Many Malays only 'half-aware' of their culture - cultural activist

At a dialogue on nation-building today, a prominent cultural activist noted how Malays were largely only half-aware of their rich history and roots, including on the basic definition of what it means to be a Malay.

Socio-cultural researcher Eddin Khoo (above) said the question of who is a Malay and what it means to be a Malay must first be answered if the Malay culture is to be recognised as Malaysia's defining culture that will influence inter-ethnic relations.

"In recent times most of the Malay-ness is derived from a constitutional definition.

"Many young Malays are not even aware of what it means to be a Malay beyond what has been defined under the constitution," said Khoo, founder of Pusaka, an NGO working on the preservation of Malay cultural art forms.

"In terms of culture, in terms of the history of the region, they are only half-aware.

"They don't embody the width and depth of cultural diversities," said Khoo who also noted how conversations on related subjects were often conditioned by divisive political ideologies.

Khoo was responding to panel moderator, Bersatu Youth exco Ashraff Mustaqim Badrul Munir, who suggested that the country leaders have over the years failed to address the issue of Malaysia's defining culture and this had resulted in the current debates over khat and status of the Malay language.

"Has the time come for us to once again discuss the issue of a defining race and who is the defining race? Are the Malays the defining race?" asked Ashraff.

Commenting further, Khoo said the central issue lay with an increasingly rigid identity conflict shaped partly by political beliefs.

He also said many Malaysians were unaware of the problems that often manifested at a person's subconscious level.

"And we don't have a real hold of our culture and history to really address the various dimensions of these problems," said Khoo, adding the situation was worsened by provocative comments on social media.

Known for his efforts to preserve Malay traditional art forms, Khoo said the way forward for nation-building should be to rid oneself of the "master (ketuanan) mentality".

"To me, this master mentality should be thrown away. There is no master on this earth. There is a defining culture and community (in a country) but when there are conflicts among the 'masters' we will give rise to a victim mentality and this is a wound for Malaysia," he said.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman later delivered the closing address at the dialogue which also featured Malaysian Islamic Associations Consultative Council chairperson Azmi Abdul Hamid and Malay Economic Action Council CEO Ahmad Yazid Othman. - Mkini