Book Chapters by Dahlia Martin
Redefining "Malayness": Expectations of Young-Adult Malaysian Muslims
Thinking Through Malaysia: Culture and Identity in the 21st Century, 2012
Conference Presentations by Dahlia Martin
Women are a focal point in Malaysian politics, particularly when there are concerns about support... more Women are a focal point in Malaysian politics, particularly when there are concerns about support within the electorate. The United Malays Nationalist Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, has been particularly adept at emphasizing the role of and opportunities for women in the party’s early history. Since the 2008 general elections, when BN lost its parliamentary two-thirds majority, UMNO leader and Prime Minister Najib Razak has sought to “win back” support. One of his strategies to do so involved manufacturing inseparable links between UMNO, BN and a progressive outlook with multicultural appeal. This strategy is most evident in how the Najib administration has approached the issue of the status of women in Malaysia. This paper will discuss how the theme of women’s empowerment was developed as a platform to gather support for UMNO and BN in the run-up to the 13th general elections. By tracing the history of women’s roles within UMNO party politics, this paper will firmly situate these developments in the context of the repetition of a particular pattern when it comes to women’s participation and representation in politics. The paper will also argue that despite the occasional deference to the notion of gender equality, this acknowledgement has been merely perfunctory. The increasing prevalence of Malay nationalism as a masculine ethnoreligious concept in Malaysia means that Malay-Muslim women in particular will continue to be regarded as belonging primarily in supporting roles and the private realm.
Mothering a New Malay Muslim Identity
This paper, whilst tracing the developments in Malay Muslim identity in relation to imagery and e... more This paper, whilst tracing the developments in Malay Muslim identity in relation to imagery and expectations of Malay women and mothering, will also look at responses from Malay Muslim mothers to local identity politics, therefore indicating to what degree attempts by the Malaysian political elite to remodel and reclaim Malay Muslim identity have been successful. Several researchers have previously noted that Malay Muslim identity in multiethnic Malaysia has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent times, with emphasis on Muslim identity becoming even more pronounced when Mahathir Mohammed became Prime Minister in 1981. During his 23-year premiership, Mahathir attempted to banish the lazy native imagery which had dominated Malay Muslim identity discourse and replace it with the Melayu Baru concept – literally a new, modern, global Malay, whose Islamic faith laid the foundation for their worldliness. As has occurred in many other traditions, women quickly became the symbol for this new society. Popular Malay female imagery began to reflect an increasingly Islamic tone, particularly as Malaysia began to position itself as a role model for the Islamic world. Due to the family unit being seen as being a key factor to the success of nation-building, women continued to be regarded mainly in terms of their reproductive abilities. Mothers, therefore, became an integral part of nation-building discourse, and the articulation of the Melayu Baru and Islam Hadhari ideals inevitably specified a few extra and unique responsibilities for Malay Muslim mothering. Analyses of recent fieldwork is presented in this paper as evidence that urban Malay Muslim mothers do take these extra and unique responsibilities very seriously, increasingly choosing to identify themselves and their families religiously rather than ethnically.
Idealizing Malay Motherhood
Journal Articles by Dahlia Martin
A rivalry between political parties has meant that the position of religion in Malaysia is very m... more A rivalry between political parties has meant that the position of religion in Malaysia is very much tied in with nationalistic politics. Having been in power since the country’s independence, the United Malays Nationalist Organisation (UMNO) of the Barisan Nasional (National Front) has attempted, through use of several national ideologies and discourses, to propagate a Malay Muslim hegemony within a multiethnic framework. The most obvious result of this is the categorization of the Malaysian population by ethnicity in all facets of their lives. Another consequence is the precarious position of young adults in Malaysia: the government expects much of Malaysian youth, especially Muslim youth, yet ironically, their inadequate representation and vulnerability to authoritative depictions has left them a marginalized group. This article looks at the discourses concerning young-adult Malaysian Muslims, and, through indepth interviews with a small sample of urban youth, attempts to uncover what discourses young-adult Malaysian Muslims are actually using in their everyday lives. My findings point to a transcendence of religion over race amongst most young Muslims, with there being much discomfort over assuming the ethnic identity marker of ‘Malay’.
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Book Chapters by Dahlia Martin
Conference Presentations by Dahlia Martin
Journal Articles by Dahlia Martin