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Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models

Malaysia and Singapore are good examples of multicultural societies albeit with different acculturation ideologies. Both countries comprise three main ethnic groups but in diametrically opposite proportion. In Malaysia, 50.4% of the population is Malay, 23.7% Chinese, 11%indigenous peoples, 7.1% Ind...

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Main Authors: Noor, Noraini M., Leong, Chan-Hoong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier journal 2013
Subjects:
BF636 Applied psychology
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/33610/1/Noor%26Leung-2103-IJIR.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/33610/
http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-intercultural-relations
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spelling my.iium.irep.336102014-01-25T03:32:14Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/33610/ Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models Noor, Noraini M. Leong, Chan-Hoong BF636 Applied psychology Malaysia and Singapore are good examples of multicultural societies albeit with different acculturation ideologies. Both countries comprise three main ethnic groups but in diametrically opposite proportion. In Malaysia, 50.4% of the population is Malay, 23.7% Chinese, 11%indigenous peoples, 7.1% Indian, and 7.8% other races. In Singapore, the ratio is 74.1% Chinese, 13.4% Malay, 9.2% Indian and 3.3% other races. Due to its colonial past, “ethnicity” has been the central policy issue in Malaysia and remains so up to this day. The dominance of communal politics can be understood in Stephan and Stephan’s (2000) model of integrated threat theory. In Singapore, the city-state does not believe in affirmative action and it prefers to manage cultural identities on the basis of a multicultural ideology (Berry & Kalin,1995; Berry, Kalin, & Taylor, 1977). In this article, multiculturalism is used to refer to public policies carried out by the two countries to manage their plural societies. We will discuss the development of the multicultural models that have evolved in the two countries. While Malaysia’s model of multiculturalism is based on policies that have been instituted to manage inter-group tensions, prevent violence, and pursue social justice between the ethnic groups as a result of its past, Singapore’s model is guided by pragmatic realism and market fundamentals associated with the needs of a global city. Both models will face challenges in the coming years as they each adapt to the seismic shifts in the geo-economic landscapes. Elsevier journal 2013-11 Article REM application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/33610/1/Noor%26Leung-2103-IJIR.pdf Noor, Noraini M. and Leong, Chan-Hoong (2013) Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 37 (6). pp. 714-726. ISSN 0147-1757 http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-intercultural-relations
institution Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia
building IIUM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider International Islamic University Malaysia
content_source IIUM Repository (IREP)
url_provider http://irep.iium.edu.my/
language English
topic BF636 Applied psychology
spellingShingle BF636 Applied psychology
Noor, Noraini M.
Leong, Chan-Hoong
Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models
description Malaysia and Singapore are good examples of multicultural societies albeit with different acculturation ideologies. Both countries comprise three main ethnic groups but in diametrically opposite proportion. In Malaysia, 50.4% of the population is Malay, 23.7% Chinese, 11%indigenous peoples, 7.1% Indian, and 7.8% other races. In Singapore, the ratio is 74.1% Chinese, 13.4% Malay, 9.2% Indian and 3.3% other races. Due to its colonial past, “ethnicity” has been the central policy issue in Malaysia and remains so up to this day. The dominance of communal politics can be understood in Stephan and Stephan’s (2000) model of integrated threat theory. In Singapore, the city-state does not believe in affirmative action and it prefers to manage cultural identities on the basis of a multicultural ideology (Berry & Kalin,1995; Berry, Kalin, & Taylor, 1977). In this article, multiculturalism is used to refer to public policies carried out by the two countries to manage their plural societies. We will discuss the development of the multicultural models that have evolved in the two countries. While Malaysia’s model of multiculturalism is based on policies that have been instituted to manage inter-group tensions, prevent violence, and pursue social justice between the ethnic groups as a result of its past, Singapore’s model is guided by pragmatic realism and market fundamentals associated with the needs of a global city. Both models will face challenges in the coming years as they each adapt to the seismic shifts in the geo-economic landscapes.
format Article
author Noor, Noraini M.
Leong, Chan-Hoong
author_facet Noor, Noraini M.
Leong, Chan-Hoong
author_sort Noor, Noraini M.
title Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models
title_short Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models
title_full Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models
title_fullStr Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models
title_full_unstemmed Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore: Contesting models
title_sort multiculturalism in malaysia and singapore: contesting models
publisher Elsevier journal
publishDate 2013
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/33610/1/Noor%26Leung-2103-IJIR.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/33610/
http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-intercultural-relations
_version_ 1643610473634988032
score 13.211869

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