic, then, simply functions as an adjective corresponding to the noun taste. I want to stress that in this research, the term asethetic is not used to investigate the moral aspects of art or art criticism. My discussion here is to look for various aesthetic features, or issues of taste, revolving around the lives of Malay students in Western Australia, in reference to such things as language, food and clothing.
The metaphor of language ‘pushing boundaries’ came from noting that as individuals, we pushed the many boundaries that encapsulated us as students, researchers, mothers and ethnic group members (Vasquez 1994, p. xiii.). Therefore like language, we found ourselves constantly moving in and out of insider-outsider roles and vice versa. According to Tham Seong Chee (1977) languages are circumscribed culturally and environmentally with expressions marking barriers among languages, as is also true of cultural differences (Bourdieu 1990; Geertz 1973). Communication is intrinsically important in social life, making it an important feature in generating one’s identity. The usage of language among the Malays also tends to vary according to class, status and state of origin in ways that would probably be understood only by other Malays. All of my informants except one believed that language is an important identity marker in being Malay. That one informant is Zie, whom I had mentioned earlier and who is of mixed parentage (Malay and Chinese).
My informants alleged that knowing how to speak the Malay language is a necessity when it comes to their everyday conversation. One’s language is also considered a
110 distinctive property in distinguishing an ethnic group from all the other ethnic groups only when the group needs to be distinguished from another group (Matsuo 2009). Therefore, the Malay language can be considered a distinctive feature in distinguishing the Malay students from those who are in contact with them in some way or other. In other words, as proposed by Matsuo (2009), the sharing of a given language by members is sometimes a matter of perception rather than a matter of action. As stated by Haviland (1999, p.10), people choose words and sentences to communicate meaning and what is meaningful in one culture may not be in another. Language affects and is affected by the rest of our culture, but I would also argue that language does play a role in the process of adjustment to (and sometimes inclusion in) a new culture or environment, since language is a distinguishing feature than can reflect one’s ethnic identity.51
Wani claimed that language is a significant part of one’s identity, besides religion and culture. She highlighted the importance of Malay language as a feature of her Malay identity because according to her the Malay language spoken by Malaysian Malays is different from Singaporean Malay, Indonesian Malay and Brunei Malay. Language therefore can be seen as an instantly recognizable in-group marker that can immediately identify someone as one of us or one of them. In relation to this, a distinctive accent is a criterion that is involved in differentiating one group from others. In other words, I would argue that even though the Malay language is spoken among Malays in other parts of the Southeast Asian region, the Malay language as spoken by Malaysian Malays can be interpreted differently by other Malays of a similar culture or worldview outside Malaysia. This agrees with Whorf's view that linguistic patterns determine what the individual perceives in this world and how one thinks about it. Since these patterns vary widely, modes of thinking and perceiving among groups utilizing different linguistic systems results in basically different worldviews (Fearing 1954).
However, Hani gave a different interpretation about the role of language. According to her, one of the Malay students she met at an official Malay postgraduate meeting last year, also a mother of two children, told her that since arriving in Western Australia, she and her children had been conversing in English and not in Malay. The reason given by
51 Chapter Six discusses how language does contribute to the aspects of inclusion and exclusion that are faced by the Malay postgraduate students here in various encounters.
111 her was that she wanted her children to really experience the Western surroundings. It was not really clear what she meant by experiencing Western surroundings, but to my understanding, she probably meant that she and her children would be received (i.e. included) better by the locals if using English, rather than the Malay language. On the other hand, Hani does not see this as something positive in being Malay. She informed me that it is good to use English, but not to the extent that one is no longer behaving as a Malay. By this, Hani was referring to the other students’ idea of not mixing with other Malays in order to more fully immerse oneself in the Western way of life.
The person involved is an international student and a foreigner, having used a different language, but trying hard to fit into the new environment, being far and away from the Malay society and friendship networks. From another informant, Hana, who knew her briefly, I tried to get more information about her current situation. I later found out from Hana that the student had recently gone back to Malaysia due to depression. Hana concluded that her friend’s depression was probably caused through trying to become someone she was not. According to Hana, the student’s decision to stop mixing with other Malays contributed to her problem because the best person to talk to when one has a problem with other people in a new place is one of your own people, in this case other Malay students. For Hana, in such circumstances, it is important that a person be engaged in discussion with people of similar ethnic and cultural background. Extreme social segregation from a person’s own ethnic group, particularly in relation to members of the same educational position and experience, is not a wise or sensible decision, especially if one is a postgraduate student who needs all the moral and psychological support in dealing with new academic challenges and new surroundings (see Chapter Six).
However, in Zie’s case, English has been the first language used in her family communication since she was young. The use of English in her family was because they lived in the United Kingdom during her early primary school years. According to Zie:
[O]ur first language is English [at home] from the day we were born. This is because of the different ethnic [Malay-Chinese parentage]. We only speak English at home because my mother’s Chinese, and my dad is Malay. Since Malay is the medium of instruction back home [in Malaysia] I learnt Malay. We also learnt Chinese [language]. So, we are trained in both [languages]. I always feel that language has some role in terms of the way we look at things.
(Interview excerpts with Zie) 112 Zie’s final comment above in relation to the role of language in influencing our perceptions was explained as a feature of Malayness that will assist her in looking at things the way a Malay does. According to Zie, what she meant by this referred to how one could have access to materials or general information. I have known Zie since I was in Malaysia a few years ago, but we had not met since. I met her again in Perth through another informant. Even though Zie often uses English in her personal life, including with her two children, she uses the Malay language when encountering other Malays here. She admitted that when she uses the Malay language with other Malays, it makes certain things easier and clearer for her and other Malays, including her Indonesian friends. Compared to the earlier discussed situations, Zie sees the Malay language as something that easily identifies her as a Malay, regardless of her physical appearance (i.e. she is the female informant who does not wear a headscarf). The Malay language is considered by many Malay students as a distinctive feature for the Malay student group overseas in maintaining their personal and social identities.
In their everyday conversations, Malay students often use Malay expressions in referring to persons, situations, or in using Malay proverbs in explaining things. For example, Malays often used the expression or term Mat Salleh52 when referring to the white people or white foreigner. When a Malay student used the term in conversation with other Malay students, it was understood as referring to the white people or the Westerners. Li described language as important in his efforts to get to know others. According to Li:
[I]n terms of language [with other Malays] there is no problem. For example, we know our limit when we make jokes, and it is seldom very formal. However, when we are with the ‘Mat Salleh’, we feel scared [hesitant] because sometimes when we try to make jokes, we get frustrated. Once I tried to make a joke, but suddenly my friend appeared angry and upset. I never dared to make any more
52 The term Mat Salleh is believed to derive from the English expression mad sailor. The origin of this term varies from stories told by individuals. One hear-say is that it goes back in the Malacca Malay Sultanate Era, in the 1400’s. At that time, Malays frequently came into contact with drunken sailors who were Westerners, and they were referred to as mad sailor. The locals then pronounced the expression as Mat Salleh. This expression is now commonly understood this way among the Malays. Back then, ‘Mat Salleh’ did not refer to any specific gender, simply referring to the whites of either sex. However, sometimes in current usage ‘Mat Salleh’ refers to the white male and ‘Minah Salleh’ to the white female. Another recent explanation given by a friend of mine, and based on a 1803 document she has came across (as shown in Appendix 9), is that a Malay Captain Mohamet Sally, was appointed by the British to represent the Malays at that time. Captain Mohamet Sally was said to act, dress and talk like the white people (British) who thus became known a Mat Salleh. These are just two hearsay versions of the origin of the expression Mat Salleh, but in general this term means foreigner and is popularly applied to foreigners of European ancestry specifically. However, sometimes, but not always, it takes on a derogatory tone. 113 jokes, only formal conversation. This is because we do not really know their culture or how to make jokes. Therefore, I am more comfortable with other Malays, our culture, our language.
(Translated interview excerpts with Li)
Therefore, the use of the Malay language is one of the distinctive features for the Malay students overseas in comparison to other groups. This discussion emphasizes how Malays students continue using the Malay language in their everyday encounters, especially when they are involved in any formal or informal gatherings organized by the Malay postgraduate students. As revealed in the earlier discussion, rejecting one’s own culture could lead to negative outcomes due to the lack of support and communication with others of the same group. The situation may be different in other circumstances, but in this research, the importance of communicating with others from the same ethnic group and of the same language, regardless of their state dialects, is a great support in their adjustment process overseas. The language itself consists of aesthetic values that could only be understood by other Malays, including the usage of proverbs, terms (like ‘Mat Salleh’), and jokes that are only understood among the Malays. Therefore, this refers back to the fact that people’s world-view stemming from language can better be explained by the way people react to certain words, phrases, sentences or even jokes as mentioned in this research (Asmah Haji Omar 1985).
In the Malay language, the terms ‘cantik’ (beautiful) and‘sopan-santun’ (acting politely) most commonly refer to someone’s appearance, especially when a Malay female wears their traditional clothing, ‘Baju Kurung’. This aesthetic feature is integral to the postgraduate students' ethnic and religious identity as Malays. The next section will explore further how clothing is also considered as part of Malay identity outside Malaysia. I will also attempt to relate how religions have made an impact on the refashioning of the traditional clothing to fit into the idea of Malayness and religiosity.
Clothing: An Aesthetic Feature of Ethnic Identity, Religious Identity and Malayness
In contemporary society objects can play a very important role in establishing our social and personal identities. According to Woodward (2007), objects can stand for particular features of a person in the absence of interpersonal contact. Objects assist the effective performance of personal identity. It is difficult to explain the idea of Malay-Muslim
114 aesthetic traits as part of the identification process, especially when maintained across space and time contexts. In other words, when a female Malay-Muslim wears a headscarf (tudung) outside the boundaries of space and time that define the meaning of the headscarf, it can appear incongruous, inconsistent or even disturbing to others of a different culture. Schmidtz (2004) identified how Muslims are more visible in Western countries because of practices that are unfamiliar to the majority population. These practices include symbols of a woman radiating a religious identity (through wearing a headscarf), as well as her performance of religious observances and the combinations of symbols linked to her appearance. If her attire (in this case the headscarf) was removed, the integrity of her identity would disintegrate.
According to Thourlby (1978), there are at least ten types of messages that aesthetic features of clothing convey to others: notably social, economic, and educational background and success, as well as trustworthiness, and moral character. In general, the Malay-Muslim students in Western Australia are able to converse professionally in their daily encounters regardless of what they are wearing, as long as their attire fulfils the basic requirements of proper Muslim clothing, as discussed earlier. Some adjustments are made to the clothes they wear in Western Australia because of its weather varations across four seasons.
However, in the case of Malay-Muslim female postgraduate students who originate from the ethnically polarized Malaysian society, forms of Islamic attire have become one of the most visible symbols of ethnic identity, an instant medium of communication about status, readily perceived (Nagata 1995, p. 113). According to Nagata (1995), in the international scene, some variant of Malay-Muslim dress when combined with distinctively Malay touches, such as batik cloth, or the cut of the baju kurung (traditional female Malay attire), may function as a national costume, particularly in foreign student communities as shown in Figure 4.2 below.
115 Figure 4.2 Examples of Baju Kurung Styled for Female Malays
The baju kurung (above) fits in with the Islamic dress code norm in its objective of preventing women from expressing or displaying their bodies and promoting a moral code that accords to women, and enables them to interact with, honour (Riaz Hassan 2008). According to Roach-Higgins and Eicher (1992), the word clothing is most frequently used to emphasize enclosures that cover the body and generally omits body modification. They propose that it is almost inevitable that clothing conveys personal or social values. For example, clothing covers the body; therefore it must protect and be good for the wearer. If it does not cover certain body parts, it may be immodest and bad, at least to some people (Roach-Higgins and Eicher 1992, p. 4). In the case of the Malay students’ distinctive cultural features, I argue that traditional Malay attire does provide a sense of Malayness for students overseas. Their dress portrays their group identity, and it also sets a platform for advancing verbal communication with other Malays and other ethnic groups.
However, on a day-to-day basis Malay postgraduates were found to wear casual garments when they went to their respective universities or other public places like supermarkets. One informant told me the reason for this is because in Australia everyone dresses casually and no-one actually ‘looked’ at you and commented on the dress you wore. Casual dress is seen as part of the local culture. The situation is different in Malaysia because most girls wear baju kurung. It is worn to work, public functions, formal functions and it is also a part of a school uniform for the girls in public schools where Chinese and Indian girls also wear them.
116 In general, the connection between Muslim women’s attire and their religious participation or practice is entrenched to the point that assumptions on personal behaviour and religiosity are often based on clothing alone (Nagata 1995). In other words, Malay women who wear headscarf (tudung) to express their Islamic identity are sometimes directed by specific goals. This brings in the discussion of how gender identity makes a difference. As Nagata has suggested, the Malay female students’ act of changing their attire, in this case wearing the headscarf, is either a means of achieving certain ends, a form of meritorious behaviour to be rewarded, or an expression of gratitude once their goals are achieved. However, how the female Malay informants involved in my research dress or their external appearance is not providing any guide to their interests or special qualities. What I observed in this research is that all of my female Malay informants (with or without headscarf) are wearing decent (cover their aurat53) and casual dress, with pants or long skirts in their everyday business. They normally dress up in their traditional attire when attending gatherings or celebrations organized by other Malay families or the Malay postgraduate students group. These situations and scenarios are discussed further in Chapter five.
My male Malay informants seldom highlighted dress code as a measure for conferring identity. They identified Malay women who wear a headscarf as a Muslim, but could not or did not assert any particular dressing code for a Malay man. Most of the Malay male informants involved basically describe a woman wearing a head scarf as fulfilling a fitting criterion for how a good Muslim woman should dress. Safi also felt that her dressing code is an important criterion when addressing the portrayal of a ‘good Muslim’ image. Interestingly, Safi also noted that the way a female Malay-Muslim student wears her scarf also reveals her Malayness.
[T]he first thing would be [to identify herself as] Muslim. You do not tell them [others] that you are a Muslim. Because you are wearing the scarf, people know that you are a Muslim. People would keep seeing that I am wearing my identity. Sometimes, the way I dress, like when I wear the head scarf, people know I am a Muslim. So, I have to act and dress accordingly. I cannot really wear something really tight [referring to body fitting dress or pants or skirts] with the scarf. People
53 Aurat or 'awra is one of those words whose complicated layered meanings and range of possible referents are richly suggestive of the androcentrism of dominant Arabic culture and of the connections it made between women, sexuality, and shameful and defective things. Its meanings include blind in one eye; blemished defective; the genital area; generally parts of the body that are shameful and must be concealed; women's bodies; women's voices; and women (Ahmed 1992, p. 116). Generally, Malay women are taught that women’s aurat in Islam extends from the top of the hair to the hands and feet (and includes the voice), and in men from the navel to the knees. 117 know that this is a Muslim lady, and this would reflect back on Muslims [overall]. So, the way I act and the way I dress, I feel that I need to represent Islam correctly.
[I]f you want to see whether someone is a Malay-Malaysian or Malay-Brunei, you can see from the way they wear their headscarf. The Brunei normally wears [a] headscarf that is shinier, and Indonesians have their own style of wearing their scarf. However, now everything is a bit mixed, because people get to buy scarves from other. So, it is quite hard [to differentiate the Malaysian-Malays from other Malays].
(Interview excerpts with Safi)
Recounting an episode in one of the gatherings conducted for Muslims in Western Australia in conjunction with one of the Islamic celebrations, I tried to distinguish female Malay-Muslim students from Indonesians. Interestingly, I managed to identify these two groups quite clearly by paying attention to the different way they wore their headscarves and the materials from which they were made. I confirmed my guesses by listening to their language. I also came across a Singaporean student in a prayer room, who smiled and greeted me. She then asked me whether I am from Malaysia and I answered yes. Interestingly, she said, ‘I knew that because one can only find that type of headscarf in Malaysia’. The situation basically elucidates the aesthetic features of headscarf material and design, which were associated with a female Malay-Muslim identity outside Malaysia, as discernible by other Southeast Asian Malay-Muslims. The ability of Malay women to buy and wear heasdscarves from other countries also spurs their cosmopolitan identity through the global diffusion of headscarf styles.
In Malaysia however, Malay women from different states can be seen wearing the same style of headscarfs. The same style here means the current style that is fashionable and worn across Malaysia at a particular time. Here the various fashions and styles in wearing a headscarf are constantly changing. In recent years, Malay women in Malaysia have adapted to many styles and ways of wearing headscarfs through global fashion fusion. Although more ways were introduced in how one could wear the headscharf, Malay women still have the right to choose, either to follow a particular fashion trend, or to just stick to the basic wearing of a headscarf because, either way, their religion requires them to cover their aurat.
Another encounter with a Malay-Muslim girl provides an unlikely reflection about the idea of Malay-Muslim female façade that is often characterized as reserved and seldom
118 vocal. During a short conversation with her on her idea of greeting people and making friends, she pointed out that it is important for us (Malay-Muslim women) to make the initiative to greet someone first in order to gain the other person’s respect. According to her, by keeping quiet when you are wearing a headscarf and being rigid, you will have problems when dealing with new people and environments. This idea of hers really captivates me because in her statement, the aesthetic trait of Malay-Muslim women wearing a headscarf could contribute to communication problems with others. However, she does not make any reference to whether Malay women without a headscarf will encounter the same experience if they are in the same situation.54 She does wear the headscarf.
The emphasis on aesthetic traits as a form of Malayness also appeared among the male Malay-Muslim students, but from a different perspective. One example of male Malay- Muslim aesthetic accounts of their Malayness was witnessed during a Muslim Eid Fitri Celebration55.
Researcher’s note: September 2009
Today, 29/09/2009, I hosted a ‘Rumah Terbuka’ (open-house)56 for my friends, relatives and neighbours as part of the Eid Celebration. Today’s special menu is prepared by my mother that is ‘penang mee rebus’, beef curry and traditional home made raya cookies. Among those who attended was my neighbour, Tracy, a local who was having a great time enjoying the traditional Malaysian cuisine prepared by us.While enjoying her food, we chatted about our traditional dress and; the open-house concept. She really enjoyed listening and jokingly said ‘I should convert to Islam then so that I can enjoy all that’. During our conversation, my friends started to arrive. Some of them are the undergraduate and postgraduate students from Curtin and UWA.
54 I tried to continue the conversation with her later, but she had to rush off for another engagement. I did not manage to get her contact number and sadly was not able to meet her again for another interesting conversation. 55 The Eid Fitri celebration, one of the Muslim major celebrations is observed in the month of Syawal of the Muslim calendar, at end of the month of Ramadan, Muslim fasting month. 56 The rumah terbuka (open house) is a unique and peculiar Malaysian tradition in which people ‘open’ their doors and welcome friends, relatives and even strangers into their homes during major festivals and celebrations such as Christmas, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Chinese New Year, Hari Gawai, and the Harvest festival. Ethnic festivals are prominent among recurring special events in Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society, and the holding of ‘open house’ to accommodate the exchange of goodwill visits is a central feature of festival celebrations. The intra-ethnic exchange of goodwill visits is a tradition of long standing but, since Malaysia independence in 1957; interethnic visiting has been promoted as part of social planning to increase contact and understanding across ethnic lines and to develop sentiments of national unity (Armstrong 1988, pp. 127-137). 119 Tracy and my Malay friends had friendly conversations. At one stage, Tracy commented to one of the male Malay postgraduate students, Ahmad, on how smart he looked in his ‘outfit’. She was referring to the traditional attire for Malay men known as Baju Melayu (as shown in Figure 4.3 below). Ahmad wore a complete set of Baju Melayu that day in conjunction with the celebration. He was beaming with pride when explaining about the Baju Melayu to Tracy. Ahmad’s expressive remarks about his attire (Baju Melayu) bear witness to the Malay aesthetic perspective in disclosing his Malay identity.
Later in the evening, Tracy had her friend along with her two kids visiting and the kids (a boy and a girl) were playing outside her house. My daughter was playing outside too. Then they were all playing together. The boy then asked whether is it okay for them to come into our house, and my daughter said it is okay and invited them in. Just then Tracy came out of her house with her friend and joined us again for the second round of treats with her friend. But, this time around Tracy was the one recommending the cookies my mum made to her friend and helped herself to the ‘penang mee-rebus’ again. She jokingly asked me what time should she come back for dinner too.
Figure 4.3: Traditional Attire of Malay-Malaysian Male
Besides language and clothing, food consumption is another truly valued aesthetic feature of Malay culture and identity among Malay-Muslim students. All of my informants reveal the importance of consuming halal (permissible) food as a Malay and Muslim. My research, therefore, also attempts to understand the practice of Malay- Muslim students’ culinary consumption in their efforts to be accepted in the new culture.
120 ‘Halal’ (permissible) Foods among Malay-Muslims: Between Taste and Identity
In the discussions in this chapter and those that follow, the idea of halal (permissible) food is seen as an intrinsic aspect of Malay students’ religious identity. The term halal literally means ‘lawful’ or ‘permitted’. The Islamic religious texts, the Qur’an and the Sunnah57, exhort Muslims to eat the good and lawful food that God has provided for them, but a number of conditions and prohibitions pertain. Advice and encouragement on consuming halal foods are also found in a verse quoted from the Holy Quran, where Muslims in general are advised to eat good and untainted things and not to indulge in impure, bad or harmful things, which would be following their open enemy, Satan (the devil).58 Furthermore, Muslims are expressly forbidden from consuming haram (forbidden) food (Johan Fischer 2005), such as carrion, spurting blood, pork, and foods that have been consecrated to any being other than God Himself. The lawfulness of meat depends on how it is slaughtered.
Ritual slaughtering requires that the animal be killed in God’s name by making a fatal incision across the throat. In this process, blood should be drained as fully as possible. Another significant Islamic prohibition relates to wine and any other alcoholic drink or substance, all of which is haram in any quantity or form (Denny 2006, p. 279). In addition to clear cases of halal and haram, if one is doubtful about consuming any foods, those foods are best avoided. This is referred to as ‘gray area’ (mashbooh), between clearly lawful and clearly unlawful, and there are differences of opinion among religious scholars and those suspicious of any undetermined or prohibited ingredients in a commodity (Riaz & Chaudry 2004, p. 6-7). Whether a food is considered halal or haram, ‘depends on its nature, how it is processed, and how it is obtained’ (Riaz & Chaudry 2004, p. 14).
Interestingly, this situation can be explained in the context of Malay students’ religious identity as ‘what people do with and to ideas and practices before we can understand what is involved in the secularization of theological concepts in different times and places’ (Asad 2003, p. 194). Fischer (2005) explained the relevance of halal food in the lives of Malaysian Malays living in London. Fischer noted that concern over foods
57 Sunnah refers to the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (p.u.h.) in Muslim life. 58 Cited from Surah Al-Baqarah, 16, 2:168 of the Holy Quran, ‘O People! Eat what is lawful and good on the Earth and do not follow the footsteps of Satan, for he is your open enemy’.
121 being halal is more pronounced in some Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore, than in much of the Middle East and South Asia. He suggests that the reasons for this are many, but the proliferation of halal in Malaysia cannot be divorced from the fact that over the last three decades Malaysia has witnessed steady economic growth and the emergence of large groups of Malay-Muslim middle- class consumers, as well as centralized state incentives to strengthen halal production, trade, and consumption. Furthermore, since independence from Britain in 1957, and more so since the early 1980s, the state in Malaysia has effectively certified standardised and bureaucratised Malaysian halal production, trade, and consumption (Fischer 2005, pp. 276-80). One key effect of these transformations is the deepening and widening concern for halal commodities among Malay-Muslims, which Fischer labels ‘halalisation’. Therefore, Fischer (2005) argues:
[T]he more cultures of consumption assert themselves, the more controversies over what Islam is, or ought to be, is intensifying. As new consumer practices emerge, they give rise to new discursive fields within which the meaning of Islam and Islamic practice are being debated.
Similarly, I found that Malay students in Western Australia emphasised the importance and relevance of consuming halal foods. While exposed to a wide range of foods in Western Australia, the Malay students took steps to avoid any substances that may have been contaminated with porcine residues, alcohol, gelatine, glycerine, emulsifiers, enzymes and flavourings (Riaz and Chaudry 2004, pp. 22-25). According to Fischer (2005), Malay-Muslims in London felt that Malaysian Muslims are stricter in their religious cultural practices for three main reasons. First, they were taught a relatively strict Shafi’i school of jurisprudence, which is dominant in Malaysia. Second, they had experienced their distinctive homeland observances of halal practice and discourse. And third, Islam is forcefully evoked through schooling and the education system in Malaysia. Therefore, Malays outside Malaysia who sometimes find it difficult to get hold of halal foods, often consume vegetarian food as an alternative. The religious requirement of consuming halal foods among Malay-Muslim students in Western Australia reveals their preference to eat at home, as a cost-saving measure and one through which they have a higher degree of confidence that the food they eat will be halal.
122 However, in some cases Malay-Muslims who have been residing outside Malaysia for a long time are not really exposed to the Malaysian context of halal certification. One elderly Malaysian citizen who had lived in Perth for more than 20 years felt that nowadays the Malay-Muslim consumption ideals are just part of the changing political processes of Malay Muslim identities in Malaysia. This is because in Malaysia in the 1970s the concept of halal was based on trust, such that the relevant authority (like the butcher) would inform the buyer (Malay-Muslim) if he or she provided halal meat or not. Nowadays, most Malays will only opt for butchers that have a clear halal certification in front of their shop windows. If a Malay-Muslim student is not certain whether a food is halal or not, besides preferring vegetarian food, they will say a prayer before eating the food. As one of my informants explained, ‘[T]he food that you eat is running in your blood stream and it will become part of your body and what you eat is who you are’. Therefore, it is important to eat halal foods every day in order to affirm one’s religious identity in conjunction with other Malay-Muslim identity approaches in Malaysia. Fischler (1988) also argued that if we do not know what we eat, how we can know what we are.
Therefore, I argue that the halal food consumed by Malay-Muslim students is contributing to their religious identity overseas. The importance of elucidating halal food is clearly highlighted by all my informants. Identifying halal food is among the first things that Malaysian Malay students seek to know after their arrival here. The newly arrived Malay postgraduate students will seek other Malay students or Muslims to assist them in identifying where to find in Western Australia halal foods, meats, bakeries, etc. Another informant, Anni, stated her concern about the level of Malay students’ consciousness of consuming halal foods here compared to Malaysia:
[I] am concerned [about halal food] because I see that people here are so concerned about ‘halal’. Some [students are] complete with [a] list, especially people [referring to other Malay students] in Perth who are somehow too particular. So, sometimes I feel there are too many things you know [that are not ‘halal’]. I feel a bit of the culture shock, because in Malaysia we are not so concerned about it. However, for the food, we will stick to halal food.
(Translated interview excerpts with Anni)
What is revealed by Anni is a common feeling for most new students here. Anni highlights that some other Malay students are too particular on the matter of halal food.
123 However, Anni also makes it clear that she herself will stick to halal food and will not eat non-halal food. Anni said that she started to become more cautious about halal foods in Western Australia, but admitted that those things she used to buy in Malaysia, like biscuits, sweets etc., she would buy without being too rigid on the matter. Among the Malay postgraduate students in Western Australia, there are a few who hold formal posts in the Malaysian Postgraduate Association, who felt obliged to contact the relevant producer and confirm the status of the ingredients of some of the foods that are questionable to the Malay-Muslims students. It is important to note that the Malay idea of halal food differs from that of other Muslims from other ethnic groups or from other religious orientations. One example was given by Raha who explained how her understanding of halal differs from that of an Indonesian friend of hers. One day she went to a shop to buy chicken stock but hesitated to buy it since there was no halal certification on it and Raha was not sure whether the chicken used were slaughtered according to the Islamic way. By contrast her Indonesian friend said it was just a chicken and not an animal like a pig that is haram in the eyes of Islam. I personally have encountered a situation where I questioned the halalness of the sausages sold in one of Perth’s carnivals since I saw it was cooked side by side with other sausages (non- halal). At the same time I saw a Muslim lady (from Somalia) and her children buying the sausages from there. In a short conversation with her, I asked her whether the sausages sold were halal and she answered it was okay because she bought the chicken sausages and not the non-halal ones. In this situation as a Malay-Muslim, I was taught that halal means the food should not be incontact with other non-halal food. If we are sure that the food has been ‘contaminated’ (through contact) with non-halal foods, we should avoid that food too. However this is not always how Muslims from other ethnic groups feel and practise.
This also suggests that foods are considered as an aesthetic feature that relates how Malay-Muslim students review their ethnic and religious identity as well as maintaining their Malayness. In relating food as an aesthetic feature, it all depends on how one interprets and explains their opinions, approaching food as a system of communication (Douglas 1982), part of rituals (Yalman 1969; Tambiah 1969), and/or in terms of food avoidances and taboos (Wilson 1980). In my present research, halal food presents a symbolic aesthetic Malay culture by taking into account their newly encountered environment, as well as their thinking and talking about food.
124 Restrictiveness in consuming only halal foods among Malay postgraduate students makes them opt for cooking their own food, Malay food. This ultimately has become a feature in highlighting their Malayness overseas. This is apparent with consumption of Malay foods rather than Western food. A description of a Malay everyday meal by Brissenden (1996) consists of a plate of rice surrounded by a number of side dishes dictated by situation, season, region and supply. These side dishes are to be understood as complements to the rice rather than dishes to be eaten in large quantities for their own sake, and they might include small amounts of flavoured fish, meat or vegetables (Brissenden 1996, p. 91). In a conversation with Mira, she highlighted that since her arrival, eating rice is still compulsory for a Malay, and she had not changed since. Even the foods that she prepared are still the same as in Malaysia, for example, ‘asam pedas’ (sour and spicy stew dish), ‘masak lemak’(coconut milk with turmeric), and ‘kari’ (curry). She even informed me where I can buy ‘daun kesum’ (Vietnamese mint) to cook ‘asam pedas’: Bunnings, a hardware store. Ultimately, the encounters with my informants and their participation also unveil how Malays here stress the importance of Malay aesthetic traits in relation to their Malay and Muslim identity formation and adjustments. As stated by Mira:
[B]eing Malay-Muslim would not restrict you [us or the Malay] from doing anything else. That is why I always tell them [the others] if you can respect those [who are] vegetarian, it is not wrong to respect those who are Muslim.
(Translated interview excerpts with Mira)
In some circumstances, a different view is highlighted by another informant, Izzi. During his attendances at conferences or seminars he requests halal food. In most situations, Malay postgraduate students claim that it is quite impossible for them to request halal food, so they request ‘vegetarian’ food instead. However, Izzi will only consume ‘vegetarian’ food if he really does not have any other options, including forgetting to bring his own food. Izzi’s idea of vegetarian foods is:
[V]egetarian food might not be ‘halal’ because they might put alcohol (like wine) in their vegetables or in the gravy [when cooking]. They might even use the same knife that is used to slice ham. But, if I am too hungry, I will consume it because I have to, like when I attended a course which was far away from here.
(Translated interview excerpts with Izzi)
125 Izzi’s attitude to food is a very cautious one, even though he admitted he will consume vegetarian foods if he has no other choice. His level of religiosity or Islamic knowledge could have been a factor in his strict views on matters concerning food compared to other Malay-Muslim students who without hesitation see vegetarian foods as an option to halal food.The same situation could be said in reference to Malaysia. If there is a conference or seminar organized at local or international levels in hotels in Malaysia, their only other option is still ‘vegetarian’ foods. In Malaysia, Malay-Muslims, like Izzi or other Muslims attending, would feel more confident eating the ‘vegetarian’ food because of being aware of Malaysia as an Islamic country.
The discussion above reveals that the performance of identity by Malay-Muslim students through proper Islamic consumption is embedded in a range of practices (Fischer 2008, p. 188). Students studying overseas maintain the taste of Malayness in their food and also their religious identity when they are attending seminars, conferences or workshops. Fischer argued that ‘getting consumption’ right socially in a Malay-Muslim context has everything to do with the body of and within consumption. As also discussed earlier, especially in relation to the Malay aesthetic features involving clothing and food, this means that Malay-Muslim bodies, are disciplined by a multitude of moral sentiments (Fischer, 2008). As in the case of food, the moral sentiment (practicality to be acted upon) is more salient than aesthetic taste. In explicating the aesthetic features of clothes and taste of Malay-Muslim students, the concept of the aesthetic can be enlarged in relation to the cross-cultural perspective. In other words, it can be applied to other aesthetic features including combining the various senses (besides vision and taste) of their Malayness next.
Other Features in Particularizing Malayness
It is obvious my Malay-Muslim postgraduate informants have actually suggested some other features of their Malayness other than those features discussed earlier. What is presented here is the Malay students’ percipience of their Malayness. Lian Kwen Fee (2001) has observed that even in modern times, descent continues to be a key criterion for deciding membership of the Malay aristocracy. One’s name is then considered a part of one’s human identity that cannot be taken lightly.59 So, what is in a name? Research
59 The significance of this right to a name in the formation of identity has been recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Assembly Resolution 44/25, UN Doc.A/44/736 (1986). 126 has demonstrated that names are more than just a simple means of identification: They shape the way others think of us, the way we view ourselves, and the way we act (Lieberson 2000). Name choice can also be a powerful way to make a declaration about cultural identity (Fryer & Levitt 2004) and can also be an indicator of status (Levitt & Dubner 2005). One of my female informants, Wani, who originated from Ipoh, Perak, in peninsular Malaysia exclaimed that she was from the Perak royal family because it is shown in her name. In this case, Wani felt that her Malayness was real compared to other Malays whom she felt were not as pure Malay because of mix-blood or even if they are from Indonesia, they are not ‘Malay’ as she sees it. Her notion of Malayness is to have a true Malay blood ties which runs in the royal family.
[B]oth of my parents are Malay. They are originally from Ipoh. As you can see from my name, it indicates that we are originally from Perak. Normally, those from Perak who are from the royal family will carry the name ‘Meor’, ‘Wan’, ‘Siti’, ‘Sayyid’, ‘Sharifah’. My father, he is ‘Meor’ [referring to the first part of her father’s first name] and my grandfather is a ‘Megat’ [referring to first part of her grandfather’s first name]. My mother is ‘Puteri’ [referring to the first part of her mother’s first name],[She] is from the Perak royal family.
(Interview excerpts with Wani)
Wani associated her name with her aristocratic status when questioned about how she sees her Malayness. Other informants from the same state are similarly aware of the connection or usage of these names in relation to one’s status in Perak. Wani’s interpretation of how one is Malay is an example of Barth’s neglect of the idea of kinship metaphors in defining ethnic identity. Wani’s is looking into the idea of her biological ancestries as a way to defining her Malayness. However, other Malay students from a different state in Malaysia were not aware of the relation between one’s name and their status. In other words, Wani believed that she is of ‘pure’ Malay descent, and this is revealed in her name. What Wani reveals here is her personal percipience in relating her name with the idea of Malayness, but at the same time emphasizing her aristocratic background as making her more Malay than others, but she did not indicate further as to how she was more Malay than other Malays in her everyday practice. In my other encounters with her on various occasions like gatherings held among Malay students, Wani has not actually revealed her status to others and communicates with ease and is sociable with other Malays. Here what is revealed by Wani about her name is something that is part of her pride as a Malay, a feature of her own preferences compared to other aesthetic features like language, clothing or halal food consumption. 127 She does mention these features eventually throughout our interview, but her first idea of her distinctive Malayness lies in her name.
Another female informant Anni does not agree with the idea of a name as a personal trait or religious or ethnic identity maker. According to Anni:
[S]ometimes Malays whom we thought are Malay based on their name might not be a Muslim. Lately, we read news [forwarded to Malay postgraduate student e-mails] [about persons who] have a Malay name, but their manner shows otherwise. Sometimes, even though their name is [can be referred to as] Malay-Muslim, they might not practice Islam as well. [Therefore,] not all Malays are Muslim. Sometimes, Malay names are not Islamic.
(Translated interview excerpt with Anni)
For Anni, one’s name is not a feature determining religious identity. In relation to this Anni’s declaration that not all Malays are Muslims is taking a stand against how Malay is defined in the Malaysian Constitution where a Malay is a Muslim. What is arguable here is that a Malay name is not a revealing factor or indicator of a Malay-Muslim who practices the ‘proper’ Islamic way of life. Anni explicated further her view by referring to the idea of someone with a Malay name, but not practicing as a Muslim. She then referred to an e-mail, of which I was also aware, about an incident involving seven missing Malaysian students who were studying at several Western Australian universities60 (three of them were studying at Curtin University, while another four were from various other universities in Western Australia). Interestingly, this incident was portrayed from two different perspectives: first in relation to the student position, and second in the parents’ view, as the media highlighted the situation.
One female student, Ipah was reported to have been hospitalised after consuming fifty Panadol tablets to relieve her stress. After her discharge, she went with two Australian men whom she had befriended. Her parents reported her missing after they had failed to make contact with her since October 2008. The issue raised by the parents and highlighted in the Malaysian local newspaper (Utusan Malaysia) was that since Ipah had left the hospital with two Australian men, her parents feared that their daughter may have been demoralized into giving up her studies and, worse, been led away from Islam.
60 All of the seven undergraduate students were sponsored by a Malaysian government-linked company. This incident was reported in November 2008. 128 Finally, it was revealed that Ipah was not actually missing, but instead had quit her study (in August 2008), started working and had been promoted with an attractive salary just before she was reported ‘missing’ by her parents. The reports faded away once it was clarified that all the ‘missing’ students were asked to return to Malaysia. So, reacting to this story, Anni believes that one’s name alone does not justify labeling people as Muslim when they do not act like ‘good Muslims’, as in the case of Ipah, who tried to find an easy way out of her dilemmas by trying to commit suicide (considered dosa or a sin).
Through my observations, I also found additional criteria associated with naming practices, and addressing others, such as a speaker’s father, mother, siblings, husband or wife. Irrespective of whether people live within a highly individualizing or highly socialized environment, they still have the task of understanding themselves as individuals within a social context (Miller 2009, p. 1).In the Malaysian case kin terms are used as the symbolic order of person-definition (Streeck 2002, p. 318) In other words, the use of kin terms of address and reference give individuals roles with which to cooperate. Traditionally, Malay children will address their father as ‘ayah’ or ‘bapa’ and their mother as ‘ibu’ or ‘mak’. Siblings use for each other such terms as ‘Abang (brother), Long’ (Long is a short-form for the term ‘sulong’ or the eldest son), ‘Abang Ngah’ (Ngah is a short-form word for ‘tengah’ or the middle) or ‘Abang Chik’ (Chik a short-form word for ‘kecik’ or the youngest or smallest).
The same convention would be used for the eldest daughter (‘Abang’ is replaced with ‘Kak’). In addressing one’s husband or wife, traditionally some Malay wives will address their husbands as ‘Abang’, but once they have their first son or daughter, in most cases they will start to address their husband as ‘Ayah nyer’ or ‘Bapa nyer’ (nyer refers to either their son or daughter). However, I knew a female Malay postgraduate in Perth who actually addressed her husband as ‘Walid’ a term for addressing a father in the Arabic language. Wives are sometimes addressed as ‘Ummi’, an Arabic word for mother. However, some husbands and wives have started to address their spouse as ‘Yang’ or ‘Sayang’ (meaning ‘my love’ or ‘my darling’). Islam thus contributes to how Malays address their next of kin with Arabic terms (commonly associated with Islam) instead of adhering to traditional Malay practice. In other words, addressing usages among Malays as form of communication are carried out by Malay students in various ways to which they are accustomed. Therefore, kin terms can be considered as another
129 feature used by Malay students in relating personal preferences among the Malay- Muslim postgraduate student in distinction to others.
Besides naming and addressing practices, Anni perceived physical features as an important way one to identify oneself as a Malay. According to her, although some features are considered much less compelling, we cannot deny the fact that, when one is outside one’s own country, physical appearance is still significant in relation to the visible differences from the locals. The differences might not be socially important, but still can be considered to be powerfully ‘situationally accessible’ (Kurzban & Cosmides 2001) in order to avoid mistaken identity. As Safi has pointed out, ‘to judge whether someone is a Malay from their physical appearance can be confusing’. She exclaimed that she could not judge whether someone she just met whose skin and looks are like Malays (her statement here reveals she does have some idea of how a Malay appears physically) came from Malaysia or Indonesia. It is more confusing if the person is a Christian rather than a Muslim. So, Safi would rather identity herself as Muslim when outside Malaysia to avoid any form of confusion concerning her Malay identity, especially when she is attending conferences, workshops or seminars.
Chapter Summary
This chapter has begun by providing general background information of the informants. This was then followed by discussions on the significant cultural features that Malay students overseas use to differentiate themselves from others. This was viewed in relation to the various forms of identity, especially their ethno-religious identity. Their own idea of Malay identity relates to their presumptions about their authenticity and indigeneity as Malays (Kahn 2004). It is evident here that Malayness is rarely a fixed identity, even among the Malay students overseas. Malayness thus has a potential to be a cosmopolitan identity with implications for religious and cultural interaction with others. Some of the identifying features discussed in this chapter refer to the various aspects of the students’ daily encounters, including language, halal food consumption, and aesthetic traits.
Besides using the Malay language, food, clothes, and other aesthetic qualities are used to distinguish the identity of Malay students in Western Australia. This allows Malay students overseas to satisfy the need they feel for a sense of order in their new
130 environment, including avalued place for themselves. Their ability to feel right, look right and act according to valued norms derives from their relationships to objects and discourses. Malay postgraduate students adhere to aesthetic features that connote for them a sense of balance, form, contrast, integrity and consistency (Miller 2009). As Miller claims, the aesthetic order in which individuals live is more than merely a way they make sense of their lives: it is their lives.
The explicit desire of the Malay-Muslim students to be provided with emotional support is an underlying rationale for their expression of Malayness in order to relate to people who are in fact emotionally close to them, but not related by blood (Wilson 1967, p. 125). The next chapter will explore this range of cultural and religious practice, revolving around how the Malay students develop, adjust or maintain their ethnic and religious identities in dealing with their new environment. It focuses on how decisions made or considered by the Malay students interact with their religious beliefs, as well as their cultural and adat practices.
131 CHAPTER 5 Social Life Experiences: Dealing with New Challenges, Interactions and Leisure
‘If a map is accurate and you can read it, you won't get lost; if you know a culture, you will know your way around in the life of a society’ Kluckhohn (1949, p. 28)
Introduction
This chapter will explore and discuss findings related to Malay students’ social life and how they deal with new challenges including how relationships between Malay students (as outsider) are established with locals. The idea of reciprocity is highlighted in relation to Malay student life and communication. My discussion relates to the wide range of social, cultural, economic and religious practices involved in dealing with the new environment. As mentioned earlier in Chapter Three, eighteen out of thirty of my informants had previously visited, lived or pursued their study overseas. Therefore, it is interesting to note some of their past and present experiences and the comparisons they made on their cosmopolitan experience between other contexts and Western Australia. My discussions will attempt look at the Malay cosmopolitans and the internationally inexperienced Malay students with regard to social life experiences, challenges, and interactions. . This chapter discusses how Malay postgraduate students prepared themselves to undertake overseas study and the various new challenges with which they need to deal upon arrival. I explore some situations relating to their efforts to reinforce their ethnic and religious identities in relation to their interactions with other Malays, other Muslims, other Asians and the multicultural local community. What is highlighted throughout this experience is the fact that decisions made by the Malay students prioritise religious identity, which is seen as almost non-negotiable compared to their ethnic identity.
132 Malay Cosmopolitanness and Reciprocity: Experienced versus Fresh Cosmopolitans
According to Kahn (2004), Malay-ness has the potential to be a cosmopolitan i.e. non- exclusionary identity, one that implies religious and cultural interaction, and commercial exchange. However, in this process reciprocity is highly idealised, since it is a vital principle of society (Hobhouse, 1951). Reciprocity is treating other people as other people treat you, voluntarily and not as a result of a binding exchange agreement (Kolm 2008). It is a form of mutual or cooperative exchange of privileges or favours that is anticipated between two or more individuals or groups. The idea of reciprocity is common to every culture and there is a universal norm of reciprocity that obligates people to reciprocate each other in an appropriate or sufficient manner so that giving and returning something may be compared (Gouldner 1960). Gouldner (1960, p. 176) pointed out that reciprocity can also be called a ‘starting mechanism’, which helps to initiate social interaction and is functional in the early phases of certain groups before they have developed a different customary set of status duties. Furthermore, Gouldner also suggests that the idea of reciprocity can also be analyzed as a moral norm, that is, as one of the principal components of moral codes.
The idea of being a ‘fresh cosmopolitan’ emerged through the usage of the term by my Malay informants who saw themselves as being first-timers outside Malaysia (‘fresh’) or as having experience staying, studying of visiting other countries beyond Malaysia, as mentioned in Chapter 3. In this context, I used the term fresh cosmopolitan as referring to someone removed from where they are closely associated within their own culture and economy. So, they will be interconnected to their ‘new sense of place and culture’ (Manzini 2007, p. 236). The term ‘experienced cosmopolitan’ is used to refer to someone who has some previous experience and the possibility of being influenced by the events they had encountered in other parts of the world. Although they are located as fresh or experienced cosmopolitans, the Malay postgraduate student’s identity will be reviewed in regard to their idea of being Malay and Muslim in Australia. Therefore, I argue that in the case of Malay cosmopolitans, either first-timers or those with previous overseas experience, reciprocity is considered a way for Malay students to attempt to break the ice or overcome barriers in their interpersonal interactions overseas.
133 The idea of reciprocity and moral reciprocity is found in a Malay proverb, ‘Orang Berbudi Kita Berbahasa, Orang Memberi Kita Merasa’ (Every person who is rewarded with a gift, must be thankful). This proverb cannot be translated literally into the English language, but essentially it refers to the idea that if somebody does us a good turn, we must at least show our appreciation by being courteous to them (moral reciprocity). The second part refers to the idea that if someone gives you something (food or other things), you should enjoy it. This idea is pervasive in Malay culture and is related to how the Malay students face their challenges and adjust their identities. As revealed by one informant, Wani, whom I referred to as an ‘experienced cosmopolite’ because of her previous experience living overseas, her Muslim identity has always come first. Wani stressed the importance of mixing with others besides the Malays and in a reciprocal manner. According to Wani:
[I] did not mix much with Malays because there are few of them [in the US], but there are so many of them here [in Australia]. However, I do advise my friends that, if they want to get to know other cultures, it is better to mix around, not only with the Malays. For example, mix around with your class-mates and also supervisors. If you mix around only with Malay[s], you would not gain a lot of experience. Last time I always mix with the Americans, Chinese, and Indians. That is why I have many non-Muslim friends.
So if you are talking about their custom, I knew that they have practice like ‘Baby Shower'61, and I have experienced attending them. My American friends have ‘Baby Showers’, and I joined them, because it is just part of their custom, not religion, so it does not matter to me. However, if it is held in church, I might reconsider attending them because as a Muslim, there are principles I need to adhere to. (Interview excerpts with Wani)
61 ‘Baby Shower’ refers to parties held in honour of women who are about to become mothers, thus accompanying one of the major role transitions that most women undergo during their lives. Traditional baby showers are characterized by exclusively female guest lists. Usually the recipient's mother is included, as well as her sisters and possibly some aunts, nieces or female cousins. Typically friends are present, particularly friends who have had babies. While mothers of all ages are therefore included, unmarried girls (sisters, cousins, or nieces) are likely included only if they have reached adolescence. This helps to consolidate the atmosphere which is suggestive of an initiation into the mysteries of motherhood. The atmosphere of initiation and mystery is further heightened because traditional showers are always held prior to the birth of the first baby, unless nature accidentally intervenes. The atmosphere is also characteristic of a child's party. At a traditional shower the gifts are from individuals or from groups, and cover an enormous range of values. One central purpose which the traditional baby shower serves, then, is to equip the new mother with the clothes, toys, and furnishings she is going to need for the new baby. The gifts serve an economic purpose, but at the same time serve to reinforce the new mother's dependence on a community of other women. And this dependence is not only based on financial and even emotional support (Fischer & Gainer 1993, pp. 320-324). 134 Wani’s cosmopolitan status is an asset to her since her previous experience had made her more prepared when she came here. She also elucidates her survival experience and how she was fine without any assistance when she first arrived here. According to Wani, she had a Palestinian student, an international student who voluntarily62 came to see her on the day she arrived. She got to know other Malays once she had settled down. Her declaration characterises her new Malayness or cosmopolitan identity in terms of vocalness and openness compared to the traditional Malay society. According to Wani, her earlier exposure in living overseas and dealing with new culture has contributed to the way she acts and sees things beyond the local context.
[G]enerally when I am in Malaysia, I realized that the fact that I have been away before. I was an undergraduate there [in the US] and after coming back from the US, I started working again. I realized that previously [before going to the US], I was not that outspoken in school or in high school. But, after coming back from the US, I realized that I have been more vocal in my views. If I want something to be done or if I see something [in her opinion] that is not right, I would speak up and suggest that it is not right and try to correct them.
(Interview excerpts with Wani)
For the inexperienced or the first-timer, arrival in Australia was met with a lot of expectations, as explained by Mas.
At least when we have friends, we have hope. When we are in need, we can hang on to the people of the same group, who understand our adat, our needs and the way we think. There was one time--in fact, two times--I had to take my child to a hospital Emergency Department. My friends here helped me willingly and supported me spiritually. Then, we became close friends and eventually we became like family. If they were in need, we helped. If we were in need, they helped. Twice I had to take one of my kids to the Emergency and leave the others with my friends, and they looked after them and had them sleep over at their house. (Translated interview excerpts with Mas)
The importance of communication emerged when Mas needed to take one of her children to hospital. Mas felt that her friends were like family and that she could trust them to look after her children. On the other hand, her friends could not have refused to
62 The Palestinian student was requested by the International Centre office to assist Wani on the day she arrived, since she was the only Muslim student around at that time. She agreed to assist Wani by showing where to get halal food, the location of the prayer room etc. 135 help her they were like family, and as such she believed they felt obliged to assist and support her. Fascinatingly, most of my informants and other Malay students here seemed to know other Malays in advance, either friends, colleagues, relatives or even an on-line friend they had never met face-to-face. This eventually creates a small interconnected Malay community whose members are of importance to one another. Therefore it became their initial step in familiarizing themselves to the new environment, and provides assistance in their adaptation process. This includes the informal e-mail group for Malay postgraduate students known as MAWAR (Malaysian Western Australia Ring). This e-mail group provides general information to new students before or after arrival. Anyone from Malaysia who is coming to Western Australia to pursue study can request for their name to be added to the group e-mail list regardless of their ethnic group. One issue of concern for new inexperienced academic cosmopolitans is how to deal with the idea of coming out of their comfort zone. This is shown in Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1: Engaging Reciprocity in Malay Postgraduate Students Life and Identity
Leaving the Comfort Zone: Initiating New Student Identities
Malay postgraduate students believe that going abroad to pursue their study provides a chance for some kind of transformation. The move is considered to have life changing potential. They see it as an opportunity to strive for academic excellence in their work. In other words, leaving one’s comfort zone is a way to experience other cultures and take advantage of the different environments and opportunities to further their knowledge, experience, and academic careers. The comfort zone is a behavioural state 136 within which a person operates in anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk (White 2009). In other words, one’s comfort zone is referred to as one’s own space where we feel comfortable to live and act, with no perceived risk of threat.
I personally believe that to some extent these students benefited from this exposure beyond their comfort zones. The benefit is obvious at the professional level and may also relate to personal life for some. I argue that when Malay students leave their comfort zone and experience living abroad, it initiates a new experience that could change their views and attitudes towards other cultures. However, all of my informants are considered fortunate in pursuing their study here. They are sponsored by their respective university or government department along with the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education. Few scholarships are available every year. Nevertheless, how the Malay students explained their experience of leaving their comfort zones to pursue their studies in Western Australia varies. Aja, for example, saw the opportunity to study overseas as something to which she looked forward and through which she could meet new people and experience a new environment.
[W]hen I told my deputy dean that I was coming here [Western Australia] to study, he asked me, whether I was sure I wanted to go, and if I thought I could go. I told him I felt like going to another place [to pursue her Doctorate]. I wanted to look at new things, because in my life, I have moved a lot. I will accept [an] offer from anywhere. So, I think the most important thing is to be mentally prepared because we are going to another people’s place. Just like the Malay saying ‘kalau masuk kandang kambing, mengembek’63. So, we have to do that, but not to the extent that when we are attending any functions, we have to follow their [white people’s] culture, like drinking beer and eating what they eat - that is wrong.
(Translated interview excerpts with Aja)
Aja’s personal background motivated her to make the decision to pursue her study in Perth. Her self-motivation played an important role when leaving Malaysia. Furthermore, her optimistic views on facing new things in her life helped her to prepare herself mentally and physically. In other words, Aja hoped to experience the difference of a particular experience in relation to language and culture, object and images (Rutherford 1990) that differ from Malaysia. Alongside her willingness to face the
63 ‘If you find yourself in a sheep-fold, you bleat’. This Malay saying is equivalent to the English saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’. 137 changes, Aja still felt the need to justify the differences that could threaten to decentre her as a Muslim. In relation to leaving her comfort zone, Aja tried to articulate some order in familiarizing and adjusting herself to the new environment. At this point, the idea of a sense of belonging plays little part in her efforts to initiate her new student identity overseas. On the other hand, her religious knowledge assists her to avoid any social consequences that are against Islamic practice.
In the struggle for a new way of life overseas, another informant, Nini, stressed the importance of her Malay roots. She considered her Malay roots as a main indicator of her Malay identity in order to support her survival in a foreign land. According to Nini:
[I] came here with my husband and kids. There are the five of us. This is the first time I am leaving my family [referring to her parents]. So, there is no word to describe how sad I am. However, for me the first thing that mattered [upon her arrival in Western Australia] was not the culture shock, but the change that I was worried about was [idea of] being Malay. Malays depend a lot on their roots, and their place of origin, so, now, we have moved out of our comfort zone. I am scared because normally Malay[s] will go back to their roots, and they will keep feeling this is not their place. Therefore, I kept reminding and teaching myself to deal with it for my kids.
(Translated interview excerpts with Nini)
Nini, as a fresh and new cosmopolitan, proclaimed her deep concern about leaving her comfort zone. Nini’s self-conscious recognition of the distinctiveness of her Malay roots and place of origin speak of her ethnic identification (Smith 1981). Nini’s level of consciousness is apparent in her feeling of not being in her own place while she is here. In relation to this, Kahn (1992, p. 163) argues that Malays may identify themselves differently in different contexts, just as the average Australian may use an ultimately all- inclusive notion of ‘Asian’. My further acquaintance with Nini revealed that she is from a well-off family where her father is a Dato’64. I was informed by other informants that her father even gave her AUD$30,000 in cash to buy a new car in Western Australia. In relation to her idea of Malay roots, members of the Malay elite choose to construct themselves and their identities differently by designing their lives in ways that differ from other Malay postgraduate students (Kahn 1992). As a new Malay cosmopolitan student, Nini would probably encounter fewer problems in her adaptation process, for
64 Dato' is a title conferred by Governors, rather than Rulers of Malaysia, that is the most common title. The wife of a Dato' is referred to as Datin. The title Dato’ is given by individual states that have a Sultan and not a head of state nominated by the state legislature. 138 example, in getting accommodation and access to material culture. Nini has redefined herself in ethnic terms, where certain beliefs [her Malay roots] are reaffirmed and values reinterpreted when she is overseas (Andaya 2008). Nini also stressed that when she is here, she finds ways to keep track of what new issues arise about Malays in Malaysia and also keeps in touch with her friends and colleagues in Malaysia through e-mails, facebook and calls. She felt these steps are important for her to keep reminding herself of who she is, a Malay.
The progression of wealth allows a person to pay for an environment that will lead to the development of the individual’s and family’s preferred kind of lifestyle (Gerth & Mills 1995). Mas highlighted her situation as a middle-class Malay postgraduate student who left her comfort zone. She stressed how she and her family had to temporarily sacrifice their luxurious life in Malaysia and lead a more ‘average’ life in Perth. In this research, all of my informants referred to their ‘average’65 life here.
[I] was really mentally tired and physically tired. I was quite scared spiritually and mentally because at that time I was thinking about the children. How are they going to fit in the new culture? Our language, and lifestyle, of course, will be different. Some say that during this time [their stay here] we might not be as luxurious as in Malaysia because we are living in another people’s place, and we do not know what our expectation was. Now it is not like before [back in Malaysia]. Here, we cannot go on outings like in Malaysia because here there are few halal food places compared to Malaysia. Like there [in Malaysia] we can go to McDonalds, KFC [Kentucky Fried Chicken], and it is a regular thing that we take them [the children] every month. Here, even though we take them out, we cannot get foods from stalls or anywhere. Instead, we have to bring food from home, and we cannot spend too much. So, that is what I stressed to them [her children], our lifestyle, here is going to be different. If we used to have a big TV, here we cannot hope for that, only a small TV. I kept telling them from the beginning, do not expect too much. We just live on what we have, and we have to be strong.
(Translated interview excerpts with Mas)
Once having left her comfort zone, Mas, expressed a different concern in regard to their new lifestyle. She made sure that her kids were aware about the changes to their
65An ‘average’ life for Malay postgraduate students here basically referred to having a proper house to rent, owning one or two cars for some to move around (normally it is a second-hand car with price ranging from AUD$1000.00-AUD$5000.00). For some the need to have two cars is because of the students and their spouses having to delegate work in dealing with their children schooling, spouse’s work, and other tasks. They also have the basic white goods in their home, like a television, refrigerator, washing machine and microwave-oven. For others, it included sofas and bedroom suites passed down or sold by other Malay postgraduate students who had returned to Malaysia. 139 lifestyles. Mas wanted her kids to be prepared for that. However, the changes anticipated by Mas in relation to her family’s lifestyle did not mean that there was a downward movement in her economic opportunity. Instead, the changes of Mas’s lifestyle show how individuals and groups are differently affected by changes in the opportunity and cost structure of the new place, Australia (Bensman & Vidich 1995). In other words, the different lifestyle can be associated with the currency exchange rate between Malaysia and Australia. On the other hand, another criterion associated with the changes in Mas lifestyle was the inability to buy fast-food like McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). In Australia, chickens are not slaughtered according to Islamic practice, and these premises also sell other non-halal food, like bacon. However, my encounters with other Malays reveals that they do stop by at these fast- food restaurants to buy sundaes or French-fries, but only after enquiring into whether the oil used for cooking the fries is vegetable-derived.
However, another informant, Shima, who can be described as a fresh cosmopolitan, put aside the idea of buying anything from these fast-food premises. The reason was because she had to consider and to deal with her husband’s feelings of hesitation when they first arrived. According to Shima:
[I]t was so hard for me leaving Malaysia. My major concern was my husband. This is because to compare my husband’s ‘environment’ [background] with my ‘environment’ [background]. He is like ‘Mat Kopiah’ 66 [religious] a bit. So, when we were coming here, my major concern was him because he will want to know whether we can eat this and that or not. So, to prepare him mentally, it was slightly difficult because he will be, like, is this ok or not? Is this place clean for us to praya among other things [having hesitation]? As for my children, my main concern was their health due to the weather, their schooling, and being scared about what they are going to eat. Actually, when I wanted to come here, his [her husband] parents did not want me to bring my children and husband with me. They asked me to go alone. My parents, wanted me to leave my kids with them, but I said, ‘No way!’ As for me, ‘susah sama-sama, senang sama- sama’ [for better, or for worse]. Then I told my husband that he will eventually learn, that he did not have to worry about which food is halal because it is easy to identify. We have to be brave. So, when he saw that his wife [Shima] was full
66 Mat Kopiah is a nick-name in the Malay language used to describe a person who is considered religious, Mat is a nickname generally referring to a male (similar to Mat Salleh), while Kopiah refers to the traditional skullcap worn by men during prayer. However, some prefer to wear the kopiah at all times. Relating back to the discussion in earlier chapter on ‘dakwah’ and aesthetic features of clothing, when Malay men continuously wear the kopiah, they are often associated with ‘dakwah’ movements or someone more religious (even though it is not something that can be generalized, but it is understood by most Malay-Muslims and other Muslims as well). Ironically, the person sometimes does not even wear the ‘kopiah’; instead, it is a symbolic reference to someone being religious as understood in Malay society. 140 confidence, he became confident in me, Alhamdulillah (Praise to God). You know what they [her parents-in-law] said? They are sure that when we go back [to Malaysia] later, our kids will be thin because they do not eat [the food here]. Luckily, they are used to it [eating foods here] now. However, they [her parent’s in-law] are worried that my kids will speak Malay all tangled up.
(Translated interview excerpts with Shima)
Shima’s statement highlights issues of having to deal with her parents’ and in-laws’ initial rejection of her bringing her husband and children with her. Shima’s parents and in-laws were concerned about the idea of their grandchildren being exposed to a new environment and culture. However, as someone who is optimistic and who has had previous experience living in Western Australia for six months for her Master degree, Shima is facing a new challenge now. This is because back then she was single. However, Shima’s efforts in initiating her new student identity this time around emphasise becoming a ‘better Muslim’ through her knowledge of Islam. This has to be done in order to support, guide and motivate her husband and children in dealing with the new environment. Leaving Malaysia is more challenging compared to dealing with the new environment. She had to relieve the worries and anxieties of her husband, her parents and her in-laws. In other words, in furthering their studies overseas, Malay women and men also contribute to the experiences of their spouses and kids. This fits into my framework on the categorization of non-experienced cosmopolitans, where Shima has to put in all her effort, not only in adjusting herself but in helping her family develop a new sense of place and culture having had no previous experience living in other parts of the world. The discussions on the role of spouses and their efforts to make adjustments to the new environment will be covered later in this chapter.
Shima’s reference to her husband as ‘Mat Kopiah’ can be conceptualized in two different ways. Goffman (1971a, pp. 110-114) used the term front and back stage where performances of different parts of interaction take place in these two types of context. According to Goffman, the front stage refers to the place of performances where different types of fixed ‘sign-equipment’, for example, wearing a kopiah, are in place to convey the performer’s public (religious) activity and exhibit distinct standards. The back stage refers to where performances are produced and impressions constructed out of view. In other words, Shima’s husband is recognized by people through his everyday religious practice, and it generates active claims, for example, his reputation as ‘Mat
141 Kopiah’ (Herzfeld 1997). The same explanation can refer to other religious ‘sign- equipment’ among the Malays, like wearing the headscarf (tudung), hijab67, or jubah68.
Besides having to deal with leaving their comfort zones in Malaysia, the Malay postgraduate students also had to leave their comfort zones in work contexts and reestablish their identities as Malay-Muslim students overseas. Anni explained her difficulty in adjusting herself to how her supervisors wanted to be addressed, that is, by their first name.
[F]or most of us, we respect them [the supervisors] too much. Although we can see that they [the supervisors] want us to address them just by their names and not their title, it is a different situation in Malaysia. If someone is a Professor then you have to address them as Professor, more of status-like. So, even though we as Malays respect our seniors, here they address them [the supervisors] like friends, not wanting to create a gap between ‘us and them’. It is also obvious with the Malay, we will talk ‘berlapik-lapik’69 with other people here. However, the people here are outspoken. They just want me to confront my supervisor. As for me, I will think ten times before confronting my supervisors on my idea, I do not dare to. So, when they tell me something, I just keep quiet. I then disagree quietly within myself. Disagreeing quietly first, then I will go and ask other people, whether I should confront my supervisor or not. Normally, the Malay style is to keep quiet in class. Sometimes I need to ask a question, but as people said, the Malay voice is not here [pointing to her mouth], but sometimes it is here [pointing to her heart]. They want to speak, but then it is not utterable. We do have our questions, and it is not that we do not know. Sometimes, other people asked the same questions. It is just that maybe we are shy, or like what we said, ‘beradab’70 and the supervisor is like a ‘tok guru’ [teacher] and needs to be respected. So, there is a slight limitation there [in speaking up].
(Translated interview excerpts with Anni)
According to Anni, she acts how Malay students are taught to act in Malaysia. Even though she claimed that the exposure she received in Western Australia is valuable, she still has problems in voicing what she thinks. Anni said that it was not because she does not want to, but that the Malay student culture she was brought up with taught her to
67 Hijab refers to the practice of veiling by women, covering either the entire face and body or only the hair and neck. It is different compared to the common headscarf worn by most Malay-Muslims. Wearing the hijab is commonly associated with Islamic fundamentalism and being very religious (Mustapha 2011). 68 Jubah refers to a long flowing robe that covers the female body (Mustapha 2011) and also known as long robe worn by male too. 69 ‘Berlapik-lapik’ (padding) is a term that literally means to consider and reconsider a sentence before it is spoken in order to make sure to take account of the feelings of the person being addressed. 70 ‘Beradab’ refers to how a Malay person should behave or act properly when they encounter older, respected or more knowledgeable people. 142 respect her teacher or anyone more knowledgeable. Sometimes she felt that not all things suggested or discussed with her supervisor were accurate, but she did not point out the mistakes by reason of respecting her supervisor. She hoped that during her learning time she would improve herself by learning to voice her opinions, to raise questions and overcome her shyness. According to Samuelowicz (1987, p. 125), overseas students are accustomed to being passive recipients of knowledge, and interactive methods of learning and teaching are seldom used and learning to participate in a group discussion is one of the most difficult adjustments overseas students like Anni must make.
Watkins & Biggs (1996) and Kember (2000) argued that Asian students are motivated by both intrinsic rewards (i.e. the ‘internal’ value of learning, such as interest and enjoyment of learning new knowledge) and extrinsic rewards (focused on instrumental values, such as the practical effect of studying on future career or further study). They pointed out that it was a common misunderstanding that Asian students were motivated solely by a good career offered by the certificate while they lacked the interest in working with and studying the materials (Kember, 2000, pp. 112–114). However, in more recent research on East Asian Learners, Ho (2009) shows that students in East Asian societies outperformed their Western counterparts. It was shown that East Asian families place great emphasis on academic achievement, as it is commonly perceived that having high academic achievement is a means to honour one’s parents and ancestors (Ho 2009, p. 329). Anni’s concern with ‘beradab’, or being respectful to others, can be related to the instrisic orientation motivated by her religion. The Malay value practiced by her was brought harmoniously through her religious beliefs and prescriptions (Allport and Ross, 1967).
Here, in initiating her new student identity, Anni has to assume her role as an active participant and develop her critical attitudes to the subject of her studies and formulate complex issues in a foreign language where exchange of ideas is rapid in comparison to the academic culture and system that she is used to in Malaysia. The point of Anni’s statement revolves more around Malay culture compared to religious practice. The Malay students are notable for their openness to ideas of diversity, but the same reason presents a challenge for Malay students when they are interacting with others. When the Malay students meet their supervisor or others, they will seek to fit them into a hierarchy basis, either through their age, intellectual level or organizations.
143 Anni also described two Malay cultural communication criteria often associated with Malay students in relation to the academic culture in Malaysia. The first is when they talked; they have to ‘berlapik-lapik’ (padding or indirectness in Malay speech) and second is ‘beradab’ (good manners, courtesy, and politeness). According to Cleveland et al. (1960), the Americans may have difficulty adapting to a culture in which indirection and innuendo are a way of life. For example, in some Asian languages the word for "no" is rarely used or is the same word as "yes"; thus, the Asian "yes" may mean "maybe" or "no." The Asian may consider it better to say an untruth than to cause another person to lose face, as discussed earlier in Chapter Four on face-saving situations.
Anni has highlighted the importance of the idea of ‘budi’ in Malay society. According to Lim Kim Hui (2003), the word ‘budi’ originated from the Sanskrit word ‘buddhi’, which means wisdom, understanding or intellect. Lim Kim Hui also asserted that once this word was accepted as part of the Malay vocabulary, its meaning was extended to cover ethics, as well as intellect and reason, in order to accommodate the culture and thinking of the Malays. Furthermore, budi also carries many nuanced meanings in the Malay view and plays a pivotal role in every aspect of Malay life. Lim tried to synthesize the various positive values of budi in what he called a ‘molecularization’ of budi (Figure 5.2) because budi can be observed, but not be fully broken down, as the components of budi are always interconnected and intertwined. Budi is an important element in the idea of reciprocity among Malay postgraduate students, especially in dealing with conflicts and tolerating cultural differences.
Figure 5.2: Molecularization of ‘Budi’ – Lee Kim Hui (2003)
144 Even though ‘budi’ and ‘beradab’ are part of Malay culture, there is always an exception to these orientations among other Malay postgraduate students. Rina, for example, has had to deal with much more pressure during her candidacy due to the pressure of being alone in Western Australia without family and also without supervision. According to her, this is the result of her lack of experience in conducting research, and she found it hard to cope at the candidacy stage. According to Rina:
[F]or me one way to avoid myself from getting distracted and disorganized is to pray. There was this one time when I was alone for a while, I felt I was lost, lost in the sense that I was not mentally strong enough. When my husband and my son went back to Malaysia, I was left alone for a while, around two months. At that time, I was not strong because of my candidacy [demands], it was so tough. I was more lost because my supervisors were not around, both of them. I just did not know what to do. I was crying most of the time. I was crying because it was hard doing a PhD, not because of not being able to adapt to the new environment. I felt it was hard because this is my first time doing research, so I have no experience doing research, like so academic, like this. So, I just prayed and there was no other person around for me [to whom] to express my feelings. I normally meet up with friends only on the weekend. They are busy too. So, I do not want to disturb them at other times. By the way, I am not such an open person, and I do not like to tell much about myself. Even back in Malaysia, there was always someone to remind me or to guide me to do my work. So, I called up my mother, and that was why she came. The three of them came together, my husband, my kids and he brought my mother along. So, I felt stronger when my mother was with me.
(Translated interview excerpts with Rina)
Rina claimed that back in Malaysia, her parents or people close to her were there to remind and encourage her in her work. In Perth, she had to handle the situation on her own. She tried to overcome the pressure she felt by praying and having continuous long-distance contact with her family. Studies show that the majority of postgraduate students have no previous experience of research and thesis writing, and that most are educators pursuing demanding professional careers (Sayed, Kruss & Badat 1998; Brown and Atkins 1990). In Rina’s situation, the transition from structured coursework and frequent contact with her supervisors during her Masters degree to a more independent work or research experience was difficult and challenging. According to Brown & Atkins (1990, p. 126), after one deals with difficulties with methodological skills, one will experience problems of isolation in a more acute form. This is why Rina felt that her lack of contact with others contributed to the mounting of pressure she was
145 facing. Rina’s process of adjustment involved psychological processes that directly impacted on her performance and functioning as an individual (Robie and Ryan 1996). Rina’s resort to prayer is a clear link to the importance of the religious component in her identity. Prayer and religious duty have provided Rina with control in maintaining her religious identity (Siegel 1969). Siegel (1969), in his book The Rope of God, focuses on prayer as an effort of concentration, of finding focus in one’s life, the triumph of akal (rationality) over hawa nafsu (instinctive nature). Through prayer, Rina gained her energy71 to maintain her religious identity, whilst dealing with her pressure being away from her family (see also Kermalli 2008). Rina, through her prayers, has used her rationality to control and make necessary adjustment to her emotions (instinctive feelings) and centered her focus on maintaining her religious identity.
Here again the issue of border-crossing was raised by Rina when she referred back to how things were for her back in Malaysia. Therefore, the issue of borders is an integral part of identities. Since identities are not static but continuously being (de- and re-) constructed, processes of identity construction require ongoing processes of bordering and ‘othering’ of us/them (Van Houtum and Van Naerssen 2002, pp. 125-136). These different situations show that each Malay postgraduate informant has her or his own personal experience and views in dealing with the idea of leaving the comfort zone and initiating a new student identity. Poyrazli and colleagues (2001) reported that generally students sponsored by their home country had more problems than those without such scholarship support. They suggested that this was due to the additional bureaucracy that sponsored students dealt with, and expectations of superior academic performance. However, for the Malay postgraduate students, this is just the beginning of new experiences in their life, especially in settling down once they leave their comfort zone. Besides having to deal with being a student again, there are other positive and negative experiences that the Malay postgraduate students have to deal with in their new place. This includes the process of getting accommodation, seeking places that provide halal foods, acclimatising to the weather and finding suitable leisure activities. In relating to these situations, some find it tough to change their lifestyle, while others have tried hard
71 The idea of energy refers to substance that can be described as all that is. Every thing exists in the form of energy. One’s thoughts are included in this, as the unspoken word is an energy that is sent out and travels in the direction given. Prayer has numerous benefits to one’s health and spirits The benefits of prayer have only been recently confirmed by scientists and health-care researchers (Kermalli 2008). When the human energy [through prayer] is charged up and bright with vital energy, even personal troubles tend to slide away (Lindgren et. al., 1997). 146 to learn and fit themselves in through contact with supervisors, friends and colleagues. These experiences will be discussed next.
The New Environment: Constructive and Unconstructive Experiences
All my informants received scholarships and/or have jobs in Malaysia to which they will return upon completion of their study. Therefore, with limited financial support, and having to deal with other problems (like language barriers), my informants faced experiences that they saw as either favourable or unfavourable. This section will explore some of the experiences the Malay postgraduate students encountered in their new environments. Barker et al. (1991) noted that problems experienced by international students are often affected by unfamiliarity with the cultural norms of the host nation, and cultural difficulties often manifest as difficulties in adjustment.
Accommodation
The first issue of concern for most Malay postgraduate students after their arrival is getting accommodation. My own personal experience in getting accommodation was agonising. My anxiety was not just due to the need to find a house, but also linked to my thoughts of getting my family and kids settled before initiating my own journey as a postgraduate student. Anni has recalled her situation about her accommodation after her arrival. According to her:
[W]hen I arrived here, I stayed with Kak Nor and Kak Linda. I felt comfortable because they are also Malays, and because I did not know the new environment. What if I had to stay in a residential college or somewhere else, I would be lost trying to look for Malay people. That was why I chose to stay with them first. The university offered me a place at the residential college, but I could not stay there alone [because it is shared accommodation]. So, it was better for me to stay with Kak Linda. Even though I did not know whether their place was far from the university or not, at least it was better for me to stay with my own people [Malay] before I had to adapt myself to the new environment. It is better to stay with people we know. (Translated interview excerpts with Anni)
Anni came to Western Australia alone at first, and was later joined by her husband and daughter. Her choice to stay with Kak Nor and Kak Linda was because they are Malays. As Wanguri (1996, p. 456) stated, ‘we tend to like people who are similar to us and
147 dislike those who are dissimilar’, although it might not always be true in some cases. Anni, for example, is close to her other colleagues from other ethnic backgrounds and cultures, but preferred to stay with someone who talked the same language, practised the same culture and was also a Muslim. Similar situations occur with other Malay postgraduate students who are single and who live in a shared house with other Malay students from the same linguistic and cultural background (see Myles & Cheng 2003). As a result they socialize less with others from Western Australia, and much of their emotional support comes from within the Malay student group.
For Wani, a female Malay student, mixed gender accommodation was not an alternative that she was used to or that suited her. She said:
[I] don’t feel comfortable staying with guys. UWA may have a different policy, but as for Murdoch, they mix students [for accommodation] not only by nationality, but also gender, and I don’t feel comfortable as a Muslim. So, that’s why I have contacted a friend in advance. Actually, it is not a friend; I do not know her in advance. It is just a contact person through a friend. My problem was only that they mix gender. (Interview excerpts with Wani)
Wani’s statement reveals her concern about being a Malay Muslim woman, and not the nationality of a person. Her feminine or female gender identity is her prime concern and overrides her Malay identity in this context, but is related to her Muslim identity. The same circumstance also applies to Malay-Muslim males. At this point Wani identifies herself with regard to her gender identity. Among Malay-Muslims students there are certain occasions where we can see differential treatment according to gender, such as during religious occasions, functions or practices. For example, in most of these situations or occasions, the lay-out of the settings would be one side for females and another for males. Even though it is not strictly a doctrine, normally it is understood by both genders. Another situation would be during congregational prayers, where males are lined in one section (normally in front), while females are lined at another section (normally at the back). However, if the mosque consists of two or more levels, the women will be situated on the second level for the sake of convenience, like wearing their ‘telekung’ (prayer cloaks) before prayer. The rationale for such a situation is to create a harmonious environment and minimize feelings of uneasiness due to being with those of a different gender. This relates to their cultural and religious background reproduced in their upbringing process. Some of this is considered a method of social
148 control in reducing social problems due to unrecognized or unaccepted relationships between the sexes. This eventually relates back to the Malay students’ cultural backgrounds and how they have been socialized by their parents and past experiences. As for example, in one of the Malay-Muslim students gathering that I have attended, the hall layout plan in Figure 5.3 shows a settings that is common in most Malay student’s formal or informal gatherings. However, it is arguable that the layout shows that foods for women and men are equally distributed and placed side by side. This situation implies that among the Malay-Muslims there is no superiority of male gender identity over female gender identity; rather, the layout is intended to distinguish both genders, as practised in Malay culture.
Figure 5.3: Hall Layout plan for MyPSA Iftar Programme
Farhan’s arrival in Western Australia was made easier by his having a Malay friend there, but he still encountered difficulties in settling down in accommodation due to his Malay-Muslim ‘way of life’.
[I] came here alone, but beforehand I contacted a friend I had known since we were undergraduates. He came and picked me up. I had difficulties finding a house. Since his wife is coming, I decided to share a house with anyone, whether they are Muslim or not. I met with three Chinese students to share a house, but I had difficulties sharing. It all goes back to the issue of food, culture, and different ways of life. Luckily, I got an offer to stay in a studio apartment.
(Translated interview excerpts with Farhan) 149 Since Farhan was single, he was hesitant to stay with his friend for a long period since his friend’s wife was coming from Malaysia soon. This hesitancy shows that Farhan, a Muslim, considers it inappropriate to be in the same house with a woman, given that her husband may not always be simultaneously present. As a Malay and a Muslim, Farhan understood his friend well, and there were no hard feelings involved. In his effort to get a house, he found it difficult to share a house with other foreign students due to issues concerning cultures, food and different ways of life. On the other hand, Farhan also explained that the Chinese students explained to him that their previous tenants were also Chinese. So, in this case Farhan admits that it was also possible that the Chinese students also found it difficult to share a house with Farhan because of his different ethnic and religious background. I argue that the same situation would have occurred if Malay students were the ones looking for housemates. One finds that the cultural difference is under-communicated by the parties in the transaction (Goffman 1959). As Goffman proposes, all social interactions require a kind of performance. Humans attempt to control a situation and the impression of the audience through behaviour or actions through communication. Therefore, facts that are conflicting with a situation are generally under-communicated. In other words, the public sphere can be defined with reference to group behavior, such as the use of Malay language and other actions that are part of Malay or Muslim identity.
The notion of cultural difference as undercommunicated, can also be linked to the notions of ‘beradab’ where good manners, courtesy, and politeness shared by Farhan and his friends in interpersonal communication. As in the case of Anni’s reticence in speaking up to her supervisor, this example reveals the importance of sharing tacit knowledge in Malay culture, where much does not to be spoken outright and is yet tacitly understood by interlocutors. As Michael Polanyi (1967, p. 4) wrote in his book, The Tacit Dimension, tacit knowledge or personal knowledge (Polanyi 1958) refers to the fact that ‘we can know more than we can tell’. According to Polanyi (1958, p. 49), ‘the aim of skilful performance is achieved by the observance of a set of rules which are not known as such to the person following them’. So, tacit knowledge is knowledge the actor has, but nonetheless, like Farhan, cannot or does not have to put it into words, but acts knowledgeably through skilful performance, as Farhan did with his friend. Hence, every human being practically holds tacit knowledge, based on their emotions, experiences and observations throughout their everyday practice, as inflected by culture.
150 Another informant, Marwan, also knew someone in advance before his arrival with his wife. According to Marwan:
[A]ctually my [wife’s] auntie is married to an Englishman here and is a citizen here. They have one kid. I had never met them. She is from my wife’s side, and we never contacted her in the past. However, since we were coming here, we asked her to help us find a house to rent. It was tough getting a house that time, maybe until now. However, Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God) maybe because they are citizens, it was easier for them [to rent a house].
When we arrived, Auntie picked us up and informed us that she already had got a house for us. So the next day [after their arrival] she helped us deal with the agent, and we just had to sign the tenant contract. Actually, it was not allowed, but maybe because she is a citizen [it was an exception]. It was quite challenging when I arrived, even though we knew Auntie, but she is busy. She is a nurse. So, after that day we were left alone for about a week [in their new house] until we next saw her. (Translated interview excerpts with Marwan)
Marwan came here without having to worry about getting accommodation, since his wife’s auntie had taken care of the matter for them. On the other hand, Marwan felt it was such a challenging time for him and his wife after arrival because they had to make other arrangements on their own. He did not know anyone else except his wife’s auntie at that time. They have braced themselves to get to know Western Australia, and to get things for their house by taking a bus. At this point, Marwan admitted that he mentally converted the price of things he bought to Malaysian Ringgit, which made everything seem so expensive. Marwan's indication of money conversion explained his pragmatic concern in dealing with the new environment. After a week, he met up with his cousin, who he did not know was living in Western Australia. Knowing that his cousin, who is an undergraduate student in Western Australia, was close by made him feel relieved. Since then his cousin has assisted him to settle down in the new environment by accompanying him to buy a new car, which meant he had greater mobility.
This is also seen as a basis of why Malays wish to stay with other Malays upon first arriving. They feel comfortable with other Malays throughout their study; they can rely on shared tacit knowledge rather than having to explicitly spell out what they mean when talking or explicitly justify their courses of action. This value also links to what is considered beradab behaviour. In relation to communication with different cultures, Basil Bernstein (1971) has introduced the idea of restricted and elaborated language
151 codes. The code72 that a person uses indeed symbolizes their social identity (Bernstein 1971). According to Bernstein (1971, p. 76), ‘forms of spoken language in the process of their learning initiate, generalize and reinforce special types of relationship with the environment and thus create for the individual particular forms of significance’. Bernstein explains that ‘in the case of restricted code, the range of alternatives codes is usually reduced and so it is much more likely that prediction is possible, while in the case of elaborated code, the speaker will select from a wide range of codes and so it will not be easy to make accurate assessment’ (Bernstein 1964, p. 57).
Therefore, the elaborated code is maximally explicit and does not depend upon shared background information by the participants, whilst the restricted code generates statements that are often elliptical, vague and indirect. However, in the case of using the latter, since the interlocutors share so much tacit background knowledge, they not only understand each other, but through doing so reaffirm their belonging with each other. This is why the Malay postgraduate students feel comfortable with each other as they understand each other while using a restricted code; distinctions do not have to be explicitly articulated, but left to nonverbal behaviour because so much is tacit between them. Therefore, use of a restricted code is suitable for insiders who share understandings of an issue (tacit knowledge); for example, during conversations they will use words and phrases like ‘you know’, ‘you know what I mean’ and ‘right’ or even just almost imperceptible nods of the head or other paralinguistic and kinesic cues. In contrast, the elaborated code does not assume that the listener shares these understandings; the elaborated code is more explicit and does not require the listener to read between the lines.
The non-sharing of these codes and of interpretations of the contexts in which each should apply can lead to misunderstandings. Triandis, Vassiliou, and Nassiakou (1968, p. 33) have pointed out:
[a] person from one culture may provide what he considers to be friendly criticism to a person from another culture only to discover that the other person interprets it as "hatred." Or, a person from culture A behaves in a manner which he considers extremely "positive" toward a person from culture B. However, the individual from culture B perceives the behavior as "neutral," and in turn, the individual from culture A feels that he is "given the cold shoulder".
72 The term code, as defined by Stephen Littlejohn (2002, p.178) in Theories of Human Communication, ‘refers to a set of organizing principles behind the language employed by members of a social group’. 152 Raha, who also knew someone in advance before she came here, never expected to discover long-distance relatives she never knew existed.
[I] was staying at a friend’s house for two months after arriving in Perth. One day a Singaporean Chinese came [over to his friend’s house] and said that the owner of this [Raha’s friend’s] house is his friend. He told me they were Malaysian. He also told me that he is a Malaysian Chinese converted73 to Islam. He would pick us up after Maghrib74 to have dinner at his house. So, we went together to his house. There, his wife came out and greeted us, and we introduced ourselves. My friend is from Johor, and his wife is from Kelantan. I am from Malacca, from Kampung Pulai. As fated by Allah (s.w.t), now I have relatives here. She told me that her mother came from Christmas Island, and she will take me to see her. It was fair enough that her mother and my grandfather are [distant relatives] like second cousins. I do not even know them. Her grandmother stays in Christmas Island. My life was not that hard since I was destined to have relatives here. Most of the older people back then [in Kampung Pulai] knew my grandfather. My mother was worried about me when I first came here. Now, since she has known them [her new found relatives], she has felt less worried. (Translated interview excerpts with Raha)
Raha encountered a very constructive experience in Perth, and this would not be the case if she had not come to Australia. She felt much more at ease and secure in Perth once she realized that she actually had distant relatives living here. Having relatives in Perth also put Raha’s mind at rest. The supportive social relationship gained by Raha was important to her psychological and academic adaptation (Eisikovits and Schechter 2007).
Food
Once Malay students managed to get temporary accommodation or rent a house, their concerns then turned to other practical concerns like food. Their main concern was where and how to get halal food. Mead (1997) has defined food habits as the culturally standardized set of behaviours in regard to food manifested by individuals who have
73 Roberts (1990, p. 102) states that religious conversion refers to a process of ‘turning around’ or changing direction in life, or a change of world view. Conversion implies not only the subjective embracing of an alternative set of beliefs, but is also likely to involve the transformation of personal practices – in diet, dress, social and cultural networks, time schedules or name. Such movement of religious affiliation is usually accompanied by substantial shifts in subjective identity, cognitive and affective orientation, and, particularly given Malaysia’s emphasis on Islam as part of the definition of being Malay, even ethnicity (Lam, 2004). 74 Maghrib is one of the five times of prayer that a Muslim performs everyday. Maghrib prayer is performed just after sunset and before the next prayer time, Isya’. 153 been reared within a given cultural tradition. Raha, for example, worried about her ability to get halal food in Western Australia. According to Raha:
[W]hen I first arrived I did not know where to get it [halal food], so, I was slightly worried. Some people [other Malays] told me not to be too rigid when we are in another people’s country. However, for me, if it is just the food, I would not die if I did not eat. I can eat other things. For example, a friend of mine was looking for halal chicken stock, and I showed her the one I was using. She said, we cannot use this one [the chicken stock] because for her, it was not stated that the chicken is halal, which means it was not slaughtered according to the Islamic principles. I thought, she has looked too deep into the matter and for me if it was just chicken stock, I just ‘tawakal’75. Just like the ‘E’ [Emulsifier] code, sometimes I asked the Australian people themselves, and they told me they normally use vegetarian derived [emulsifier]. Last time I was scared to eat Fish and Chips, but after I came across some seniors who told me not to be afraid. According to them too, most shops [Fish and Chips] uses vegetable-based oil. Sometimes I would even go to a Japanese [food] shop; I just eat fish, as long as there is no pork in it. (Translated interview excerpts with Raha)
Raha was actively adjusting her food habits, as she was trying to fit into the new culture by endeavouring not to be too rigid in her choice of foods, and making choices which were halal according to her beliefs. That is why Raha as Muslim mentioned the phrase tawakal if she is not sure of something. Raha felt being too rigid when you are living in another people’s country is a problem, meaning making an adjustment to a new environment is necessary. However, if the food or products one is buying are clearly non-halal, then on should avoid them and find some other alternatives, such as fish, vegetables and other seafoods. When one buys an item of food, consumes it, or serves it, these items of food sum up and transmit a situation and constitute more than just information, perhaps implicating the whole functional system of communication the very moment these actions constitute it into a sign (Barthes 1997). Anni also highlighted a similar experience to Raha and stated that as a Muslim we have to tawakal when we are in foreign land. This is considered a way of taking reasonable precautions and then surrendering to trust in God. This will assist the Malay students in adjusting and engaging with others in the new environment.
My discussion of Malay students’ experiences in regard to the importance of consuming halal foods has highlighted that their religious identity is flexibly maintained by
75 ‘Tawakal’ literally means to resign or to trust in God. 154 embracing the basic Islamic concept of tawakal. Here, it is shown how the notion ‘rooted cosmopolitanism’ fits the Malay students who demonstrate flexibility, yet retain a still basically Islamic response. The essential meaning of this concept is that one must surrender to God on matters with which one deals in life, once an effort has been made. Tawakal, among Muslims, refers to trusting in God in all ones’s affairs, especially in decision-making. In other words, reliance on God does not mean that one should not take any action and hope everything will be provided, but instead ultimate trust in God has to be accompanied by efforts and action (Chaudhry 2003). For example, Malay postgraduate students can access websites that list halal food restaurants through the MAWAR e-mail group and other halal directories.
Recently a few Malay postgraduate students in Western Australia have begun selling home-cooked dishes to cater to demand for halal and traditional Malay foods. The availability and days of operation (normally only on weekends) are advertised in the MAWAR group list. Three Malay postgraduate families were selling different food items on weekends when they had more spare time76. These business enterprises emphasise the significance among Malay Muslim postgraduate students of interpersonal communication. In other words, through their communications and contact, they have encouraged these businesses to proceed. Their savouring of home-cooked foods also contributes to the success of such enterprises, as do the reasonable prices charged. According to an informant, the spicy Malay foods initially assist him with dealing with the weather in Western Australia. Rice and traditional Malay dishes make people feel fuller, especially when winter approaches.
Weather
Indeed, for some Malay postgraduate students, the anticipation of adapting to the somewhat colder weather in Western Australia is problematic. In relation to the transition to life in Western Australia, Li (a male postgraduate student) stated:
[F]or me, the first thing was the weather. It was a bit weird, to say it is hot, but it is also cold. When I first arrived, I was thinking about my kids, because it was
76 The first family was selling ‘Char Kuew Teow’ on Saturday from 1.00-5.00 pm for AUS$5.00 a plate. Another postgraduate student was selling ‘Ayam Golek’ (spiced grilled chicken with coconut cream), also sold on the weekend, at the price of AUD$15.00 for a whole chicken stuffed with eggs, carrots and cauliflower. The third Malay postgraduate family was selling Malay traditional sweet delicacies for the price of 3 pieces for AUD$2.00. 155 nearly the cold season, and it was going to be cold. Then, I bought a second- hand heater, but when winter came, it was not too extreme. I remember using the heater not more than ten times [throughout the winter season], and that also not more than an hour each time we used it. We just used blankets.
(Translated interview excerpts with Li)
Li is among a few of my Malay informants who were concerned about the weather. Most of the other Malay postgraduate informants felt that the weather in Western Australia is fine and not too extreme. At some point towards the end of their studies, some of the Malay postgraduate students exclaimed that they would miss the weather after returning to Malaysia, especially the winter season.
Recreational Activities
When the Malay postgraduate students have settled into their accommodation, and adjusted to the food and the weather, they then find things or activities to do during their leisure time. According to Azam, a single and experienced cosmopolitan who has lived in Korea before:
[F]or entertainment and leisure, maybe I would just watch movies, but it is quite expensive. When I was in Korea, I liked singing at the Karaoke; it was their habit [culture] there. Around the university campus, [where Azam stayed] there were so many Karaoke places. Here, there is one in Northbridge. I normally go here because this is the only [karaoke] shop that has Malay songs. It is like a room like this [by pointing around the room where the interview was conducted in Reid Library], but slightly bigger, then there is a TV screen but there are no shows [referring to other types of performance, like dancers, etc.] in front and no alcohol, just like in Malaysia. I do not know about other karaoke places here. The one that I went to [in Northbridge], the owner is a Chinese, from Kuching, so he knows [about Malaysian culture].
(Translated interview excerpts with Azam)
Azam shows that for single Malay-Muslim postgraduate students, leisure activities include going to movies and karaoke in groups in order to release their stress. However, in consideration of their leisure activities, Azam and his friends are still concerned about their Muslim identity. This was evidenced in Azam’s choice of place that does not provide alcohol or other forms of performance considered inappropriate in Islam (which could mean the dress-code or attitude that is against Islamic values and practices). I
156 have also mentioned earlier in Chapter Four how Azam claimed that he has performed his prayer in the back row of the cinema.
Besides movies and karaoke, Mas, a single female Malay postgraduate student, indicated that she preferred sport as a way to spend her leisure time and to release stress. According to her, she usually plays badminton with her other Malay friends. The reason given was that she finds it easier to stop when it is prayer time because they would understand and her friends would have to perform solat too. Therefore, she did not have to give reasons or an explanation if she needed a break. Several matches of volleyball, badminton, soccer, and bowling have been organized among the Malay postgraduate students and advertised through the MAWAR group e-mail (Figures 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5 below). The teams are usually made up of the Malay postgraduate students themselves and their spouses (given the title turis, meaning literally ‘tourist’, but here used in a more extensive sense).
Researcher’s fieldnotes on one of the soccer match attended: Malay-Muslim students versus Middle-East Muslim students: 2009
The soccer match was held in UWA and it was a friendly match between the Malay postgraduate students and the Middle-East students. Some players brought their family along. Some of the spouses of the Malay students just take this chance as a relaxing and outing moment for them and their children. However, I could not really see any of the Middle-East students spouses turned up, maybe there were one or two which I am not aware of since they were not on the out-field watching the match. The match went on well and the Middle-East students won with a 2-1 score. However, what interested me were the comments made by one of the Malay players. He told me (or commented) that the Middle- East students were playing like they have to win the match, but not playing like how a friendly match should be. I am not sure how it should be, but the Malay player told me that the way the Middle-East student played seriously and quite harsh and he felt like there was no fun to the game and even one of Middle-East players told him that they will win the match somehow.
In this situation, I would say that maybe what the Malay players told me was just his way of expressing his unhappiness because the Malay postgraduates lost the game. However, on the other hand, I was aware that the Malay students organized a lot of this friendly match and most of the time it was played in a fun and enjoyable way and seldom any complaint about dissatisfaction of losing a game. Here, I observed that one of the possible reasons for the not so friendly match was due to the different cultural practice and has nothing to do with being Muslims. As a Malay who are frequently known as moderate in most of their act and practice, the seriousness that they see in the Middle-East players was found to be too a bit unfavourable to them. Since this match, I have not attended any other friendly match in any sports organized by the Malay postgraduates with
157 others except with the Malay undergraduates and sometimes joined by Indonesians students (since there was none) ‘til I completed my fieldwork.
Figure 5.4: Posters Adverstising Leisure Activities among Malay-Muslim Postgraduate Students in Western Australia (MyPSA, WA) Badminton Match in 2009
Figure 5.5: Poster of a Soccer Match in 2009 (MyPSA)
158
Figure 5.6: Poster of a Volleyball Match in 2010 (MyPSA)
Alongside sports, Malay postgraduate students often organized trips to various places of interest in Western Australia, including Araluen Botanical Park, Margaret River, Mandurah and Albany. However, the most common type of group event for the single or married postgraduate students with families was barbeques and informal gatherings at parks. These gatherings bring together Malay postgraduate families using a pot-luck mode of organization. Here various kinds of Malay foods and delicacies are prepared by the students to share with other Malay students. Sometimes, friends to the Malay students from different ethnic backgrounds join in these events. Some types of social gathering are particular to Muslims and not suitable for or inclusive of people from other religious backgrounds, for example, ‘solat hajat’ (wish prayer or supererogatory prayer) or ‘kenduri kesyukuran’ (feast to show gratitude to God) or ‘Majlis Cukur Jambul’ (shaving or tonsure of hair ritual). When Muslim Malay postgraduates conducted these activities, they merged the concepts and practices of Malay culture/ adat and religion.
159 Engaging Life, Identity and Surroundings: Between Culture/Adat and Religion.
According to Syed Hussein Alatas (1954, pp. 1-2), in Islam, religion is considered not only as an individual and personal affair, but also as a social system. Islam is not only a religion in a Western individualist sense, but also a social order. It is a way of life, and it has to control every single aspect of our lives. In other words, Syed Hussein Alatas has demonstrated that it is possible to be a person of one’s own time and place, rooted in one’s own culture, yet also a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world (Kessler 2008).77 Malay-Muslims overseas negotiate their lives and identities in relation to their perception of Malay culture/adat and/or religion. Rafi, one of my informants, felt that adat (traditional custom) is not important now and did not see how Malay adat applies in Western Australia. However, somewhat contradicting that assertion, Rafi also believed that some Malay adat is still implemented by other Malay students (and sometimes even by him). Therefore, adat is like a residue (remaining or surviving (Nagata 1986, p. 42)). Nagata used the term residue to refer to customs that are considered Malay, but not Islamic. In this context, Islam has risen above adat. When pursued further on the matter, Rafi recalled attending a ‘Cukur Jambul’ (shaving or tonsure of hair) ritual of one of his Malay friends who just had had a baby. He felt the ritual was in one way considered a part of the Malay adat, but in another way is merely what Islam encourages us to do. According to Rafi:
[H]ere there are two situations. If it is ‘Cukur jambul’ alone, then I feel that it is the adat. However, carry out the kenduri [communal feast] to welcome the newborn is considered sunat [something that is enjoined by religion], then I feel it is a necessity [an obligation].
(Translated interview excerpts with Rafi)
Rafi had the tendency to perceive Malay adat and Islam as dual yet complementary forces in some situations. This complementarity makes it difficult to differentiate the two, since Islam has become an essential part of Malay adat and vice versa in some situations. The ‘Cukur Jambul’78 ritual is held in conjunction with the birth of a new
77 This argument also refers back to my earlier discussion of the identity theory of Fenton (2010), who distinguishes between culture and religion. 78Zuraidah Zainon 2006, ‘Cukur Jambul Amalan Bidaah Orang Melayu’, Utusan Malaysia newspaper, Malaysia,11/09/2006.
However, this is traditionally how the ritual of ‘Cukur Jambul’ was conducted. In relation to Islamic practice, the ritual is now viewed as part of Islamic sunat practice in accordance with the dictates of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). To explain, on the seventh day after the birth of his two grandsons, the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) performed the ‘aqiqah’79, shaved their heads and gave them names. The hair that was shaved from the babies was then weighed and the equivalent value paid out by the father in gold or silver. The monetary value of this gold or silver is to be divided among the poor. During the aqiqah ritual, the baby will be given a taste of something sweet, like dates (crushed in a small pinch put in the baby’s mouth). Islam encourages the baby’s hair to be shaved off so that strong healthy hair will grow.
What is stated by Rafi can be referred to these two situations, situated between Malay adat and religious practice. In the case of Malay postgraduate students who have given birth while in Western Australia, the ritual of ‘Cukur Jambul’ is still widely practiced in accordance with Islamic practice. I have sponsored one of these rituals in Western Australia for my baby’s arrival and attended another for a Malay postgraduate students’ child. At both, the practice is in accordance with the Islamic way, with guests and the ritual was followed by a kenduri (feast) to serve the people who came on that day. One
79 ‘Aqiqah’ in Islamic terminology refers to sacrificing an animal on the occasion of a child’s birth. The ritual of Aqiqah is highly encouraged among Muslim Malays on the seventh day after birth. Aqiqah is performed to announce the birth of the baby and invite family members, neighbours, and friends to celebrate the blessed occasion. The poor are often included in the celebrations and offered food. Two sheep are to sacrificed for a boy, and one sheep for a girl. Cows and camels may also be sacrificed and slaughtered in an appropriate and humane (halal) way< http://www.hidaya.org/>. 161 slight alteration to the ritual involved the use of dried dates and ‘ZamZam’80 water instead of the traditional fragrant rice water.
According to Abu Hassan Din Al-Hafiz (2006), a prominent Islamic Scholar in Malaysia, Islamic society should understand that traditional (adat) or common practice rituals should be enacted not in accordance with ‘nass’ or ‘dalil’ (a known, clear legal injunction, or the text of the percept of the law that is written or unwritten (Houtsma 1993, p. 881)), which should be rejected, especially if these are associated with other religious beliefs and practices. I myself had the privilege of conducting a ‘Cukur Jambul’ ritual after the arrival of my new baby in 2009. Figure 5.6.1 and 5.6.2 below show two pictures of how the baby’s hair is snipped a little by some of the people who attended that day.
Figure 5.7.1: ‘Cukur Jambul’ Ritual among Malay Postgraduate Students in Western Australia
The baby’s hair is snipped a little by a those present and put in a bowl to be weighed.
80 ZamZam water came from the Well of ZamZam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. According to Islamic belief, it was a miraculously-generated source of water from God which began thousands of years ago when Prophet Ibrahim a.s (Abraham) infant son Ismail (Ishmael), was thirsty and kept crying and was kicking at the ground when where suddenly water sprang out. This water is the ZamZam water.
Baby’s having his first taste of ZamZam water and dates
For the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students, in some contexts Islam, when considered on its own, plays a much clearer role in their everyday lives, especially when compared to their cultural practices. Even with exposure to other peoples and cultures, the tendency to hold on to their religious beliefs and practices was also revealed in Raha’s experience. Raha recalled a situation where she had a debate with her housemate, a Chinese girl of Christian and Buddhist background who considered herself a ‘free- thinker’ (as stated by Raha). In general understanding among the Malays, a freethinker refers to a person who forms their own opinions about religion on the basis of reason. Freethinkers include atheists, secular humanists and rationalists. Campus Freethought Alliance (CFA), for example, defined freethinker or free thought as ‘the application of critical thinking and logic to all areas of human experience, and the rejection of supernatural and authoritatian beliefs’.81 According to Raha:
[T]hat which is considered wajib (obligatory) [in Islam], we do not have to question. We have to practise it, and it is not a choice. This includes thinking whether we should continue eating halal food or whether we should perform our prayer. This is not a choice. That is why I am scared because a lot of people have been forgetting this. Even back in Malaysia, we forget to practise the things that we should, and as humans we forget a lot. Just imagine we are here, overseas; nobody is going to remind us on these matters. That is why I said, for me, I need to explore and experience the situations. I felt it was good for me to be here, and living with Josie, a person who is a free thinker. Her mother is a Christian, and her father is a Buddhist. Being a friend with her actually
81 Please refer to Campus Freethought Alliance, ‘Identity & Purpose: Basics’ at:
Josie: Raha, the dog is not even bad. Why do you have to wash with earth? Isn’t earth much dirtier than the dog?
Raha: But this is how we do it.
Josie: Who taught you that?
Raha: My mother.
Josie: Why does your mother have to interfere with your religion?
Raha: Josie, you were born in a family of two religions. Your mother criticized your father’s religion. Your father criticized your mother’s religion. But, in my family, Islam is the only sacred religion. However, I never said other religions are not good. For me, every religion is meant to lead people to good deeds.
(Translated interview excerpts with Raha)
Raha considered living with Josie, a freethinker, demanding, especially in that it challenged her religious knowledge, practice and faith. Her exposure made her put extra effort into gaining further knowledge of Islamic belief and practice, and she became more sensitive to the purpose of these practices in her everyday life. Raha explained that the continuous queries and criticisms from Josie challenged her to be more knowledgeable of Islam and at the same time strengthened her faith in Islam. She felt this situation might not have taken place if she was back in Malaysia. Raha felt that these religious practices and knowledge are often taken for granted without any effort to really understanding the purpose of the practices according to Islam.
Raha’s statement on the purpose of specific practices in Islam occurs to me in relating Malay interpretations of practice as culture/adat, but not religion. While Raha may act in accordance with this injunction when it comes to adat, she reject this when it comes to religion. In terms of what is wajib in Islam, Raha sees that it cannot be questioned
82 ‘Samak’ or ‘taharah’ is the Islamic way of cleansing that is the purification procedures in cleaning and cleansing all kinds of dirt according to Islamic law (syara’) especially when dealing with filth related to dogs or pigs. It is done by washing the affected area 7 times, the first with water mixed with earth (soil or sand), and six times with clean running water to ensure purification takes place.
Researcher’s fieldnotes: 5th April 2011
Nora, a female postgraduate student, gave birth recently (March 2011) to her second daughter. Her mother-in-law came here a week before her due-date with a tukang urut (masseuse). Often, Malay women will seek the services of a tukang urut soon after childbirth to help tone up their abdominal muscles by massaging them back to health. The tukang urut went back to Malaysia a week after Nora gave birth. A fortnight later, Nora’s husband sent an sms to friends (which was passed on to other Malay students) informing them that there will be a solat hajat83 at Curtin Musollah to pray for Nora. I found out the reason was that Nora was believed to be experiencing postnatal depression84. In Malaysia a term used to describe this situation is gila meroyan85. Nora’s husband had consulted a Malay ustaz (religious teacher) and also the local Imam86 in Perth. They attempted to help control her by reciting verses from the Quran and conducted the solat hajat. However, there were also claims from a few Malay students that she was possessed. They even implied that the tukang urut left something behind. The next day, after performing the solat hajat, we were informed that Nora had been diagnosed with postnatal depression and admitted to hospital. After nearly a month in hospital, Nora was discharged and has gone back to Malaysia. She was told by her doctor to rest for at least two months before continuing her studies here.
Nora’s experience is frightening for pregnant Malay postgraduate students. What happened to Nora was something new to the Western Australia Malay student community, although in the previous year the wife of a Malay postgraduate student lost her baby (she was five months pregnant) in an accident, and went back to Malaysia
83 ‘Solat hajat’(wish prayer or supererogatory prayer) is usually carried out alone in isolation or sometimes is carried out with larger numbers in attendance when faced with problems or to fulfil one’s intention. 84 Postnatal depression refers to a prolonged period of depression, flattened affect, fatigue, irritability, and insomnia which begins within a few weeks of delivery and may last for months. It is viewed as a stress reaction
Malay postgraduate students preserve and maintain their religious beliefs and practices where matters of one’s soul are concerned. Even though gila meroyan also existed in the Malay traditional society, there is also a tendency for a few Malays to conclude that its occurrence has something to do with the tukang urut. In this matter, I myself am not suggesting or denying the existence of the unseen elements in life. However, in the context of being a Malay and a Muslim, there are some contrasting views that remain and are not viewed as a religious issue among the Malays, but are instead seen as conventional beliefs most commonly found in traditional Malay society. In Malaysia, since the government improved modern health care facilities, the demand for tukang urut has declined. However, there are still a few tukang urut who service new mothers and the elderly.
Besides trying to negoatiate their lives without compromising their culture, adat and religion, there is also the issue of encountering difficulties in the new environment. The most common difficulties experienced by the Malay students were negative remarks and unfair treatment from locals and other ethnic groups due to their religious identity. Very few informants indicated that their difficulties were related to them being Malay. The terms difficulties and ‘negative remarks’ were used by the informants in relating to their experiences, as accords with the practice of speaking berlapik-lapik, but I will analyze these experiences in terms of the analytical frames of racism and Islamophobia. In the next section I highlight some of the difficulties recalled by Malay postgraduates in their new environment. This includes the various forms of racism relating to their ethnic identity, religious identity or their regional identity.
166 Encountering Difficulties: Negative Remarks and Treatment
Ethnically prejudicial remarks are one form of negative treatment faced by the Malays. Prejudice can be defined as ‘an opinion about an individual, group, or phenomenon that is developed without proof or systematic evidence. The prejudgement may be favourable but is more often unfavourable and may become institutionalized in the form of a country’s laws or customs’ (Barker 2003, p. 372). Burke (1997) has conducted a survey among international students at the University of New South Wales (Sydney) and commented that students experienced lower levels of personal discrimination on campus, but were subjected to ‘some racial harassment of an impersonal and anonymous kind’ off campus. As reported by Pool (1965) in the case of foreign students in the United States, those coming from countries that are relatively similar to the United States, that is, other Western nations, differ in their adjustment patterns from those students from countries less similar to the United States, that is, non-Western nations (including those in Asia). Although Malay postgraduate informants experienced negative remarks or actions, mostly off campus in Western Australia, they have confronted the situation well, as revealed by the different situations below.
I] have seen and heard a lot [of negative remarks and actions]. Sometimes it happens to me. I felt that if I were a white person, I think I would not be treated that way. But, since I am an outsider, it happened to me. One day at a shop, I do not really know [the local culture], and I bought some groceries for my house. When I approached the paying counter, I did not know that we are supposed to take out the things from the basket and put it on the conveyer. So, I just put the basket on the conveyer [without taking the things out first]. Then, the cashier just took the basket and pours everything out from the basket [on the conveyer] and everything just fall out at that time, luckily all on the conveyer. But the way it was done was so harsh. The cashier looked angrily at me, but I was not aware about that [having to take things out and put them on the conveyer]. Even so if I was wrong, would it be so difficult to tell me nicely? I would have accepted that. But, please do not treat us with disrespect. I guess if it was a white person, fair skin, blonde hair and etc, they would not dare to act that way.
(Translated interview excerpts with Rafi)
Rafi felt the way he did because he is Malay, and in Malay culture one normally pointed out others’ mistakes in a gentler manner regardless of whether the incident is favourable or unfavourable. According to Ahmad, another informant, the negative treatment is more obvious, if one’s appearance identifies one as Muslim. He was referring to his experience of his wife being treated with harsh remarks. Interestingly, according to
167 Ahmad, fewer Malay male students encountered racist remarks compared to female students. This has much to do with the Malay female students’ sartorial appearance (i.e. wearing a headscarf), which instantly identifies them as Muslim.
[M]y wife wears the head scarf. Sometimes when we went to Coles, and she wanted to pay for the things, the cashiers were reluctant to greet us; obviously, they looked at us and felt they had to be too friendly. I did not encounter this situation perhaps because by looking at me nobody knew that I a Muslim. Instead, people think I am Asian. There was one time when we were looking for houses to rent, and we drove to a suburb we were not very familiar with, around Welshpool. There, we had a few youngsters driving a car and trying to scare us by driving their car towards us on the right side of the road. When we look at them, they just swayed their car away, sort of wanting to hit us. My wife was with me. That was a minor incident, no harmful events, but has caused a lot of stress to us; probably, that was the obvious reason [trying to scare Sham and his wife].
(Interview excerpts with Ahmad)
The idea of ‘Islamophobia’ could be best associated to the situation encountered by Ahmad’s wife. The term Islamophobia first emerged in Great Britain to describe an intense fear or dislike of Muslims (Runnymede 1997). Islamophobia is a contemporary form of cultural racism that refers to the marginalisation or exclusion of Muslims based on their cultural and religious differences (Birt 2006, p.48). Islamophobia has been prevalent especially since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Even though Muslims are composed of culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse groups of people, Islamophobia does not arise from any unfavourable personal experiences with Muslims, and it is not an individual fear. Instead, individuals (particularly in US society) accept and internalise the negative stereotypical portrayals of Islam and Muslims, and these depictions eventually become an integral part of social and individual memory that generates Islamophobic attitudes (Gottschalk and Greenberg 2008, p. 5). A survey conducted following the September 11 attacks revealed that Australians’ knowledge of Islam is based on stereotypes that associate Muslims with intolerance of other religion, fanaticism, fundamentalism, militancy and misogyny (Dunn 2006).
Dei (1992) noted that international students can be exposed to discrimination and racism, as exemplified by Rafi and Ahmad. Some Australian students appeared to harbour deep prejudices and resentment against Asian international students (Pryor 2009), while international students have also expressed disillusionment after failed
168 attempts to integrate with Australian students (Das & Jensen 2008). Ward, Bochner & Furhman (2001) felt that it is not suprising that international students’ physical, psychological and even- academic performance can be affected by their adjustment challenges. This could be a result of sudden loss of all familiar signs and symbols in their everyday life (Oberg 1960).
Barkdull et al. (2011), in their research upon the experiences of Muslims in four Western Countries Post-9/11 (Argentina, Australia, Canada and the United States), tried to gain an understanding of Muslims experiences with prejudice and discrimination following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.Interestingly, their findings revealed that in Argentina the Muslims there did not believe they were perceived differently after 9/11 or they had personally suffered discrimination either. Instead for Muslims in Australia, Canada and the United States in general, life pre 9/11 was considered more manageable and they weremore able to ‘just to be ourselves’, but everything changed after 9/11 (Barkdull et al. 2011, p. 144). Muslims were reportedly stigmatized after 9/11, and incidents of verbal harassment (racial slurs), discrimination related to travel, discrimination related to employment and threats and vandalism were common. However, it was found that Muslim were most likely to encounter prejudice and discrimination in the United States, whereas Australian Muslims have had it easier than American Muslims (Barkdull et al. 2011, p. 145-146). Also, in their findings, Barkdull et al (2011) revealed that the male Muslims were likely to be identified as Muslim because of their names, skin colour, or beards, while Muslim women were generally more identifiable by dress.
In my Western Australian sample Hani, Raha and Wani recalled their experiences in relation to negative remarks and actions that indirectly affected their efforts to adapt to their new environment. According to Hani:
[T]here was a time when one house down the road [where Hani was renting a house] was converted into temporary accommodation for problematic kids. Therefore, the kids were already problematic. When they saw us, the only family who was not Mat Salleh, and I wear a head scarf, they victimized us and always attacked our house. They didn’t attack in that way [attacking them personally], but for example, in the middle of the night they came and shook our front door. Then, our car windows were broken, things like that. There were other houses, but they do not attack them. Maybe my car glass was broken by drunken people, I cannot say, because the traffic was quite busy there. However, their racist remarks are clear for sure, like they said, ‘you bloody Muslim’. So, they said all
169 that stuff about Muslims, which was obviously pointed at us, since we were the only Muslim family there. But we just ignored them. When they passed our house, and they saw us coming out of our car, they would shout and say bad stuff. But, we just went into the house. However, since the problematic teenagers have been moved to another place, we have not faced more similar experiences.
(Translated interview excerpts with Hani)
Hani was faced with negative remarks due to her Muslim identity, but she ignored them. Eventually, Hani managed to overcome the situation well. Her successful adjustment to this situation is dependent on her ability to understand the verbal or non-verbal levels of behaviour showed by the hosts (see also Brein & David 1971). Her ability to understand this could be related to her length of stay, which is an important dimension in the process of adjustment for international students, with discomfort usually reducing as the new culture becomes more familiar (Adler 1975; Ward, Okura, Kennedy & Kojima 1998; Ward & Rana-Dueba 1999).
Raha recalled her experience with her Bangladeshi friend on having to deal with negative remarks due to being Asian.
[I] had an experience with my Bangladeshi friend when we were on a train. One problem in Australia is, having to deal with people who are drunk. We were coming back from Perth. There was a group of teenagers making noises and saying things to us because we were wearing the headscarf. I told her to just move away from them and ignore them. I am used to them [drunk people] saying bad things, like you Asians. I also have a Chinese friend, an undergraduate who told me that her roommate, an Aussie, always said to her, ‘Go back to your bloody China’ or ‘Go back to your bloody Asia’. I think that is why I seldom go out.
(Translated interview excerpts with Raha)
The situation highlighted by Raha relates to how international students’ geographical background, Asia, is an important factor influencing their adjustment and social interaction. Major (1965), in his review on international students living in the United States, found that European students, in contrast to Asian students, while in the United States, had more social interactions with Americans. Similarly, American students in Europe reported more social interactions with host nationals than did Americans in
170 Asia. However, the degree of social interaction was not related to the social, political, or economic interests and attitudes of the students (Goldsen, Suchman, & Williams 1956).
Wani also faced a similar experience having to deal with negative remarks about her Asian identity with a local student.
[I] have some experience, but it is not that significant because I believe it is because of one's personality, and I do not generalize about it. I used to share a house with two other students [non-Malays]. One always said to me, ‘Here is not Malaysia, so please open the window when you cook’, something like that. Sometimes, if I received more of those remarks, it made me feel uneasy. Like once she said, ‘This is not your country'. It was a strong remark, and I could not stand it. I confronted her and said, ‘I never said anything about your country, just respect me as you do others’. She is an Aboriginal. However, it might have been different if it is [a] white Australian. I do not feel easy when I got those kinds of remarks. I never experienced this with any other Australian except her. She did say something about my Indian house mate as well. She said she does not like Indians. I told her, you cannot say that to others. Just maybe because of one person, she generalizes to everyone, which was not good. However, the main point is whatever you face in your daily life, you need to confront and do not get angry, but try to make them [others] understand. This is not because of you being Malay, Chinese, Indian or Australian, but because you cannot make a generalization because of one person only.
(Interview excerpts with Wani)
Gardner (1962), using a sociological approach, discussed how social interaction between individuals from countries whose social systems are in different phases could result in numerous misunderstandings, with consequent difficulties in social personal adjustment (see also Riesman, Glazer, and Denny 1955; Zeleznik 1957). Therefore, Wani and her housemate (the Aboriginal woman) from different cultures when interacting with each other had developed misunderstandings and misinterpretations of each other’s behaviour as a result of differences in their perception of social behaviours (Triandis, Vassiliou, and Nassiakou 1968). The difficulty in adapting to a new culture and environment could also occur for Westerners dealing with Asians.
In relation to these negative encounters, Miller and Brenda (2000) stated that in a situation where students are undergoing a period of social adjustment, they can experience a range of negative responses. Poyrazli et al. (2001) also noted that adjustment problems are more likely to occur when students live and work in a culture different from their own. In other words, in order to make an adjustment to their new
171 life and new identity, the Malay postgraduate students also have to deal with the pressures of their new role and behavioural expectations, as well as social and cultural differences. However, all my informants asserted their Muslim identities in their own unique ways, as discussed earlier. Among these are their belief in the Islamic concepts of ‘tawakal’, ‘hikmah’, ‘Insyaallah’ and ‘Alhamdullillah’. The common reference to these Islamic words indicates that regardless of the nature of the situation or problem faced, everything is in the hands of God. Concepts intrinsic to the Malay culture and adat such as budi’, ‘berlapik-lapik’, ‘beradab’ and the many Malay proverbs guide the everyday lives of the students during their time in Australia, as discussed in the earlier part of this chapter.
Chapter Summary
Education in a new cultural context can be a rich and exciting experience. This experience is constrained by unfamiliarity, not only with the academic procedures, but also with the social and cultural environment, and the two aspects tend to affect each other (Novera 2004). Throughout this chapter I have provided some insights into the Malay students’ social lives. I have explored how the Malay students have to deal with the idea of leaving their comfort zones in pursuing their study overseas and adjusting to a new environment. I have categorized the students dealing with these changes into two groups, the experienced Malay cosmopolitan and the fresh Malay cosmopolitan. I explored the idea of reciprocity as ‘starting mechanism’ (Gouldner 1960) in the process of adaptation, since the idea of reciprocity as practised in Malay culture helped many of the informants to initiate social interaction in the early phase of their time in Western Australia and assisted them to develop an understanding of different cultural norms.
This idea of reciprocity applied by the Malay postgraduate students is further explained in relation to how they initiate their student identities in the new context, for example when dealing with supervisors, colleagues or others. In the process, the Malay postgraduate students are bound to face positive and negative experiences in their process of adjustment, such as in finding suitable accommodation, identifying where to get halal foods, in dealing with the weather and in exploring ways to spend their leisure time. However, in the process of engaging in their life experience with reciprocity in mind, they are also constantly remembering and applying their Malay culture/adat and religion in their life. This could be related to my earlier statement that Malay culture is
172 bulwarked by Islamic religious values. As long as the prevailing Malay cultural/adat practices are not against their religious practice, Islamic and community-oriented rituals like cukur jambul (shaving or tonsure of hair), kenduri (feast) and solat hajat (supererogatory prayer expressing an intention or vow) continue to be practised by the Malay postgraduate students
In the process of engaging with their new environment, the Malay postgraduate students also revealed that they encountered negative remarks and discrimination, particularly the women. They expressed the need to face these experiences with patience and positivity. In general, Malay postgraduates try their best to face such incidents through aversion, not generalizing negative experiences to a whole group, and trying to view it as part and parcel of being outside their comfort zone. In order to understand the adjustment difficulties of an individual, it would be necessary to relate specific background factors, personality traits, and situational factors to the communication process (Brein & David 1971). Malay-Muslim postgraduate students may know how to communicate effectively in their new environment, but they may not be able to either accept or reconcile the differences between cultures. Constant interactions and communications with other Malays gave tremendous support to the Malay postgraduate students when faced with trying experiences upon and after their arrival.
I have also shown in this chapter how constant interpersonal communication among the Malay postgraduate students contributes significantly to their adjustment to everyday life in Western Australia and also the adjustment of their Malay-Muslim student identities. Hall (1959) stated that the greatest confusions in intercultural communication can be traced to a failure to interpret correctly the subtle cues that precede and surround a verbal communication. Hall also suggested that a person may understand the actual spoken message, but may be totally unaware of the nonverbal messages conveyed on the unconscious level, which need to be discovered by outsiders through analyses of nonverbal behavioural patterns, but are understood tacitly among insiders. The next chapter will then highlight the significance of interpersonal communication in Malay postgraduate students’ life and identity adjustment.
173 CHAPTER 6 Significance of Interpersonal Communication: Contributions to Malay Students’ Life and Identity
‘The meanings we exchange by speaking and by writing are not given in the words and sentences alone but are also constructed partly out of what our listeners and our readers interpret them to mean.’ - Scollon & Scollon (2001, p. 7)
Introduction
The previous chapters have shown interpersonal communication to be one of the most significant factors in developing closeness and ongoing contact among Malay students in Western Australia. In this chapter I would highlight how thriving interpersonal communication among Malay students facilitates their process of adaptation in terms both of their transition to a new culture and place and of their continuing cultural practice. Malay students’ adaptability can be seen in how they are able to suspend or change the behaviours they commonly practise in their native culture and learn to accommodate to new cultural ways and find ways to manage their dynamic cultural differences and unfamiliarity (Kim 1991, p. 268).
This chapter will explore further the significance of interpersonal communication in contributing to the Malay student’s life and identity in formal or informal functions held in Western Australia. I will look into situations that show how interpersonal communication is enforced in Malay postgraduate student life, for example in their communication and interactions with other Malays, other Muslims, other Asians and the broader spectrum of Western Australians. I will discuss how the use of the Malay language realizes functions in providing a sense of bonding, security, community surveillance, socializing, emotional support and policing among the Malay students. The informants revealed how each communication encounter involving one of these four other categories differs in intimacy and openness. Some interactions, as I pointed out earlier, are not friendly and create uneasiness. In other words, as pointed out in the discussion of Hartley (1974) in Chapter 2, communication involves not only techniques, but also attitudes and beliefs.
174 Interpersonal communication between the Malay postgraduate students occurs at various levels and places. I have identified the three most frequent situations for interpersonal communication among Malay postgraduate students as being through mutual encounters, at public places, and at gatherings (formal or informal). Each encounter reveals a different form of reaction and also contributes to the Malay postgraduate students’ sense of their Malay or Muslim identity. As Goodacre & Follers (1987, p. 10) put it, people have to be able to communicate to function in a society, and communication enables them to satisfy their needs. These needs include environmental control, self-identity, personal enjoyment and social participation.
Enforcing Interpersonal Communication: Between Malays and Others
The Malays are Muslims and as Muslims they participate in certain universality by belonging to a world of religion having a universal system of values. My discussion will ascertain what the characteristics of these values are and how interpersonal communication contributes to instilling and sustaining these values in Malay identity. While communication is repeatedly referred to in most studies as a social interpersonal process, much of this research seems to remove the interpersonal communication variables from their social settings. According to Hymes (2003), setting refers to the time and place where interpersonal communication took place or in general refers to the physical circumstances during communication. In other words, in relation to the social life of the same person in the same social setting, one may redefine their interaction as a changed type of scene like from formal to informal, from serious to festive, or the like (Hymes 2003, p. 41).
Malay students are continually in contact with each other. According to Kim (1994), communication, the process of encoding and decoding verbal and non-verbal information, is central to the intercultural adaptation process. It is only through communication that strangers can come to learn the significant symbols of one’s culture and thereby successfully organize one’s own and others’ orientations (Kim 1994, p. 394). In other words, in addition to the use of the Malay language in their daily conversations, non-verbal communication also serves a number of purposes, depending upon the context in which it is utilized. The term non-verbal is commonly used to distinguish all forms of human communication that are not controlled by the spoken word. Among its obvious functions, non-verbal communication replaces speech,
175 complements the spoken word, emphasizes parts of verbal messages, helps to regulate the flow of communication between the speaker and listener and defines acceptable patterns of behaviour in a variety of social settings (Hargie & Dickson 1981, pp. 18-23). In other words, some of the ‘signal acts’ included in non-verbal behaviours are gazing, postural rigidity, vocal cues such as sighing or groaning, smiling and looking at one’s watch and indirect body orientation such as crossed arms and body blocks (Knapp & Daly 2002, p. 247).
Communication is obviously very important in many situations involving the differences between groups. According to Hartley (1999), one’s willingness to resolve whatever conflicts that occur during communication should be taken into account. In some cases, one’s unwillingness to resolve conflict in communication can make matters worse by creating an ‘us–them’ attitude, which is not usually conducive to effective communication. Therefore, a casual remark may be interpreted as condescending, and the spiral of discrimination starts (Hartley 1999, p. 220). In establishing their relationships with other Malays, other Muslims, other Southeast Asians and the locals, Malay postgraduate students have felt the need to develop an impression of themselves as Malay-Muslims and not just Muslims. They felt the social perception of moderate Malay-Muslims could particularly influence their communication process (Figure 6.1 below). Hartley’s model of Interpersonal Communication reveals the basic components involved in the process of interpersonal communication between two persons. However, in considering communication through broader social context, one also needs to think about other components in each group, like social norms, social rules, social relationships, physical environment and social environment (Hartley 1999, p. 80).
176 Figure 6.1: Hartley’s Model of Interpersonal Communication
Source: Hartley (1999, p. 33)
Here, I attempt to relate interpersonal communication to Malay postgraduate students’ efforts to adjust, dilute or embrace their Malay-Muslim identity as their socially approved identity. Goffman (1959, 1971b) has used the word ‘face’ to describe one’s socially approved identity. He argued that each person can be viewed as a kind of playwright that creates roles that he or she wants others to believe and, as the performer, acts out these roles. Therefore, I will highlight the various issues and settings with which Malay students engage through their mutual encounters, meetings in public places or social gatherings. This will be reviewed in relation to their decision on whether to adjust or maintain their Malay-Muslim identity in their daily culture and practice in Western Australia. Based on Hartley’s (1999) interpersonal communication model, I have constructed another model to explain how the Malay postgraduate students are enacting their communication (Figure 6.2 below). Figure 6.2 exemplified how Malay postgraduate students when enforsing their interpersonal communication will consider their culture/adat or religion in view of making adjustment or diluting or embracing their identity when communicating with other Malays, other Muslims, Asians or the others.
177 Figure 6.2 Enforcing Interpersonal Communication in Considering Identity among Malay Students Overseas
In accordance with what Volet and Ang (1998) suggested in their study, Malay postgraduate students are more content to interact with other Malay-Muslim students or peers of the same background, as communication is easier. These interactions provide them with emotional support and help them to develop and maintain their sense of identity. As mentioned in my Chapters Four and Five, this has much to do with the ability to use a restricted code with fellow Malays. Bernstein (1964, p. 58) noted that in the use of a restricted code the social relations involved will be of an ascribed status form located usually (but not always) in religious social structure. How this interpersonal aspect of communication is regulated with other Malays, other Muslims, Asians and the others will be discussed next.
Between Malays and Other Malays
Malay postgraduate students encounter people from different ethnic groups in the everyday experiences of their daily lives, for example when engaging one-on-one with friends for personal reasons, when engaging in study groups, when teaching, meeting with supervisors and interacting with others. Therefore, Malay students (like other international students) have their own characteristic repertoire of face-saving practices, drawn from a broader framework of possible practices (Goffman (1967). Here, face87 is used by Malay students in terms of persons and societies, not just individuals, in their encounters with other Malays and the others. In exploring Malay students’ mutual
87 The term saving face is known as‘jaga air muka’ in Malaysia. 178 encounters, the students are the ‘perceived self’, the person they believe themselves to be at that moment. While it may not be accurate in every respect, the perceived self is in contrast to the ‘presenting self’, which is a public image – the way the person wants to appear to others (Adler 2007, pp. 69-70). In other words, while a speaker may monitor his/her words; he/she is less able to consciously control non-verbal (signaling) behaviours. In face-to-face encounters, we re-establish eye contact with the listener at periodic intervals to verify whether we are being perceived as we wish to be perceived. If not, certain adjustments in our self-presentation are in order (Harris & Rubinstein 1975, pp. 254-55). When a question was raised on the importance of interpersonal communication among other Malays or with students of the same ethnic group and background, Mas answered:
[C]ommunication among Malays is important. If it does not occur, we will start to ‘cair’ [melt/dilute] eventually because we do not have someone to talk to. It also depends on situations. Even a simple hello and greetings (salam) is good enough. (Translated interview excerpts with Mas)
Mas’s experience highlights the importance of interpersonal communication among Malays. Mas’s statement about how Malays start to ‘melt’ (i.e. dilute) if they do not communicate with other Malays highlights the importance of communication among Malays. Mas’s idea of ‘melting’ is substantially related to the symbolic idea of people losing their sense of ‘Malayness’ or Malay identity if they do not communicate with other Malays. For Bauman (2000), ‘melting’ is due to new experiences, involving instantaneous communication and global travel, through which a new, more flexible or fluid social condition is produced. He terms this condition ‘liquid modernity’ (in contrast to the relative stability of the old ‘solid’ containers of nation, class and ethnicity), and extends the ‘liquid’ metaphor to characterize the ‘melting’ of collective identity.
Here, ‘melting’ could occur if someone engaged in practices that were in conflict with Malay or Islamic norms, practices, culture or way of life. This practice among others refers to the practice of praying and fasting as a Muslim or practising Malay customs in their everyday life, revolving around the use of the Malay language, appropriate consumption and what is considered proper behaviour. In contemporary societies, self- identity has to be created and re-created on a more active basis than in the past (Giddens
179 1999, p. 65). Therefore, interpersonal communication can be regarded as a platform for ensuring proper cultural and religious practices among Malay students overseas.
What is implied in Mas’s situation is how interpersonal communication with other Malays provides a surveillance function, as well as socializing her. As stated by Laswell (1948, p. 51), ‘communication processes in society perform three functions: (a) surveillance of the environment, disclosing threats and opportunities affecting the value position of the community and of the component parts within it; (b) correlation of the components of society in making response to the environment ; (c) transmission [socializing] of the social inheritance’.
Ahmad highlighted the use of a restricted code to construct and maintain solidarity among Malays, hence aiding in identity maintenance and reinforcement:
[I] feel more comfortable when I am with my own ethnic group, since we can converse in Malay. Other people cannot understand our jokes and things like that. However, one good thing that I realized after talking with so many [other Malays] over the years is that Malays tend to cut short certain words [in daily conversation], but in English it has to be said properly. For example, ‘Where do you want to go? ‘Kau nak gi na’ [in Malay], we just use the end of it [each word], like ‘gi na?’ [Cut short from pergi mana? or where are you going?]. We would obviously make the Indonesian people feel very weird [since Indonesian language and Malay language are similar in some ways]; they will not understand why we have cut short certain words. That is one good thing when we try to talk to other Malays. We can talk faster and our ideas are delivered faster, especially when we are making jokes. With the others, not that I have problems with them, it is just that sometimes, if you want to make jokes about the Australian culture, you have to understand the Australian first, then you can make jokes. Sometimes they make jokes with [by referring to] various kinds of things around. So if you do not know the current issues, it is hard to understand them.
(Interview excerpts with Ahmad)
Ahmad felt that his interactions with other Malay students were highly pleasurable and comfortable because they would understand him, understand his jokes, understand the truncated words he used (which are not understood by other ethnic groups/language speakers), even those (like the Indonesian) who converse in a language similar to Malay. The sentences and the words Ahmad used are commonly understood in daily conversation with other Malays, but one cannot find them in the dictionary. It is
180 commonly considered as conversational language among the Malays only, involving restricted codes.
Ahmad believes that when he interacts with other Malays, he can express his thoughts more quickly compared to with his other friends from other ethnic groups. Making jokes with his Australian friends was difficult for him. As Ahmad has indicated, even humour and jokes can be considered labels of group identity in their communicative actions, which are related and yet sufficiently different to earn themselves specific terms (Brock 2008). Therefore, the interpersonal communication that exists between Ahmad and his other Malay friends, through the jokes they care share based on mutual language, cultural and political understandings, contributes to the ongoing conversation between them. These mutual understandings are less common with other ethnic groups.
In relation to usage of the restricted code highlighted by Ahmad, speech or communication with other Malays is ‘played out against a backdrop of assumptions common to the speakers, against a set of closely shared interests and identifications, against a system of shared expectations’ (Bernstein 1964, p. 60). Therefore, Ahmad presupposes that when communicating with other Malays it reduces the need for him to elaborate his intent verbally or to make it explicit to his fellow Malays. It is more likely that the structure of the speech will be simplified and the vocabulary drawn from a narrow range (Vygotsky 1939; Sapir 1931; Malinowski 1923). The concept fits perfectly with Ahmad’s interpretation in the excerpt regarding shortening of expressions when Malays speak with each other.
Another informant, Rafi, revealed his opinion on the policing or surveillance function involved when communicating with other Malays. Rafi expected other Malays to keep him in line with regard to religious observances, Malay culture and others’ feelings. He also expected to do the same for others. According to him:
[I] think we need to communicate with other Malays. It is very important. If not, we might not know that at some point when we make mistakes but do not realize it. So, we need someone [other Malays] to remind us. Other people might hesitate to tell us, unless they are of the same ethnicity and religion with us. Occasionally, they do remind us, but most prefer to keep quiet. It is all up to the individual. Even in Malaysia, people seldom remind us about these things because [most Malays feel that] we need to take care of other people’s feelings. Instead, in Islam itself, it is a good act to remind each other. However, even though the Malay remembers that, I have to consider the proper way [according 181 to the Malay culture] to remind others [other Malay-Muslim] to make sure I do not hurt their feelings, and hopefully these things will come back to us one day.
(Translated interview excerpts with Rafi)
Rafi felt that interacting with other Malays would assist Malay-Muslims to maintain and uphold their ethnic and religious identity. He felt that by interacting with other Malay- Muslim students he would be reminded of his mistakes or lack of attention to various issues in his life. Here, Rafi revealed his expectation of reciprocity with other Malays. He explained that Malays are of the same ethnic group and religion; therefore they would understand each other’s culture and practices. Even if one Malay-Muslim needed to remind another Malay-Muslim about an inappropriate action (for Malay-Muslims), they have to know how to relate this admonition in a proper Malay way. This would involve telling the person in a polite and indirect way, to avoid sounding harsh and risking hurting their feelings. In other words, Malays would opt for a softer approach to remind or to signal other Malay-Muslims about their mistakes or wrong doing. They are not too happy to use a more direct approach, which they attribute to most Westerners. Rafi considered his communication with other Malays as a reminder, having a policing function for him in the new environment. In regard to their cosmopolitanism, the reminder and policing functions that are present from their everyday conversation will restrict their identity transformation.
Lailawati Mohd Salleh (2005) also suggested that in making requests, Malays are generally indirect. It would appear impolite to make a request outright, so Malays talk around what they intend to convey in the hope that their message is understood. This could explain what Rafi meant by the ‘proper way’. As Cohen (1985, p. 69) puts it, people (like the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students) become aware of their culture when they encounter other cultures, or when they become aware of other ways of doing things. Such awareness becomes a precondition for the valuing of their communication culture and community. For example, ‘patience’ has one equivalent in Malay, which is ‘sabar’, but has twenty-six synonyms in English (Random House Roget’s Thesaurus 2001). It is not that ‘sabar’ has only one meaning in the Malay language, but the relevant meaning in any interaction lies within the context of the word used.
182 Another informant, Linda, on the other hand, saw interpersonal communication with one’s own ethnic groups or with other Malay-Muslims students as providing a sense of security to her. She explained:
[I]nterpersonal communication gives you a sense of security when away from home. I think they are like your big family. By keeping in touch with your own ethnic group, you feel a sense of support through them. So, it is like maintaining your interpersonal communication with other Malays. I would say that may be preserving your ethnic identity, and things like, that are an outcome of the things [interpersonal communication] rather than of your intention. I have a strong feeling that people come together to have the sense of security and social support. Doing a PhD in three years is a challenge; if you do not have real support, you can simply feel lost in your own journey. To have face-to-face communication, to let things out, to whine, to let it all out--it really helped to have this circle of friends to help and to listen, but again, it depends on your personality. (Translated interview excerpts with Linda)
Linda had pursued her Masters in the United Kingdom and is now completing her Doctorate here. Her previous experience living overseas provided her with insights into the importance of interpersonal communication for students’ sense of togetherness. First, she claimed that her ethnic identity was preserved because of her communication with other Malays. Second, Linda’s engagement with other Malays provided a form of emotional support for her when facing the outside world. Finally, her encounters with other Malay friends and the ability to share her feelings suggest that her Malay friends would have felt and expected the same from Linda. Ting-Toomey (1999, p. 13) pointed out that within our own group, we experience safety, inclusion and acceptance. Therefore, the need to share something similar propels us to identify with salient membership groups and enables the general process of group-based inclusion. However, some of my informants also developed close bonds with non-Malay students who were doing their PhDs, with whom they either shared a room or studied a similar course or topic. However, no one indicated that having the same supervisor was a factor in establishing friendships.
Anni, a postgraduate student in agriculture, was constantly communicating with her Malay-Muslims friends in Malaysia for advice and support. Anni explained:
183 [I] still contact my friends in Malaysia. They are the ones with whom I did my Masters and who were RAs [Research Assistants]. When I was down, they helped me a lot. So, I still contact them and ask them to ‘doa’ (pray) for me. When I had problems here, I called and asked them for advice or guidance. I felt a little shy to ask people here, even though I do sometimes. I felt it was better to ask my friends first [if there were questions related to her studies]. Sometimes I think maybe because they are Malays and Malaysian, so they would better understand the problems we face here. When I told them something, they would agree with me and told me that it is how things are over here. At least there are people who can listen and agree with us. So, we will find people who could understand us better.
(Translated interview excerpts with Anni)
Anni tries to save face by not seeking advice from students in Western Australia with her. She assumed that by asking her friends in Malaysia, she would not be looked down upon for forgetting the basic knowledge of soil calculation. Anni felt that if she were to consult her non-Malay peers in Western Australia, they might look down on her, and she would not feel good about it. She also highlighted that she constantly kept in touch with her friends and requested them to pray (doa) for her success. Meanwhile, her friends in Malaysia felt that their assistance would be highly gratifying to Anni, since Anni is pursuing her study overseas. It is common for Malays to feel content when their friends study overseas. The continuous communication between Anni and her friends is considered an important factor in asking for their assistance. Without constant communication, Anni would feel hesitant to ask for their help.
Her statement about finding people who understand us better showed her tendency to look for Malays first for support rather than people of different culture or ethnic background. In other words, by using her mother tongue, she affirmed her attachment to her family and community (Meinhof & Galasinski 2005). It enabled her to express her innermost feelings (her ‘true’ self) and emotions with those closest to her – her friends from the same in-group. It is arguable here that globalization not only has led to an increase in border-crossing but also intensifield transnationalism. In Anni’s case, time- space compression, internet, and e-mail have brought Anni’s ‘home’ within easy reach wherever she stays in the world. Therefore, the border-crossers today carry their imagined communities with them to an even greater degree than before and actively use these new communications opportunities in constructing and maintaining their identities despite social dispersion (Madsen & Naerssen 2003, p. 68).
184 Azam, on the other hand, disclosed a different experience in relation to his mutual encounters with other Malay students. He saw interpersonal communication with other Malays as a way to provide continuous advice and ‘teguran’ (admonishments) about how to act properly as a Malay-Muslim when overseas. This relates again to the policing functions that exist during communication. According to Azam:
[C]ommunication is important to help us to be remorseful [repent] if we have done something wrong. If we have good communications with other Malays, and we have attempted something against Malay-Muslim practice, we have to consider who we are. If we think that people do not know us or do not want to advise us, then we could do whatever we want, which is considered improper. We know Malay culture does not permit us to do certain things. If our friends [Malays] criticize us about something, of course, we would not do it. However, if we do not know any Malays, maybe we would dare to do it. Therefore, I think, mixing with other Malays makes us more cautious. Also, we may withdraw from doing the things that are against Malay culture.
(Translated interview excerpts with Azam)
From Azam’s point of view, the lack of communication with other Malays will eventually lead him or other Malay students to do things that are against Malay- Muslim culture and practice. The policing function here works against the possibility of transformation of identity for Azam. However, this experience could be articulated according to the ‘looking-glass self’ hypothesis of Mead (1934), which argues that one of the most important ways we come to know ourselves is through the reactions of others to us. Crocker and Quinn (2003) suggested that in order to interact smoothly and effectively with others, we need to anticipate how others will react to us. Those others may be either the specific individuals with whom we are interacting, or a generalized view of how most people see us. Azam also believed that Malay students will not do things that are considered improper for Malays to avoid being embarrassed or humiliated or losing face (Brown & Levinson 1987, p. 61). In other words, most people desire to maintain and defend their own self-image.
Azam’s first language, Malay, has served as an important identity marker (Zuengler 1989). As suggested by Ting-Toomey (2005, p. 218), ‘[as] individuals in all cultures or ethnic groups have the basic motivation needs for identity security, inclusion, predictability, connection, and consistency on both a group-based and person-based identity level, too much emotional insecurity (or vulnerability) will lead to fear of outgroups or unfamiliar strangers’. In relation to this, Barth (1981, p. 207) argued that 185 because identities are signalled as well as embraced, role constraints could be expected. Thus, a person would be reluctant to act in new ways out of fear that such behaviour might be inappropriate for a person of their identity. Moreover, people are quick to associate activities with particular clusters of ethnic characteristics. Religious identity is an important part of Malay students’ identity and is reinforced through continuous communication with other Malays as they carry out their Islamic beliefs and practices. This excerpt from Azam has highlighted how communications also provide a sense of security and social responsibility and act as a reminder for Malay students in Western Australia.
Between Malays and Other Muslims
Malay-Muslim postgraduate students also encounter other non-Malay-Muslims in their daily interactions. Several interviewees spoke of their encounters with other Muslim students. As Siti explained, her interactions with other Muslims (mainly from the Middle East) in the campus musolla (place to perform prayer) maintained a certain distance.
[H]ere (in Western Australia) we meet with other Muslims, and often pray at the same musolla. The Muslims we came across here were Muslims from the Middle-East. We just greet each other with ‘salam’ and that is it. We usually just sit and sometimes just watch them pray, since the way they pray is different from the way we pray.
(Translated interview excerpt with Siti)
According to Siti, besides greeting other Muslims with a salam, that is, ‘Assalamualaikum’ (peace be upon you), she also observed the different way they performed their prayer. However, what is notable here is that no further interaction occurs. Siti was not the only one who made this observation. My other informants felt the same whenever they came across other Muslims from the Middle-East. Their interactions with Asian Muslims (from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand) were more congenial. The most common reason given was language and cultural difference. Some informants stated that Muslims they met from the Middle-East were not as friendly as those from Asia. This makes it harder for them to interact more intimately, regardless of both being fellow Muslims. Siti’s experience revealed her attempt to understand and get to know other Muslims, if only at times in an unconscious
186 manner, such as observing the way they pray because it is different to the way that she is familiar with. This has to do with the different Madhab practices among Muslims, as mentioned in Chapter Four.
Another informant, Raha, recalled her encounter with an Indonesian-Muslim girl. Raha stated:
[R]eligion is very important to me and since we are in a non-Islamic country, being Muslim is more important. As a Malay, if you want to feel safe, you can seek assistance from someone you are close to and try not to isolate yourself. I once came across an Indonesian, Rita, and I went out with her. She wanted to eat KFC. I told her that I would not eat it because it might not be properly slaughtered [according to the Islamic way]. However, I was also quite aware that some people, they are not as serious about some Islamic practices as some Malays are. So I told her that she could eat it if she wanted to, but that I would not. She did not eat it that day because she was concerned about how I felt, I guess. I was not forcing her not to do so, but I was holding on to my faith. If we take for granted small things like this and we do not perform them according to our religious faith here, nobody will know and nobody cares. However, for me, it all goes back to the persons themselves. If they can feel comfortable not performing them [religious practices], then it is between that person and God.
(Translated interview excerpts with Raha)
Being in a foreign environment provided a significant trigger for Raha. Feeling different increased her appreciation of her own cultural roots, ethnic and religious identity, and, gradually, much to her surprise, she developed a more balanced, positive view of her home culture. She displayed empathy and personal growth. Instead of criticizing and rejecting other ways of communicating, she developed tolerance for others’ practices. She developed this awareness through the Islamic ideas of good and bad. At the same time, she also illustrated her understanding of different cultures, and she did not make a statement about what is right or wrong from her point of view. In addition, she agreed that some people take for granted the acceptability of overlooking religious demands when they are in a foreign environment. Thus, we see that religious beliefs appear more open to personal variation and modification. Different individuals in the same religious community may have varying beliefs on a given topic (Firth 1996, p. 15). Raha has managed to maintain her religious identity despite her encounters with people of different views from the same religion.
187 As suggested by Hall (1976, p. 92), in the attempt to understand other cultural and religious practices (even of the same religion), we should consider the amount of time and effort spent on ‘contexting’. Too much contexting takes away our focus and time from the task, but too little time spent understanding the context will result in incomplete understanding. Therefore, it is believed that the lack of interaction between the Malay-Muslims with other Muslims, especially from the Middle-East, is related to having a different language and different culture. I have suggested that different Madhab also contributes to the lack of interactions among Malay-Muslims with other Muslims but I have no further information or feedback on the matter from those other Muslims. However, I do acknowledge some cultural values and practices of other Muslims from different ethnic groups are not enacted by Malay-Muslims.
Between Malays and Members of Other Southeast Asian Ethnic Groups (Muslim and non-Muslim)
The situations discussed above indicate that Malay-Muslim postgraduate students feel at ease when they are mixing with other Malays and to a certain extent, though to a lesser degree, with other Muslims as well. One informant, Nini, revealed that Malay students are also at ease when communicating with members of other Southeast Asian ethnic groups, such as the Chinese, Indians, Thais and Indonesians. Her reasons included early educational exposure to other ethnic groups in Malaysia, as well as the similar cultures. Nini, brought up in a multi-ethnic environment claimed:
[D]ifference in ethnic groups [when engaging in interpersonal communication], some Malays will look for that first. However, for me, this may be due to my educational background, because I went to Convent School in Ipoh and even though there are lots of Malays there, they were circled by other ethnic groups. So, the exposure itself, where I myself used to have my own Malay group of friends, but I do not stick with them all the time. I used to mix. I have Chinese friends, Indian friends, and at the same time I do not limit myself to them. My husband is from Sarawak. In Sarawak the ethnic interaction is good. So, here I do not limit myself to interact only with Malays. Here, we have Chinese and also the white people. However, I do feel a bit different because of their different race. Even though it is hard to admit, it is undeniable that other races [e.g. the whites] are actually more open than our own people [the Malays]. For example, even when we are here, living overseas, sometimes we have to take care of their feelings [other Malays] more, compared to when we are in our own country [Malaysia].
(Translated interview excerpts with Nini)
188 Mutual understanding and similarity of culture with Asian friends is also an important factor for continuous interaction, as revealed by Hashim.
[S]ometimes I felt that my roommate is more aware of my Malay Muslim needs and attitude. Sometimes, the Malay themselves takes things for granted as a Malay Muslim. For example, he normally wakes me up to pray, even though he is not a Muslim. But, he was aware about the prayer time. He used to be around Malay Muslims [when he was small]. So, that is why there was no problem [about praying]. He is a Buddhist, a Kedah Siamese and is close with Malays. He applies a lot of Malay culture. He cooked curry and other Malay foods really well. (Translated interview excerpts with Hashim)
Hashim speaks well of his Malaysian Thai house mate, who he claimed sometimes can be more particular about Hashim being a Muslim. This is shown through his reminding Hashim to perform prayer and be able to cook Malay foods. Here, the understanding among the two cultures had made the interaction successful and much more positive. At this point, the difference in religion or culture is not an important issue in their successful daily interaction because both Hashim and his Thai friend are Malaysian. They share the same nationality, which is undeniably the basis of their close bond. Even though his Thai friend is not a Muslim, but he is aware of Hashim’s Malay-Muslim culture and practice. Since Hashim’s Thai friend has been brought up in a Malay environment, this helps him to understand Hashim. In Malaysia, Siamese community although is still minority as non-Muslim in Malaysia, the Siamese in Kedah are the native of Kedah and majority of the Siamese population in Kedah is Malay-Muslims, speak Kedah dialect of Malay language and some are speaking Thai language as vernacular (Kuroda 2002). In this case, Hashim’s also informed that he is aware of his friend’s Malaysian-Thai culture which has been much assimilated with the Kedah Malay culture and felt it was a good platform for him to understand his Thai house mate as much as his house-mate understands him. There are other Malay students who are also involved in communication with others, including the locals as discussed next.
Between Malays and Others (Local or Other Ethnic Groups)
The most common answers provided by my informants about their engagements or interactions with the locals or other ethnic groups was their inability to understand Australian people’s slang and culture due to Australians’ own restricted code practice. However, besides their slang and culture, my informants admitted they came to realize a 189 lot of positive things when interacting with their Australian friends. They admitted that their Australian friends are more mature and more open compared to their Malay or Asian friends. This meant they felt they did not have to worry about voicing out their opinions or giving ‘sincere’ or straightforward feedback when questioned by their Australian friends. However, most found it hard to feel at ease when interacting with their Australian friends because of their use of Australian slang. Furthermore, my informants highlighted that sometimes they still find it hard to communicate because besides English being their second language, it is also hard to translate certain Malay words into English if they need to do so. This slows down their communication process, making both parties lose interest to continue with their conversation.
On the other hand, some Malay postgraduate students were keen on their interaction with the locals. Ahmad, for example, loves his relationships with his local neighbours, and they get along really well. Each party’s ability to understand and respect the other’s culture contributed to their good relationship. Therefore, in the case of such Malays, I would characterize them as ‘rooted cosmopolitans’. This rooted-cosmopolitan idea rests on a complex tension between the particularity of local place and dwelling, on the one hand, and universalistic dispositions, on the other (Szerszynski & Urry 2006). In an example given by Ahmad, he detailed how he tried to introduce some of the Malay cultural practices to his neighbours and commented that his neighbours were sensitive and understanding of him being a Malay-Muslim.
[I]n our neighborhood, we invited our neighbours to come and join our party. Then only my family could experience the different kind of culture. Whenever we are in the month of Ramadan [Muslim fasting month], we make extra dishes and send some to them. We told them this is how our foods [Malay dishes] are prepared and how we do things over there [in Malaysia]. So, they were happy with that. This is a basically a multicultural idea, since they have lived with their Australian culture, and they knew we were Muslims. They did not release their dog when we went to their house, they tied up their dog.
Also, to my surprise, the parents of my children’s friends were very sensitive in this issue, and they understand us. In relation to my second daughter, for example, they understand that as a Muslim my daughter has to be clear about certain things [like halal food]. They would normally ask us in advance the sort of things that we can or cannot do because they wanted to be clear on the matter. Obviously, it was because their daughter would like to invite my daughter over to their house, and to get together and do things. Some of them have dogs, and some wanted to prepare foods. I was quite amazed in terms of that. They were quite sensitive on the matter and when we get together, they will put separate drinks for us, a non-alcohol beverage. So, we have juices instead and other
190 [halal] dishes like cheesecakes, and we even bought some of our own food to share with them.
(Interview excerpts with Ahmad)
Zie also feels that interacting with locals is important. She constantly seeks feedback and advice from her local friends. The feedback that she receives from them is used to familiarize herself and her children with Australian culture. Her experience in interacting and having friends of different ethnic groups in Malaysia has helped her to interact with the locals. Su feels much at ease with her local Australian friends, since she finds their culture of openness and lower sensitivity than the Malays suits her well. She feels it is hard for her to ‘jaga hati’ of her Malay friends (protect the feelings of her Malay friends), because she has to be very careful of what she says to them, especially when she has to decline their invitations for lunch or other daily matters. In that sense, she prefers the openness of her local Australian friends and their frank explanations. According to her:
[S]ometimes it was just a matter of sharing simple views, like in terms of children’s problems. I would talk to my Aussie friends and get some good ideas [feedback], so it has nothing to do with religious boundaries or whatever. It could just be a general problem. Children at this age have this problem, so it’s good to get feedback because sometimes when you get feedback, you can use that in your life. So it is important to communicate with my local friends because you cannot adapt their ideas into your framework if you don’t. I know that because when I was with my Aussie friends, we were in a group. We always hang out together in the faculty. But it was always like, ‘You wanna come? If you cannot it is fine!’ So, there was nothing in between [the words] that you need to figure out, like why is it, she was not coming, that kind of thing. You just take it as a fact that it is the person, right. If she does not want to come, then it was fine. You do not have to go on probing in one’s brain because it will become a problem to you, ‘Why was she not having lunch on that day?’ That was my experience. However, if it was your Malay friend you have to be very careful before you say no. This is because, the next time you meet her, you would have to find out why she was not your friend any more [not on talking terms]! (Interview excerpts with Zie)
Wani has a different stand on the enforcement of her Malay-Muslim identity through interaction with the locals. Wani feels that it is all up to the individual, since she has admitted she became more vocal after her undergraduate experience in the US. For her a ‘psychological’ approach is important in getting along with other people regardless of their ethnic group. As noted earlier, she admits her preference for initiating
191 conversations with others rather than waiting for others to start. This assists her in getting respect from her Australian friends. Furthermore, Wani exclaimed that if we just keep quiet and wear the headscarf, which portrays a Muslim identity, and are so rigid ourselves, then we will have a problem in having good interaction with the locals.
[Y]ou know what? People have different personalities. They are so unique. When you are dealing with them, you need to use a lot of psychology. Maybe because of my experience in my field, I do not have problems [communicating with the locals and other ethnic groups]. For example, I asked for some facilities [in relation to her study], I got it. Therefore, the way you get along with people, you have to know the importance [of communication], especially if you are here. You cannot be so rigid, but you need to be flexible. If you want people to show courtesy to you, you need to start [showing] it first. Do not wait for people to say ‘Hi!’ to you. That was what I did, I said ‘Hi!’ first to everybody. So that was why I do not have problems even though that person is someone who I was informed earlier was like this, or like that. As for me, that is okay as long as you have respect for them, and you make the initiative to say ‘Hi!’ first. Then people will respect you. But if you just keep quiet, and you are wearing a headscarf like this [by pointing to her own head], and you are so rigid, then you will have problems.
(Interview excerpts with Wani)
Another informant, Izzi has taken a different approach to interacting with the locals and other ethnic groups: Izzi plays volleyball. Curiously, he admits that he did not understand what the locals were talking about when they spoke to him, because of their use of slang. Despite this, he loves playing with them. Izzi said that he eventually communicated with them non-verbally, using hand gestures and facial expressions in tandem with speeech. As Izzi pointed out, in sports you rely more on your skill and actions than your verbal communication. In this situation fellow sport players also have their own restricted code in their communication. As long as you understand the rules of the game, and you know how to play, that is sufficient enough. It does not matter what ethnic group you belong to or the religion you espouse.
[W]hen they use the English language slang [to communicate], I totally do not understand them, especially when we are playing volleyball. So, if they talked when we were playing it was difficult to understand them. But since we were playing, we just played. For me, whatever they said that I didn’t understand didn’t matter. Every week I still went and played volleyball with the Mat Salleh because there were no Malays in the team, all locals. They are all okay. For me, it does not matter if I am Malay or Muslim, as long as I can play. I do not think they even mind.They can accept us.
(Translated interview excerpts with Izzi) 192
These accounts of the various encounters of interpersonal communication between Malay-Muslim postgraduate students and others reveal how their role relations are in perpetual flux; the expectations of each actor vary according to the situation and the other relationships maintained (Boissevain 1974, p. 4). Boissevain (1974, p. 6) suggested that people ‘fenced’ with values, modifying and selecting them to excuse or explain more venal personal motives. Humans are thus manipulators, self-interested operators, as well as moral beings. Malay-Muslim postgraduate students are constantly trying to better or maintain their position by choosing between alternative courses of their communication action. It is then impossible for Malay-Muslim students to pursue their own interests, unless they take others into account and can demonstrate that their actions in some way benefit or do not harm them. People also act in terms of values, which are important to them because they form parts of certain groups and take part in institutionalized activities with their own internal value systems to which they subscribe (Boissevain 1974, p. 8). Consequently, Malay-Muslim students do or do not do certain things, not because they believe that they will be rewarded or punished for doing so, but because they believe that it is morally right or wrong to do so. Therefore, their moral values from their Malay culture/adat and religion, as well as their social, cultural and physical environment, form the constraints within which they communicate.
Levels and Places of Encounter: Inspiring Efforts in Interpersonal Communication
In any culture, there are regular and accepted ways of getting things done, and those actions determine the range of consequences (Bailey 1969). Malay-Muslim postgraduate students, for example, felt they knew what the consequences would be when they came in contact with the other cultures. One of the ways they came to terms with the difficulties they faced in engaging in interpersonal communication was through constructing a peer or social network. Through this network, they kept in touch with each other.88 Therefore, a social network is more than a communication network, since it can influence the behaviours of members of ethnic and religious groups. Of course, the environment can also exert pressures that affect one’s behaviour, including within their ethnic groups (Boissevain 1974, pp. 25-27). These interactions can occur during mutual encounters, meeting in public places and at formal and informal gatherings.
88 I did not explore the ways in which they maintained contact within their peer networks in detail in interview. 193 Mutual Encounters
One of the ways Malay-Muslim postgraduate students network in their new environment is through meetings or mutally agreeable encounters. The idea of mutuality in this research describes the reciprocal relationship between the Malay students and others or the environment. The idea of reciprocity, as explained in Chapter Five, will be reviewed here through the lens of informants’ experiences. Reciprocity between Malay students indicates their relation to one actions, feeling or things they faced in their communication process. Their mutual encounters could come through deliberate or coincidental face-to-face encounters. Mira recalled her experience with her neighbour:
[T]here was one aspect of Malay culture that I tried to maintain here. When I was staying in Kewdale, I was very close to my neighbours, a white auntie [Australian lady] who goes to church [every Sunday] and, a Cambodian auntie who lives opposite our house. So far, we have exchanged smiles. I realized they seem to know a bit about our culture [on the concept of sharing and halal foods]. If they wanted to give us something, they would only give us raw fruits like strawberries, vegetables or apples. At the same time, when I cooked curry, for example, we would give some to her. She just loved them. The white auntie also greeted us every morning. My parent’s taught me to get to know [my neighbors] and take care of my neighbours. In this case, I have been influenced by what my parents said. A month after I arrived and settled down, my parents came to see how we were getting on. The first thing my father did after arriving at our house was knock on our neighbour’s door and say ‘Hi!’ He told them that his daughter, that is me, moved in a month ago. He always reminded us not to forget our neighbours. We should not ignore our neighbours because they might be the first person to come and help us when we are in need. At the same time, we tried not to create any bad impressions for them, since we do not know when we might need their help in the future.
(Translated interview excerpts with Mira)
Mira claimed to be very close to her neighbours. She also played the role of good neighbour by smiling at and greeting her neighbours. Mira believed her attitude to her neighbours was the outcome of her parents’ influence. Indeed, her parents’ arrival positioned her as a better neigbour because her father ‘formally’ introduced her to her neighbours. The fact that her parents reminded her to consider her neighbours influenced Mira to acknowledge the importance of her neighbours. She then constantly reminded herself about the possibility of needing their assistance in the future. Mira presented herself to her neighbours the way she wanted them to see her. Triandis (1995) has noted that people will seek different kinds of relationships (as with her neighbours)
194 and when possible ‘convert’ a relationship to the kind with which they are most comfortable. In other words, Mira could just be a part of the new culture and environment. However, the effort she made to get to know her neighbours assisted in her being treated with dignity and respect by members of the new culture, and a trusting climate was developed (Ting-Toomey 1999, p. 239). She was then able to incorporate herself through validation and inclusion of her Malay-Muslim identity in her new neighbourhood or environment.
Mira has presented represent herself in accordance to the role she was trying to live up to, how she would like to be, which has become an integral part of her self (Goffman 1959). Relating to Goffman’s (1959) idea of the presentation of self, Mira’s ‘performance’, referring to all the activity of an individual that occurs before a particular set of audience in the ‘front stage’ (in front of her neigbours), regularly defines the situation for those (her neighbours) who observe her performance. In order for Mira’s activity to become significant to her neigbours, she must mobilize her activity so that it will express during the interaction what she wishes to convey (Goffman 1959).
Ongoing contact with other Malays can be regarded as the looking glass through which the Malay students avoid doing things that would sabotage their Malay identity. Here we are reminded of the Malay expression – ‘beringat-ingat (be mindful before doing things), as one must think twice to avoid misinterpretation of those actions. According to Goffman (1959, p. 213), during social interactions, one protects one’s self and others; facework is an attempt to defend one’s self-face when it is threatened, as in the Malay expression noted earlier, jaga air muka. In addition to the notion of face by Goffman, Holtgraves (1992, p. 142) sees face as a more abstract construct that is entailed in the projection of any identity: insofar as one successfully projects any identity, one can be said to have face. Therefore, for Holtgraves (1992, p. 142), ‘face is not an objective of interaction but rather a condition for interaction’. Holtgraves’s concept fits well into the idea of ‘beringat-ingat’ during interaction, since it is considered a condition in a communication to avoid any misunderstanding. However, the level and places of encounter are not just restricted to their mutual encounters, but also continued in the public sphere.
195 Public Places
One is aware of the self as a differentiated, but organized entity, which is separate and distinct from its environment, an entity moreover that has continuity and direction, and the capacity to remain the same in the midst of change (Jacobson 1964, p. 23). In other words, when a person is in a different environment, one’s language and continuous interactions assist in maintaining their continuity in a new or different environment. One informant, Linda, recalled her experience of interactions in public places. According to Linda:
[I] think it is pretty common everywhere I went. Yesterday I went to the city. I saw a Japanese student [interacting] with Japanese. I saw a Chinese student [interacting] with Chinese. People just feel comfortable speaking their own language. They do mix around eventually, but maybe on certain occasions. However, when it comes to personal interaction, people prefer to be with their own ethnic group. Like, it is easy to communicate with Malays because you do not have to speak English with your Malay friends.
(Interview excerpts with Linda)
In Linda’s view, it is a common scenario for one to prefer to be with one’s own ethnic or cultural group. Her attitude towards the language spoken among people who share the same mother tongue relates to the context of the informal interaction that takes place. Linda’s preoccupation with ‘ingroup’ affiliation resurfaced above, illustrating the strategic and relational nature of language choices. Zuengler’s (1989) findings explained that learners may choose to use a language according to a solidarity criterion. The commonality of language generates a strong sense of solidarity in the face of language plurality (Bryceson et.al. 2007, p. 13). Fisher (1998) noted that amongst speakers of a common mother-tongue, the comfort and confidence level is high and the anxiety level is low: the interactions are informal. Linda felt that it was acceptable to use English with her peers in academic situations which were more formal.
Farhan, on the other hand, claimed always to greet someone first when encountering others even in public places:
[I]t is in my character that wherever I go, when I meet someone, regardless of their skin colour, whether similar to mine, or if they speak Indonesian, I will greet them first, as long as they are Malay and I can speak Malay with them. Once I met a Malay guy, and when I greeted him he said, ‘Sorry, mate, I don’t 196 speak Malay, but I am a Malay’. I have been good friends with him since. He is from the Cocos Islands and looks Malay. Coincidently, a few weeks later, I went to the fish market and saw a Malay couple, a Malay man and his wife. She was wearing a head scarf, like a Malaysian, so I greeted them. He told me he was from Singapore and his wife was from the Cocos Islands. To my surprise, this couple were my new friend’s [who does not speak Malay] parents.
(Translated interview excerpts with Farhan)
As these interview excepts have highlighted, Malays consider it common for people to be with others of the same ethnic background in public places. Being able to communicate with each other in their mother tongue is considered desirable and looked forward to. Furthermore, using other languages, like English, brings little comfort to their everyday interpersonal or intercultural encounter. The simple reason would be that they just cannot express the things they wish in a second language, and they wish to make sure the message or even jokes get through to the others. In this case, if some members of a society speak the dominant language (e.g., English), and others speak the minority tongue (e.g., Malay), the speaker of the nondominant language can react in three ways in different contexts: feel pressured to assimilate by speaking the dominant language, refuse to accommodate to the majority language and maintain loyalty to the ethnic tongue or engage in code-switching (Giles et al. 1992). Myers-Scotton and Ury (1977, p. 5) identified code-switching as the ‘use of two or more linguistic varieties in the same conversation or interaction’. Bernstein (1961, p. 166) suggested that social and affective factors play a role in the ‘speech mode’ adopted by the speakers.
Formal and Informal Gatherings
Another important platform for Malay students to communicate is through formal and informal gatherings. Gatherings here refer to how Malay students are brought together in some formal or informal activities either with other Malays or with others. When people come together and interact, they not only transmit their personal emotions vocally, but they also convey a sense of how they are related (Harris and Rubinstein 1975, p. 263). Malay students regulate their contact through formal and informal gatherings to enhance their ethnic and religious identities. As Mitchell (2006) argued, religion can be a very effective facilitator of community. Aja retold her experience at one of the gatherings she attended. According to her:
197 [E]ven though we are outside our country (Malaysia), we have been socialized in our country: our culture and values are as Malays. I attended a Christmas Party function but at the time I told my husband I did not want to attend because I was concerned there would be alcohol, and I might accidentally drink it. Also, many of the foods contained wine. My husband told me not to worry and said they were all his friends at work, and they were good and understanding. So when I went there with my husband, I had my headscarf on. So most of the white people were looking and staring at me because it was a Christmas party, but I just smiled at them. In the beginning, my husband’s boss felt hesitant to talk to me. Then she finally said that she had come across Muslim women with headscarves who said they do not drink [alcoholic drinks] in front of others, but when she went to the toilet, she saw them drinking ‘that thing’ [alcoholic drinks]. Then I told her that it all depends on the depth of our beliefs. I even told her I also went swimming in our own designed swimming clothes that have head caps. After talking with her on various issues, she started to see what Islam is about, and we chatted until I left. (Translated interview excerpts with Aja)
Aja has noted some interesting issues. The first issue involved her contact with ‘Others’ at a Christmas party organized by the company where her husband worked. She hesitated to attend the party because of her concern that non-halal food and alcohol- based drinks might be served, but she was reassured by her husband. Second, at the party Aja was attuned to the way people viewed her because she wore a headscarf. Barth (1969, p. 14) continuing dichotomization between members and outsiders allows us to observe the different cultural form and content. Third, when Aja mentioned her swimming costume specifically designed for Muslim women, she was describing the adjustment of a cultural aspect within the Malay-Muslim community since before this there was no particular form of swimming costume especially for female Muslims that has to do with covering their aurat. The difference established to separate the Malays from non-Malays contributes to the maintenance of Malay group identity. Finally, the fact that this was highlighted in front of non Malays/non Muslims greatly affected the outcome of the interaction. The others’ willingness to converse with Aja reassured that her presentation as a Muslim (wearing a headscarf) and her Malay attitude in communicating with the others was accepted and not a barrier to interaction.
Hani, on the other hand, expressed the importance of networking:
[W]e need friends and networking is important. Sometimes we just do not know what to do on the weekends. When we do not have family members or relatives here, we tend to consider our close friends as our siblings. Sometimes you feel like hanging out twice a week with them for a cup of coffee and laid-back chats. 198 For me, I have small group gatherings of about four to five families that are really close to me. We met up once every fortnight. Last week someone organized a birthday party, and this was one of the reasons for the gatherings or just to hang out together. Sometimes we went on picnics: family days or company [where her husband works] gatherings. If it was not with Malays totally, normally it was with other students or the local Malay PR’s [Permanent Residents]. I know a few of the Malay PR’s families here. They are not students, but people who married locals or Malays from Christmas Island.
(Translated interview excerpts with Hani)
Hani has suggested the importance of her friends, to whom she referred as ‘siblings’. The communication between them could be seen as fulfilling a similar role to that of family in Malaysia. Hani and her close friends sometimes ‘created’ reasons for gatherings. She also managed to broaden her social network among the Malay permanent residents in Western Australia. Hani positioned herself as the centre of her networking groups with her Malay student friends and others, including the permanent residents. Hannerz (1999) argues that a considerable number of people live encapsulated among others who share many of the same experiences, ideas, values, habits and tastes. Therefore, gatherings reinforce group solidarity. For Hani, collectiveness is primarily motivated by similarities in ethnicity and religious background. Her position is that of a rooted cosmopolitan because, although she mixed well with the others, she stressed how she tends to fly back to Malaysia as often as she can to visit her parents and siblings. She still feels she is responsible for their well-being, even though she is in Australia. This means much more attention is given to the everyday subjective lives of the Malay- Muslim students, since the students continue to be locked into affiliations and obligations constructed by them. Inevitably, they remain partly dependent on the own society, despite their exposure to global influences (Kennedy 2007). In this situation, Hall’s (1959) idea of high-context culture is noted, where the communication style that exists among Malay students, where most of the information is already shared with other Malays in the society, leaves very little information in the explicit transmitted part of the message. The importance of this ‘high-context’ communication is shown through the researcher’s fieldnotes and in the comments from Halim, another respondent, referred to in the subsequent paragraph.
199 Researcher’s fieldnotes note: Scenario observed during one of researcher’s visit to an open-house during Eid-Fitri celebration in 2009
The first thing I noticed in the gathering is the various people hanging out with each other having different types of conversation. It was a lively environment with parents chatting and children running about. Since only some of us knew each other, most Malay students will start to identify themselves as being attached/sponsored by which academic institutions in Malaysia, where they are originally from (states in Malaysia) and which university they are pursuing their study. Their encounter with other students from the same state in Malaysia are more anticipated, since the language slang or is no longer a cut off point in their conversation when communicating with each other.
Some are enjoying themselves with mostly local Malay foods and cuisines made available through pot-luck basis. The idea of pot-luck was quite new to me but maybe the idea of bringing something to the house owner during visit is not something new in Malaysia. When I first arrived I have no idea what it really meant because in some occasions Malaysia, people who came to gathering or festive occasions prefer to contribute money instead. The reason could be because foods are much cheaper in Malaysia compared to here and it is easier to get ‘halal’ food everywhere, at anytime, any day or from individual caterers.
During the guest’s conversations, some things that were discussed were about children’s schooling, cost of livings, jobs, recommendation for new jobs, accomodation, house rentals and came across old friends. I met some permanent residents and also Malaysians working in Western Australia. Most of them still feel Malaysian rather than Australian, and their slang has not changed too.
I was also able to watch and listen to some basic Muslim practices being conducted during gatherings. Firstly the host invited a religious person or an ustaz to recite the doa before enjoying the foods, which is also a common sight in Malaysia. This is followed by a speech by an important guest if there are, and the radio will play some nasyid/religious songs as background musics. There will also be people wearing traditional baju kurung or baju melayu during these occasions.
Some even managed to gather some information regarding places of interests in Western Australia or activities that can be organized with new friends and collegues like camping, fishing or crabbing. Some even managed to plan to organize other activities like class for reciting Al-Quran, religious talks and religious gatherings (usrah).
Halim in his interviews pointed out that communication is a group or social phenomenon (Yngve 1975, p. 55):
[I]nterpersonal communication is important because Malay people need to communicate with each other. When we conduct gatherings, like during fasting months, the students with families here frequently organize a ‘buka puasa’ (breaking fasts) gathering in the evening or invitations to tea at least once a
200 month. When we meet up, we talk about Malaysia, the Eid celebration, birthday parties, or just ‘bual kosong’ (general conversation) or the Malay ‘kedai kopi’ (coffee shop) conversations. We also have the Malay association: that is important. If possible, maybe like the Chinese, they have their own newspaper at the Asian shop in William Street, the one they print here. So the Malays should do the same when they are overseas. They have newspapers for Muslims, but since the Islamic community is of different ethnic backgrounds, it would be good to have one for the Malay community too.
(Translated interview excerpts with Halim)
Conducting gatherings for most Malay students here is one of the efforts at maintaining continuous communication and contacts. Halim used the term Malay ‘coffee shop conversation’, where any social, economic or political issues related to Malay everyday life can be discussed. Here, the social processes of exclusion and incorporation that render discrete the social categories (in this case, between Malays and Others) are maintained despite the changing participation and membership course of the group (Barth 1969, p. 10). This also suggests that interaction involves shared ‘rhythmic’ aspects of language that may be felt as well as heard (Sarles 1975, p. 27).
The rhythmic formation and usage in the Malay language has its own devices to classify things, which rigorously describe different sets of object or their properties (Mohd Yunus Sharum et. al. 2010). In other words, the issues talked about will only be fully understood and felt by the Malays when they use the Malay language in their conversations. Therefore, people’s experience and understanding of their community reside in their orientation to symbolism, such as the expressive parameters of language use (Cohen 1985, p. 16). This is again related to the idea of using a restricted code that develops whenever the Malays’ closely shared identification is self-consciously held by the members (Bernstein 1964).
For Halil, the possibility of publishing a Malay language newspaper in Western Australia would be a way of bringing the Malay community together. Halil mentioned two issues; first, the Chinese have their own newspaper. When he referred to ‘the Chinese’, he was looking at the concept of the ethnic group as a group whose members are in communication. Second, he suggested that Malays should have their own newspaper too, even though there are already newspapers available for the general Muslim community. To his knowledge, there is already a newspaper published for the Muslim community in Western Australia, but he claimed it is in English and covers
201 stories about the general Muslim community here. This is not to say that it is not a good thing, but for Halil a Malay newspaper would be good, since it would focus on Malay interests and problems and could provide motivation. His remark was motivated by his Malay identity rather than his Muslim identity. A Malay-oriented newspaper could discuss issues of importance to Malays and suggest events in accord with the Malay- Muslim religious cultural practices. As mentioned earlier, within Islam, different Muslim communities practice different Madhab.
This could be related to Sahid’s views on the idea of political affiliation in relation to the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students here. As Baldassarri and Bearman (2006) pointed out, political issues that are already active in participants’ minds are the subject of communications, and repeated communications will include arguments and attempts at influencing the opinions of the other participant in a relationship. According to Sahid:
[I]n my point of view, sometimes we can become self-regulating in our interactions. For some Malays small things can turn into an issue. This may be because there is too much politics, and they become blind. As for me, it is OK if you do not agree on certain things. However, small things can be misinterpreted, for example conducting a simple religious ceremony to welcome Ramadan [the Muslim fasting month] and reciting ‘Surah Yassin’89, very modest acts with good intentions. During this time, MyPSA (Malaysian Postgraduate Student’s Association) had just been established, and they had insufficient funding to organize events. Therefore, the UMNO Club90 agreed to contribute to and organize the event. When some people realized that the UMNO Club was paying for the events, then it started to become an issue about where the money came from. Even though it was for a good purpose, some people started to condemn it and persuaded other Malay students not to attend the event. I think this is going too far. Since we are in another people’s place [country], we are all the same; whichever political party one supports is one’s own right. Even if we stay with our parents, to be honest, there will be some problems. Sometimes we need each other’s support rather than condemnation. (Translated interview excerpts with Sahid)
89 Surah Yassin is the 36th surah (chapter) of the Holy Qur’an and is given the title of the ‘Heart of the Qur'an’. However, some modernist Muslim organizations, for example Muhammadiyah in Indonesia (Aljunied 2011, p. 282), have sought to eradicate certain age-old practices, such as tahlil and talkin (the recitation of Quranic verses – including chanting of Surah Yassin) at Maulid (the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday), to bring blessings to the living as well as the deceased (Aljunied 2011, p. 286). 90 UMNO Club Western Australia (UCWA) is a part of UMNO overseas club that was first established in 1956 in New York, United State of America. The early reason for its establishment was to unite the Malays and students residing in USA. However, the first systematic documented details of the club establishment were in the United Kingdom in 1968. Due to the increase numbers of students and Malays studying and working overseas, UMNO introduced a special committee for overseas students. There are now 72 UMNO club covering 18 countries with 14,000 members. The list of countries with UMNO overseas Club are United Kingdom, Indonesia, United States of America, Australia, Mesir, Ireland, Japan, German, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, Pakistan, Jordan, Denmark and France. Further information can be viewed at the club official portal
Granovetter (1973) relates the importance of ‘weak ties’ for extending network range and flexibility. According to him, most people bond strongly to one another in multi- stranded clusters – usually based on age, ethnicity, gender or religion, However, many of the relationships of people who are mobile and gregarious are single-stranded, that is, are more numerous and varied but only relevant to one basis of connection; their interaction of this type with an other is less frequent and hence deemed ‘weaker’. Weak ties are vital to the connectivity of the overall network. As Sahid expressed, fostering ties among students with different political affiliations are an important factor in strengthening the Malay students’ sense of community.
Other ways of engaging in interpersonal communications among Malay students included through participation in sports and recreational activities, such as competitive badminton, bowling and soccer, organized to pull Malay students across Western Australia together. Normally, after each match family members get together for a ‘pot luck’ meal and continue to get to know each other. Some managed to broaden their networks and others managed to meet up with their friends on a regular basis. The gatherings are one way the Malay students maintain their Malay community identity.
203 However, in their interaction with others, Malay students often need to consider the fact that they are Malay-Muslims, as is discussed in the next section.
Interpersonal Communication: Considering Factors in Ethnic and Religious Identity?
Here I will explore the experiences of Malay-Muslim postgraduate students who see interpersonal communications as a factor that could contribute to sustaining or adjusting their ethnic and religious identity. Linda, who has experienced living in two different places outside Malaysia while pursuing her studies, is an experienced cosmopolitan, and also can be categorized as rooted cosmopolitan. Her account of her previous experience was particulary interesting because as she moves cognitively and physically outside of her spatial origins, she continues to be linked to Malaysia, to the social networks that inhabit that space, and to the resources, experiences and opportunities that place provides her with (Tarrow 2005).
[I] think that being with other Malays could strengthen your identity. However, over here [Western Australia] we are not facing problems or issues because the living conditions are secure. We are not being threatened, unless you get yourself involved in politics. I do not think there are strong urgent needs to protect our identity here because you are already doing the kind of things, like speak[ing] Malay. So, unconsciously you maintain your Malay identity through your interaction with other Malays. I think it strengthened them. Sometimes unconsciously, like when you pick your house mate, you choose your Malay friend rather than others. I rarely see any Malays or Malaysian students being with other ethnic groups. I think it is quite common in the US [United States] or the UK [United Kingdom] too. I was in the UK for my Masters, and Malay students there chose Malay room mates as well.
(Interview excerpts with Linda)
Linda was in the United Kingdom doing her Masters, and now she is in Western Australia doing her Doctorate. The places where she has been are full of different ethnic groups. She suggests that Malays will hold on to their Malay identity regardless of where they are. Their identity is protected as long as they continue practising the Malay language. Linda feels the Malay identity is strengthened by the continuous practice of Malay culture abroad. As Fong & Chuang (2004, p. 6) suggested, the communications of shared systems of symbolic verbal and nonverbal behaviour are considered meaningful to group members who have a sense of belonging and who share traditions, heritage, language, and similar norms and appropriate behaviour. It is interesting to
204 revisit the case of the Malay student who had a nervous breakdown mentioned in Chapter Four from this perspective:
[I] once met a Malay female student here, but I have not seen her around since. She said she never mixes with Malays here. I was quite shocked to hear that. I asked her why? She told me she wanted her children to really feel the experience of living in Australia. I am not sure what her idea was actually. After sometime later I heard she did not complete her PhD because she had a breakdown due to stresses and pressures. In my heart I said, no wonder she came under so much pressures, she does not have or want to have Malay friends.
(Translated interview excerpts with Hana)
Hana recalled her experience with this female Malay student who tried to become like the ‘white people’. The student believed that English language provided a way for her to extend herself beyond her immediate experience and cultural context. The situation is, as Wenger (1998, p. 176) puts it, a ‘process of expanding our self by transcending our time and space and creating new images of the world and ourselves’. From another perspective, Hana voiced her view on the student’s situation by remarking on her inability to fit in with other Malays, noting that her lack of contacts with other Malays contributed to her breakdown. What Hana pointed out here was speculation that relates the depressed student’s situation to her lack of communication with other Malays. However, this position was not idiosyncratic, as, the reason she gave for thinking that was the cause was that it was the common attribution in talk about such issues among the Malay postgraduates, especially those who had had contact with the depressed student. She was told by a few other Malays student that if the depressed student were to have mixed and joined with the other Malay students, that is, either by visiting, hanging out or joining programmes that were organized, then probably they could have helped her out. According to Hana, communication with people of the same culture is thus important because they will understand your situation better. According to Hall (1959, 1966), we can encounter considerable difficulties in trying to interact with persons from other cultures because we fail to recognize that these persons employ a different set of communication conventions and norms. In other words, as long as the person speaks our language and appears to be from our culture, we can make certain assumptions concerning how to go about interacting with that person (Berger & Bradac 1982, p. 10). This again points out the importance of the use of a restricted code for identity maintenance, as it is available to all members of the society, as the social conditions which generate it are universal (Bernstein 1964, p. 62). 205 What can be concluded in this excerpt is that the student of whom Hana spoke tried to transform her Malay identity and live her life according to the other’s culture. In the view of many of the other Malay postgraduates, her refusal and lack of communication with other Malays contributed to her breakdown, as she apparently did not have Malay friends with whom she could talk her problems over. As discussed earlier, moral support and understanding are among the most significant functions in communication with other Malays. In addition, Hana stressed that she did not really understand what the student meant by ‘really living in Australia’. The student chose to isolate herself from the Malay community, and Hana fully agreed that the student became more vulnerable when she tried to transform her Malay identity here. The general behaviour of the student who experienced the breakdown could also be considered in relation to the significance of the interaction with other Malays involving her social, intellectual, or emotional situation (Bernstein 1964). In this student’s case, it ultimately revolved around her emotional state.
Religious elements provide the framework on how to become or remain a good Malay. How Malay students incorporate these practices in their lives and maintain their religious identity can also be seen from the standpoint of the importance of communication. Here I refer to the way in which Malay students enact a distinctive, religiously charged mode of communication and interaction in the context of a wider social environment that remains largely unaware of this. Thus they also enact symbolic boundaries distinguishing themselves from others.91 Ram recalled her experience of drawing on her Islamic beliefs to deal with her studies:
[I]nterpersonal communication among Malays is very important. For example, sometimes I could not finish an experiment. However, some people do not know why and do not understand my situation or problems. I have to bear in mind that everything that happened to me must have hikmah [good reason and outcome later], Allah gave me the challenges for a reason. This means we would eventually go back to Islamic teaching. I am not sure about being Malay. I feel that we are here to learn, and we strive to perform and complete our tasks. However, if we still fail, it might just be our nasib (fate). Therefore, the most important thing is we have to work hard and tawakal (trust in God).
(Translated interview excerpts with Ram)
91 See also Enzo Pace (2011) 206 Ram draws on the Islamic tenet of ‘hikmah’ (hoping for a good outcome in future after facing challenges in her life), nasib (fate), and also tawakal (trust in God). She does not discuss her problems openly with her other friends because she assumes they would not understand her situation. Thus, she expresses her emotion to God and hopes her hard work would return good results some day. If in the end, she is not able to not overcome her problems, she feels it is not due to her lack of knowledge and efforts: it is indeed the will of God. As Firth (1996) claims, in a religious belief, the element of emotion in whatever experience gives the basis for the belief, providing it with a strong flavour or reality. In other words, Ram has attempted to secure personal adjustment and adaptation as a Malay to assist in her individual pursuits through maintaining her religious beliefs and identity.
Praying once more is considered as an important form of communication for Malay Muslim students in Western Australia and through which they can express their emotions and hold on to their religious identities. Ram is not the only Malay student who stressed the importance of holding on to personal religious beliefs. In order to face different environments and life circumstances, it is important to most Malay-Muslim students to have strong religious foundations. They believe that if one could hold on to their religious identity, it does not matter where they are because they will be more prepared when encountering problems. For the Malay-Muslim student, prayer can be considered as a form of communication between them and God. Prayers are considered as an expression of one’s submission to God. Iqbal (1986, p. 74) defines prayer as follows:
[P]rayer, is an expression of man's inner yearning for a response in the awful silence of the universe. It is a unique process of discovery whereby the searching ego affirms itself in the very moment of self-negation, and thus discovers its own worth and justification as a dynamic factor in the life of the universe. True to the psychology of mental attitude in prayer, the form of worship in Islam symbolizes both affirmation and negation.
Prayer as the second pillar of Islam carries great importance in a Muslim’s life and is considered vital to attain success in this life and the hereafter. The importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions one performs in this life, the most important aspect is one’s relationship to God, that is, one’s iman (faith), taqwa (God-
207 consciousness), ikhlas (sincerity) and ibadah (worship of God)92. According to Park (2007), religiosity offers a system of guiding beliefs through which to interpret one’s experiences and give them meaning. These belief systems often function as social identities through the increasing importance of the relevant group membership to the self-concept. Therefore, religion protects identity by providing psychological reassurance and emotional security (Mol 1976). Hamf (1994) argues that religious boundary marking can be socially powerful, since religion and rites are far more resistant to social change than many other markers of identity, such as common origin and language.
Therefore, for the Malay postgraduate students, prayer is not just a way for them to show their obligation to the Islamic faith, but also as a form of strength, reassurance and emotional security when dealing with their adjustment process in Western Australia. Congregational prayer also assists them to get together, interacting and providing a sense of community with other Malays and with other Muslims whilst maintaining their religious identity.
Chapter Summary
This chapter started with the discussion of how Malay-Muslim postgraduate students enacted their interpersonal communication. I have shown the significance of interpersonal communication in adjusting, diluting or embracing one’s socially approved Malay-Muslim identity. Goffman (1959, 1971) has used the word ‘face’ to describe socially approved identity. Such awareness of one’s face is a necessary precondition for the valuing of culture and community (Cohen 1985, p. 69). Among the Malay postgraduate students, interpersonal communication occurred most often within a friendship context (Lawson and Sachdev 2000). I have also explored situations that emphasize the contributions of interpersonal communication in maintaining Malay students’ ethnic and religious identities overseas.
Most situations revealed the Malay postgraduates’ attitude that as long as a person speaks our language and appears to be from our culture, we can make certain assumptions concerning how to interact with that person (Berger and Bradac 1982, p.
92
In the process, some students became more aware of existing contradictions within Malay culture and religion. Such awareness is a necessary precondition for the valuing of culture and community (Cohen 1985, p. 69). In other words, according to Hall (1959, 1966), we encounter considerable difficulties in trying to interact with persons from other cultures because we fail to recognize that these persons employ a different set of communication conventions and norms. I have also argued that their reworking of their identity through interpersonal communication assists them in determining their identity in a foreign land. This chapter reveals that it is important that any significant changes an individual makes in the process of adjusting to life in Western Australia do not go against their Islamic religious practice. However, after reviewing all discussions and findings so far, it is then important to identify to what extent Malay-Muslim postgraduates are willing to negotiate their identity adjustment or maintenance overseas. Are there a certain restrictions that underlay the process? This is discussed next in Chapter Seven.
209 CHAPTER 7 Malay Students’ Identity Adjustment: Extension and Restriction
‘Actors may make their own identities, but they do not do so in circumstances of their own choosing’ -Jenkins (1997, p. 142)
Introduction
In this chapter, I discuss the extent to which Malay-Muslim postgraduates are willing to negotiate and adjust their identities overseas. I begin by outlining the five major contexts in the process of adjustment, maintenance and possible transformation in Malay-Muslim student identities. These are related to: first, academic life and identity; second, social life; third, class and status; fourth, physical wellbeing; and fifth, enrichment of new or existing skills in the new environment. In each section I will elucidate the restrictions to these processes, and also those that assist in extending the Malay-Muslim identities of the students. The chapter will conclude by illustrating how the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students constitute a community in transition and the extent of their participation and commitment when they go beyond their comfort zones.
Adjustment in Social Life: A Stance of Adapted Identity
Our sense of self (identity) develops when we are children within a particular sociocultural context (e.g. family, ethnic group, etc.), but may change due to contact with others and the desire or willingness to open up to new environments and ideas (Jackson 2008). Identity, therefore, emerges for each of us only out of efforts at control amid unforeseen events and disagreements in interaction. According to White (2008, p. 1), before anything else (in this case, the adjustment or transformation of Malay-Muslim student identities), people’s main concern is about the right footing or balance that will bring orientation in relation to their other identities (for example, national identity, cosmopolitan identity or gender identity), so that they and others can perceive all these identities as having unproblematic continuity in encounters with others. As discussed in Chapter Five, most Malay postgraduate students re-establish stability in their lives in Western Australia.
210 In order to gain a good footing they have had to maintain and develop their awareness of the differences that exists between the Malay-Muslim culture and practice and those of the others. As Bakhtin (1986, p. 6) has suggested, in order to understand other cultures, it is immensely important that people understand their position as located outside the object of their creative understanding – in time and in space. In the realm of culture, ‘outsideness’ is a most powerful factor in understanding. Attempts by Malay- Muslim students to understand their new culture through respecting and accepting differences make their transition easier. Although, as shown in Chapter Five, they faced some negative experiences, these were often viewed as something expectable when a person deals with the outsiders. Most Malay-Muslim students have been socialized and educated with the Malay-Muslim cultural and religious background, so knowledge of respecting others has been well absorbed in their practice. This was explained earlier in the discussion of ‘budi’.
According to Boissevain (1974, pp. 86-87):
[E]ducation is an important resource, and thus is also a form of power. Education provides knowledge which not all people have. It is thus a resource which can be used to gain certain ends. Hence in most, if not all societies, it gives prestiges. Education also serves to modify in a variety of subtle ways the ideological and moral precepts of a person.
This suggests that those with less education are less likely to accept changes, because the structure of their networks makes them more vulnerable to pressure exerted upon them to conform to the traditional ways of doing things. Therefore, it is important to note that among the Malay students, Malay culture and Islamic practices are the lens through which they understand others. In other words, they apply their Malay culture in their effort to adapt, get involved with others and establish a social footing in the new environment. Berger (1963, pp. 98-9) asserts, ‘identity is socially bestowed, socially sustained, and socially transformed…taking the role of the other is decisive for the formation of the self.’ In one way or another, the ‘other’ plays a major role in how the self is formulated, enlivened, and embodied in life and in academic discourse. In the next section I look into some of the issues relating to Malay students’ academic life and how they negotiate their circumstances.
211 However, the level of willingness to make an adjustment or negotiate their identity beyond the Malaysian border might differ from one student to another, as shown in Figure 7.1. What is shown here is the extent of the Malay student’s willingness to make adjustment to their various form of identities. Overall, the Malay students revealed that they are least willing or not willing at all to make adjustments to their religious identity followed by gender identity, ethnic identity, national identity and most willing to make adjustment to their cosmopolitan identity. This framework tries to make explicit the outcomes obtained from the informants in regards to the theoretical views of interpersonal communication as discussed in Chapter Six. The next section will look further into the willingness to make adjustments in various aspects of their life, such as their academic and social life.
Figure 7.1: Willingness to Make Adjustments to Various Forms of Identities among Malay Postgraduate Students in Western Australia
Academic Life: Relating Past and Present Experiences
According to Joseph (2004, p. 75), even the individuals who wilfully and actively seek to undo the identity they were born with and socialised into so as to take on a new identity are still going to be perceived, interpreted and measured by those around them in terms of their relative place within a network of social hierarchies based on the distribution of cultural capital. In this study, many Malay students are faced with difficulties in getting used to the idea and feeling of informality among students and with supervisors in Western Australia. The Malay postgraduate students, as newcomers to the international education system, often find that adjustment to the educational environment itself presents a considerable cultural and linguistic challenge (see also Grimshaw and Sears 2008; McLachlan 2007). Due to this new circumstance, some Malay students feel their Malay culture and identity restrict them from being too open and vocal in most issues related to their studies and candidature. This contributes to their ‘not so smooth’ interaction with their supervisors.
212 Their expectations differ from those of their supervisors. For instance, Malay students, used to social hierarchy and status-based social interactions (as discussed in my earlier chapter on the importance of titles in Malay society), find it difficult to express their needs and concerns to their supervisors because of their view that they are ‘supposed to respect’ their supervisors’ superior position. The supervisors, on the other hand, are hoping the students will express their ideas and objectives in relation to their research. The contrast eventually leads to misunderstandings between supervisors and students. However, for many students the experience and exposure to the new environment and culture lead to a transformation in their attitude towards university learning: their past academic experience of ‘spoon-feeding’ is replaced with the understanding that ‘individual effort’ is required to achieve one’s academic, educational and research targets in engagement with supervisors. As Anni recounts from the perspective of a Malay student:
[I]t is the culture. I do not understand their slang93. We told ourselves that we are talking to our supervisor. I felt more comfortable with people of my age. Maybe I am not used to being with the senior-level people like professors. For example, I did not feel comfortable sitting and chatting with them during lunch. I knew they did not mind, but I felt small.
(Translated interview excerpts with Anni)
After some time Anni managed to accept the difference and tried to adapt to the changes by putting forward questions relating to her research to her supervisors, colleagues and lab mates. She explained that she felt she needed to ask these questions since people here asked so many questions and those same questions crossed her mind too, but she was too scared to ask because, according to her, Malay students are normally silent in class. Besides her efforts to transform herself by asking more questions, Anni also started to make comparisons between her previous and current research experiences. Since Anni was working in a lab, she felt the research equipment in Western Australia was too limited, unlike the situation in Malaysia (referring to the university she is currently attached to in Malaysia). This makes her work progress slightly more slowly
93 Slang refers to language differing from standard or written speech in vocabulary and construction, involving extensive metaphor, ellipsis, humorous usage, etc, less conservative and more informal than standard speech, and sometimes regarded as being in some way inferior ( (Macquarie Dictionary 2009, p. 1545-46). However, in the case of Malays, they use the term in a much more extended sense than the usual usage in order to include how one’s pronounciation of words may differ from how they are supposed to sound from the Malays’ point of view. This frequently occurred during conversation with others. 213 and requires more time compared to Malaysia. Instead, she was impressed with how researchers here managed to produce and publish good papers with good techniques alongside limited equipment compared to Malaysia, which lags behind in relation to publishing. Anni’s situation is common among Malay students, since it revolves around differences between the education system in Malaysia and that in Australia.
In a recent conversation with Anni, I was informed that due to the lack of equipment at her Australian university, her home university in Malaysia is recommending that no further students will be sent to pursue their studies at her Western Australian university. This situation highlights lack of access to research equipment as a hinderance to academic progress, not slang, the culture or the new social environment. However, this situation suggests a form of transformation in the Malay-Muslim student’s identity from being passive to being more assertive. Malay-Muslim students are shy, but they are becoming more vocal in relation to their expectations of their chosen tertiary service providers overseas to ensure their academic goals are achieved. This relates to the case of Wani, who became more vocal due to her undergraduate experiences in the US, as discussed earlier in Chapter Five.
Gallois and Callan (1977) have made a similar point relating to the relationship of Asian students and supervisors. They suggest that students from Asian countries are marked down in Australia because the long quotations they use are evidence to the professors of a lack of originality. The students are unhappy because they believe it is very important to show that they have read the work of earlier scholars and respect it. Like their professors (or supervisors), they have learned this value in their home culture. The students often feel uncomfortable about the situation, and sometimes they even see their professors as racist. In this case, Cadman (1997) explained that changing academic culture is thus a multi-dimensional and challenging experience because it requires them to move continuously between at least two languages and epistemological systems. As for the international postgraduates who enrol in Australian universities, they are already highly educated students and professionals (Cadman 2000). According to Cadman (2000, p. 477), because international postgraduate students may have developed their knowledges in contexts which are invested with different academic values, they begin to apply their own ‘skills in reasoning, judgement and communication’ to the values embedded in their new learning environment in the light of their own accumulating expereriences of different approaches to knowledge. Salvadori (1997, pp. 187-188)
214 defines the successful interchange (between postgraduates and their supervisors) as ‘transculturalism’, the stage beyond interculturalism, in which common culture is created which is different from the original cultures of both teachers and students. This is evidenced by an experience recalled by Wani when she was doing her Masters degree in the United States:
[W]hen I did my Masters degree last time, that was what I observed [lack of originality]. I am teaching organizational behaviour. So, I told my students this was the situation when you are talking about originality. In the US, their culture is more individual, they are not consensual. For example, if you want to share your notes with someone else, such as when I consulted my professor when I was not sure how to approach an assignment question. So when I got the point that my professor told me, I would like to share them with my American friend. This is because she has told me earlier she answers like this and like this, and I knew it was wrong now because I already consulted my professor and I told her, but she did not accept it. She said she will submit the one she did, not because she is stubborn, but because of originality; they believe in originality more. It is not because they are proud of themselves, or because they are cleverer than me, but I found out because of originality. (Interview excerpts with Wani)
In Western Australia, some Malay students make more effort to adapt and to negotiate the differences, and they see their experience as more ‘intense’ compared to others. One of my informants shared her experience about how she struggled to make her co- supervisor see her as the ‘humble’ Malay-Muslim and not the stigmatized ‘rough’ Muslim, as her supervisor believed. As told by Aja:
[O]n the first day I met my supervisor, who is an Aussie, he told me he just got his doctorate. He was very nice and straightforward. When he first saw me, I was wearing the head scarf; he said to me, “Normally, Aussies will treat you as a terrorist”. He asked me to be cautious when I went out walking. I think because he saw me as a Muslim, and he thinks all Muslims are harsh people. He does not know how Malaysian Muslims are. There is no problem. I was stunned. He told me he has never been out of Perth, and he was a manager for Bank West in 1998. Then I told him that Malaysian Muslims are not harsh (kasar) like in the Middle-East, and also maybe they are like that because of their culture. In Malaysia the women are equal to men, and they are never looked down upon by men. I did not explain too much then until later he went to Malaysia and taught temporarily in two colleges in Malaysia. From there on he started to realize some truth as to what I have told him before. Before that his assumption was that a Malay is someone like the Aboriginal people in Australia, and Malaysia is a Chinese country. Furthermore, to him, Malays are like second class people. I just do not know why. (Translated interview excerpts with Aja)
215 Aja’s first impression of her co-supervisor was one of shock, as such an evaluation of her would never have crossed her mind. She felt the stigmatization of Muslims as ‘terrorists’ was too blunt; it was not a favourable introduction to her research. Although Aja considered her co-supervisor to be open and straightforward, she felt he was unable to understand the Malay ethnic group and culture. She suggested that Malay-Muslims can be differentiated in comparison with Middle-Eastern Muslims, but in fact they differ in regard to their cultural practices and ways of life. Furthermore, the co-supervisor’s belief that Malaysia is a Chinese country with Malays as second class citizens, and his ignorance in comparing them to the minority Aboriginal people in Australia was too much for her to accept.
In relation to this situation, Gans (1979, p.73-74) has suggested that people are less and less interested in their ethnic cultures and organizations – both sacred and secular – and are instead more concerned with individually maintaining their ethnic identity and finding ways of feeling and expressing that identity in suitable ways. Ethnic identity can be expressed either in action or feeling, or in combinations of these, and the kinds of situations in which it is expressed are nearly limitless. The expression Malaysian Muslim used by Aja reveals her attempt to maintain her ethnic identity as Malay rather than just referring to the idea of being Muslim in Malaysia. Here, Aja’s choice of maintaining her ethnic identity could be related to the concept of ethnic boundaries, as she chooses to designate herself with the ethnic category (Malay) that is available for her individual identification at this particular time and place (Nagel 1994).
Aja has also gone through the first transformation phase in her academic experience compared to her experience in Malaysia. As Aja sees it, the form of openness required between students and their supervisors is associated with the idea that supervisors only discuss ‘academic matters’. They are not discussing issues related to the student’s ethnic or religious background, since in Malaysia it is considered a sensitive issue by most people. This is not to suggest that the kind of relationship that exists between students and supervisors in Malaysia is rigid, but it deploys more awareness in relation to discussing and commenting on students’ ethnic and religious statuses. The openness that exists is related to academic discourse, and the hesitancy to discuss other matters besides academic issues with supervisors in Malaysia is quite common. As I mentioned earlier, this goes back to the different educational systems and approaches that exist in both countries and different specifications of what is public and private.
216 Aja also spoke about her transformation experience as a Malay student engaging with predominantly Westerners (Mat Salleh/Caucasians) in Western Australia. She felt that the way they present their views is utterly different from how Malays do so. She even advised her friends in Malaysia who were going overseas to study to remember that. Different approaches to communication skills may be valuable, but these ways are not yet part of a common practice in Malaysia. However, some of the Malay students felt there was no discrimination between them and their supervisors. Rafi, for example, explained that his supervisor is not a local, and he has no problem dealing with his supervisor. Farhan, on the other hand, met his supervisor at a conference and was in touch with him for several years before commencing his PhD.
Farhan had the opportunity to become a tutor for one semester and found the experience interesting. According to Farhan:
[T]eaching here is interesting. Generally speaking, students in Malaysia and students here are more or less the same for me. For example, I saw that some came unprepared, some do not speak out in class, and they just accept whatever presumption I gave them. We think the ‘Mat Salleh’ kids are more talkative, but, for me personally in my class, they are just the same, like my students in Malaysia. Some do not even do any work. There are about 16 students in my class, and some of them are locals, some are Asians and some Malaysian. These Malaysian students are still hesitant to talk, due to their culture. That was my impression after conducting two classes. I was a bit worried when they saw me the first time because I was not sure whether they could accept me or not, but then it was okay. In fact, some of the problematic students in my class are the ‘Mat Salleh’ and not the Asians.
(Translated interview excerpts with Farhan)
What Farhan found interesting was that his ‘expectation’ that the Mat Salleh students would be more vocal and talkative was not really true. They were just like any of his students in Malaysia. He progressively became more at ease with the situation and regarded the experience as valuable. In some cases, the Malay students felt that certain experiences were unavoidable. In the next section I identify situations many hoped to avoid and explore those that were unavoidable.
Phase of Encounter: Avoidable or Unavoidable?
Ting-Toomey and Chung (2005, p. 94) suggested that the more strongly our self-image is influenced by our larger cultural value patterns, the more we are likely to practise the 217 norms and communication scripts of the dominant, mainstream culture. Malay students’ involvements and encounters with other students, including the locals, are limited due to their inability to become accustomed to some local practices, like clubbing and socializing events (i.e. with alcohol). However, some managed the situation by holding on to their Muslim identity and considering their involvement as a ‘necessity’ or part of their academic experience. They transformed themselves to a certain degree by attending these events and mixing with their colleagues and friends, whilst at the same time making sure they did not do things which were against Muslim practice. Some of them brought their own food and drink to their communal events and in many cases would drink juice or soft drinks, but would avoid consuming food. Another informant, Ram, said:
[A]s for me, I have not considered until now how to maintain my Malay identity; instead I am more concerned about being Muslim. I work with a group of people who like to get together and drink. Since I am working with them, and they always meet up on weekends for discussions [of their lab and academic work] and since attendance is compulsory, I also have to attend. Normally, we will meet up on Friday around here (the university compound), but sometimes they go to the Tavern, and I have to go too. However, I don’t go there to drink; instead, I just have juice because they serve it in the Tavern. Of course, I felt very uncomfortable thinking about what other people might say or think, but then I focused on my true intentions [as a Malay-Muslim student]. When I am there I have to take care of myself as a Muslim.
(Translated interview excerpts with Ram)
As a Muslim, Ram did not look forward to gatherings with her colleagues. However, since the gatherings were compulsory and related to her course, she was willing to put aside her feelings of hesitation in pursuit of her academic knowledge. The gatherings Ram went to were her supervisor’s way of getting all of his supervised students together informally to discuss their work. Sometimes the gatherings took place at the university, but on Friday nights in particular they were held at the Tavern. In this case, Ram had no choice but to join them because it was related to her studies. This is what Ram meant by going to the gatherings in the tavern as adhering to her true intention (because of her study commitment and not due to other reasons). She actually expressed her ethnic and religious identity without realizing it because she was concerned about what other Malay-Muslim students might think or say to her or about her if they saw her at the tavern. Considering what other people think about their actions is quite a common practice among Malays. Her feelings and thoughts can be associated with Malay
218 cultural practice in governing their identity when encountering others. The ability for her to adapt herself to the situation for academic reasons is something that many Muslims would find difficult. Izwan gave an example of how one of his Pakistani friends avoided invitations to social events or gatherings organized by his university department. This may not be a typical reaction upon which to generalize how Muslims of different ethnic backgrounds integrate into Australian universities. Further study is needed to formulate cross-cultural understandings on the distinctions between Malay- Muslims and Other Muslims.
Here, in working together with colleagues of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, Ram still manages to hold on to her ethno-religious identity despite attending her student group discussions at the tavern. For Ram and her colleagues, social identity as members of the same study unit was more important than the differences between them. Being a Muslim, on the other hand, has made Nini ignored by her classmates. According to her:
[I] had an experience as a Muslim when I took up some classes early in my candidature. This is especially when I came into contact with other students in the department. At that time, my appearance as a Muslim [wearing a headscarf] made me feel discriminated against, but then again when I think about it, maybe it was just a matter of perception. Sometimes they do not intend to do it, but maybe because my ‘jiwa Melayu’ [Malay soul] is too sensitive and ‘cepat terasa’ [too emotional] and cepat melatah94 [too responsive]. Maybe it is just their way [culture]. Maybe it’s the way we carry ourselves, we are not strong enough to block the discrimination towards us. For example, [in] group assignments, we would find our own group, so we should not question why others do not choose us in their group. I mean you have to open up at the same time, but to me, they see me as a Muslim not so much as Malay. However, the feelings are more obvious with the Chinese compared to the white people. This is because they [the white people] are not too concerned about religion.
(Translated interview excerpts with Nini)
Nini has pointed out an interesting aspect. Her initial views were related to her self- perception of being Malay as ‘too emotional’ and ‘too responsive’. However, after several months in Westerrn Australia, she came to the more liberal understanding that it
94 Melatah or latah is considered one of the Malay culture-bound snydromes. According to Winzeler (1984, p. 77), latah occurs upon provocation, usually involving a shock or acute fright. A latah person would shout obscene utterances, or imitate a word, gesture, or action, or automatically obey commands that he/she would not normally follow. It was apparently found widely among Malay peoples, but affected only certain individuals. The Malays regarded the syndrome of latah as a personal quirk rather than a form of insanity. 219 is common for people to socialise with members of the same group. Indeed, the discrimination she felt was emanating from the Chinese students more than the white people. This reveals a different view to that discussed in Chapter Six on how interactions between Asians are more likely than with locals due to the idea of understanding of each other’s cultures among Asians. Nini would not elaborate further on why this was the case, since she felt this was a matter of her own perceptions rather than the real situation.
Another important factor that is also seen to contribute to the willingness of the Malay students to seek or avoid interactions is the English language. In discussing the importance of the English language I examine the extension and limitation of English in relation to identity adjustment, adaptation or transformation among the Malay-Muslim students.
Second Language Usage: Extension and Limitation
English as a second language contributes to the extent to which Malay students are willing and able to transform their identities. English is mostly used in formal meetings with supervisors, in academic-related gatherings or when communicating with other English language speakers. However, those postgraduate students with school-aged children tend to use more English in their daily conversation because their children are socialized in school in the English medium, and they speak English with their parents at home. Some parents were satisfied that their children are more fluent English speakers than their parents a year or two after their arrival. In the final year of their study, parents’ concerns focussed on how their kids seem to ‘forget’ Malay. When the children first arrived, they thought in Malay and would translate their words or sentences into English. However, once the Malay children become more fluent in English, they started to think in English and translate their words or sentences into Malay. For example, when I asked the daughter of one of my informants in Malay, ‘Apa nama, sayang?’ (What is your name, dear?), she answered, ‘Saya nama Amy’ (My = saya; name = nama; is Amy), translating the grammatically correct Malay response ‘Nama saya Amy’ from English to Malay, using English grammatical syntax or word order in Malay. This seldom occurs when Malays first arrive in Western Australia, and their thinking is still in Malay.
220 Such adjustment is common among Malay students with school-aged children, but it arouses concern among thir parents, as these children will be returning to Malaysia for their final years of study in the Malay language. From my informal conversations with Malay student parents, it was clear that parents felt concerned for their young teenage children who would eventually have to transition back into the Malay education system. Malay postgraduate students are not unique in this concern. A study of Japanese living in the UK (Martin 2007) reveals that Japanese parents were concerned that the Japanese spoken by their children might sound ‘strange’ when they return to Japan. Speaking Japanese ‘correctly’ is considered to be important in being accepted in Japanese society.
Ahmad is one such parent facing this situation. He explained his view on the transitions involved in language use.
[I] used to speak English a lot with them. Now they are speaking English all the time. I don’t want them to lose the Malay language. Now I am reverting to speaking Malay to them instead of speaking English, because I do not want them to lose out. We are going back to Malaysia, and I do not want anyone laughing at them [due to their inability to talk proper Malay]. Students who bring their kids back to Malaysia have so many problems getting back into the culture because of the spoken language. Malays in Malaysia who have just returned from overseas are seen as ‘berlagak’ or boasting with their use of English language. So that is why you need to maintain the way of thinking. Supposedly, English is next to the Malay language for many Malays because we have been taught from Standard One, 11 years of education and during the years we are overseas. Next to your mother tongue is the English language, but not to the Malaysian, particularly. So the families around here, they have to let the kids know all the values. When you walk past the elderly, you need to bow a bit, that sort of thing. You do not just walk past, and you should shake hands with people the proper way. I try to set an example for my kids, and awareness about Malay culture. (Interview excerpts with Ahmad)
Parents are generally more concerned about the English usage of their younger children than their teenagers. Parents felt it an asset for teenagers to speak English because their Malay was already fluent, and English as a second language is expected. Parental concern revolves around how their children would fit in with the other Malay children upon their return to Malaysia. I managed to make contact with Ahmad’s wife, who had returned to Malaysia recently, and I was told that her child came home from school crying, saying that she did not understand a thing written by her teacher. Ahmad’s wife explained that she needed to handle the situation in an appropriate manner, not pushing or demanding too much from her children and giving support and encouragement. This 221 is not an easy task for her and requires a lot of patience. As Ahmad explained, he managed to instill an awareness of Malay culture and values in his children when he was in Western Australia. His kids were having problems with the use of Malay language in their Malaysian school, not with Malay culture. So, Ahmad is not only concerned about English usage per se, but also with how his children learn and practise the correct Malay etiquette.
Some of the more financially secure postgraduate students plan to send their children to international schools upon return to Malaysia. For these Malay students, English language use is extended to their workplace if the workplace is near local or international schools. Those who spoke predominantly English while overseas will find many positive outcomes as a result of it when they return to Malaysia, either in their academic or social lives.
Linda, another respondent, claimed that since English is not her first language, she found writing in English difficult. However, she also doubted her ability to write in Malay, especially at the level of academic writing required for a PhD student. She explained:
[D]oing a PhD is more than a language issue. It is like a combination of everything, and language is just a part of it. It can be a major thing for some students, but in my case, I don’t think writing in English is my major concern. I have problems to write, like everybody else, but it is not the language per se. I mean, if I want to put a scale for language as a barrier for me, I would say from scale 10 and 10 is difficult, I would say I [am] in the middle, and it is not a major problem. My major problem at this point would be on the conceptual and theoretical problem rather than language or writing issues.
(Interview excerpts with Linda)
From my observations and informal encounters with Malay students, the issue of English in writing is often brought up. In particular, the basic grammatical errors that occur in writing in a second language limit their expression. One student informed me that she spent thousands of dollars for editorial purposes. Students claimed that the reason for their doing so was because of their supervisor’s ‘cabar’ (challenge) to them when asserting that he would not read the student's first chapter drafts if they had not been edited. They feel that their supervisor should at least consider that they are writing in their second language. However, most of them realized the importance of editorial
222 service for their writing, but not in their first draft since they expect to make changes in the next draft.
The Malaysian Postgraduate Student Association (MyPSA) assists Malay postgraduate students with their written English. They run an English Workshop conducted by a Malay student who is also pursuing her postgraduate study in TESL (Teaching of English as Second Language) for which a small fee (AUD$5.00) is charged to participants. To my knowledge, the workshop was introduced in 2009 and has run twice so far with about thirty students per session. Participants are taught the basic usage of tenses, sentence construction and given handouts. Participants from various fields get help with their problems in writing, explaining, analyzing and constructing sentences in English. Some even admit paying the instructor to edit their work before submitting it to their supervisors. The amount paid is based on mutual understanding since the instructor often feels hesitant to demand a high fee for her services because as a Malay, she feels that it is the Malay culture to help each other. At the same time, she realizes that the people who ask her to assist them also assist her in another way such as looking after her kids when she has other commitments. I tried to ask around concerning who would go to her for the editorial service, and most informants said they would, although they preferred not to burden the instructor not due to financial issues but because she herself has a study workload. At this point of time, clearly, the reason some of the students feel hesitant to ask the instructor to edit their work is due to their discretion as Malays.
English is important in daily encounters involving friends, colleagues and others in relation to their academic undertakings. However, the Malay students have also limited their use of English with their kids. The English language mastery or competence is important when they first arrive, but it becomes a challenge to Malay student parents to making sure their kids maintain a reasonable level of Malay. On the other hand, writing in English is an important criterion for most Malay students since it is a platform that gives them entry into the international academic world. At the same time, they are trying to fulfill the expectations of their respective departments in Malaysia upon their return as Malay cosmopolitans. Apart from the obvious academic challenges, these students also have to face a few backslidings in their social lives in adjusting to the experience of studying and living in Western Autralia.
223 Social life: Backsliding, Control and Expectation
Malay students also face various difficulties in their social lives during their time in Western Australia. As Wenger (1998, p. 153) states,
[M]embership in a community of practice translates into an identity as a form of competence. We experience and manifest ourselves by what we recognize and what we do not, what we grasp immediately and what we can’t interpret, what we can appropriate and what alienates us, what we can press into service and what we can’t use, what we can negotiate and what remains out of reach. In practice, we know who we are by what is familiar, understandable, usable, and negotiable; we know who we are not by what is foreign, opaque, unwieldy, and unproductive.
Rina claimed that she is more liberal now than before. The term liberal is used by her to explain how exposure to two new cultures has ‘buka minda’ (opened her mind). As Rina explained:
[W]hen I read more, I realized that I am more liberal and open minded now. For example, I am now aware that not all Malays are Muslims. If I hear about someone who is Malay, but eats pork, or drinks alcohol, I put my hands up. It is not that I don’t care, but I am aware of the situation. Even when I went to Europe last time with my friends, my cousin who married a ‘Mat Salleh’ was there. Her husband never converted to Islam, so I am not really sure how she lives her life. (Translated interview excerpts with Rina)
Rina’s statement above is interesting since it is a fact understood and accepted by all Malays in Malaysia that a Malay is a Muslim. Rina’s acknowledgment in her present social context highlights that there has been a ‘transformation’ in her idea of what is Malay - she is less narrow in her conceptions of Malay-Muslims. Her decision, however, to ‘put my hands up’ (accede to the situation) would be improper if she was in Malaysia. The issue here is considered as a very important one among Malay-Muslims in Malaysia. However, it might not be the case for Malays in Western Australia, or even among Muslims of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. What contributes further to her idea of acceding to the situation is her cousin’s marriage to a Mat Salleh who did not convert to Islam. In accordance with the Malay saying ‘Tak usah jaga tepi kain orang’ (‘You do not have to take care of the edge of other people’s cloth’, or ‘Do not be a busy body’), she does not question her cousin’s life choices. Such a situation,
224 however, would have been taken seriously in Malaysia due to the constitutional and legal practices there.
Aja, on the other hand, claimed that some encounters can foster misunderstandings concerning personal values and the Muslim way of life. In one’s social encounters, culture differences can bring new and different understandings of certain situations. According to Aja:
[W]hen my husband got a weekend job, and he needed to be somewhere, he took me along. His manager [a woman] found it weird: why must he bring me along. I told her that it is not because of the [Malay] culture, but because my husband cannot read the map while he was driving, so I had to accompany him. Then she was okay. She assumed that I was a jealous person or maybe that I was thinking my husband was having an affair with her [the manager]. However, since then everything was much clearer between us.
(Translated interview excerpts with Aja)
Aja anticipated beforehand that there would be some misunderstanding about why she always accompanied her husband on his weekend work. She makes it clear that it had nothing to do with Malay culture, or being Muslim. The manager, a woman, is aware that Aja is Muslim and may have assumed that Aja was accompanying her husband because she does not have faith in her husband being with another woman. There are two things that are obvious here, the idea of gender identity and Muslim identity. The assumptions that the manager had were related to the idea of male-female relationships, but Aja felt that it was a matter of her being Muslim and having to be with her husband when he is in proximity with another female. In Islam, females and males not related by blood or marriage ties should not be alone together in a place out of people’s sight to avoid any misconduct or khalwat (close proximity). However, Aja would have never followed her husband if she was in Malaysia because she knows that most people respect the practice. Besides, the Jabatan Agama Islam (JAIS) or The Islamic Department basically assists the government in enforcing the morals and customs of Malays in accordance with Islamic teachings.
Many of my informants felt that there are changes in religious and cultural practices that should be made during their time in Australia and that they would no longer practise upon return to Malaysia. Anni felt that in Western Australia, people are not particular with what they wear and no one says anything about one’s dress. In other words, 225 changes in apparel may correspond with the different seasons in Western Australia. According to Anni, in Malaysia she only wears long-sleeved blouses when in public, but in Western Australia she started to wear short sleeves and only covered her arms with her sweater. In her opinion the transformation could be temporary. She will wear long sleeves again upon her return to Malaysia in order to avoid the people she knows telling her she has changed. Another common form of adjustment among the Malay female students is how they dressed when praying. Commonly, Malay women wear a proper ‘telekung’ (cloak covering a woman's head and body worn at prayer) when they pray. For most Malay female students in Western Australia this has changed slightly. There are times when they need to pray in places other than the mosque or musollah, for example in the workplace. In these instances, most Malay female students I interviewed felt it is sufficient for them to pray in the clothes they are wearing as long as they have their ‘aurat’ (parts that need to be covered when performing prayer) covered and their clothes are clean. They do not feel the need to wear the ‘telekung’ unless they are at home or at places that provide the ‘telekung’. The transformation might be transitory for some, but others might even pray this way when necessary upon their return to Malaysia.
Though changes for the better are highly desired by most Malays, other changes are seen as backsliding. An experience by Ram provides an example of a transformation which was seen as backsliding. Ram tells the story of her friend’s experience in the UK.
[S]he [her friend] has complained to me before that she was so busy with the lab work that she could not find a time to pray. She always skipped her Zuhur prayer (afternoon prayer). In the UK, at that time the night time was shorter and since the time between Zuhur prayer and Asar (evening prayer) prayer is short, about three hours, she said she always skipped her Zuhur prayer and just performed her Asar prayer. She said she does not have the time. Furthermore, nobody knew because there were no other Muslims or Malays around. What is important here is to consider the basic [Islamic] thing in us, and praying is the one of the pillars of religion. It is true that no-one is going to know, but that is why it has to be the basic stand within you.
(Translated interview excerpts with Ram)
Ram regards such an occuring in the lives of the Malay students as backsliding. The importance of maintaining one’s Muslim identity in the midst of transformation, by realising the Islamic values and fulfilling Islamic demands is vital in order to maintain one's identity. In this case, when her friend informed her about not being able to find 226 time to pray because of her work, Ram was not motivated to stop doing the same thing and to make sure she always found time to pray. Ram felt compelled to stay a good Muslim, and she prays she will not be like her friend. What interests me is that Ram’s friend feels no one will know that she does not pray at all the prescribed times, but does not consider the fact that in Islam God knows everything. I would like to suggest that if there is interaction and communication with other Malays and Muslims in a new environment, it will support maintaining their Malay or Muslim identity where interpersonal communication is considered the policing factor. In Chapter Four and Five, I have also discussed Barth’s (1981, p. 207) idea about how people are reluctant to act in a new way due to the fear that such behaviour might be inappropriate for a person of their identity, that is as one of a cluster of people of the same ethnic characteristics.
The backsliding encounters in the cosmopolitanisation of the Malays do have implications for the Malay students’ lives. Cosmopolitanism means one should have the ability to stand outside of having one’s life written and scripted by any one community, whether that is a faith or tradition or religion or culture – whatever it might be – and to draw selectively on a variety of discursive meanings (Hall & Bram 1992, p. 25). Some Malay students as cosmopolitans feel they have the right to make moral decisions on their own as individuals, choosing from among the variety of moral standards they find in international or transnational contexts. However, Ram’s disapproval of the way some other Malay individuals live their lives abroad also indicates the problematic aspects of the cosmopolitanism of those individuals. This is part of the dilemma faced by Malays abroad who aspire to be cosmopolitan (i.e. liberal minded), but also desire to maintain community-enforced (rather than only individually chosen) moral and religious standards.
This situation is likely when one is encountering and adapting to changes and a new environment. Some changes are considered as positive by Malay postgraduate students, as long as they do not go against religious values and practices, while change that is considered negative does otherwise. For example, Mas, a student and mother, said that in Western Australia she had to prepare lunches for her school-aged children. It is a requirement in Western Australia, not an option as in Malaysia. Mas said that she will try to adopt the changes like this one upon returning to Malaysia. At the same time, she is aware of the possibility of her efforts being unsuccessful due to the influence of friends and society members for whom these new changes may not be relevant, realistic,
227 appropriate or condoned. She expressed the concern that her kids might feel a sense of ‘inferiority’ if they were to bring a lunch box to school. The reason why she finds this practice is much easier to apply here is due to Malay-Muslim concern with consuming only halal foods. Also, it is already a part of school requirements in Western Australia, where school canteens are not always open every day. In Malaysia, the school canteen is open every day, and people are less inclined to bring food to school with them.
Another socio-cultural aspect that is seen as providing a positive transformation for Mas is the charity efforts organized by the local people. She finds the way it is carried out here is better compared to Malaysia. She believed that Western Australia people are more charitable and willing to contribute readily. This is not to say that Malays are not charitable, but she felt that many Malays ‘pentingkan diri’ (‘put themselves first’). Mas revealed the awareness as a positive transformation for her. She even suggested that Malay students should employ this idea in transforming themselves for the better upon their return.
Thus far I have discussed some of the adjustment and possible areas of transformation in the social lives of Malay students during their period of study overseas. They each assessed these changes as being something they were willing to accept, able to control or something that enhanced their awareness of their Malay or Muslim identity. The ability for them to differentiate among the transformations occurred in stages in their everyday encounters, in their personal, family, social and academic lives. In facing these changes the Malay students expressed another important area of concern: class and status. However, it is notable that Malay students had diverse opinions in regard to such decisions. Some evaluated certain practices as a matter of their personal decision, such as how cosmopolitan to become (e.g. in regard to the number of time they pray each day, fasting etc.). In contrast, others insisted on the need to maintain a collective standard, thus to maintain or enforce a collective (i.e. Malay-Muslim) identity (e.g. in regard to the importance of congregational prayer, group activities etc.).
Therefore, relating to what extent Malay students maintain, adjust or transform their identity concerns whether it is their personal decision or collective decision. The situation of whether one would choose their identity based on personal or collective decisions also relates to who they are (class) and their status in Malaysia or Western Australia. In the next section I investigate the issue of class and status and the extent to
228 which the Malay students were willing to sustain or sacrifice the class and status they held in Malaysia when temporarily living and studying in Australia.
Class and Status: Sustaining or Sacrificing?
To a certain extent Malay students must face transformations in their social status or class position. Their inability to live the way they lived in Malaysia, as mentioned by some interviewees, was due to various factors. Some of the most common reasons given by Malay students were the absence of a fixed salary, their spouse having to leave or resign from their job in Malaysia, and the difficulties in the process of bringing their maid with them to Australia. I will attempt to further explore the significance of the changes Malay students must negotiate in sustaining or sacrificing their status compared to when they are in Malaysia. What have they left behind? How do they live their life here? What aspects of material culture are involved in relating to their class or status? Do they attempt to rebuild their status here? How are they preparing themselves to return to Malaysia? These are some of the issues and questions that will be further discussed in this section. As Turner (1974, p. 232) pointed out, an individual’s social status may be either elevated or degraded when they enter a society. In his discussion, he was looking at the status of an individual when they re-enter society. However, as a Muslim, the difference in class or status experienced in Western Australia does not limit them from enjoying their life, all the while retaining a commitment to Islam (see also Gottlieb 2002).
Looking back at some of the issues discussed in my earlier chapter, letting go of living a more well-off life, including the access to material goods, is quite obvious. When settling down in Western Australia, the Malay students usually get a second-hand car and furnish their homes with second-hand things. The main reason given is the limited time they are going to spend in Western Australia, between three to four years. Some students brought along new white goods that they had purchased in Malaysia. However, they obtain most of their local household goods and appliances from garage sales, second-hand stores, advertisements on the Malaysian Postgraduate Students list, or acquire them for free from other Malay students who are returning to Malaysia. A statement made by Rafi below expresses similar sentiments to those of other Malay students:
229 [W]hen we are in this situation, I really treasure my homeland and appreciate all my friends of the same nationality. However, compared to when you are in Malaysia, we could not see them. We tend to think we are the best and always on the top. Instead, when we came here, we feel we are so at the bottom. Nobody looks at us in our second-hand car. It is really different. If in Malaysia, do we ever dream or think of driving a second-hand car? Here we really feel ‘bersyukur’ (thankful to God); we feel humble and appreciate what we have. Like in Malaysia we live in a nice terrace house, but when we are here, we have to rent a house, and sometimes we do not even get to rent them. We feel really pathetic. So we learn how to appreciate things, not to complain too much, and it is a good experience.
(Translated interview excerpts with Rafi)
What Rafi perceived as ‘feeling really pathetic’ is an informal expression of how he felt when he was unable to get what he hoped for. The idea symbolically reveals the status Rafi occupies in Malaysia. He felt he would never come across this kind of situation in Malaysia. The experience somehow is seen as a reminder to him that he should be thankful for what he has in Malaysia. Rafi perceives himself as a middle-class Malay cosmopolitan. However, when describing his thankfulness to God, he is looking at the situation as a Muslim. Malay students must also cook and prepare food themselves at home when they are in Western Australia. In Malaysia, however, many have maids to do all the housework and buy prepared meals from restaurants. They would go to eat at fast food restaurants at least once or twice a week. In Western Australia they are less inclined to eat out because there is no guarantee the food will be certified ‘halal’. In Western Australia, they have to sacrifice the idea of having maids and must start to learn how to do most of the household chores with the assistance of their spouse.
They still occasionally take their family out once in awhile to some ‘halal’ Malaysian restaurants around Western Australia. The reason given is the need to savour some of the traditional Malay cuisine after feeling tired of having other foods. As Mead (2008, p. 18) states, food habits are seen as a culturally standardized set of behaviours in regard to food manifested by individuals who have been reared within a given cultural tradition. These behaviors are seen as systematically interrelated with standardized behaviours in the same culture (like preference for meat, aversion to milk, etc.). In relation to their Malay-Muslim identity, there is a common awareness that what you eat will contribute to who you are. If you eat well and the food is halal, then the blood that runs through your veins will be good and contributes to your good behaviour, but if you do otherwise, then it will contribute to other unfavourable actions and outcomes. So, it
230 is considered important to be particular about the food one consumes, the ingredients and the way it is prepared. Malay-Muslims students believed that if they eat many ‘non- halal’ (unlawful) foods, these will become part of their body system and, later, part of their flesh and blood. Although I cannot provide an explanation of the relation between one’s diet, one’s blood and one’s behaviour, as a Muslim, the religious teachings or Sunnah95 are the basis of everyday Islamic practice.
The positive outcome of sacrificing their status when in Western Australia can be seen in relation to the types of work of Malay-Muslim student’s spouses during their stay. My informants revealed that most of the jobs their spouses did here would have never crossed their minds in Malaysia. Spouses (either husband or wife) who accompanied the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students held various permanent and established employment positions in Malaysia as managers, executives, administrators, businessmen, journalists, and teachers, to name a few. Most were taking non-paid leave for two to three years and will return to their previous jobs on return to Malaysia. I have also had some informal conversations with the spouses, and they admitted that they also wanted to experience living overseas and give their children the opportunity to attend schooling in Western Australia. However, some had resigned from their jobs to provide moral and physical support to their husband or wives who were studying.
In this situation, one marriage partner sacrifices for the others benefit. Since the length of scholarship time is a minimum of three years, married students with families need considerable emotional and physical support to complete postgraduate degree in three years. Often the spouse who is a certificate or degree holder and employed in Malaysia sacrifices their status by coming along and tries to find casual work in Western Australia. I knew two families of Malay-Muslims postgraduate students in Western Australia in which both husband and wife were pursuing their postgraduate studies. Since the Australian educational system does not recognize their Malaysian degree, it was difficult for them to practice their expertise and find employment. Looking at the situation in a more positive light, Ahmad explained:
[A]s long as we are open-minded, we can see that [the] Australian does not like you to have that level of status. We can have a very wealthy person who owns a house just around the riverbank, but they just wear shorts, do not wear any shoes
95Sunnah is the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims on the basis of the teachings and practices of Muhammad and interpretations of the Koran. 231 and walk bare-footed to IGA [supermarket]. It is a common thing and there is nothing to show off about. I think that is the Australian way. Obviously, people know you have a lot of money, that is why you have houses, but they do not really show it. It is different from Asian culture particularly. If you observed here, those who are driving Mercedes car are Asian people, particularly the Chinese. Here, they just used the local car, the Holden car. So a car is a status symbol for Asian. Also, I think because of the culture, we are very fond of the title after names because it shows status, obviously. Here, being Australian, they are very open and quite laidback regarding this. They are quite informal. They do not want to be called Doctor or Professor, just to be called by their first name. It is more open than in Malaysia. We always have this hierarchical structure when we want to talk to someone. The structure here sheds the power of the authority, which is good. I do hope when I get back, I can contribute to that sort of openness. (Interview excerpts with Ahmad)
Hana, another informant explained that if we are being too humble, it is quite difficult for the white people to evaluate us. Hana felt that Malays should learn about being more open or become aware of openness of the Australian culture. She recalls a Malay saying ‘Ikut resam padi, semakin berisi semakin menunduk’ (Adopt the habit of the paddy plants, the more panicles they bear, the lower they bow). This saying acts to remind Malays about the importance of education, status and position in their life. Class and status are considered important for Malays when they are in Malaysia, but their concern declines when they are in a foreign land. However, some Malay-Muslim postgraduate students indirectly revealed their ‘rich’ way of life through their numerous trips to places of interest in Australia. This is often considered costly to other Malay- postgraduate scholarship students, unless the trips are only made only once or twice during their stay. The most valuable experience expressed by most Malay students was how they managed to endure their life in Western Australia without feeling embarrassed about what others might think of them and the ability to enjoy what they have without feeling inferior compared to others. The same idea was expressed in the context of their physical well-being. This issue is discussed further in the next part, as it is also seen as a whole new context for most Malay students during their stay in Western Australia.
Health and Wellbeing: Enduring Inclusion and Exclusion in Consultation
Physical health and well-being are considered by most Malay students as something that is a part of their daily life. All the Malay students involved in this study are basically covered by the OSHC (Overseas Student Health Coverage) insurance. Most Malay students considered this something new, and it sometimes required time to get used to 232 the system. In Malaysia, health insurance is something of a personal choice rather than something which is compulsory. What I would like to highlight here is the transformations the students must undergo in adapting to this new system of health care, in gaining medical advice or when visiting GPs (General Practitioners). I will then relate the idea of inclusion or exclusion during their consultation with their GPs or hospital staff. This will be analysed in reference to how they actually try to practise local Malay culture during their visit and the form of relationship that exists between them and their GPs. According to Jenkins (2002), inclusion breeds exclusion, and it cannot be otherwise. Furthermore, similarity and difference, logically and socially, require each other.
Most Malay students consider the idea of having medical insurance ‘leceh’ (fussy). In Malaysia, the practice of going to any clinic or GP when one is sick at any time without having to set an appointment first is seen as something good and much easier. Since one is not required to have any medical insurance coverage in Malaysia, visiting GPs and settling one’s payment straight after the visit is good. However, in Western Australia, they have to get used to making an appointment before visiting the GP. Some feel it is not convenient and is time-consuming, especially if there are things they need to settle urgently. What is more, the idea of not getting any medical prescription after visiting a GP is also a considered a step down, especially if their visit to a GP eventually ended up with no prescribed medication and only ‘common’ advice that they already knew and practised. Furthermore, the visit will cost them at least AUD$80 to AUD$100 just for the consultation and many felt ‘it is not worth it’. In most cases, they had to take their children to the hospital emergency department for treatment or medicines. One of my informants told me she has stacks of medicines she brought from Malaysia for herself and her kids. Just to note, these medicines are ‘the modern medicines’ and not the ‘traditional medications’ which are also commonly used in Malaysia. These students must adapt to having medical insurance coverage, setting appointments to see GPs and not getting medical prescriptions for common illnesses.
Most Malay students consider that the treatment they get from their medical practitioners is good and humane. They feel they are being treated nicely and considerately by their medical practitioners regardless of their status, their ethnic background or religious background. They are treated the same as anyone else: as ‘orang’ (humans). This is not to say that they are not treated humanely in Malaysia. The
233 practice in Malaysia is more that of a strictly formal ‘doctor-patient’ relationship. The same situation exists in Western Australia, but most Malays here describe the medical practitioners as being professional, and the relationship between doctor and patient as really close (not in the intimate manner but professionally) and open. This makes them feel they are being treated as a ‘human’ rather than just a ‘patient’.
In Malaysia, doctors treat ‘patients’, but do not always treat the patient as human. Most Malay students agree on this point. In Malaysia, if a person gets treatments, they are not supposed to ask anything or question the doctor, and the doctor does not tell the patient about his/her work. Therefore, the openness of the doctor/patient relationship and the informative treatments received in Western Australia are viewed positively by Malay students. Doctors in Perth are part of a professional hierarchy, but this does not mean that they are aloof or consider themselves superior to their patients. Several Malay students expressed their preference for such professional practice and hoped that it would be one day carried out in Malaysia.
Female Malay students and the spouses of male students who gave birth during their time in Western Australia shared their different experiences of hospitals. For most of them their anxieties were minimized by the advice and assurances of their female Malay friends who had given birth in Western Australia before them. Normally, they will go for both traditional and modern medication, including vitamins. They do not find it difficult to get their hands on traditional medications to be used in their confinement period, such as ‘jamu’ (traditional herbal medication), ‘mandi lulur’ (traditional bath scrub) and traditional ointments. I was lucky enough to experience firsthand the integrated usage of modern and traditional medicines when I gave birth to my baby in March 2009. I personally found that the use of traditional medicines was inclusively supported by the medical system in Australia too.
Researcher’s fieldnotes: March 2009
Researcher birthing experience: Went to the hospital about 1.00 am and was looked after by Jess (midwife) and Diane (doctor). When first entering the labour room, I was asked whether I would prefer a male or female doctor. I felt hesitant to answer because I was not sure whether it was my choice or not. Then it was cleared that it is up to me to decide and it is not an obligation. So, I decided to go for a female doctor instead. The reason for this is due to my religious affiliation rather than my ethnic identity. The environment itself creates a new experience to me. Even though I was told earlier by an in-house 234 Malaysian student doctor that I have nothing to worry about because I will be experiencing something totally new. I was not hoping on that too much.
On religious issue – I felt the midwife is such a respectful person. My husband asked her permission to perform his Subuh prayer beside my bed. She actually offer to get a mat for my husband, but my husband said it was find because there was a clean bed sheet and he used that instead. Jess was a great and patient and a professional midwife who didnot portray any racial feeling because I am a Muslim and Malay. She treated me well as her patient and I even felt she was more like a ‘concerned mum ‘ to me with her addressing me as ‘darling’, ‘luv’ and ‘beautiful’. She managed to create a ‘homely’ and secure environment for me. Even the doctor, who was supposed to end her shift at 7am stayed on until I safely delivered my baby. At this point the doctor is being professional and it has nothing to do with who I am.
Food issue – On my first day in the ward, the person who serves me the food realized that I just go for milk, juice, fruits and bread for my lunch and dinner and no chicken or meat. Then interestingly she asked me whether I take ‘halal’ food and I told her yes. The next meal she brought me ‘halal’ beef-lasagne and later I was given a list of other ‘halal’ food to choose from for my next two days stay in the hospital.
Religious issue – After my baby was born, my husband took the placenta (uri) back home. My mother and husband washed and buried it according to the Malay belief and practice. He also performed the ‘azan’ (call for prayer) and ‘takbir’ (iqamah)96 into the baby’s right ear right after he was born as practised in Islam and the doctor allowed him without any problems.
Other issue – Giving name to the baby. My baby was given his name on the 7th day after he was born as best followed in the Sunnah. Before the name was given, we have consulted religious teachers and other Malay students who are well versed in Arabic language to make sure that the suggested name has good meaning to it and hopefully will be good for the baby. Then there were the ‘cukur jambul’ ceremony or some call it ‘belah mulut’ (with dates and zam-zam water) by close relatives or person with great success or religious background, with intention that hopefully the baby will somehow follow the persons steps in future, that is being successful or religious. The next day, my husband shaves our baby’s head.
During my routine visit to King Edward Hospital in my first week after giving birth, I met up with a local midwife. Before I went there, I applied some traditional ointment to keep my feet ‘warm’. During my visit, she asked me about the smell of peppermint like ointment on me. So, I told her about the
96 New born child should hear the Zikr of Allah upon their arrival into this world. After the baby is born the azan should be said in the right ear and the takbir (Iqamah) should be said in the left ear by anyone who is able to say the adhan of the prayer, such as the father. This sould be done as soon as possible. This is the Sunna of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In other words, this is a pronouncement of the creed of Islam. Besides, at the sound of adhan and iqamah, Satan distances himself. At this early age, the child is thus invited to Allah the Majestic, to Islam and to the worship of Allah. This call forestalls temptation by Satan and ensures an unblemished faith. Moreover, it is a forearming against Satan and temptation.< http://www.islamcan.com/aboutus.shtml > 235 traditional ointment that I applied earlier. She told me that she is in agreement with traditional medication and said that traditional practice is a good way to get well and strong much faster.
According to Lock (2002), anthropologists such as W.H.R. Rivers (in the 1920s) argued that medicine in non-literate societies was not simply a random assortment of practices based on custom and superstition, but insisted that medicine is an integral part of society at large, and the form it takes reflects widely shared values. Therefore, looking into types of medication that are included and excluded in a new environment is important for the Malay students’ well-being. Furthermore, the idea of having medical insurance even appeals to some, and these people even feel prompted to buy it upon their return to Malaysia. The exposure to this new culture encourages the Malay students to make efforts to keep themselves healthy. In this situation new skills have also evolved among the Malay students in their new setting. This will be discussed next.
Enrichment of Skills in the New Setting: Motivation and Exposure
The kind of lifestyle the Malay students live in Western Australia, as discussed in the previous section, contributes to them gaining new skills. Some of their newly found skills allow them to create opportunities, for example setting up a new business or doing something they have never done before. I discuss in this section some of the motivational factors and exposure that support this process. The most mentioned skill they gain here is cooking. Most spouses who accompanied their husbands or wives said they have become better cooks: husbands have also learned to cook for the family. Moreover, the prices of foods are considered too expensive to allow eating out, especially for students with children. Therefore, they prefer to save their money for other matters rather than spending it on food. This means they are willing to sacrifice their status and be more economical and wise. Besides gaining new cooking skills, the Malay students and their spouses are also reflecting more on their choices as consumers. The idea of being a consumer and also cosmopolitan in the global lifestyles also contributes to their spending wisely and trying their hand at various new skills and hobbies.
Being economical has contributed to improve some of the students’ financial situations and enables them to have some extra spending money for leisure activities. They can enjoy their time in Australia and travel to some tourist attractions in the state of Western 236 Australia or beyond. By saving, they are able to enjoy themselves, since the money from their sponsors normally only covers basic monthly household expenses, and for many it is not enough. Some managed to put their newly acquired skills to good use, coming up with business opportunities, such as selling traditional Malay cuisine such as ‘ayam golek’, ‘char kuey teow’ and ‘beriyani rice’ on weekends or for gatherings or private occasions.
Furthermore, the different environment also inspires many Malay students to take up new hobbies such as photography and DIY (Do It Yourself) projects. Fellow Malay students and their spouses stated that the most desired hobby is taking photographs. For some, the idea of taking photos no longer involves only the idea of taking photos for the purpose of preserving memories of the visit to Western Australia. Instead, it has become something more: an ‘outing’ culture in which the students attend organized outings and events such as the photography workshop organized by MyPSA (Malaysian Postgraduate Student Association) on the 4th of September 2010. Participants paid AUD$10 each. The turnout was encouraging, about thirty people, and photography contest was organized after the workshop. The new ‘outing’ culture is actually motivating them to practise new skills and interests. If they were in Malaysia, their willingness to attend ‘skills workshops’ would be lower due to their other commitments.
Besides gaining new skills in new settings, it is interesting to reflect on the idea of enhanced community relations in reference to the new setting. Besides viewing the workshop as a place to gain useful information, it is also seen as an informal way for Malay students to gather as a community. This community relation is a useful way to view the changes in participation levels and the extent of their commitment to the group in Western Australia.
Community Relation in Transition: Participation and Commitment
The central themes of the Malay-Muslim postgraduate student community in Western Australia can be best analyzed by invoking Cohen’s (1985) idea of ‘belonging’, a sense of belonging that comes about through participation in a common symbolic world (i.e. culture). This suggests that the community relationship goes through a transition in relation to gatherings, social participation and commitments. As mentioned in Chapter Two on the idea of social identity by Miller & Steinberg (1975), this section will point
237 out how Malay-Muslims postgraduate students change information on the basis of group membership and the social roles that is tied to the group membership. I will explain more regarding the concept of belonging in the Malay community in relation to gatherings and ‘usrah’ for some informal gatherings, which normally includes discussions of religious issues. As discussed in Chapter Six, Malay students often conduct formal and informal gatherings. However, there is a need to analyse whcih gatherings attract which groups. The issue is the extent to which group participation involves levels of their religiosity or their political affiliation. The range of participants – whether just from one university, etc. – is also considered.
Gatherings are held on various occasions. Some are open to all Malay students, and some are considered private gatherings among Malays. The extent of participation differs when compared to when the students meet in Malaysia. For example, I was fortunate enough to attend the wedding of a Malay student in Western Australia. Since the Malay community here is small, invitations were sent out to basically the entire Malay student community, and the invitations were forwarded via Facebook. The level of participation of the Malay community revolves around friends and colleagues in Western Australia, while in Malaysia it revolves around relatives and friends. As a result, some of the people who attend the functions do not even know either the bride or the groom, but they are there because they know the person conducting the wedding. On the one hand this reveals the closeness of Malay community relationship in Western Australia, regardless of who the bride or groom is. As long as there are invitations to what is considered an occasion to celebrate, the community is ready to participate and assist in organizing the function.
‘Usrah’ (literally the term means ‘family’), on the other hand, is a type of informal gathering hosted by the students themselves, together with Malay permanent residents or citizens. Normally, it is conducted in the host’s house, and a person who is considered well versed in religious matters will be present to give a speech or share some Islamic knowledge. Sometimes the ‘usrah’ is conducted according to ‘female’ and ‘male’ groups. So, the ‘usrah’ group is a platform to discuss some of these matters in accordance with Islamic teachings and practice. Raha, who is a member of an ‘usrah’ group, recalled her experiences during one of these sessions:
238 [W]hen I first joined the Malay community here, I mixed with them [the local Malay-Muslims] because of ‘usrah’. I thought ‘Alhamdulillah’ [thank God] they still hold on strongly to their religion even though they are in a non-Islamic country. However, when I look at some parents here, I sympathize with them. They said that I am lucky that my kids are growing up in Malaysia because it is so difficult raising kids here. I am shocked to see so many Malay kids here who are ‘anak luar nikah’ (children begotten outside marriage) – not many, but I have known a few. Among the permanent residents’ kids who go to high school or university, for example, they are exposed to drinking liquor as a norm, and they feel it is a norm and why should they not consume it? It is really hard. Some even convert to Christianity. What can I say? The same thing even occurs in Malaysia. Over here if the parents get angry with their kids, the parents are wrong. I feel that those who have been here for a generation or more seem like they are not Malay any more. They do not know how to speak Malay, their dress, and body piercing and tattoos among boys. So it is important to look at Malays living in a non-Islamic country. For us, it might not matter much because we are going back to Malaysia soon, and we are going to tune back into our Malay or Muslim culture, unless we are going to stay here. Then we will absorb a lot of things. (Translated interview excerpts with Raha)
Community participation, therefore, is an important practice among Malays in order to control their Malay-Muslim way of life. The interpersonal communication process involved will then contribute to how the members of the Malay community create, sustain and manage their cultural values and stimulate their surveillance or policing function in the community. As we have seen here, the Malay students also get involved in community events with some permanent residents in Western Australia, such as the ‘usrah’. The gatherings provide them useful insights into the lives and problems encountered by Malays overseas, especially those who are living in non-Islamic countries. There are many positive things that the Malay permanent residents and citizens here have managed to accomplish in their lives in Western Australia, such as a better standard of living and greater financial security. On the other hand, in relation to their religious identity and practice, they are facing many troubles involving raising their children in a different culture, with different values and norms. According to Gallois and Callan (1977), Malays’ collective culture means that Malays practise their culture as an interdependent self-concept, in which their sense of self is tied up with their relations to their group.
Another form of community relation that my informants identify as going through a process of transition involves the managing of new Malay student arrivals to Western Australia. In previous years, caring for the arrivals in the community was normally
239 through mutual contact or on a volunteer basis, either by picking them up at the airport or letting them stay in the home of a volunteer Malay student for a week or so until they were able to find their own house. However, since it is apparent there are more Malay students arriving and needing assistance in some way, the MyPSA has come up with forms to fill in to assist in picking up new student arrivals or for arranging short-stay accommodation – a small fee is charged for the assistance. According to some Malay students, this step is considered as a backsliding from the Malay culture of mutual assistance. Since filling out forms itself is seen as a formal step or formality, many think the Malay student solidarity is not like it was before. The influence of individualism and materialism starts to appear in some students’ daily conversations.
On the other hand, Li attempted to explain the positive side of these steps taken by the MyPSA:
[I] am quite proud of MyPSA. Not that I am praising too much, but I feel it is good that people who are coming here know there is a website that can guide them in preparing for what needs to be done, what to bring, about the housing system, etc. At least prospective students can prepare themselves mentally, physically and monetarily. If you have contact here, then you do not have to go through the official channels. I feel the forms are for whoever is coming, but do not have any contact here. If there are a number of students coming at one time, some students seem to push the matter on to others. So what happens if everybody is busy at that time? So, at least the form will assist the committee member to find someone to pick them up and [find] temporary accommodation after their arrival. So it does not matter if you have initial contact with someone here in advance or not. The negative side of it is that people will see it as a way you let go of your responsibility as a part of a community, and you feel the relationship is loosening. (Translated interview excerpts with Li)
What is revealed by Li here is how Malays have interdependent self-construals which feature the person not as separate from the social context, but as more connected and less differentiated from others (Markus & Kitayama 1991, p. 227). According to Markus & Kitayama (1991, p. 227), ‘people are motivated to find a way to fit in with the relevant others, to fulfill and create obligation, and in general to become part of various interpersonal relationships. The significant features of the self are found in the interdependent and more public components of the self’. Therefore, the idea of community contributes to the feeling of togetherness and group belonging. Furthermore, the relationship that existed among the Malay students is also seen as important to their sense of belonging in the community, regardless of whether they are students or even 240 permanent residents. In other words, community reflects social belonging and relationship (Delanty 2003, p. 26). This can still be seen in the Malay student community’s hesitancy in accepting new implementations, and reveals their sense of obligation to members who share their ethnic and religious identity.
Chapter Summary
This chapter has discussed the extent of adjustments and maintenance associated with Malay-Muslims postgraduate students in Western Australia. Certain adjustments, maintenance and also possibility of transformations were positively anticipated by Malay students, while other forms of adjustments were considered as a major backsliding in the everyday lives of the Malay students, at least by some. Malay students welcome the changes involving their experiences, skills, English language proficiency, and social and cultural knowledge. Some believe that some transitions are good to a certain extent, as long as they do not overrule or go against Malay and Muslim values and cultural practices. Parents with school-aged children believe that they are responsible to assist and monitor changes so that their children do not encounter too many problems upon their return to Malaysia. I have also considered how the Malay language has played a major role in their everyday life as an important identity marker. Even though the Malay student informants in this research agreed on the importance of the English language in their academic life and conversations with others, they felt there was a limit to its importance. This idea is related to the awareness of having to return back to Malaysia upon completion of the study and in avoiding any difficulties, especially for their children, in the reintegration back into the Malay community and culture there. They feel it is important that their children are aware of their Malay and Muslim identity and of proper use of the Malay language. As Gans (1979, p. 67) explains, that identity cannot exist apart from a group, and the symbols involved in etiquette are themselves a part of culture.
The main aim of Malay students who are single and live alone would be to achieve a better social status upon their return to Malaysia. The priorities of students with families and who also have a more secure position or status differ in accordance with their own life situation and personal backgrounds. This further suggests that most Malay students upon their return would be considered more open and with more credentials to contribute to the society and nation as well. Hall (1997) pointed out that when one has
241 to learn to live in two countries, one has to speak a new language and make a life in another place not by choice, but as a condition of survival. Therefore, it can also be said that besides hoping for advancement in their status, they hope to incorporate some of the positive changes they have made during their stay in Western Australia.
I have also discussed some of the tension or backsliding situations highlighted in individual expressions and the idea of community policing involved in interpersonal communication. Cosmopolitan picking and choosing of standards and religious observances in some situations is considered backsliding. In relation to collective decisions involved, some community enforcement of an unquestionable religious and moral standard also contributes to one’s decision to adjust, maintain or possibly transform their identity in Western Australia. This situation is also related to how each student copes with the temporary losses in status whilst in Western Australia. Some need to spend more time on other matters in their life (e.g. working) in order to cope with their new life in Western Australia. Others who are more financially secure would have more time to spend on other form of leisure or Malay student community activites.
All discussions of the ethnic and religious identities of Malay-Muslims postgraduate students have not disregarded the existence of boundaries in Malay-Muslim students’ identities. These aspects were discussed directly or indirectly by the Malay-Muslim students in regard to how they perceived others in their new environment. As mentioned earlier in Chapter Two, the ‘exclusive boundary’ can be seen in the way Malay-Muslim students adopt their Malay language as their identity marker, while an ‘inclusive boundary’ is seen in their religious identity. Chapter Eight will conclude the discussion and elaborate on findings put forward in chapters discussed earlier by looking into the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students’ ethno-religious identity once they cross the Malaysian border (or leave their comfort zone).
242 CHAPTER 8 Ethnic and Religious Identity: Boundary Maintenance and Border Crossing
Due to the particularistic orientation of the present Islamization process, in the sense that it has been strongly identified as a key ingredient of Malay cultural identity, Islamization has acted vigorously to maintain ethnic boundaries. -Milne & Mauzy (1986, p. 76)
Introduction
In one of its major meanings, a border is a line supporting the origin or development of a state; however, borders may not be in line with the concept of identity. This chapter examines the fundamental concept of ethnic and religious identity and the idea of border crossing among Malay postgraduate students in Western Australia. Based on the discussions and findings in the earlier chapters, I determine the extent to which individual students’ ideas of border crossing lead to a willingness to make adjustments in their ethnic or religious identity. I argue that the willingness of the students to negotiate their ethnic and religious identity upon border crossing is grounded in their religious identity. I highlight the significance of uniting the religious elements with their identity adjustment. I argue further that religion, not border crossing, is the underlying idea that secures their Malay identity. The idea of border crossing will not be a viable means of generalizing one’s ethnic and religious identity in the foreseeable future.
Border Crossing in the Malay world
Ethnicity as an identity is a combination of various identities, as inflected by ‘race’, culture, language, religion, social factors and societal norms. It is not historically permanent and is constantly influenced by social development over long periods of time (Zainal Kling 1994). In the context of border crossing, the acceptance of Islam among the Malays has contributed to a major adjustment of their life and world view. The Malays have accepted that Islam is their way of life, such that Islam is considered to represent a part of them, a part of their heritage and a part of their identity needing protection (Mohamad Abu Bakar 1994). Malays, as an ethnic group, also feel that they are able to choose and to absorb only acceptable external elements to enhance their
243 social-cultural system and to maintain their identity. This belief gives rise to an interesting process of ethnic encounter. In other words, the concept of ‘Malay’ is culturally based on ethnic criteria; therefore, culture must represent part of the process of construction of ethnic identification. Although Barth (1969) is correct in insisting that cultural traits do not constitute ethnic differences, Handelman (1977) and Cornell (1996) are equally correct to remind us that cultural matters are ‘not irrelevant’. Therefore, ‘our culture as we encounter it and live it is for us simply something that is’ (Jenkins 1997, p. 76).
According to Barth (1969), the cultural features that signal the ethnic boundary may change, and the cultural characteristics of the members may likewise be transformed. Nevertheless, the fact of continuing dichotomization between members and outsiders allows us to specify the nature of continuity and to investigate the changing forms and content of culture. Border culture in anthropology deals with two levels. Firstly, the idea of culture ties people and institutions to the border within their own states, as well as to distant international borders (Donnan & Wilson 1999). The Malay students in Western Australia have crossed and created many boundaries in their movements through their and other people’s spaces and places. Here, culture ties the people and their institutions both within their own states, and to those very far away (Donnan & Wilson 1999, p. 12).
Secondly, the cultural features of an ethnic group will change, but if a group manages to secure its boundary with another ethnic group, the group will then secure its ethnic identity. In this case, the cultural aspects of the Malay student’s lives are expected to go through changes in the process of adapting to the new environment. A boundary or border is often defined as a legally recognized line or a line fixed in a particular space. However, I prefer instead to use the term frontier because it represents a vaguely defined boundary – a ‘region’ rather than a line (Parker & Rodseth 2005, p. 10). Therefore, I will discuss further the ability of the Malay-Muslim students to maintain their Malay and Muslim identity across a frontier that also supports their ethnic and religious identity.
I argue that managing one’s religious frontier is seen as a prerequisite for the students’ maintenance of their ethnic and religious identity abroad. The Malay students’ daily interactions provide the opportunity for them to reinforce their existing values and
244 practices and engage in a regularization process, whereby people attempt to address their commonalities and differences (Herzfeld 2001; Turner 1988). Some of the aspects of the regularization process that apply to Malay students lives include consuming halal foods, practising Malay culture, attending congregational prayers and fasting. Wimmer (2008) has reviewed decades of ethnographic studies that have addressed the ways by which boundaries between two ethnic groups can be maintained, even though the cultures involved might be indistinguishable, and even though individuals and groups might switch from one side of the boundary to the other. Wimmer outlined four dimensions of variation along which an individual ethnic constellation could be situated. The four dimensions are the political salience of boundaries, social closure and ‘groupness’ or exclusion along ethnic lines, cultural differentiation, and stability (Astuti 1995). Wallman (1978), on the other hand, argued that social boundaries are characterized by an interface line between the inside (us) and outside (them). According to Wallman (1978, p. 207):
[W]e identifies ‘us’ (inside) in opposition to ‘them’. We use the boundary for our purposes, according to our need(s) at this time/in this context. On the other hand, ‘they’ (outside) identify themselves by contrast to the rest of us. They use their boundary for their purposes.
The issue of forming and managing frontiers among Malay students is thus relational. It implies both similarities and differences. As Cohen (1985, p. 13) has pointed out, boundaries recognized by some may be invisible to others. From my point of view, these approaches are essential to this research in that they juxtapose the elements of ethno-religious identity and boundary in the everyday lives of Malay students. In other words, the best way to look into the Malay students’ everyday practices of exclusion and inclusion in the current setting is to look at how the Malay community is formed, and how its frontiers are managed. This idea challenges several notions proposed in previous studies: the idea that a person becomes assimilated through integration into the dominant society and the idea that minority groups are trapped between cultures and must endure an ‘identity crisis’ (Huck 1968; Parker 1995). Bhabha (1990), Hall (1990) and Clifford (1991, 1994) have acknowledged the agency of the individual in creating space for partial and multiple identifications in identity construction. In other words, this concept implies that the idea of border crossing creates a partial space for the Malay students that allows them to rely on their cultural and religious practice to adjust or maintain their identity.
245 Since identity is generally considered to involve belonging, at its most basic, it gives a person a sense of personal location, the stable core to one’s individuality (Weeks 1990). The Malay-Muslim postgraduate students involved in this study were more concerned with ways to maintain their religious identity and chosen aspects of their cultural identity, including language, relationships with their neighbours, and food consumption. In my discussions, I use the term border to refer only to state borders, while ‘boundaries and ‘frontiers’ refer to the metaphoric transition of the regions related to the Malay students’ ethnic and religious identity. I will attempt to relate these aspects to the students’ willingness to secure or not to secure their ethnic frontiers when they cross the Malaysian border.
Ethnic and Religious Identity: To Tie or not to Tie
When Malays cross the Malaysian border as students and leave Malaysia, they will undeniably become part of a new system of values (Donnan & Wilson, 1999). To what extent are they able or do they want to secure the new value systems in their daily lives? How do they judge their ethnic and religious identity, and how are they judged in terms of ethnic and religious identity? I have attempted to answer these questions through the experiences faced by Malay-Muslim postgraduates in relation to their use of the Malay language, their relationships with neighbours, their food consumption and interpersonal communications with others, to mention only a few aspects. The most important symbolic system uniting Malays combines their language with their religious belief and practice.
While Malay-Muslim students encounter a range of new circumstances in Australia, their needs and learned cultural practices assist them in maintaining, adjusting and, very occasionally transforming their social identities. One of the key issues highlighted is the maintenance of the Malay language in a new setting. Language is also of major importance, both in explaining one’s identity and by virtue of its ability to influence and effect social identities and relations among Malays. In this regard, Barth (1981, p. 207) argued that because identities are signaled as well as embraced, one would expect role constraints. A person would be reluctant to act in a new way for fear that such behaviour might be inappropriate for his/her identity, and the person would be quick to classify forms of activity in terms of one cluster or another of ethnic characteristics. Border crossing among Malay-Muslim postgraduate students, therefore, does not result
246 in Malay-Muslim students changing their existing identity to any great extent. However, the extent to which they hold on to their ethnic and religious identity differs across individuals before returning to Malaysia.
Upon their return to Malaysia, the more cosmopolitan Malay identity constructed in Western Australia was not presumed to lead to any sort of stressful situation in the future, although there are exceptions to it. When arriving in Western Australia, the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students anticipated changes in relation to their survival and adaptation to their new environment. These changes were not expected to be permanent, unless the student was applying to become a permanent resident or to obtain citizenship overseas. The prospect of changes that become permanent opens up different questions about identity. These issues may require further research.
The fact that Malay-Muslim identity is strengthened by continuous practice of Malay culture and Islamic religion supports the idea that the best way to be Malay is to be with Malays. The communication of shared systems of symbolic verbal and nonverbal behaviour is meaningful to group members who have a shared sense of belonging and who share traditions, heritage, language, and similar norms and behaviours (Fong & Chuang 2004, p. 6). Some of the attempts to preserve their Malay customs and traditions are made through Islam-based activities, such as congregational prayers, activities during the fasting month, and inviting other Malays to break the fast at their house. These religious observances serve as a vehicle in assisting the maintenance of Malay identity. This situation exemplifies just some of the cultural events and practices observed by Malay students. The reason for the emphasis on prayer in a congregation is to unite Muslim society. In these gatherings, the members of the congregation will normally exchange stories about each other and recall some personal experiences. Much of this experience is considered valuable to newcomers, including new students.
Malay-Muslim students also embraced Islamic and Malay cultural ideas like ‘hikmah’ (hoping for a good outcome in the future after facing challenges in their life or hard work), ‘nasib’ (things happen as they are meant to happen), ‘budi’ (wisdom, understanding or intellect), ‘adab’ (behave or act accordingly), and ‘tawakal’ (resignation or trust in God) to mention a few, as part of a symbolic religious-cultural complex functioning at the frontier that the students used to maintain their Malay- Muslim identity. According to Hamf (1994), religious boundary-marking can be
247 socially powerful because religion and rites are far more resistant to social change than many other markers of identity (e.g. common origin and language). These ideas can be seen to represent an important way in which the Malay students manage to overcome issues relating to their academic lives, their social lives and their new environments.
In discussing the idea of religious identity, I argue that Malay postgraduate students anticipate that this identity is more secure when Malays are involved in border crossing. This view relates to my earlier discussion of how Malay culture is fortified by religious values. My earlier discussion of the importance of consuming halal foods also explained that religious practice does not render a person unchangeable; instead, by embracing the basic Islamic concept of tawakal (‘trust in God’) one is assisted in increasing one’s flexibility. The essential meaning of this concept is that one must surrender to God on matters with which one deals in life, once an effort has been made. Border crossing among Malays offers insights involving broad categories of other cultures. However, despite some exceptions, limited efforts are made on the part of Malays to blend these other cultures into their existing Malay-Muslim cultural values and practices.
This creates situations in which social interactions take place across, beyond, outside and frequently without any reference to particular nations, borders and identities (Appadurai 1990). Malay students, therefore, cross the Malaysian borders, but they will attempt to secure their ethno-religious identity when interacting with others. They will try their best to maintain their ethno-religious identity. Their religious identity is treated as their platform for making decisions on adjustments of their other identities, including their ethnic and social identity when they cross the Malaysian border. As Gans (1979), Fishman (1985), Okamura (1981) and Galaty (1982), have pointed out, ethnic lines will not disappear in the foreseeable future, but forces of assimilation are strong, and identities are indeed changeable.
Recapitulating the Research Findings and Limitations of the Study
In this research, one of the main criteria identified as playing a major role in Malay- Muslim postgraduate students’ identity adjustment in Western Australia is religion. This factor, however, does not refer to the idea of Malay postgraduate students being more religious; instead, they became more ‘self-consciously’ religious when they are beyond
248 Malaysia’s borders. When I undertook this research, the lack of scholarly literature on Malays outside Malaysia provided me with the opportunity for this original research Therefore, the central questions of this thesis were how Malay-Muslim postgraduate students identify themselves in a foreign environment and how religion, culture (including adat) and interpersonal communication contribute to adjustment of their identity.
My findings through participant observations and interviews with a cohort of Malay- Muslims postgraduate informants have suggested that religion underlies their identity adjustment process. The informants have been identified as having considerable awareness of their ethnic and religious identity. While their ethnic identity is more flexible and situational, their religious identity is more permanent and seldom negotiable. The theme was embodied in the informants’ life experiences and comments. They have revealed their experiences throughout the interpersonal communication process in their everyday lives in the interviews and informal conversations. In this process, their revealing of their identity adjustment process is often intertwined with such commonly used religious terms as Alhamdulillah (Praise to Allah), Tawakal- tualallah (Putting complete trust in Allah) and Insya-Allah (God willing). Such accounts demonstrate the importance of religion in influencing their cultural values and practices in their identity adjustment in their everyday life.
This study also reveals that even though all Malay-Muslim postgraduate students are distinct in their own ways, most of the experiences they face refer back to their Malay culture/adat and Islamic values. Therefore, these features are considered more compelling than other cultures for Malay-Muslims living temporarily beyond Malaysian borders. In comparison with other similar findings across other scholarly studies, this study is important particularly in emphasizing the role of religion, specifically how they become more ‘self-consciously religious, as fundamentally underlying identity adjustment by the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students overseas. This was emphasised through discussions on their relationships when encountering others and the extent of their identity adjustments through various everyday activities, as discussed in Chapter Five, Six and Seven. The final finding of this study is centered on the contexts of the extension and restriction of the Malay-Muslim postgraduates’ identity adjustment or maintenance outside Malaysia.
249 This study has also aimed to evaluate how the aspects of religion and interpersonal communication contribute to the process of solidifying or reconstructing their existing identity. During my fieldwork I also looked into the views of some of the former Malay students to Western Australia, who have since returned to Malaysia, to determine their identity changes during their stay in Western Australia. In relation to this I explored the idea of Malay cosmopolitanism and what their Malay identity means to them in both settings. I felt the need to explore the idea of Malay cosmopolitanism, since I divided my informants into two groups, the first-time cosmopolitans and the experienced cosmopolitans, comparing how these two groups are adapting and adjusting their identity in their new environment, with the latter relating their previous international experiences to their new experiences in Western Australia.
Conclusion
I have attempted to discuss Malay postgraduate student ethno-religious identity in relation to the process of border crossing and the willingness of these students to adapt their cultural and religious practice to those of other people or to other cultural elements. The situational content of the identities that comprise the Malay students’ lives is detectable in a wide range of cultural practices and phenomena. However, in this process, some of the students have become more aware of the differences that exist between Malay culture and other cultures. Religion, ‘both in belief and in ritual, can symbolize one’s group identity and can serve its adherents in personal crises’ (Firth 1996, p. 69). I have attempted to deal with this idea by discussing some matters that are considered by the Malay postgraduate student themselves of the greatest importance when dealing with ethnic and religious identity outside Malaysia. These topics include language, relationships with others, consumption of food and some Islamic concepts used for guidance in daily life.
I argue, therefore, that those topics, seen against a background of wider religious elements, provide the basic ground for considering how aspects of Malay students’ ethnic and religious identity are secured, maintained or adjusted in relation to border crossing. Wazir Jahan Karim (1992, p. 231) has suggested that Malay culture is its own equalizer over the long term. It defines people’s own internal dilemmas of adaptation and adjustment by moderating trends of change from one period to another. I also propose, based upon findings and discussions in this thesis, that in addition to
250 moderating changes over time among Malays in Malaysia, it moderates change resulting from the process of international border crossing. However, in terms of my own findings, Malay cultural identity cannot be understood only in terms of the characterization offered by Wazir. A characterization in terms of Malay-Muslim identity must be emphasized when analyzing communications with other Malays, other Muslims, Asians or the other locals in the new environment.
My research indicates that interpersonal communication plays a significant role in the process of Malay students’ identity maintenance, adjustment, and possibly transformation process. From the perspective of interpersonal communication among the Malay-Muslims postgraduate students, an individual’s relationship to the majority group must be considered in order to understand her or his ethno-religious identity. Phinney (1990) has also pointed at that in order to see the extent to which ethnic identity is affected when the minority group (in my case study, Malay-Muslim postgraduate students) come into contact with the majority group (the Anglo-Celtic inhabitants of Australia), it is important to consider the nature of social interactions between members of the minority and majority groups. Therefore, I have also grounded my observation and interpretation of the Malay-Muslim postgraduates with others in a symbolic interactionist perspective on their ethnic and religious identity (e.g., Cooley 1902; Mead 1934, 1936). Malay-Muslim postgraduate students also seek out people like themselves (i.e. like other Malay-Muslims postgraduates) for the sake of security or identity (Bakhtin 1986).
In conclusion, if one is involved in crossing beyond the Malaysia border, culture itself might not be the only equalizer. Rather, Malay culture is contained within a religious framework that supports one’s adaptation and adjustment to other cultures. This research further highlights that it is important to take into account the situation of the students themselves, including their status as scholarship students and the allocated time frame for their studies. Interestingly, in the limited time they are in Western Australia, rather than being static, the complexity of the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students’ ethnic and religious identity are also subject to some adjustments within the social group. All this has assisted them in adjusting to their new temporary social environment.
251 I also acknowledge that findings in this thesis are relevant only to the situation of Malay-Muslim postgraduate students, specifically my informants involved in this study and those in similar situations, and should not to be generalized to the whole community of Malay students in Western Australia, including the undergraduate students. Further studies are required to review these other situations in the future. I also acknowledge that some undergraduate Malay students view their ethnic and religious identity differently, owing to their other forms of living arrangements (residential colleges or shared rooms), their study schedules and their recreational activities, compared with the Malay-Muslim postgraduate students in this study. Research on these topics is still in its exploratory phase and there are still many untouched issues that need to be explored in the future, especially in relation to Malays settling outside the Malaysian borders.
Finally, this thesis has examined how Malays articulate their identity outside Malaysia. The ethnic and religious identity of Malay postgraduate students is articulated through their interpretation of culture/adat and religious practice. They have highlighted their Malayness in recognition of their differences from other Muslims. Through interpersonal communication they articulate their ethnic distinctiveness, but at the same time demand recognition as Muslims. In this process, individual choice or collective decisions contribute to the Malay students’ decisions either to adjust, maintain or possibly transform their identities accordingly, with religion providing the basis for their self- or collective identification choice in Western Australia.
‘Men forget, God remembers’. (Arab proverb) What men forget, among other things, is their reciprocal identifications in the game of playing society . If [one] can assume that, at any rate, God remembers, his tenuous self- identifications are given a foundation seemingly secure from the shifting reactions of other men. God then becomes the most reliable and ultimately significant other. (Berger 1967, pp. 37–38)
252 Bibliography
Abdullah, A. 1996, Going Glocal: Cultural Dimensions in Malaysian Management, Malaysian Institute of Management, Kuala Lumpur.
Abdul Rahman Embong 2001, ‘Beyond the Crisis: The Paradox of the Malaysian Middle class’ in Southeast Asian Middle Classes: Prospects for Social Change and Democratisation, ed Abdul Rahman Embong, National University of Malaysia Publisher, Bangi, pp. 80-102.
Abu Hassan Din Al-Hafiz 2006, in article ‘Cukur jambul amalan bidaah orang Melayu’ by Zunaidah Zainon, Archive : 11/09/2006 Utusan Malaysia Online:http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2006&dt=0911&pub=ut usan_malaysia&sec=bicara_agama&pg=ba_02.htm&arc=hive&arc=hive
Adibi, Hossein 2003, ‘Identity and Cultural Change: The Case of Iranian Youth in Australia’, paper presented at the Social Change in the 21st Century Conference, 21 November 2003.
Adler, P. S. 1975, ‘The Transitional Experience: An Alternative View of Culture Shock’, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 13-23.
Adler, Ronald B., Rosenfeld L.B., Proctor II, R.F. 2007, Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication, Oxford University Press, New York.
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid 2008, ‘Islamist Realignments and the Rebranding of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia’, Contemporary Southeast Asia, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 225-232.
____ 2009, ‘Transnational Islam in Malaysia’ in Transnational Islam in South and Souteast Asia: Movements, Networks and Conflict Dynamics, eds Peter Mandaville, Farish Noor et.al. The National Bureau of Asian Research, Seatle, pp. 141-165.
Ahmed, Leila 1992, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of Modern Debate, Yale University Press, New Haven.
Alhazmi, Ahmed 2010, ‘Saudi International Student in Australia and Intercultural Engagement: A Study of Transitioning from a Gender Segregated Culture to a Mixed Gender Environment’, PhD paper review, RMIT University, Melbourne.
253 Aljunied, Syed Muhd Kairudin 2011, ‘The ‘other’ Muhammadiyah Movement: Singapore 1958-2008’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 281- 302.
Allport, G. W., & Ross, J. M. 1967, ‘Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 432-443.
Amin Maalouf 2000, On Identity, The Harvill Press, London.
Amira Firdaus 2006, ‘Ethnic Identity and News Media Preferences in Malaysia’, paper presented at ARC APFRN Signature Event, 27-29 November 2006, Perth, Australia.
Amit, Vered 2000, Constructing the Field: Ethnographic Fieldwork in the Contemporary World, Routledge, London and New York.
Andaya, Leonard Y. 2008, Leaves of the Same Tree: Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka, University of Hawai’I Press, Honolulu.
Anderson, Benedict 1992, Long Distance Nationalism: World Capitalism and the Rise of Identity Politics, CASA, Amsterdam.
Angrosino, M.V. 2007, Naturalistic Observation, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek CA.
Anzaldua, Gloria 1999, Borderlands: La Frontera, 2nd edn, Aunt Lute Books, San Francisco.
Appadurai, Arjun 1990, ‘Disjuncture and difference in the global economy’, Public Culture, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1-24.
Appiah, K.A. 2007, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, W. W. Norton, New York & London.
Armstrong, Jocelyn M. 1986, ‘Ethnic Identity Manipulation by Urban Malays’ in Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations in Malaysia, ed Raymond Lee, Monograph Series on Southeast Asia, Northern Illinois University, pp. 104-127.
____ 1988, ‘Festival Open Houses: Settings for Interethnic Communication in Urban Malaysia’, Human Organization, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 127-137.
254 Asad, Talal, 2003, Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Ashton, Elwyn T. 1984, The Welsh in the United States, Elwyn T. Ashton, Shoreham, England.
Asmah Haji Omar 1985, ‘Language and the world-view of the Malay Peasants’ in Malaysian World-View, ed Mohd Taib Osman, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp. 184- 252.
____ 2008, The Malays in Australia: Language, Culture and Religion, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur.
Astuti, Rita 1995, ‘The Vezo are not a kind of people: Identity, Differences and Ethnicity among a fishing People of Western Madagascar”, American Ethnologist, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 464-82.
Australian Bureau of Statistics Year Book, 2009-2010. [Online], Available from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/
Australian Education International, 2009. Australian Education International, [Online], DEST, Available from http://aei.dest.gov.au
Bailey, F.G. 1969, Stratagems and Spoils, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Bakhtin, M.M. 1986, Speech Genres and Other Late Essays, (V. McGee, trans.), University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
Baldassarri, Delia, and Peter S. Bearman, 2006, ‘Dynamics of Political Polarization’, ISERP Working Paper, vol. 6, no. 7, Columbia University.
Banton, Michael 2000, ‘Ethnic Conflict’, Sociology, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 481-498.
Barkdull, Carenlee, Khadija Khaja, Irene Queiro-Tajalli, Amy Swart, Dianne Cunningham abd Sheila Dennis 2011, ‘Experiences of Muslims in Four Western Countries Post-9/11’, Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 139-153.
255 Barker, M., Child, C., Gallois, C., Jones, E. and Callan, V. J. 1991, ‘Difficulties of Overseas Students in Social and Academic Situations’, Australian Journal of Psychology, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 79-84.
Barker, R.L. 2003, The Social Work Dictionary, 5th edn, NASW Press, Washington DC.
Barnard, Timothy P. 2004, Contesting Malayness: Malay Identity Across Boundaries, Singapore University Press, National University of Singapore.
Barraclough, Simon 1983, ‘Managing the Challenges of Islamic Revival in Malaysia’, Asian Survey, vol. 23, no. 8, pp. 958-975.
Barth, Fredrik 1969, Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of CultureDifference, Scandinavian University Press, Oslo.
____ 1981, Process and Form in Social Life: Selected essays of Fredrik Barth: Volume1, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
____ 1993, Balinese Worlds, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London.
Barthes, Roland 1997, ‘Toward a Psychosociology of Contemporary Food Consumption’ in Food and Culture: A Reader, eds Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik, Routledge, New York & London.
Bauman, Richard & Sherzer, Joel 1989, Explorations in the Ethnography of Speaking, 2nd edn Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Bauman, Z. 2000, Liquid Modernity, Polity Press, Cambridge.
Bendle, M.F. 2002, ‘The Crisis of ‘Identity’ in High Modernity’, British Journal of Sociology, vol. 53, pp. 1-18.
Bennett, Daniel M, 2006, ‘Culture and Context: A Study of Neighborhood Effects on Racial Socialization and Ethnic Identity Content in a Sample of African American Adolescents’, Journal of Black Psychology, vol. 32, pp. 479-500.
Bensman, Joseph & Vidich, Arthur J. 1995, ‘Economic Class, Status and Personality’ in The New Middle Classes: Life-Styles, Status Claims and Political Orientations, ed Arthur J. Vidich, Macmillan, Houndsmills, pp. 161-185.
256 Berg, Bruce L. 2007, Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, 6th edn, Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, Boston.
Berger, B. 1991, The Culture of Entrepreneurship, ICS Press, San Francisco, CA.
Berger, Charles, R. & Bradac, James, J. 1982, Language and Social Knowledge: Uncertainty in Interpersonal Relations, Edward Arnold (Publisher) Ltd, London.
Berger, P. 1963, Invitation to Sociology: A Humanist Perspective. Doubleday, New York.
Bernstein, Basil 1961, ‘Social Class and Linguistic Development’ in Education, Economy and Society, eds A.H. Halsey, J. Floud & C.A. Anderson, Free Press, New York, pp. 288-314.
____ 1964, ‘Elaborated and Restricted Codes: Their Origins and Some Consequences’, American Anthropologist, vol. 66, no. 6, pp. 55-69.
____ 1971 Class, Codes and Control: Theoretical StudiesTtowards a Sociology of Language, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Bhabha, Homi 1990, ‘The Third Space’ in Identity: Community, Culture, Difference, ed J. Rutherford, Lawrence and Wishart, London.
____ 1994, The Location of Culture, Routledge, London.
Bibijan Ibrahim 1977, ‘Behavioral Malayisation among some Indian Muslims in Singapore’, Tamil Reravai, vol. 1, p. 1.
Birt, Yahya 2006, Notes on Islamophobia, http://www.yahyabirt.com/?p=48.
Blumer, H. 1969, Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliff.
Boissevain J. 1974, Friends of Friends: Networks, Manipulators and Coalitions, Blackwell, Oxford.
257 Bourdieu, Pierre 1984, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, Routledge, London.
____ 1990, The Logic of Practice, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Bowe, Heather J. & Martin, Kylie 2007, Communication Across Cultures: Mutual Understanding in a Global World, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Božilović, Nikola 2010, ‘Youth Subcultures and Subversive Identities’, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology and History, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 45-58.
Brah, A. 1996, Cartographies of Diaspora: Contesting Identities, Routledge, London.
Bray, Z. 2004, Living Boundaries: Frontiers and Identity in the Basque Country, Peter Lang Press. Brussels.
Brein, Michael & David, K. H. 1971, Intercultural Communication and the Adjustment of the Sojourner’, Psychological Bulletin, vol. 76, no. 3, pp. 215-230.
Brissenden, Rosemary 1996, South East Asian Food, Penguin, Ringwood, Vic.
Brock, Alexander 2008, ‘Humor, Jokes, and Irony Versus Mocking, Gossip, and Black Humor’ in Handbook of Interpersonal Communication, eds Antos, Gerd &Ventola Eija, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 541-565.
Brown, D. 1989, Ethnic Revival: Perspectives on States and Society, Third World Quarterly, vol.11, no.4, pp. 1-17.
Brown, G. & Atkins, M. 1990, Effective Teaching in Higher Education, Routledge, London.
Brown, L., Edwards J. & Hartwell, H. 2010, ‘A taste of the unfamiliar: Understanding the meanings attached to food by international postgraduate students in England’, Appetite, vol. 54, pp. 202-207.
Brown, P. & Levinson, S. 1987, Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
258 Brubaker, R., & Cooper, F. 2000, ‘Beyond ‘identity’, Theory and Society, vol. 29, pp. 1-47.
Bruenjes, AL. 1998, 'Doing anthropology at home' in Research Methods in the Field: Eleven Anthropological Accounts, 2nd edn, M Crick & B Geddes, Deakin University Press, Victoria.
Bryceson, Deborah F., Okely, Judith, & Webber, Jonathan 2007, Identity and Networks: Fashioning Gender and Ethnicity Across Cultures, Berghahn Books, New York.
Burke, B. 1997, International Student Services: Our business or Everyone's Business? Keynote Address at the 8th Conference of the International Student Advisers' Network of Australia, Melbourne, Australia.
Burke, Peter J., Jan E. Stets, and Maureen A. Pirog-Good 1988, ‘Gender Identity, Self- Esteem, and Physical and Sexual Abuse in Dating Relationships’, Social Psychology Quarterly, vol. 51, pp. 272-285.
Cadman, K. 1997, ‘ The ‘Songlines’ of Academic Writing: Integrating the Voices of International and NESB Students nto their texts, in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: advancing international perspectives, eds R.Murray-Harvey & H. Silins; Proceedings of the 1997 Annual Conference of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia, 8–11 July, 1997 (Adelaide, Flinders University Press).
____ 2000, ‘ ‘'Voices in the Air': Evaluations of the Learning Experiences of International postgraduates and Their Supervisors’, Teaching in Higher Education, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 475-491.
Calhoun, Craig 1994, Social Theory and the Politics of Identity, Blackwell Publishers Inc., Oxford UK.
Caplow, Theodore & Stryker, Sheldon. 1964, The Urban Ambience, Bedminster Press, New York.
Carey, James, W. 1989, Communication as Culture, Routledge, New York.
Chandra Muzaffar 1987, Islamic Resurgence in Malaysia, Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn Bhd, Petaling Jaya.
259 Chang, Heewon 2008, Autoethnography as Method, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California.
Chaudhry, Muhammad Sharif 2003, What is Islam: Gist of Teachings of Islam on All Important Fields of Human Life, Snsam Education Foundation, Lahore, Pakistan.
Chaudhury, Sadia, R. & Miller, Lisa 2008, ‘Religious Identity Formation Among Bangladeshi American Muslim Adolescents’, Journal of Adolescent Research, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 383-410.
Cheah Boon Kheng, 1997, ‘Writing Indigenous History in Malaysia: A Survey on Approaches and Problems’, Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 10, no. 2 , pp. 33-81.
Clammer J.R. 1979, The Ambiguity of Identity: Ethnicity Maintenance and Change among the Straits Chinese Community of Malaysia and Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore (Occasional Paper 54).
____ 2002, Diaspora and Identity: The Sociology of Culture in Southeast Asia, Pelanduk Publications, Malaysia.
Clampitt, P. G. 1991, Communicating For Managerial Effectiveness, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Cleveland, H., Mangone, G. J., & Adams, J. G. 1960, The Overseas Americans, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Clifford, James 1991, ‘Travelling Cultures’ in Cultural Studies, eds Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson, and Paula Treichler, Routledge, New York.
____ 1994, ‘Diasporas’, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 302-38.
Coffey, P. 1999, The Ethnographic self, Sage, London.
____ 2002, ‘Ethnography and Self: Reflections and Representations’ in Qualitative Research in Action, ed T. May, SAGE Publication, London, pp. 313-331.
260 Cohen, Abner 1981, ‘Variables in Ethnicity’ in Urban Ethnicity, ed Charles Keyes, University of Washington Press, Seattle.
Cohen, Anthony P. 1985, The Symbolic Construction of Community, Ellis Horwood Limited, Chichester & Tavistock Publications Limited, London.
____ 1994a, ‘Boundaries of Consciousness, Consciousness of boundaries: Critical Questions for Anthropology’ in The Anthropology of Ethnicity: Beyond Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, eds Hans Vermeulan and Cora Govers, Het Spinhuss, Amsterdam.
____ 1994b, Self-Consciousness: An Alternative Anthropology of Identity, Routledge, London & New York.
____ 1998, ‘Boundaries and Boundary-Consciousness: Politicising Cultural Identity’ in The Frontiers of Europe, eds M. Anderson and E. Bort, Printer Press, London.
Cohn, Bernard 1996, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British Rule in India, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Coleridge, S. 1821, ‘Letter to Mr. Blackwood’ in Blackwood Edinburg Magazine, no.10, pp. 253-255.
Cooley, C. H. 1902, Human Nature and the Social Order, Scribner, New York.
Condit, Celeste M. 2006, ‘Communication as Relationaality’ in Communication as Perspective on Theory, eds Gregory J. Shepherd, Jeffrey St. John & Ted Striphas, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, pp. 3-12.
Constitution of the Republic of Singapore 1988, (Amendment No. 2) Bill No. 24/87, Singapore National Printers, Singapore, p. 46.
Contoyannis, Paul & Jones, Andrew M. 2004, ‘Socio-economic Status, Health and Lifestyle’, Journal of Health Economics, vol. 23, no. 5, pp 965-995.
Cornell 1996, ‘The Variable Ties that Bind: Content and Circumstances in Ethnic Processes’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 265-89.
Cragg, Kenneth 2005, ‘Shahadah’, Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd edn, ed. Lindsay Jones, vol. 12, Macmillan Reference USA, Detroit, pp. 8266-8267.
261 Creswell, J. 1998, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design; Choosing Among Five Traditions, SAGE Publications, London.
Crocker, Jennifer & Quinn, Diane M. 2003, ‘Social Stigma and the Self: Meanings, Situations and Self-esteem’ in The Social Psychology of Stigma, eds Todd F. Heatherton, Robert E. Kleck., Michelle R. Hebl & Jay G. Hull, Guilford Press, New York, pp. 153-183.
Cynthia Joseph 2006, ‘Negotiating Discourse of Gender, ethnicity and Schooling: Ways of Being Malay, Chinese and Indian Schoolgirls in Malaysia’, Pedagogy, Culture and Society, vol.14, no. 1, pp. 35-53.
Dallal, Ahmad 2011, ‘Umma’, Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures. General Editor Suad Joseph .
Das, S & Jensen, E. 2008, Welcome to Nation of University Ghettos, Fairfax, Sydney.
Dei, G.J. 1992, The Social Reality of International Post-secondary Students in Canada Canadian Bureau for International Education, Ottawa, Ontario.
Delanty, G. 2003, Community, Sage, London.
Denny, Frederick Mathewson 2006, An Introduction to Islam, 3rd edn. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Derichs, C. 1999, ‘Nation-building in Malaysia under conditions of Globalization’, paper presented at The 2nd International Malaysian Studies Conference, University of Malaya, August 2-4, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
DeVito, Joseph A. 1992, The Interpersonal Communication Book, 6th edn, HarperCollins, New York.
Donnan, Hastings & Wilson Thomas M. 1999, Borders: Frontiers of Identity, Nation and State, Berg, Oxford, New York.
Douglas, Mary 1982, In the Active Voice, Basic Books Inc. Publishers, New York.
Dunn. Kevin 2006, ‘Stereotypes no Substitute for Understanding’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20th March 2006.
262 Eagleton, Terry 1991, Ideology: An Introduction, Verso, London, UK.
Eisikovits, Rivka A. & Schechter, Hava 2007, ‘Social and Academic Adaptation Styles of Female Students who Immigrated Alone from the Former Soviet Union to Israel’, International Migration, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 97-118.
Emerson, Robert, M. 1988, Contemporary Field Research: A Collection of Readings, Prospect Height, Waveland, Illinois.
Emerson, Robert M., Fretz, Rachel I. & Shaw, Linda L. 1995, Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Endo, Hisashi 1999, ‘Adat in Transition’ in Political Culture and Ethnicity: An Anthropological Study in Southeast Asia, ed Toh Goda, New Day Publisher, Quezon City, Phillippines.
Enzo Pace 2011, ‘Religion as Communication’, International Review of Sociology, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 205-229.
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland 2001, ‘Ethnic Identity, National Identity and Intergroup Conflict: The Significance of Personal Experience’ in Social Identity, Intergroup Conflict and Conflict Reduction, eds Ashmore, Jussim, and Wilder, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
____ 2002, Ethnicity and Nationalism, Pluto Press, London.
Erikson, H. Erik, 1965, The Challenge of Youth, Anchor Books, Garden City, New York.
____ 1968, Identity: Youth and Crisis, W.W. Norton & Company, New York.
Evans, Grant 1999, Laos: Culture and Society, Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Evans-Pritchard, E. 1937, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic amongst the Azande of Anglo- Egyptian Sudan, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Fairclough, N. 1992, Discourse and Social Change, Polity Press, Cambridge.
263 ____ 2001, ‘Critical Discourse Analysis as A Method in Social Scientific Research’, in Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, eds Wodak, R. & M. Meyer, Sage, London, pp. 121-138.
Farah, C.E. 2003, Islam: Beliefs and Observances, 7th edn, Barrons, New York.
Fearing, F. 1954, ‘An Examination of the Conceptions of Benjamin Whorf in the Light of Theories of Perception and Cognition’ in Language in Culture, ed H. Hoijer, Amer, Anthropologist 56, Memoir No. 79, 47, 1954.
Fenton, S. 2003, ‘Malaysia and Capitalist Modernisation: Plural and Multicultural Models’, International Journal on Multicultural Societies, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 135-147.
____ 2010, Ethnicity, 2nd edn, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK.
Fetterman, D.M. 1998, Ethnography: Step by step, 2nd edn Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Firth, Raymond 1996, Religion: A Humanist Interpretation, Routledge, London & New York.
Fischer, Eileen & Gainer, Brenda 1993, ‘Baby Showers: A Rite of Passage in Transition’, Advances in Consumer Research, vol. 20, pp. 320-324.
Fischer, Johan 2005, ‘Feeding Secularism: Consuming Halal among the Malays in London’, Diaspora, vol.14, no. 2/3, pp. 275–297.
____ 2008, Proper Islamic Consumption: Shopping among the Malays in Modern Malaysia, NIAS Press, Copenhagen S, Denmark.
Fischler, Claude 1988, ‘Food, Self and Identity’, Social Science Information, vol. 27, p. 275-291.
Fisher, G. 1998, The Mindsets Factors in Ethnic Conflict: A Cross-cultural Agenda. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth, ME.
Fishman, Joshua 1985, ‘The ethnic revival in the United States’ in Mexican Americans in Comparative Perspective, ed Walker Connor, Urban Institute Press, Washington, pp. 311-54.
264 ____ 1989, Language and Ethnicity in Minority Sociolinguistic Perspective, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, Avon.
Fisk, E. K. & Rani, Osman H. 1982, The Political Economy of Malaysia, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur.
Fiske, Alan Page 2002, ‘Moral Emotions Provide the Self-Control Needed to Sustain Relationships’, Self and Identity, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 169-175.
Fong, Mary & Chuang, Rueyling, 2004, Communicating Ethnic & Cultural Identity, Rowman & Littlefield Pub, USA.
Frisk, Sylva 2009, Submitting to God: Women and Islam in Urban Malaysia, University of Washington Press, Seattle.
Frith, Tabitha 2000, ‘Ethno Religious Identity and Urban Malays’, Asian Ethnicity, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 117-129.
Fryer, R.G., & Levitt, S.D. 2004, ‘The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Name’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 119, pp. 767-805.
Furnivall, J. S. 1945, ‘Some Problems of Tropical Economy' in Fabian Colonial Essays, ed Rita Hinden, George Allen & Unwin, London, pp. 161-184.
Galaty, John C. 1982, ‘Being Massai’; Being ‘people-of-cattle; Ethnic shifters in East Africa’, American Ethnologist, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-20.
Gallois, Cynthia & Callan, Victor J. 1977, Communication and Culture: A Guide for Practice, John Wiley & Sons, England.
Gans, Herbert J. 1979, ‘Symbolic Ethnicity: The Future of Ethnic Groups and Cultures in America’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-20.
Garcia, M. F., Ramirez, M.G. & Jariego, I.M. 2002, ‘Social Support and Locus of Control as Predictors of Psychological Well-being in Moroccan and Peruvian Immigrant Women in Spain’, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 287-310.
Gardner, G. H. 1962, ‘Cross-cultural Communication’, Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 58, pp. 241-256.
265 Gee, James Paul 2005, An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method, 2nd edn, Routledge, London and New York.
Geertz, Clifford 1973, ‘Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture’ in The Interpretation of Culture, Basic Books, New York, pp. 3-30.
____ 1973, The Interpretation of Cultures, Basic Books, New York.
____ 1983, Local Knowledge, Basic Books, New York.
____ 1984, ‘From the Natives’s Point of View: On the Nature of Anthropological Understanding’ in Culture Theory: Essays on Mind, Self and Emotion, eds R. Shweder and R.A Levine, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Gellner, Ernest 1995, Anthropology and Politics: Resolutions in the Sacred Grove, Blackwell, Oxford, U.K.
Gellner, E. & Ionescu, G. (eds) 1970, Populism: Its Meaning and National Characteristics, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London.
Gerth, Hans H. & Mills, C. Wright 1995, ‘The Status Sphere’ in The New Middle Classes: Life-Styles, Status Claims and Political Orientations, ed Arthur J. Vidich, Macmillan, Houndsmills, pp. 133-143.
Geschiere, Peter 1997, The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics of the Occult in Postcolonial Africa, University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville.
Giddens, Anthony 1991, Modernity and Self Identity, Stanford University Press, Stanford.
____ 1999, Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives. Routledge, New York.
____ 2003, Sociology, 4th edn, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK.
Gilbert, Nigel G. 2008, Researching Social Life, 3rd edn, Sage Publication, London.
266 Giles, H., Mulac, A., Bradac, J.J., & Smith, P.J. 1992, ‘Speech Accommodation’ in Reading on Communicating with Strangers, eds W.B.Gudykunst & Y.Y.Kim, McGraw-Hil, New York.
Gleason, P. 1983, ‘Identifying Identity: A semantic history’, Journal of American History, vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 910-931.
Goffman, Erving 1959, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Doubleday, New York.
____ 1963, Behavior in Public Places, The Free Press of Glencoe, New York.
____ 1967, Interaction Ritual: Essays In Face-To-Face Behavior, Aldine Pub. Co., Chicago.
____ 1971a, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Penguin Books, London.
____ 1971b, Relations in Public, Basic Books, New York.
____ 1989, ‘On Fieldwork’, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, vol. 18, no.2, pp. 123-32.
Gold, R.L. 1958, ‘Roles in Sociological Field Observations’, Social Forces, vol. 36, no.3, pp. 217-223.
Goldschmidt, Walter 2009, ‘The Unfamiliar in the Familiar’ in Insider Anthropology, Cerroni-Long, Napa Bulletin (16), American Anthropological Association, pp. 17-21.
Goldsen, R. K, Suchman, E. A, & Williams, R. M. 1956, ‘Factors associated with the development of cross-cultural social interaction’ Journal of Social Issues, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 26-32.
Goodacre, Philip & Foller, Jennifer 1987, Communicating Across Culture, Social Science Press, Wentworth Falls, N.S.W.
Gottlieb, Alma. 2002, ‘Interpreting Gender and Sexuality: Approaches from Cultural Anthropology’ in Exotic No More: Anthropology on the Front Lines, ed Jeremy MacClancy, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 167-189.
267 Gottschalk, Peter & Greenberg, Gabriel 2008, Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Lanham.
Gouldner, A.W. 1960, ‘The Norm of Reciprocity: A Preliminary Statement’, American Sociological Review, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 161-179.
Graesser, A.C., Millis, K.K. and Zwaan, R.A. 1997, ‘Discourse Comprehension’, Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 48, pp. 163-189.
Granovetter, M. 1973, ‘The Strength of Weak Ties’, American Journal of Sociology vol. 78, no. 6, pp.1360-1380.
Grimshaw, Trevor & Sears, Coreen 2008, ‘Where am I from? Where do I belong?: The Negotiation and Maintenance of Identity by International Schools Students’, Journal of Research in International Education, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 259-278.
Guillaume, Xavier 2002, ‘Foreign Policy and the Politics of Alterity: A Dialogical Understanding of International Relations. Millennium’, Journal of International Studies, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 1-26.
Hall, E.T. 1959, The Silent Language, Doubleday Garden City, New York.
____ 1966, The Hidden Dimension, Doubleday Garden City, New York.
____ 1976, Beyond Culture, Anchor Books, New York.
Hall, Stuart 1990, ‘Cultural Identity and Diaspora’, in Identity,Community, Culture, Difference, ed. J. Rutherford (ed.), Lawrence and Wishart, London.
____ 1997, ‘Cultural Identity and Diaspora’ in Identity and difference, ed Wodward, K, Sage Publication, London, pp. 51-59.
____ 2002, ‘Political Belonging in a World of Multiple Identities”, in Conceiving Cosmopolitanism: Theory, Context and Practice, eds Steven Vertovec & Robin Cohen, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 25-31.
Hall, Stuart & Gieben, Bram 1992, Formations of Modernity, Polity Press, Cambridge.
268 Hall, Stuart & Paul du Guy 1996, Questions of Cultural Identity, Sage, London, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Hamayotsu, Kikue 1999, ‘Reformist Islam, Mahathir and the Making of Malaysian Nationalism’, Presented at the 2nd International Malaysian Studies Conference, August 2-4, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
Hamf, T. 1994, ‘The Sacred Marker: Religion, Communinalism and Nationalism’, Social Compass, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 9-20.
Hammersley, Martyn & Atkinson, Paul 2007, Ethnography, Principles in Practice. 3rd edn, Routledge, London.
Handelman 1977, ‘The Organization of Ethnicity’, Ethnic Group, vol. 1, no.3, pp. 187-200.
Hannerz, Ulf 1990, ‘Cosmopolitan and Locals in World Culture’, in Global Culture: Nationalim, Globalization and Modernity, ed M. Featherstone, Sage, London.
____ 1999, ‘Reflections of Varieties of Culturespeak’, European Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 393-407.
____ 2004, ‘Cosmopolitanism’ in A Companion to the Anthropology of Politics, eds David Nugent and Joan Vincent, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 69-85.
Hargie O., Saunders C., & Dickson D. 1981, Social Skills in Interpersonal Communication, Croom Helm, London.
Harris, David 1996, A Society of Signs? Routledge, New York.
Harris, Richard M. & Rubinstein, David 1975, ‘Paralanguage, Communication, and Cognition’ in Organization of Behavior in Face-to-Face Interaction, eds Adam Kendon, Richard M. Harris & Mary Ritchie Key, Aldine Publishing, Illinois, pp. 251-276.
Harris, Zellig S. 1952, ‘Discourse Analysis’, Language, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 1-30.
Hartley, Peter 1999, Interpersonal Communication, 2n edn, Routledge, London & New York.
269 Harvey, L.V. 1974, Interpersonal Communication, Training Document No.74/258, Australian Public Service Board: Canberra.
Haviland, William A. 1999, Cultural Anthropology. 9th edn, Harcourt Brace & Company, Orlando, p. 110.
Herzfelf, Michael 1997, Cultural Intimacy: Social Poetics in the Nation-State, Routledge, London.
____ 2001, Anthropology: Theoretical Practice in Culture and Society, UNESCO. Maiden, MA.
Hirschman, C. 1987, ‘The Meaning and Measurement of Ethnicity in Malaysia: An Analysis of Census Classifications’, The Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 555-582
Ho, David Yau-fai 1976, ‘Concept of Face’, The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 81, no. 4, pp. 867-884.
Ho, Esther Sui-chu 2009, ‘Characteristics of East Asian Learners: What We Learned from PISA’, Educational Research Journal, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 327-348.
Hobhouse, L.T. 1951, Morals in Evolution: A Tudy in Comparative Ethics, Chapman & Hall, London.
Ho, Engseng 2006, The Graves of Tarim: Genealogy and Mobility across the Indian Ocean, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Holland, Dorothy 2001, Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds, Harvard University Press, Cambridge & Massachusetts.
Holmes, Mary 2009, Gender and Everyday Life, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon.
Holt, N.L. 2003, ‘Representation, Legitimation and Autoethnography: An Autoethnographic Writing Story’, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, vol. 2, no.1, pp. 1-22.
270 Holtgraves, Thomas 1992, ‘The Linguistic Realization of Face Management: Implications for Language Production and Comprehension, Person Perception, and Cross-Cultural Communication’, Social Psychology Quarterly, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 141-159.
Hooker, M.B. 1970, Adat Laws in Modern Malaya, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, pp. 71-90.
Horowitz, Donald 1971, ‘Three Dimensions of Ethnic Politics’, World Politics, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 232-244.
Houtsma M. Th. 1993, Brill’s E.J.: First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, Leiden, Netherlands.
Huck, Arthur 1968, The Chinese in Australia, Longman, Melbourne.
Hymes, Dell 2003, ‘Models of the Interaction of Language and Social Life’ in Sociolinguistics: The Essential Readings, eds Christina Bratt Paulston & G. Richard Tucker, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, USA, pp. 30-47.
Iqbal, Allama Muhammad 1986, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, Iqbal Academy Pakistan and the Institute of Islamic Culture, Lahore.
Jacobson, E. 1964, The Self and the Object World, International Universities Press, New York.
Jacobson, J. 1998, Islam in Transition: Religion and Identity Among British Pakistani Youth, Routledge, London.
Jackson, Jane. 2008, Language, Identity and Study Abroad: Sociocultural Perspectives, Equinox Publishing, UK.
James, Shelly 2009, ‘The Concept of the Aesthetic’ in The Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy, ed Edward, N. Zalta, The Metapysics Research Lab, Stanford.
Jaworski, Adam & Coupland, Nikolas 1999, The Discourse Reader, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon.
Jenkins, Richard 1997, Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations, Sage Publications, London.
271 ____ 2002, ‘Imagined but Not Imaginary: Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Modern World’ in Exotic No More: Anthropology on the Front Lines, ed Jeremy MacClancy, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 114-128.
Johns, Anthony, H. & Saeed, Abdullah 2002, ‘Muslims in Australia: The Building of a Community’ in Muslim Minorities in the West: Visible and Invisible, Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Jane I.Smith, Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, CA, pp. 195- 216.
Jones, Delmos J. 1970, ‘Towards a Native Anthropology’, Human Organization, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 251-259.
Joseph, John E. 2004, Language and Identity: National, Ethnic, Religious, Palgrave MacMillan, New York.
Kahn, Joel S. 1992, ‘Class, Ethnicity and Diversity: Some Remarks on Malay Culture in Malaysia’ in Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia, eds Joel S. Kahn & Francis Loh Kok Wah, ASAA with ALLEN & UNWIN, Australia, pp. 158-178.
____ 2003, ‘Islam, Modernity, and the Popular in Malaysia’ in Malaysia, Eds Hooker and Norani Othman, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp. 147–166.
____ 2004, ‘The Premise of Difference: Race, culture, nation and cosmopolitan practice in (pen)insular Southeast Asia’, Revised text of lecture delivered at Ateneo de Manila University, 9 February 2004.
____ 2006, Other Malays: Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism in the Modern Malay World, Southeast Asia Publication Series, Singapore.
Kamali, Mohammad Hashim 2005, ‘Hadith’, Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd edn, ed Lindsay Jones, vol. 6, Macmillan Reference USA, Detroit, pp. 3726-3733.
Kant, I. 1790, Critique of the Power of Judgement, trans. P. Guyer & E. Matthews, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000.
Katz, Jack 1988, ‘A Theory of Qualitative Methodology: The System of Analytical Fieldwork’ in Contemporary Field Research: A Collection of Readings, ed Robert M. Emerson, Waveland, Prospect Height, Ill, pp. 127-48.
272 Katz, Ilan 1996, The Construction of Racial Identity in Children of Mixed Parentage: Mixed Metaphors, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd., London, p. 29.
Kaur, Sarjit & Sidhu, Gurnam Kaur 2009, ‘A Qualitative Study of Postgraduate Students’ Learning Experiences in Malaysia’, International Education Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 47-56.
Kember, D. 2000, ‘Misconceptions about the Learning Approaches, Motivation and Study Practices of Asian Students’ Higher Education, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 99–121.
Kendall, Gavin P., Woodward, Ian & Skrbis, Zlatko 2009, The Sociology of Cosmopolitanism: Globalization, Identity, Culture and Government, Palgrave MacMillan, United Kingdom.
Kendon, Adam 1981, Nonverbal Communication, Interaction, and Gesture: Selections from Semiotica, Mouton Publishers, The Hague.
Kennedy, Paul 2007, ‘Global Transformations but Local ‘Bubble’ Lifes: Taking a Reality Check on Some Globalization Concepts’, Globalizations, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 267-282.
Kermalli, Jameel 2008, Islam: The Absolute Truth, Z-ra Foundation.
Kessler, Clive S. 2008, ‘Syed Hussein Alatas (1928-2007): Wise Muslim Rationalist, Culturally Grounded Cosmopolitan’ in Profiles in Courage: Political Actors & Ideas in Contemporary Asia, eds Gloria Davies, J.V. D’Cruz & Nathan Hollier, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 169-183.
Khoo Boo Teik 2003, Beyond Mahathir: Malaysia Politics and Its Discontents, Zed Books, London & New York.
Kiang, Lisa, Harter, Susan & Whitesell, Nancy R. 2007, ‘Relational expression of ethnic identity in Chinese Americans’, Journal of Social and Personal Relationship, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 277-296.
Kim, Y. 1991, ‘Influence of Language and Similarity on Initial Intercultural Attraction’ in Cross-cultural Interpersonal communication, eds S. Ting-Toomey & F. Korzenny, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, pp. 213–229.
273 ____ 1994, ‘Adapting to a newculture’ in Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 7th Edn, eds L. Samover & R. Porter, Wadsworth, Belmont, CA, pp. 392–404.
Kinnvall, Catarina 2004, ‘Globalization and Religious Nationalism: Self, Identity, and the Search for Ontological Security, Political Psychology, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 741-76.
Kipp, Rita Smith 1996, Disassociated Identities: Ethnicity, Religion, and Class in an Indonesian Society, University ofMichigan Press, Ann Arbor, pp. 20-38.
Kluckhohn, C. 1949, Mirror for Man, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Knapp, Mark L. & Daly, John A 2002, Handbook of Interpersonal Communication, 3rd edn, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California.
Kolm, Serge-Christophe 2008, Reciprocity: An Economics of Social Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Krauss, Steven E., Azimi H.Hamzah, Turiman Suandi et al. 2006, ‘Exploring Regional Differences in Religiosity among Muslim Youth in Malaysia’, Review of Religious Research, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 238-252.
Kristeva J. 1991, Strangers to Ourselves, Harvester Wheatsheaf, New York.
Kuroda, Keiko 2002, The Siamese in Kedah Under Nation-State Making, Paper presented at the First Interdialogue Conference on Southern Thailand, Pattani, Thailand.
Kurzban, R. Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. 2001, ‘Can race be erased?’, Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 98, no. 26.
Kvale, S. 2007, Doing interviews, Sage Publications, London.
Kwame Anthony Appiah, 2007, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, W. W. Norton, New York & London.
Lailawati Mohd Salleh 2005, ‘High/Low Context Communication: The Malaysian Malay Style’, Proceedings of Association for Business Communication Annual Convention, pp. 1-11.
274 Lam, J. Y. 2004, ‘Religious Conversion and Reconstruction of Identities: The Case of Chinese Muslim Converts in Malaysia’, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Hilton San Francisco & Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, San Francisco, CA, 14/08/2004. Online: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p110040_index.html
Larson, M. L. 1984, Meaning-based Translation: A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence, University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland.
Lasswell, H. 1948, ‘The Structure and Function of Communication in Society’ in The Communication of Ideas, ed Bryson, Lymon, Institute for Religious and Social Studies, New York, pp. 37-51.
Lawson, S., & Sachdev, I. 2000, ‘Codeswitching in Tunisia: Attitudinal and Behavioral Dimensions’, Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 32, no. 9, pp. 1343-1361.
Leach, E.R. 1954, Political System of Highland Burma, Beacon, Boston.
Lee, Raymond L.M. 2004, ‘The Transformation of Race Relations in Malaysia: From Ethnic Discourse to National Imagery, 1993-2003’, African and Asian Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 119-143.
Lee Su Kim 2003, ‘Multiple Identities in a Multicultural World: A Malaysian Perspective’, Journal of Language, Identity & Education, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 137- 158.
Leigh, Michael & Lip, Belinda 2004, ‘Transitions in Malaysian Society and Politics: Towards Centralizing Power’ in The Asia-Pacific: A Region in Transition, ed Jim Rolfe, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, pp. 300-322.
Levine, Hal B. 1999, ‘Reconstructing Ethnicity’, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 165-180.
Levitt, S.D., & Dubner, S.J. 2005, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explore the Hidden Side of Everything, William Morrow, New York.
Lewthwaite, Malcolm 1996, ‘A Study of International Students’ Perspectives on Cross- cultural Adaptation’, International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 167-185.
275 Liamputtong, P & Ezzy D. 2005, Qualitative Research Methods, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, Victoria.
Lian Kwen Fee 2001, ‘The Construction of Malay Identity across Nations: Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia’, Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en Volkenkunde, vol. 157, no. 4, pp. 861–879.
Lichtman, M. 2006, Qualitative Research in Education: A User’s Guide, SAGE, California.
Lieberson, S., 2000, A Matter of Taste: How Names, Fashions and Culture Change, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Lily Zubaidah Rahim 1998, The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur.
Li, Mei-chih 2003, ‘Basis of ethnic identification in Taiwan’, Asian Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 229-237.
Lim Kim-Hui 2003, ‘Budi as the Malay Mind’, IIAS Newsletter, no. 31, July 2003.
Lim Teck Gee, Alberto Gomes & Azly Rahman (2009). Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present and Future. Strategic Information and Research Developmetn Centre (SIRD) and Malaysia Institute of Development and Asia Studies (MIDAS), Petaling Jaya.
Lindenberg, Jolanda 2009 ‘Interethnic Marriages and Conversion to Islam in Kota Bharu’ in Muslim-Non-Muslim Marriage: Political and Cultural Contestations in Southeast Asia, eds Gavin W. Jones, Chee Heng Leng & Maznah Mohamad, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp. 219-251.
Lindgren, C. E., Dlitt, and Baltz, J. 1997, Aura Imaging, Progen Co.
Littlejohn, S. 2002, Theories of Human Communication, Wadsworth, Albuquerque.
Lock, Margaret. 2002, ‘Medical Knowledge and Body Politics’ in Exotic No More: Anthropology on the Front Lines, ed Jeremy MacClancy, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 192-208.
276 Lukman Z. Mohamad 2001 ‘Transformasi Bentuk Bangsa Malaysia dan Identiti Nasional’, Conference Paper, Third International Malaysian Studies Conference. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, 6-8 August.
Macquarie Dictionary 2009, 5th edn, Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, Sydney, Australia.
Madsen, Kenneth D. & Naerssen, Ton van 2003, ‘Migration, Identity and Belonging’, Journal of Borderlands Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 61-75.
Mahathir Mohamad 1994, ‘Religion and Society’ in The Role and Influence of Religion in Society, eds Syed Othman Alhabshi and Syed Omar Syed Agil, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), Kuala Lumpur.
Major, R. T., Jr. 1965, ‘The Experiment in International Living: A Review of the Research on International Exchange’, Unpublished manuscript, Putney,Vermont.
Malhi, Rebecca L., Boon, Susan D. & Rogers, Timothy B. 2009, ‘ “Being Canadian” and “Being Indian”: Subject Position and Discourses Used in South Asian- Canadian Women’s Talk about Ethnic Identity’, Culture Psychology, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 255-283.
Malinowski, Bronislaw 1922, Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An account of native experience and adventure in the archipelagoes of Melanesia New Guinea, Routledge, London.
____ 1923, ‘The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Language’ in The Meaning of Meaning, eds C.K Ogden & I.A. Richards, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, pp. 146-152.
Mansor, Mohd Noor 1992, The Determinants of Malay Ethnic Alignment, PhD thesis submitted to the University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Manzini E. 2007, 'Design Research for Sustainable Social Innovation', in Design Research Now, ed R Michel, Birkhäuser Basel, pp. 233-45.
Markus, H.R. & Kitayama S. 1991, ‘Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion and Motivation’, Psychological Review, vol. 98, no. 2, pp. 224-253.
Martin, Ruth 2007, The Japanese Housewife Overseas: Adapting to Change of Culture and Status, Global Oriental, UK.
277 Martinez, Patricia 2006, ‘Opinion: Thumbs up to living in Malaysian diversity’, New Straits Times, 10 August 2006.
Matsuo, Masatsugu 2009, ‘Language and Ethnicity: An Iridescent Relation’, IPSHU English Research Report Series, vo. 23, no, 1, pp. 57-72.
Maznah Mohamad 2005, Ethnicity and Inequality in Malaysia: A Retrospect and a Rethinking, Working Paper 9, Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity, CRISE Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
McAllister, Ronald J. 2000, ‘Religious Identity and the Future of Northern Ireland’, Policy Studies Journal, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 843-857.
McAmis, Robert Day 2002, Malay Muslims, William.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Cambridge, UK.
McCall, George J. & Simmons, J.L. 1969, Issues in Participant Observations: A Text and Reader, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
McLachlan, D . A 2007, ‘Global Nomads in an International School: Families in Transition’, Journal of Research in International Education, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 233–49.
Mead, G.H. 1934, Mind, Self and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
____ 1936, Mind, self And society, University of Chicago Press, Chicago Melson,
Mead, Margaret 1997, ‘The Problem of Changing Food Habits’ in Food and Culture: A Reader, eds Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik, Routledge, New York & London.
Mead, Margaret 2008, ‘The Problem of Changing Food Habits’ in Food and Culture: A Reader, eds Carole Counihan & Penny Van Esterik, Routledge, New York, pp.17-27.
Means, Gordon P. 1978, ‘Public Policy Toward Religion in Malaysia’, Pacific Affairs, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 384-405.
278 Mee, Wendy 1998, ‘National Difference and Global Citizenship’, in Southeast Asian Idenitities: Culture and the Politics of Representation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, Joel S. Khan, ISEAS, Singapore.
Meinhof Ulrike Hanna& Galasinski, Dariusz 2005, The Language of Belonging, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Melson, Robert and Wolpe, Howard 1970, ‘Modernization and the Politics of Communalism: A Theoretical Perspective’, The American Political Science Review, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 1112-1130.
Messerschmidt, D. A. 1981. Anthropologists at Home in North America: Methods and Issues in the Study of One's Own Society, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
Middleton, John & Winter, E. 1963, Witchcraft & Sorcery in East Africa, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Miller, Carol T. & Major Brenda 2000, ‘Coping with Stigma and Prejudice’, in The Social Psychology of Stigma, eds Todd F. Heatherton, Robert E. Kleck, Michelle R. Hebl & Jay G. Hull, The Guildford Press, New York, pp. 243-272.
Miller, D. 2009, Anthropology and the Individual: A Material Culture Perspective, Berg, Oxford.
Miller, G.R. & Steinberg, M. 1975, Between People: A New Analysis of Interpersonal Communication, Science Research Associates, Palo Alto, Chicago.
Milne, R.S. & Mauzy, Diane K. 1986, Malaysia: Tradition, Modernity, and Islam, Westview Press, Boulder & London
Milner, Anthony 1995, The Inventions of Politics in Colonial Malaya, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
_____ 2008, The Malays, Wiley-Blackwell, UK.
Mitchell, Claire. 2006, ‘The Religious Content of Ethnic Identities’, Sociology, vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 1135-1151.
279 Moerman, Michael 1965, ‘Ethnic identification in a complex civilization. Who are the Lue?’, American Anthropologist, vol. 67, pp. 1215-30.
____1968, ‘Being Lue. Uses and abuses on ethnic identification’, in Essays on the Problem of Tribe, ed June Helm, American Ethnological Society, Seattle, pp. 153-69.
____ 1988, Talking Culture: Ethnography and Conversation Analysis, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
Mohamad Abu Bakar 1981, ‘Islamic Revivalism and the Political Process in Malaysia’, Asian Survey, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 1040-1059.
____ 1984, ‘Islam, Etnisiti dan Integrasi Nasional’ in Ethnicity, Class and Development Malaysia, ed S.Husin Ali, Persatuan Sains Sosial Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur.
____ 1994, Potret Masa: Persaingan Ideologi dan Pemulihan Tradisi, Gateway Publishing House, Petaling Jaya.
Mohd Kamal Hassan 1994, ‘The Influence of Islam on Education and Family in Malaysia’ in The Role and Influence of Religion in Society, eds Syed Othman Alhabshi and Syed Omar Syed Agil, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM): Kuala Lumpur.
Mohd Taib Osman 1972 ‘Patterns of Supernatural Premises Underlying the Institution of the Bomoh in Malay Culture’, Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde, vol. 128, no. 2/3, pp. 219-234.
Mohd Yunus Sharum, Zaitul Azma Zainon Hamzah, Mohd Rohaizat Abd. Wahab & Mat Rofa Ismail 2010, ‘Formal Properties and Characteristics of Malay Rhythmic Reduplication’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 8, pp. 750–756.
Mol, H. 1976, Identity and the Sacred, Blackwell, Oxford.
Mostofi, Nilou 2003, ‘WHO WE ARE: The Perplexity of Iranian-American Identity’, The Sociological Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 681-703.
M. Shamsul Haque 2003, ‘The Role of the State in Managing Ethnic Tensions in Malaysia: A Critical Discourse’, American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 240-266.
280 Mustapha, Nadira 2011, ‘Modesty Discourses’, Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures. General Editor Suad Joseph.
Mutalib, Hussin 1990, Islam and Ethnicity in Malay Politics, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Myers-Scotton, C.and Ury, W. 1977, ‘Bilingual strategies: The Social Functions of Codeswitching’, Linguistics, vol. 15, no. 193, pp. 5-20.
Myles, Johanne, & Cheng, Liying, 2003, ‘The Social and Cultural Life of Non-native English Speaking International Graduate Students at a Canadian University Journal of English for Academic Purposes, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 247–263.
Nagata, Judith A. 1974, ‘What is a Malay? Situational Selection of Ethnic Identity in a Plural Society’, American Ethnologist, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 331-50.
____ 1980a, ‘Religious Ideology and Social Change: The Islamic Revival in Malaysia’, Pacific Affairs, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 405-439.
____ 1980b, ‘The New Fundamentalism: Islam in Contemporary Malaysia’ Asian Thought and Society, vol. 5, no. 14, p. 136.
____ 1984, The Reflowering of Malaysian Islam, University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver.
____ 1986, ‘The Impact of Islamic Revival (Dakwah) on the Religious Culture of Malaysia’ in Religion, Values, and Development in Southeast Asia, eds Bruce Matthews and Judith Nagata, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp. 37–50.
_____1995, ‘Modern Malay Women and the Message of the ‘Veil’’ in ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ in Developing Southeast Asia, ed Wazir Jahan Karim, Berg Publishers, Oxford, UK, pp. 101-120.
Nagel, Joane 1994, ‘Constructing Ethnicity: Creating and Recreating Ethnic Identity and Culture’, Social Problems, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 152-176.
Narayan, Kirin 1993, ‘How Native Is a “Native” Anthropologist?’, American Anthropologist, vol. 95, no.3, pp. 671-686.
281 Nash, Manning 1989, The Cauldron of Ethnicity in the Modern World, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Niehaus, Isak 2006, ‘Witchcraft in Antropological Perspective’ in Talking About People: Readings in Contemporary Cultural Anthropology, 4th edn, eds William A. Haviland, Robert J. Gordon & Luis A. Vivanco, McGraw Hill, Boston, pp. 225-230.
Novera, Isvet Amri 2004, ‘Indonesian Postgraduate Students studying in Australia: An Examination of their Academic, Social and Cultural Experiences’, International Education Journal, vol 5, no. 4, pp. 475-487.
Nurliza Yusof 1986, ‘Being Malay in Singapore: Perceptions and Articulations of Identity’, Unpublished Research Paper, National University of Singapore, pp. 2-76.
Oakes, P.J., Haslam, S.A. & Turner, J.C. 1994, Stereotyping and Social Reality, Blackwell, Cambridge, MA.
Oberg, K. 1960, ‘Culture Shock: Adjustment to New Cultural Environments’, Practical Anthropology, vol.7, pp. 177-182.
O’Connor, Richard 1995, ‘Agricultural Change and Ethnic Succession in Southeast Asian States: A Case for Regional Anthropology’, Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 968-996.
Okamura, Jonathan Y. 1981, ‘Situational Ethnicity’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 452-65.
_____ 2008, Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawai’i, Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Ong, Aihwa 1995, ‘State versus Islam: Malay families, women’s bodies, and the body politics in Malaysia’ in Bewitching Women, Pious Men: Gender and Body Politics in Southeast Asia, eds Aihwa Ong and Michael G. Peletz, University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 170-192.
O'Reilly, K. 2005, Ethnographic methods, Routledge, London.
282 Parekh, B. 1999, ‘Defining National Identity in a Multicultural Society’ in People, Nation and State: The Meaning of Ethnicity and Nationalism, ed E. Mortimer, I.B. Tauris, London, pp. 66–74.
Park, C.L. 2007, ‘Religiousness/Spirituality and Health: A Meaning Systems Perspective’, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 319-328.
Parker, Bradley J. & Rodseth, Lars 2005, Untaming the Frontier in Anthropology, Archeology, and History, The University of Arizona Press, Tuscon.
Parker, David 1995, Through Different Eyes: The Cultural Identities of Young Chinese People in Britain, Aldershot, Britain.
Parker, I 1992, Discourse Dynamics: Critical Analysis for Social and Individual Psychology, Routledge, London.
Parker R.G. 1991, Bodies, Pleasures and Passions: Sexual Culture in Contemporary Brazil, Beacon, Brazil.
Patchen, M. 1999, Diversity and Unity: Relations Between Racial and Ethnic Groups, Wadsworth, USA.
Patterson, O. 1975, ‘Context and Choice in Ethnic Allegiance: A Theoretical Framework and Caribbean Case Study’ in Ethnicity: Theory and Experience, ed Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp. 305-349.
Peletz, Michael 1987, ‘The Exchange of Men in 19th Century Negeri Sembilan (Malaya)’, American Ethnologist, vol 14, no. 3, pp. 449-469.
____ 1995, ‘Neither Reasonable nor Responsible: Contrasting Representations of Masculinity in a Malay Society’, in Bewitching Women, Pious Men: Gender and Body Politics in Southeast Asia, eds Aihwa Ong & Michael G Peletz, University of California Press, California, pp. 76-123.
____ 2002, Islamic Modern: Religios Courts and Cultural Politics in Malaysia, Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.
Perinbanayagam, R.S. 2005, ‘The Other in the Game: Mead and Wittgenstein on Interaction’ in Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Denzin, Norman K., vol. 28, Emerald Group Publishing, The Netherlands, pp 341-353.
283 Phinney, J. 1990, ‘Ethnic Identity in Adolescents and Adults: Review of Research’, Psychological Bulletin, vol. 108, no. 3, pp. 499-514.
Phinney, J.S. & Rosenthal, D.A. 1992, ‘Ethnic Identity in Adolescence: Process, Context, Context and Outcome’ in Adolescent Identity Formation, ed Gerald Adams, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 145-172.
Polanyi, Michael 1958, Personal Knowledge. Towards a Post-critical Philosophy, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
____ 1967, The Tacit Dimension, Anchor Books, New York.
Pool, I., 1965, ‘Effects of Cross-national Contact on National and International Images’ in International behavior, ed H. C. Kelman, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York.
Poyrazli, S., Arbona, C., Bullington, R., and Pisecco, S. 2001, ‘Adjustment Issues of Turkish College Students Studying in the United States’, College Student Journal, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 52-62.
Provencher, Ronald 1971, Two Malay Worlds: Interaction in Urban and Rural Settings, Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, Berkeley.
Pryor, L. 2009, Cut the Campus Cruelty: Put Yourself in the Overseas Student's Shoes, Fairfax, Sydney.
Putten, Jan Van Der 2006, ‘Abdullah Musyi and the Missionaries, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, vol. 162, no. 4, pp. 407-440.
Raihanah Abdullah, Patricia Martinez and Wirdati Mohd Radzi 2010, ‘Islam and Adat’, Indonesia and the Malay World, vol. 38, no. 111, pp. 16-180.
Randolph, Justus J. 2009, ‘A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review’, Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, vol. 14, no. 13 (A peer-reviewed electronic journal).
Random House Roget’s Thesaurus, 2001, 4th edn, Ballantine Books, New York.
284 Rapacha, Lal-Shyãkarelu 2009, Contemporary Essays on Vanishing Ethnicity, Cultures and Languages of Nepal A Focus on Kiranti-Kõits, Research Institute for Kirãtology, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Reed-Danahay, D. 1997, Auto-Ethnography: Rewriting the Self and the Social, Berg, Oxford.
Reid, Anthony 1989, ‘Chains of Silver, Chains of Steel: Forcing Politics on Geography, 1865-1965’ in Historical Foundations of a National Economy in Indonesia, 1890-1990s, ed J.TH. Lindblad, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, pp. 281-295.
____1997, ‘Malayness and the Forging of National Culture in Souteast Asia’, paper presented at the international seminar on ‘External Challenge and Local Response: Modern Southeast Asia in Historical Perspectives’, 20-22 September, University of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei.
____2001, ‘Understanding Melayu (Malay) as a Source of Diverse Modern Identities’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 295-313.
Riaz Hassan 2008, Inside Muslim Minds, Melbourne University Press, Australia.
Riaz, M. N. and M. M. Chaudry 2004, Halal Food Production, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Louisiana.
Riesman, D., Glazer, N., & Denny, R. 1955, The Lonely Crowd, Doubleday, New York.
Richmond, Jo.F. & Buehler, R.E. 1962, ‘Interpersonal Communication: A Theoretical Formulation’, Journal of Communication, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 3-10.
Roach-Higgins & Eicher, Joanne 1992, ‘Dress and Identity’, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1-8.
Roberts, K. A. 1990, Religion in Sociological Perspective, Wadsworth, Belmont, California.
Robie, C. and Ryan, A.M. 1996, ‘Structural Equivalence of a Measure of Cross-Cultural Adjustment’, Educational and Psychological Measurement, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 514-521.
285 Roff, W.R. 1980, The Origins of Malay Nationalism’, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
Rogers, Edna L. & Escudero, Valentin 2004, Relational Communication: An Interactional Perspective to the Study of Process and Form, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Mahwah, New Jersey.
Rogers, Rebecca 2004, An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hoboken.
Rokiah Talib 2000, ‘Malaysia: Power Shift and the Matrix of Consumption’ in Consumption in Asia: Lifestyle and Identities, ed Chua Beng-Huat, Routledge, London & New York, pp. 35-60.
Roloff, Michael E. 1981, Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach. Sage Publications, Beverly Hills.
Roosens, Eugeen E. 1994, ‘The primordial nature of origins in migrant ethnicity’ in The Anthropology of Ethnicity: Beyond Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, eds Hans Vermeulan and Cora Govers, Het Spinhuss, Amsterdam.
Rosenthal, Doreen A. 1987, ‘Ethnic Identity Development in Adolescents’, in Children’s Ethnic Socialization, eds J.S. Phinney & M.J. Rotheram, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA pp. 156-179.
Rosenthal E, I.J. 1965, Islam in the Modern State, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Rotheram, M. & Phinney J. 1987, ‘Definitions and perspectives in the study of children’s ethnic socialization’ in Children’s ethnic socialization: Pluralism and development, eds J. Phinney & M. Rotheram, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Royce, Anya Peterson 1982, Ethnic Identities: Strategies of Diversity, Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
Runnymede, Trust 1997, Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All, Author, London.
Rutherford, Jonathan 1990, ‘A Place Called Home: Identity and the Cultural Politics of Difference’ in Identity: Community, Culture, Difference, ed Jonathan Rutherford, Lawrence & Wishart Limited, London, pp. 9-27.
286 Saetersdal, Tore 1999, ‘Symbols of Cultural Identity: A Case Study from Tanzania’, African Archaeological Review, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 121-135.
Salazar, Zeus A. 1998, The Malayan Connection, Palimbagan Lahi, Quezon.
Saliha Hassan 2002, ‘Islamic Non-governmental Organisations’ in Social Movements in Malaysia: From Moral Communities to NGOs, eds Meredith L. Weiss and Saliha Hassan, Routledge Curzon, London, pp. 97-114.
Salvadori, R.G. 1997, ‘The difficulties of Interculturalism’, European Journal of Intercultural Studies, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 185-191.
Samuelowicz, Katherine 1987, 'Learning Problems of Overseas Students: Two Sides of a Story', Higher Education Research & Development, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 121-133.
Sapir, Edward 1931, ‘Communication’ in Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, ed E.R.A. Seligman, Macmillan, New York.
____ 1963, ‘Language and Environment’ in Selected Writings of Edward Sapir in Language, Culture and Personality, ed David G. Mandelbaum, University of California Press, California, pp. 94-95.
Sarles, Harvey B. 1975, ‘A Human Ethological Approach to Communication: Ideas in Transit Around the Cartesian Impasse’ in Organization of Behavior in Face-to- Face Interaction, eds Adam Kendon, Richard M. Harris, Mary Ritchie Key, Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 19-46.
Sato, Takahiro & Hodge, Samuel R. 2009, ‘Asian International Doctoral Students’ Experiences at Two American Universities: Assimilation, Accommodation, and Resistance’, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 136-148.
Sayed, Yusuf, Kruss, Glenda and Badat, Saleem 1998, ‘Students’ Experience of Postgraduate Supervision at the University of the Western Cape', Journal of Further and Higher Education, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 275- 285.
Schiffrin, Deborah 1994, Approaches to Discourse, Blackwell Publishing, UK.
Schmidt, Garbi 2004, ‘Islamic Identity Formation among Young Muslims: The Case of Denmark, Sweden and the United States’, Journal of Muslim Affairs, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 31-45.
287 Schultz, O. 2001, ‘The effect of social psychological training on personality changes among immigrants (the German example)’ in Psychological Problems among Russian immigrants in Germany, ed N.S. Hrustaleva, St. Petersburg University Press, St. Petersburg, pp. 38-45.
Schwartz S.J., Dunkel, C.S. & Waterman, A.S., 2009, ‘Terrorism: An Identity Theory Perspective’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol.32, pp. 537–559.
Scollon, Ronald & Scollon, Suzanne B.K. 2001, Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach, 2nd edn, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, USA.
Scott, John & Marshall, Gordon 2005, Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Scott, Jones and Watt, Sal 2010, Ethnography in Social Science Practice, Routledge, London.
Shamsul A.B. 1994, ‘Religion and Ethnic Politics in Malaysia: The Significance of the Islamic Resurgence Phenomenon’ in Asian Visions of Authority: Religion and the Modern States of East and Southeast Asia, eds Charles Keyes, Laurel Kendall, and Helen Hardacre, Hawaii University Press, Honolulu, pp. 99-116.
____ 1996, ‘The Construction and Transformation of a Social Identity: Malayness and Bumiputeraness re-examined’, Journal of African and Asian Studies, vol. 52, pp. 15-33.
____ 1997a, ‘The Economic Dimension of Malay Nationalism: The Socio-Historical Roots of the New Economic Policy and Its Contemporary Implications’, The Developing Economies, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 240-261.
____ 1997b, ‘Identity Construction, Nation Formation, and Islamic Revivalism in Malaysia’ in Islam in an Era of Nation-States, eds Robert W. Hefner and Patricia Horvatich, University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu, pp. 207–227.
____ 1998, ‘Bureaucratic management of identity in a modern state: “Malayness” in postwar Malaysia’ in Making Majorities: Constituting the Nation in Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Fiji, Turkey, and the United States, ed Dru C. Gladney, Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, pp. 135-150.
____ 2001a, ‘A History of an Identity, an Identity of a History: The Idea and Practice of “Malayness” in Malaysia Reconsidered’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 355-366.
288
_____ 2001b, ‘“Malay” and “Malayness” in Malaysia Reconsidered: A Critical Review’, Communal/Plural, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 69-80.
Shibutani, Tamotsu & Kwan, Kwan, 1965, Ethnic Stratification, MacMillan, NewYork.
Shils, Edward, 1957, ‘Primordial, Personal, Sacred and Civil ties’, British Journal of Sociology, vol.8. no.2, pp. 130-145.
Shively, Kim 2006, ‘Looking for Identity in the Muslim World’, Book review, American Anthropologist, vol. 108, no. 3, pp. 537-542.
Siegel, James T. 1969, The Rope of God, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Sim, Katharine 1987, More than a Pantun: Understanding Malay Verse, Times Publishing International, Singapore.
Sluka, Jeffrey A. & Robben, Antonius C.G.M. 2007, Ethnographic Fieldwork: An Anthropological Reader, Blackwell Publishing, UK.
Smith, Anthony D. 1981, The Ethnic Revival, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
____ 1999, Myths and memories of the Nation, Oxford University Press, UK.
____ 2001, Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, History, Polity Press, UK.
Smith, L.T. 2005, ‘On tricky ground: Researching the native in the age of uncertainty’ in Handbook of Qualitative Research, eds N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln, 3rd edn, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Soda Naoki 2008, 'Indigenizing Colonial Knowledge: The Formation of Pan-Malay Identity in British Malaya', Ph.D. thesis, Kyoto University, 2008.
Spaan, Ernst, Naerssen, Ton Van & Kohl, Gerard 2002, ‘Re-Imagining Borders: Malay Identity and Indonesian Migrants in Malaysia’, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, vol. 93, no. 2, pp. 160-172.
289 Spence, Janet T. 1985, ‘Gender Identity and Implications for Concepts of Masculinity and Femininity’ in Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Psychology and Gender, ed T. B. Sonderegger, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, pp. 59-96.
Spradley, J.P. 1980, Participant observation, Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc, Florida.
Stephen, Michele 1986, Sorcerer and Witch in Melanesia, Melbourne University Press, Victoria, pp. 1-14.
Stinchombe, Arthur 2006, ‘An Interactionist View of Boundaries and Borders’, paper presented at Great Divides: Transgressing Boundaries, 101st Anual Meeting of the Sociological Association, Montreal.
Streeck, Jurgen 2002, ‘Culture, Meaning and Interpersonal Communication’ in Handbook of Interpersonal Communicaiton, 3rd edn, eds Mark L. Knapp and John A.Daly, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, pp. 300-336.
Stryker, S. 1980, Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version, Benjamin Cummings, Menlo Park.
Stryker, S. and Serpe, R.T. 1994, ‘Identity Salience and Psychological Centrality’, Social Psychology Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 16-35.
Swami, Viren, Arteche, Adriane Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas & Furnham, Adrian 2010, ‘Sociocultural Adjustment among Sojourning Malaysian Students in Britain: A Replication and Path Analytic Extension’, Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 57-65.
Syed Hussein Alatas 1954, ‘The Islamic State’, Progressive Islam, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 1-2.
____ 1996, The New Malay: His Role and Future, Association of Muslim Proffessionals, Singapore, pp. 6-7.
Syed Husin Ali 1982, The Malays: Their Problems and Future, Heinemann-Asia, Kuala Lumpur.
_____ 1984, Kaum, Kelas dan Pembangunan Malaysia, Persatuan Sains Sosial Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
290 Szerszynski, B. & Urry, J. 2006, ‘Visuality, Mobility and the Cosmopolitan: Inhabiting the World from Afar’, British Journal of Sociology, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 113–31.
Tajfel, H. & John C. Turner 1986, ‘The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behaviour’ in Psychology of Intergroup Relations, eds S. Worchel & W.G. Austin, Nelson. Chicago, IL, pp. 7-24.
____ 2004. ‘The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior’ in Political Psychology, eds John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Psychology Press, New York, pp. 39-68.
Takai J. & Ota, H. 1994, ‘Assessing Japanese interpersonal communication competence’, Japanese Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 224-236.
Tambiah, S.J. 1969, ‘Animals are Good to Think and Good to Prohibit’, Ethnology, vol.8, no. 4, pp. 423-459.
Tang, W. 2010, ‘Echoes from the Borderlands: Transnational and Cultural Identity in Chuang Hua’s Crossings’, Journal of Migration and Culture, vol. 1, pp. 25-36.
Tannen, Deborah, Schiffrin D, & Heidi E. Hamilton 2003, The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, Blackwell Publishing, UK.
Tarrow, S. 2005, The New Transnational Activism, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York.
Tham Seong Chee 1977, Language and Cognition-An analysis of the Thought and Culture of the Malays, Chopmen Enterprises Singapore, p. 58.
Tharoor, Shashi 1999, ‘The future of civil conflict’, World Policy Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 1-11.
The Constitution of Malaysia, 1967, Article 160, Article 160(2), Article 161A(6)(a), (Article 161A(6)(b).
Thourlby, W. 1978, You are what you wear, New American Library, New York.
Tillmann-Healy, Lisa, M. 2003, ‘Friendship as Method’, Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 729-749.
291 Ting-Toomey, S. 1999, Communicating Across Cultures, The Guilford Press, New York.
____ 2005, ‘Identity negotiation theory: crossing cultural boundaries’ in Theorizing about Intercultural Communication, ed W.B. Gudykunst, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 211-34.
Ting-Toomey, S. and Chung, L.C. 2005, Understanding Intercultural Communication, Roxbury Publishing Co, Los Angeles, CA.
Triandas, H.C 1995, Individualism and collectivism, Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Triandis, H. C., Vassiliou, V., & Nassiakou, M. 1968, ‘Three Crosscultural Studies of Subjective Culture’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Monograph Supplement, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1-42.
Tsang, A.Ka Tat., Irving, H., Allagia, R., Chau, S.B.Y., & Benjamin, M. 2003, ‘Negotiating Ethnic Identity in Canada: The case of the “satellite children”’, Youth & Society, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 359-384.
Tschacher, Torsten 2009, ‘Circulating Islam: Understanding Convergence and Divergence in the Islamic Traditions of Ma’bar and Nusantara’ in Islamic Connections: Muslim Societies in South and Southeast Asia, eds R. Michael Feener & Terenjit Sevea, ISEAS Publishing, Singapore, pp. 48-67.
Turner, J.C., Hogg, M.A., Oakes, P.J., Reicher, S.D., & Wetherell, M. 1987, Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory, Blackwell, Oxford.
Turner, J.H. 2002, Face to Face: Toward a Sociological Theory of Interpersonal Behavior, Stanford University Press, Stanford.
Turner, V. 1974, Drama, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society, Cornell University Press, London.
____ 1988, The Anthropology of Performance, PAJ Publications, New York.
Ullah, P. 1990, ‘Rhetoric and Ideology in Social Identification: The case of Second Generation Irish Youths’, Discourse & Society, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 167-188.
292 U.S. Department of State 2000, 1999 country reports on human rights practices: Malaysia. Washington DC U.S. Department of State. Retrieved from: < www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp/malaysia.html>
Van Dijk, T.A. 1997, Discourse as Structure and Process, Sage, California.
Van Houtum H. & Van Naerssen T. 2002, ‘Bordering, Ordering and Othering’, Tijdschrift voor Economiche en Sociale Geografie / Journal of Economic and Social Geography, vol. 93, no. 2, pp. 125-136.
Vasquez, Olga A, Lucinda Pease-Alvarez & Sheila M.Shannon 1994, Pushing Boundaries: Language and Culture in a Mexicano Community, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Verkuyten, Maykel 2005, The Social Psychology of Ethnic Identity, Psychology Press, New York.
Volet, S. & Ang, G. 1998, ‘Culturally Mixed Groups on International Campuses: An Opportunity for Intercultural Learning’, Higher Education Research and Development, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 5–23.
Vygotsky, L.S. 1939, ‘Thought and Speech’, Psychiatry, vol. 2, pp. 29-54.
Walker, Jeremy 1967, ‘Moral’ versus ‘Aesthetic’, Critica, vol.1, no. 3, pp. 21-40.
Wallman, S. 1978, ‘The Boundaries of ‘Race’: Processes of Ethnicity in England’, Man, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 200-217.
Wan Hashim Wan Teh & A. Halim Ali 1999, Rumpun Melayu Australia Barat, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.
Wanguri, D.M. 1996, ‘Diversity, equity and communicative openness’, The Journal of Business Communication, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 443-457.
Ward, C., Okura, A., Kennedy, A., & Kojima, T. 1998, ‘The U-curve on Trial: A Longitudinal Study of Psychological and Sociocultural Adjustment during Cross-cultural Transition’, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 22, no. 33, pp. 277-291.
293 Ward, C., & Rana-Deuba, A. 1999, ‘Acculturation and Adaptation Revisited’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 422-442.
Ward, C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. 2001, The Psychology of Culture Shock, Routledge, London.
Watkins, D. A., & Biggs, J. 1996, The Chinese learner: Cultural, Psychological, and Contextual Influences, Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Watt, Sal. 2010, ‘Leaving the Field: A reflexive journey’ in Ethnography in Social Science Practice, eds Scott-Jones and Watt, Sal, Routledge, London, pp. 187-196.
Wazir Jahan Karim, 1984, ‘Malay Wifes and Midwifes’, Social Science and Medicine, vol. 18, no. 22, pp. 159-166.
____ 1992, Women and Culture: Between Malay Adat and Islam, Westview Press, Boulder.
Weber, Max 1977, ‘What is an Ethnic Group?’ in The Ethnicity Reader, eds Montserrat Guibernau & John Rex, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 15-26.
Webster Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
Weeks, Jeffrey 1990, ‘The Value of Difference’ in Identity:Community, Culture, Difference, ed Jonathan Rutherford, Lawrence &Wishart, London, p.88-100.
Weigert A.J., Smith Teitge, J., & Teitge, D.W. 1986, Society and Identity: Towards a Sociological Psychology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Wellman, J.K. 1999, ‘Introduction: The Debate over Homosexual Ordination: Subcultural Identity Theory in American Religious Organizations’, Review of Religious Research, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 184-206.
Welsh, Bridget 2008, ‘New Identities, New Politics: Malaysia’s Muslim Professionals’, The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 35-51.
294 Wenger, E. 1998, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
White, Alasdair 2009, From Comfort Zone to Performance Management: Understanding Development and Performance, White and Maclean Publishing, Belgium.
White, Harrison C. 2008, Identity & Control: How Social Formations Emerge, Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.
WHO, H.E.U. 1986, ‘Lifestyle and Health’, Social Science and Medicine, vol. 22, pp. 117-124.
Wiemann J.M. 1977, Explication and test of a model of communicative competence, Human Communication Research, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 195-213.
Wilder, William D. 1982, Communication, Social Structure and Development in Rural Malaysia: A Study of Kampung Kuala Bera, Athlone Press, London.
Wilson, Christine S. 1980, ‘Food Taboos of Childbirth: The Malay Example’ in Food, Ecology and Culture: Readings in the Anthropology of Dietary Practices, ed J.R.K. Robson, Gordon and Breach, New York.
Wilson, Peter J. 1967, A Malay Village in Malaysia, HRAF Press, New Haven.
Wimmer, Andreas 2008, ‘The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: A Multilevel Process Theory’, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 113, no. 4, pp. 970-1022.
Winzeler, Robert 1984, ‘The Study of Malayan Latah’, Indonesia, vol. 37, pp. 77-104.
Wolcott, H.E. 1981, ‘Confessions of a “trained” observer’, in Field-Based Methodologies in Educational Research and Evaluation, eds T.S. Propkewitz & B.R. Tabachnick, Praeger, New York, pp. 247-263.
Wood, Linda and Kroger, Rolf 2000, Doing Discourse Analysis: Methods for Studying Action in Talk and Text, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
Woodward, Ian 2007, Understanding Material Culture, Sage Publications, Los Angeles.
295
Yalman, Nur 1969, ‘On the Meaning of Food Offerings in Ceylon’ in Forms of Symbolic Action, ed R.F. Spencer, University of Washington Press, Seattle.
Yngve, Victor H. 1975, ‘Human Linguistic and Face-to-Face Interaction’ in Organization of Behavior in Face-to-Face Interaction, eds Kendon, Adam, Harris R.M. & Key, Mary R. Mouton Publishers, The Hague, Paris, pp. 47-62.
Zainal Kling, 1989/1990, ‘The Socio-cultural Unity of the Malay World’, in Melayu Sri Lanka, ed Abdul Latiff, pp. 97–117.
_____ 1994, ‘Persenyambungan Sosio-Budaya”, in Ethnicity, Class and Development Malaysia, ed S.Husin Ali, Persatuan Sains Sosial Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
_____ 1997, ‘Adat: Collective Self-Image, in Images of Malay-Indonesian Identity’, in Images of Malay-Indonesian Identity, eds Michael Hitchcock and Victor T. King, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 45-51.
Zawawi Ibrahim 2004, ‘Globalization and National Identity: Managing Ethnicity and Cultural Pluralism in Malaysia’ in Growth and Governance in Asia, ed Yoichiro Sato, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
Zeleznik, Carter 1957, ‘Inner and Other directedness of the American Abroad’, Phylon Quarterly, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 258-267.
Zuengler, J. 1989, ‘Identity and IL Development and Use’, Applied Linguistics, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 80-96.
Zulkarnaini, Abdullah 2011, ‘Religious Practices: Ablution, Purification, Prayer, Fasting, and Piety’ Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures. General Editor Suad Joseph.
Zuraidah Zainon 2006, ‘Cukur Jambul Amalan Bidaah Orang Melayu’, Utusan Malaysia , Malaysia newspaper,11/09/2006.
296 Websites:
< http://www.hidaya.org/>
< http://www.abim.org.my/v1/ >
297 APPENDICES Appendix 1:
Map of Western Australia
Source: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mapsofworld.com/australia/states/wester n-australia/
298 Appendix 2 The University of Western Australia: Crawley Campus Map
Source: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.newcourses2012.uwa.edu.au
299 Appendix 3 Curtin University: Bentley Campus Map
Source: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://housing.curtin.edu.au/
300 Appendix 4 Murdoch University: Campus Map
Source: http://www.murdoch.edu.au/maps/murdoch/
301 Appendix 5 Edith Cowan University: Joondalup Campus
Source: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ecu.edu.au/fas/sport
302 Appendix 6
Interview Questions Guidelines
Section A: General Information
Your personal background: name, age, religion, ethnic group and where you originated from.
Your marital status: single/married/single parents etc. Children (if any)
Your family background: Numbers of brothers/sisters, parent’s occupations
Your education background: schools and level of education.
Have you study overseas before? What are you pursuing in WA (MA/PhD) and in which university? How long have you been pursuing your study here? Which university and reason for choosing respective university?
Are you financially supported or attach to any particular organizations/university in Malaysia (university/MOHE/Government Department etc.)?
When did you arrive in WA (year) and how did you feel when you first arrived here? Are you here with your spouse/kids/friend? Do you know anyone here in advance before your arrival?
Upon your arrival in WA, what are you major concerns or worries? (accommodations/foods/people/language/culture etc.) How do you overcome these problems? How long does it take you to get use to the new environment?
How did you prepare yourself mentally/physically/spiritually before coming to WA? (Motivational support from family, friends, etc)
Your understanding of who is Malay (how do you define them). Would you rather be known as a Malay or Muslim? Why? (Please provide related situational example if possible)
How did you get to know other Malays in WA?
Your idea of maintaining your Malay identity when pursuing your study abroad.
303 Section B: Living in WA
Socio-economic issues
By being Malay and Muslim, what are the things that you still practice or still are of your concern in your daily life? What are the changes in you daily routine (if any)?
Do you face any problems concerning your daily practice as a Muslim here (food/praying etc)?
Do you face any difficulties in your study by being Malay? Is language a barrier to you and others in your environment? Is any of your Malay or Muslim friends/colleagues assisting you to overcome these problems?
How do you recognize other Malays or Muslim in WA? (cloth, place, food etc.)
Do you think interpersonal communication an important factor to sustain your Malay or Muslim identity in WA? (example). Does interaction with other Malays/Muslims in WA helps you to overcome your problem (if any).
Do you have any concern on your living expenses issues (too little/enough/no worries). How do you overcome the problems (working part-time etc).
Do you have concerns relating your economic situations and your study?
Personal experience
Is there any clubs or organization that you join or attends? Do they consists of Malays only or of other ethnic groups too (example)?
Do you feel there is any difference when you are hanging out with the Malays and when you are hanging out with other students of different ethnic group?
Have you ever faced any experience relating to you being Malay in WA? How did you overcome them?
Do you have any comments or suggestions for other Malay students who wish to pursue their study in WA and how do you think they will be able to maintain their Malay or Muslim identity?
------
304 Appendix 7
INFORMATION SHEET
Project: Being Malay: Ethno-Religious Identity Formations and Transformations among Malay Students in Western Australia Researcher: Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain, PhD Candidate UWA
Hi and Assalamualaikum w.b.t. I am a currently a postgraduate student undertaking doctoral research at the University of Western Australia in the Discipline of Anthropology and Sociology. The purpose of the project is to investigate how Malay youth identify themselves in a foreign environment. It seeks to understand and find out what criteria are associated with Malay youth ethno-religious identity formation.
Secondly, this project tries to recognize which aspects of this identity are sustained or which are transformed. Furthermore, I hope to evaluate how religion and interpersonal communication contributes in solidifying the formations or transformations of Malay youth identity. Information collected will be used in my written PhD dissertation. At a later date, I may include data obtained from this project in published material. A copy of the dissertation or any published material will be made available upon request.
I invite you to be part of this research and your participation in the project is purely voluntary and information will be strictly confidential, unless otherwise negotiated. I may seek to record our interaction on a digital video recorder, digital camera, or video camera, but only with your prior consent. Pseudonyms will be used to disguise the identity of participants and no names or other information identifying the participants, or the people you may talk about, will be divulged publicly or used without your prior consent. Participants may request that the information not be used, as long as they do so before the dissertation or publication is written.
The interviews will be kept confidential and the audio recordings and transcripts will be marked confidential and will be securely stored in a lockable cabinet by me. If you have any further questions about this research, please contact me or any of my supervisors at any time. Thank you.
305
For more information contact: Researcher: Primary Supervisor: Secondary Supervisor: Rosila Bee M. Hussain Prof. Michael Pinches A/P Dr. Gregory Acciaioli [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Mobile: 0433336542 Ph: (08) 6488 2850 Ph: (08) 6488 2861
Note: The Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Western Australia requires that all participants are informed that, if they have any complaints regarding the manner in which a research project is conducted, it may be given to the researcher, or alternatively the secretary, Human Research Ethics Committee, Registrar’s Office, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (telephone number (08) 6488 3703). All study participants will be provided with a copy of the Information
Sheet and Consent Form for their personal records.
306 Appendix 8
Participant Consent Form
Project: Being Malay: Ethno-Religious Identity Formations and Transformations among Malay Students in Western Australia Researcher: Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain, PhD Candidate UWA
I, …………………………………………………………. have read the information sheet provided to me and I agree to participate in this activity and to be interviewed. I understand that I can change my mind and stop the interview at any time. I am free to withdraw my consent to further participate in this project without prejudice.
I understand that all information provided will be treated as confidential and will not be released by the researcher unless required to do so by law.
I agree that the research data gathered for this project may be used in this PhD dissertation or published, provided my name or any other identifying information which might identify me or the people that I talk about is not used without my consent.
I understand that I can request information I provide to not be used in the dissertation or publication, as long as I do so before the dissertation or publication is written.
[ ] Yes I give my permission for my interviews to be recorded on a digital voice- [ ] No recorder. I understand that these recordings will be used only for the private research purposes of the researcher.
[ ] Yes I give my permission for photographs to be reproduced in the [ ] No researcher’s final dissertation and in academic publications arising from this research.
307 [ ] Yes I give my permission for video recording to be made. I understand that [ ] No these recordings will be used only for the private research purposes of the researcher.
______Participant’s signature Date
Note: The Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Western Australia requires that all participants are informed that, if they have any complaints regarding the manner in which a research project is conducted, it may be given to the researcher, or alternatively the secretary, Human Research Ethics Committee, Registrar’s Office, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (telephone number (08) 6488 3703). All study participants will be provided with a copy of the Information Sheet and Consent Form for their personal records.
308 Appendix 9
Document on the origins of the term Mat Salleh
309