Birthing the Melayu Baru: Gender, Family and Malay-Muslim Identity
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Birthing the Melayu Baru: Gender, Family and Malay-Muslim Identity by Dahlia Martin Thesis Submitted to Flinders University for the degree of Master of Arts College of Business, Government and Law November 2019 2 Table of Contents Declaration ................................................................................................................................. 5 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 9 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... 11 Selected Glossary ..................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter One - Introduction ...................................................................................................... 15 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 15 1.2 Locating Malayness in Contemporary Malaysia ............................................................ 19 1.2.1 Islam in Malay Nationalism ..................................................................................... 22 1.2.2 The Melayu Baru ...................................................................................................... 27 1.3 Islamisation, Gender and Malayness .............................................................................. 30 1.4 A Theoretical & Methodological Framework for Researching Gender and Ethnicity in Malaysia................................................................................................................................ 35 1.4.1 Feminist postcolonial theory .................................................................................... 35 1.4.2 Postcolonial feminist theory in methodology........................................................... 46 1.4.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 49 1.5 Thesis Outline ................................................................................................................. 51 Chapter Two – Malayness, Modernity and Mahathirism ........................................................ 53 2.1 Conceptualising the Malay Problem............................................................................... 54 2.2 Contemporary Malayness ............................................................................................... 60 2.2.1 The Orang Kampung ................................................................................................ 63 2.2.2 Revolusi Mental ....................................................................................................... 65 2.3 Mahathir’s Continuing Legacy ....................................................................................... 68 Chapter Three – (En)gendering Malayness ............................................................................. 74 3.1 Defeminising Malayness ................................................................................................ 74 3.2 Islamisation As Hypermasculinisation ........................................................................... 86 Chapter Four – Family and the Melayu Baru .......................................................................... 98 4.1 The Family in Malay Nationalist Thought ..................................................................... 98 4.1.1 Urban Malay Family Lives .................................................................................... 104 4.1.2 The Family and National Power............................................................................. 108 4.2 Malay Mothering: The Pillar of the Nation .................................................................. 112 4.2.1 Malay Mothers and Modernity ............................................................................... 118 4.3 Obedient Wives and Muslim Womanhood .................................................................. 123 Chapter Five – Malay-Muslim Femininity in the Public Sphere ............................................... 2 5.1 UMNO and Gender .......................................................................................................... 2 3 5.2 Gender, Ethnicity and the “National Interest” .................................................................. 8 5.3 Public Discourse on Malay-Muslim Womanhood ......................................................... 18 5.4 Malay-Muslim Womanhood and the Burden of Representation .................................... 23 Chapter Six – Gender and the Ummah in Malaysia ................................................................ 32 6.1 The Melayu Baru and the Ummah ................................................................................. 32 6.2 Malaysian Womanhood and the Ummah ....................................................................... 40 Chapter Seven – Conclusion .................................................................................................... 63 7.1 Gender, Ethnicity and Empowerment ............................................................................ 63 7.2 A New Malaysian Political Landscape ........................................................................... 65 7.3 Implications for the Future ............................................................................................. 68 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 70 4 Declaration I certify that this thesis does not incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Dahlia Martin 5 6 Abstract Contemporary Malay-Muslim identity politics is informed by the colonial-era representations of Malay ethnicity and character. Colonial depictions established the Malay as a naturally effeminate, superstitious and rural-based character, whose mould was confirmed and re- created within the family site; the ‘lazy native’ continues to occupy a central position in Malay ethnoreligious thought. Malay modernity is therefore concerned with defining an alternative Malay figure to serve as an antithesis to colonial constructions of Malayness. The Melayu Baru, or New Malay, was Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s attempt at cultivating a Malayness that would command respect, and be rational and urbane. Like colonial authorities, Mahathir had in his earlier days as a Malay nationalist identified the Malay family as the site where Malayness was created and could, therefore, be reformed. Indeed, during his premiership, there emerged in Malaysian socio-political discourse very distinct standards for the Malay family and, by extension, Malay women as the supposedly natural occupiers of this realm. The rapid Islamisation of Malaysia that Mahathir oversaw complicated his efforts at reforming Malayness; Mahathir responded by courting Islamist activists and increasingly incorporating Islam into the essence of the Melayu Baru. Adhering to a ‘true’ Islam that encourages innovation and cosmopolitanism has therefore become a key aspect of Malay modernity; and Islamisation has inevitably influenced models of the ideal Malay-Muslim woman and her family. This thesis will examine significant drivers in current Malay-Muslim identity politics by exploring the gendered and familial origins of Malay nationalist thought. Drawing on a feminist postcolonial theoretical framework, it will demonstrate that contemporary constructions of Malayness continue to be defined in gendered and binarist terms. It argues that Islamisation can also be understood as hypermasculinisation of Malay-Muslim identity and therefore a direct response to colonial discourse on a feminised Malayness. This thesis also seeks to offer a more comprehensive 7 overview of Malay-Muslim identity politics by understanding how Malay mothers in urban settings, as the first socialisers of an emerging Melayu Baru, relate to Malay-Muslim reformation. The analyses come together in a final argument to suggest that Islamic identity amongst Malay-Muslims will increase, particularly if the gendered and colonial origins of contemporary Malayness are not acknowledged by Malay leaders. 8 Acknowledgements There are numerous individuals whose unconditional support have brought this project to fruition: My wonderful family, particularly Raymond, Darius, Ilyas, my parents, Yasmin and Idris; The Taylors and a number of my Malaysian relatives who were especially kind in looking after me when I was doing fieldwork; The interviewees and many individuals who I met with during fieldwork were very generous with their time and candid in their observations; Kathie Brown of A+ Academic Editing in Canberra who proofread this thesis; and Finally, my supervisor Michael Barr has provided much guidance and counsel for this project and more over the years. Thank you all. 9 10 Abbreviations ABIM Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement) BN Barisan Nasional (National