The Construction of a 'National Identity': a Study
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THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 'NATIONAL IDENTITY': A STUDY OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS IN MALAYSIA'S EDUCATION SYSTEM, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO PENINSULAR MALAYSIA by Mustafa Kamal Anuar Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to City University Department of Social Sciences May 1990 OTEN1B page VOLUME I CHAP'IER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem Statement 1 1.2 Objectives of the Study 3 1.3 Significance of the Study 4 1.4 Review of relevant literature 5 1.5 Method of the Study 8 1.6 Scope of the Study 11 1.7 Research Problems 12 1.8 Plan of the Study 13 Notes 13 Q1APTER II: COMMON CULTURE. AN]) ECONOMIC DE1ELDPMENI AND MODERNIZATION: THE NATIONALIST PROJBT 2.1 Nationalism 15 2.2 Common culture 20 2.3 Economic development and modernization 22 Notes 28 CHAPTER III: THE MALAYSIAN SETING 3.1 The Geographical Background 29 3.2 The System of government 30 3.3 The Origins of a Society Divided 30 3.4 The Politics of National Unity: Before and After Malaya's Independence in 1957 3.4.1 The Alliance Party: UMNO the dominant player 36 3.4.2 The 'Political Bargain' 38 I 3.4.3 National Education System 40 3.4.4 Communist Insurgency: The Beginning of Curbed Liberties 43 3.4.5 Formation of Malaysia and Singapore' s Withdrawal 44 3.4.6 The May Thirteenth Ethnic Riots 45 3.5 The Politics of National Unity: Post-1969 Period 3.5.1 Barisan Nasional: Consensual politics or politics of cooptation? 47 3.5.2 Rukunegara: 'State Guidance' to a more united Malaysia? 51 3.5.3 The New Economic Policy 52 3.5.4 The National Culture Policy 55 3.5.5 Islamization Policy 57 3.5.6 The October 27, 1987 Political Crackdown: Impact on Ethnic Relations 59 Notes 65 CHAPTER IV: IHE ATE AND EDUCATION 4.1 The State and Education: Theoretical considerations 70 4.2 The Malaysian State, Economic Imperatives and Social Change 72 4.3 Formal education in Malaysia 4.3.1 Educational development, 1950 - 1969 74 4.3.2 Post-1970 Education and Social Engineering 87 4.3.3. Educational problems 94 Notes 96 CHAPTER V: SOURCES OF 'CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT KNOWLEDGE' FOR SCHOOL S'IlJDENlB 99 Conclusion 110 11 Notes 113 C'HAPTER VI: AN ANALYSIS OF TEX1BJOKS 114 a. Ranjit Singh Malhi. Meneqaraan Malaysia 115 The Political 116 Note 135 b. Mimi Martini Saidi and Pahimah Salim, Fe I enqkap Din: Penqaj ian Am STPM 136 The Cultural 136 The Political 156 The Economic 157 Notes 164 General Conclusion 166 c. Rupert Emerson, Malaysia. Satu Perkajian Pemerintahan Secara Lanqsur dan Tidak Lanqsurx 172 The Economic 172 The Political 186 The Cultural 189 Notes 193 d. Gibert }(hoo and Dorothy Lo, Asia Da lam Perubahan. Sejarab Tericrgara, Se 1 atan dan Timur Asia 194 The Political 194 The Economic 209 The Cultural 212 Notes 214 General Conclusion 215 Notes 225 Overall conclusion 227 111 CHAPTER VII: EDUCATION AND CONSCIOUSNESS-FORMING: STJDENTS' POSITION AND DISPOSITION 238 7.1 The Political 239 7.2 The Cultural 243 7.3 The Socio-economic 253 Notes 255 CHAPTER VIII SUMMAPY AND CONCLUSIONS 257 BIBLIOG1APHY 270 VOLUME II APPENDIX I: Abi Hassan Othman, Razak Mamat and Mohd Yusof Abmad, Perajian Am I 1 The Cultural 1 The Political 16 Note 21 Book Contents 21 The Malay version 23 APPENDIX II: AJDu Hassan Othnian, Pazak Mamat and Mohd Yusof, Penqajian Am 2 28 The Cultural 28 The Political 36 The Economic 39 Notes 42 Book Contents 43 The Malay version 48 APPENDIX III: Book Contents of Paniit Singh Maihi's Keneqaraan Malaysia 51 The Malay version 57 iv APPENDIX IV: Book Contents of Mimi Kartiril Saidi arid. Rahimah Salim's Pelenqkap Din: Periajian Am STPM 64 The Malay version 70 APPENDIX V: Atan Long, Penqajian Am 2 77 The Cultural 77 The Political 91 The Economic 105 Notes 114 Book Contents 115 The Malay version 120 APPENDIX VI: Book Contents of Rupert Fnerson's Malaysia. Satu Penqkajian Pemerintahan Secara IArxrsurr dan Tidak Lanqsunq. 128 The Malay version 129 APPENDIX VII: D.G.E. Hall, Sejarah Asia Tenqqara 137 The Cultural 137 The Political 143 The Economic 147 Notes 153 Book Contents 154 The Malay version 157 APPENDIX VIII: Book Contents of Gilbert Khoo and Dorothy L&s Asia Dalam Perubahan. Sejarah Tenqgara, Selatan dan Tiinur Asia. 162 The Malay version 164 APPENDIX IX: D.J.M. Tate, Sejarah Pembentukan Asia Tenqtrara 168 The Economic 168 The Political 179 V The Cultural 182 Notes 186 Book Contents 186 The Malay version 187 APPENDIX X: University of Malaya Student Enrolment into Year One by Faculty 188 APPENDIX XI: Malaysia: Enrolments in Tertiary Education by Pace and Field Study, 1970-1975 190 APPENDIX XII: Student's Questionnaire 192 vi LIST OF TABLLS page TABLE 3.1 The Peninsular Malaysian Federal Election Results by Party (1964 arid 1969) 46 TABLE 4.1 Peninsular Malaysia: Enrolments by Race and Level of Education, 1970-1975 90 TABLE 4.2 Malaysia: Enrolment in Tertiary Education by Race, 1970, 1980 and 1985 92 TABLE 7.1 Ethnic arid Gender Composition of Students Surveyed 238 TABLE 7.2 Percentage of Students Disfavouring Malaysian Political Figures 240 TABLE 7.3 Newspapers Favoured by the Students 251 TABLE 7.4 Ethnic Groups' Views of 'Social Injustice' 254 vii ILJJEflATIONS page MAP (a) Peninsular Malaysia xi MAP (b) Sabah and Sarawak xii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENI'S Many people, in the course of this study, have given me valuable assistance and encouragement, directly or otherwise. I therefore wish to extend my deepest appreciation to these people, many of whom I am not able to mention here by name. First of all, I wish to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors. Prof. Jeremy Tunstall and Dr. Stephan Feuchtwang, for their guidance- b assistance, encouragement and patience without which this thesis would have been uncompleted. I am also indebted to Horn, Pradip, Hod, Shanthi, Soak Koon, Jiriff in and Chandra for their help, moral support, sense of humour and above all, for being my real friends. Thanks also goes to those teachers who were helpful to me in many ways, those students who were willing to spare their precious time, and those in the publishing industry who provided me with important information. My study also would not have been possible without the study leave granted and the financial assistance provided to me by the Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Federal Government of Malaysia. Equally important is the indirect generosity of the Malaysian taxpayers, irrespective of ethnic origins. Finally, a lot of thanks to Shakila for her moral support, intellectual encouragement and patience, and Shazwan for his juvenile antics that have helped bring joy especially in those difficult times; and my parents for their patience and understanding. ix The Construction of a 'National Identity': A Study of Selected Secondary School Textbooks in Malaysia's Education System, With Particular Reference to Peninsular Malaysia The overriding concern of a multiethnic, multicultural and multireligious Malaysia has always been with inter-ethnic conflict and resolution. It is therefore little wonder that the Malaysian education system is seen arxl utilised by the State as an important social institution where certain ideas, values and symbols can be transmitted to students, the country's future generations, with the primary objective of fostering ethnic harmony in schools in particular and in the country in general. nd it is against this backdrop that this study seeks to examine what kinds of images, ideas, values and symbols that are being selected and promoted (and at the same time, excluding other items, images, ideas) in the reading materials of school students, which collectively are deemed as constructing Malaysia's 'national identity'. The textual analysis shows that the majority of these school texts tend to give heavy emphasis on Malay culture and interests, thus indicating that the construction of the 'national identity' is largely informed arid influenced by the State's policies such as the Malay-biased national culture policy and the New Economic Policy. In addition, the study also examines other related institutions such as the Ministry of Education (i.e. its Textbook Bureau) and the book publishing industry as a whole to see how they relate to the formation in the school texts of the kind of 'national identity' that is largely defined and sanctioned by the State. A group of 150 students were interviewed to ascertain their social and political consciousness. Their responses on the whole tend to suggest that the school texts are capable of creating, if not reinforcing, sub-national loyalties or ethnic sentiments among the students, the kind of consciousness that could seriously compete with arid challenge the nationalist project of creating a 'national identity'. In other words, national unity could be threatened. x Map (a) xi xii HAVFER I ThflBDWCION 1.1 Problem Statement Most states in the world today have populations that are ethnically heterogeneous, often 'composed of two or more ethnic communities, jostliog for influence and power, or livirg in uneasy harmony within the same state borders' (A.D. Smith 1981:9). It follows that inter-ethnic conflict has become more intense and regular particularly in the past several years (ibid.:1O-11; Stone 1985:9-14). This is why many of these states are determined to foster rapid 'national' integration (Smith 1981:10). And it is therefore little wonder that in a multiethnic, multicultural and multireligious Malaysia, inter-ethnic conflict and resolution has become one of the country's overriding concerns. Since the political independence of 1957, successive Malay(si)an governments have utilised one of the state apparatuses to forge a national identity arxi national unity, I .