Abstract

The 1Malaysia concept was developed as a means to unite all the various ethnic groups of the country but it would seem that after 54 years of Independence, Malaysia may still be experiencing subtle nuances of stereotyping among the ethnic communities. This study was developed in order to gauge how the Malaysian Chinese are perceived by Malaysian Malays. In this exploratory study, a survey questionnaire was developed and administered on 200 Malaysian Malay students and young working adults aged between 19 and 29 years old within the Klang Valley in Selangor, Malaysia. Data were analysed by focusing on specific positive and negative lexical items used in describing the other. Findings suggest that young Malay respondents have both positive and negative perceptions of the Chinese, in other words, the society may be moving slowly towards acceptance.