マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）【Summary】

Contemporary Theatre of Malaysia as a Project of Post-1969
TAKIGUCHI Ken（National University of Singapore）

Malaysia experienced a huge socio-political transition as a response to a racial riot in1969. The arts and culture were not free from the riot’s aftermath. The
implementation of the National Culture Policy (NCP) in 1971, which has been the only
official cultural policy of the country since then, raised questions about Malaysian
culture and identity. The NCP, along with the New Economic Policy (NEP) and other
Malay-centric policies, were deeply rooted in Malaysia’s nation-building project after
the riot. Such policies aimed to build a solid foundation of a National Culture based on
the culture of Malays.
Contemporary theatre in Malaysia has been an arena where artists
responded to the state-driven model of nation building and identity creation as
represented in the NCP. They took extremely diverse shapes from time to time,reflecting the socio-political conditions of their respective time period. This essay
divides the period after the 1969 riot into three phases, and examines the theatricalactivities that took place in each phase.
The first phase is set between the mid-1970s and the mid-80s. Reflecting thetraumatic impact of the riot, influential contemporary theatre artists cooperated withthe government to develop a national culture as a foundation for national solidarity.
They proposed a model of Teater Rakyat (People’s Theatre), which advocated thestaging of Malay-language theatre that represented the sensitivities of ordinary
Malaysians.
In the second phase between the late 1980s and the early 90s, however,theatres in other languages emerged and occupied influential positions in the scene.
The shift was a response to the authoritative stance of the Mahathir administration
against oppositional voices, which resulted in a major crackdown in 1987. English
language theatre provided a space where artists from various racial backgrounds
gathered and created while Chinese language theatre introduced a theatrical
vocabulary that was free from the colonial legacies. These non-Malay language
theatres highlighted the diversity in the Malaysian society, and hence they sharply92マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）

confronted the conformist ideal of the NCP.
The last phase since the late 1990s saw an organic development towards atheatre that tried to overcome the divisions of language and ethnicity. Artists’exposure to the civil society enhanced their model of theme-specific approach totheatrical presentations. Freedom of expression in general and the censorship overtheatre in particular became issues that connected NGOs and artists regardless of
their ethnic groups. Artists started experimentations of intercultural collaboration
within Malaysia, aiming to provide an alternative model of national solidarity.
In relation to the NCP, Malaysian contemporary theatre first cooperated torealize it, then it confronted the policy by underlining Malaysia’s cultural diversity.
Finally, it provided an alternative model to the NCP. Contemporary theatre inMalaysia has performatively created a discursive space in which practitioners have
responded to and represented the complex society of Malaysia.

93マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）【Summary】

Resurrecting Forgotten “Patriots”:
How “Anti-British Elements” Became Heroes in Malaysia and Singapore
WATANABE Yosuke（Independent Scholar）
The Nanyang Volunteers, the Chinese overseas truck drivers from Southeast Asia
dispatched to support China’s war efforts between 1939 and 1942, are perhaps themost tragic “heroes” among the ordinary people of Malaysia’s history. Soon after theend of the Second World War, half of the survivors returned to their hometowns inSoutheast Asia and their contributions to the defense of China had been forgotten fordecades. Only recently have many people in Malaysia and Singapore begun toremember and commemorate the Nanyang Volunteers. How can we understand such aphenomenon?
First, a change in the political environment laid the groundwork for therecent commemoration of the Nanyang Volunteers. After their return, the Nanyang
Volunteers could not share their heroic experiences with the public because theyfeared being arrested if they were labeled “anti-British” or “communists.” However,this situation changed after the conclusion of a peace agreement between theMalaysian government and the Malayan Communist Party (1989) and the end of theCold War (1991). Another factor to consider is China’s rapid economic growth. Since
Mainland Chinese have become more affluent, personal visits and interaction between
the people on the Malayan Peninsula and the Nanyang Volunteers who remained inChina have expanded rapidly. Through this increased interaction, Malaysian andSingaporean activists and researchers have been able to deepen their understanding
about

theNanyang

Volunteers;

eventually,

amonumentand

asculpturecommemorating them were erected in Kulai and Singapore.
Second, the theoretical implication of the phenomenon described above will
be discussed. On one hand, the presentist approach, which emphasizes the role of thepower elite’s present interest in the construction of collective memory, has more
explanatory power when we consider the persecution as well as the admiration of theNanyang Volunteers in China that took place influenced by the present interest of thepower elite. On the other hand, the presentist approach cannot explain the recent94

マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）

commemoration of the Nanyang Volunteers in Malaysia and Singapore, which wasinitiated by people at a grassroots level. Another finding of the study is that the theoryof collective memory seems to overlook the influence of the international interaction
among individuals on the construction of collective memory. The memory of theNanyang Volunteers was resurrected as a result of increased interaction between thepeople on the Malay Peninsula and in China. The creation of a new theory to explain
this phenomenon is perhaps one of the issues that needs to be addressed.

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マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）【Summary】

Regulation of Muslim Women’s Hijab in Singapore
ICHIOKA Takashi（Hosei University, Doctoral Course Student）

This paper examines the recent developments in the regulation of Muslim women’s
hijab in Singapore, a mechanism that enables the government to maintain theregulation as well as the issues related to the recognition of identity and inclusion ofminorities in nation states.
As a multiethnic and multireligious country, Singapore has been engaged innation building on the basis of “multiracialism” that ensures ethnic and religious
equality. Although special institutional arrangements have been made to cater to theneeds of the Muslim community, the community has been dissatisfied with thegovernment’s strengthened management of Islam. Regulation that prohibits publicschool students and public hospital nurses from wearing the hijab is one of the sourcesof dissatisfaction.
Hijab-clad Muslim women have increased their presence in Singapore inaccordance with the Islamic revival since the 1970s. The government has enforced
strict regulation on the hijab for fear of radicalization and segregation of Muslims
from the larger society as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US and thedetention of Jemaah Islamiyah members in Singapore in 2001 and 2002.
The declining support of the ruling People’s Action Party in the 2011 generalelection resulted in an increased expression of political views. It was under thispolitical environment that the 2013 debate on the hijab took place. Debates on otherethnic, religious, and sexual identity-related issues, such as the expansion of theSpecial Assistance Plan schools for Chinese students, lifting of the ban on musicalinstruments in the Hindu festival of Thaipusam, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, andtransgender (LGBT) movement, have also become active.
This paper reveals that the government rejects various such requests,including opposition for the hijab ban by strategically constructing a scenario of“competing identity politics.” This paper also reveals that this version ofmultiracialism is not a form of multiculturalism that encourages diversity but is a96

マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）

version of multiculturalism in Singapore that wants citizens to endure the status quo
by suppressing ethnic and religious identity as threats to social stability.
This paper also suggests that the hijab regulation could be reviewed alongwith the efforts made to eliminate the prejudice and fear of Islam. This paper argues
that, however, recent global trends in Islamic extremism have been exacerbating suchprejudice and fear and have an adverse effect on the movement to review the hijabregulation.

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マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）【Summary】

Ethnicity and Nationality Regarding Indian Dance in Malaysia
KOGA Mayuri（Kaichi International University）
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society composed of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and others.
Even though the Indian is the third citizen, their culture like religion, language, andmedia is kept among the community.
The Indian dance is the traditional culture related to Hinduism, and popularamong the Indian community. On the one hand, the Indian dance is used as ethnic
identity.

Indian parents are willing to push their kids to dance classes because kids

could learn traditional culture through it. The Indian dance is used for anadvertisement of the company and a function of the political party because it is thesymbol of the ethnic identity.
But on the other hand, the Indian dance is used to show the national integrity.
Tourism department presents events which show the harmony using each ethnic
dance and music under the “One Malaysia” policy. The song “Malaysia Truly Asia” hasoften been used for dance and music shows since 1999. The National Arts Academy(later it became ASWARA) was founded in 1994, and it introduced Indian dance into
the syllabus of the Dance department in 2005. In ASWARA, Malay and Chinese
students are learning Indian dance from Indian teachers. The Indian dance is not only
the ethnic dance for the Indian community, but also one of the Malaysian dances forall ethnic people.
For an Indian who was born in Malaysia, the Indian culture mixed with
Malaysian culture is the symbol of Malaysian Indian culture. A classical Indian dancer,Kamini Manikan used the costume mixed with Malay, Chinese, and Indian items forher dance performance. Her works present many aspects like the social problem as
women problem, religious harmony, and ethnic harmony.
Malay dancer, Ramili Ibrahim evaluates the Indian dance aesthetically.
Keeping Islam, he continues to dance the Hindu mythology.

Indiandance is

accepted by non-Indian as the aesthetic dance not a religious dance, and it wasinvolved in the tourism. As a result, the Indian dance became the icon of one of the
Malaysian cultures.

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マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）【Summary】

Expansion of Higher Education and Societal Perception:
Exploring Discourse over Opportunities
TANAKA Riho
（The University of Tokyo, Doctoral Course Student）
Using articles from Aliran Monthly and Chinese newspapers published in Malaysia
between 1980 and 2010s, this paper explores Malaysian society’s perception
concerning the opportunity of higher education.
It is known that higher education in Malaysia expanded rapidly during andafter the 1990s. Previous studies have explained legislative changes and the structureof higher education development; however, few studies have explored the situationand conditions of students receiving higher education.
In Malaysia, the provision of higher education was limited until the 1980s
under the New Economic Policy. From the analysis of articles, it seems that themomentum of seeking higher education was not really large until the early 1980s.
However, in 1985, numerous articles expressed grievance against the limited
opportunities of university education and demand to establish more universities. This
indicates that higher education became an earnest desire for more people around thistime. In the 1990s, reflecting the policy shift toward emphasizing economic
development, opportunities for higher education increased considerably. Nevertheless,some people were still restricted from obtaining higher education because of the quota
system and the matriculation course. Even after the official use of the quota system
was abolished in 2002, discourse over opportunity for higher education has not fadedaway. Rather, the inequality of admission process of public universities under“meritocracy” creates discontent among people.
The findings of this study are as follows. First, although the opportunity forhigher education has increased and higher education has become a common
experience for an increasing number of people, discourse over opportunity for higher
education continuously involves criticism against inequality because some people arestill struggling to get the opportunity. Expansion of higher education caused by thedevelopmentalist policy surely had an aspect of opening up the opportunity for highereducation. Nevertheless, the difference between ethnic groups persists to a certain99

マレーシア研究第５号（2016 年）

extent, and the channels of attaining opportunity are divided along the socioeconomic
stratum more clearly compared with the past. The higher the number of peopleacquiring higher education, the easier it becomes to find the differences in givenconditions, leading to the manifestation of their discontent.
In addition, it can be said that general trust in the social selection of people
based on a person’s ability has not grown much in Malaysia. Besides the structuralcharacteristics of higher education development, the existence of people’s recognition
that one ethnic group has a high(er) ability and motivation cannot be denied. Despitethat situation, conditions that benefit one group regarding higher education
opportunity have consistently existed. Thus the social perception has risen thatattaining higher education does not necessarily indicate one’s original ability, andmoreover, discourse questioning “meritocracy” has appeared frequently; this situation
has possibly strengthened the mistrust of merit-based selection system in Malaysia.

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