Thirteenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explain how local Islamic movements have secured and maintained the political power of the ethnic Malay ruling elites in Malaysia through the Islamization process. Malaysia, a multiethnic and multi-religious society gained its independence from the British colonial rule in 1957. Islamic movements in the country first emerged as pro-independence and anti-Western movements. As a consequence, these movements and their goals have been deeply linked and attached to the ethnic Malay political parties namely UMNO and PAS. For the majority Malay political leaders, ethnicity and religion are firmly intertwined where the preservation of Islam as a religion is also seen as protecting the ethnic Malay special rights outlined in the constitution. This has resulted in competition amongst the Malay political leaders and parties in terms of whom and which political party is deemed more Islamic. In this paper, the political opportunity structure framework from the social movement theory is used to explain how this competition has given birth to the process of Islamization in the country which is evident in religious schools, the state’s education system, and economic policies favouring the ethnic Malays. I also argue that while Islamization has been used to legitimize the power of the Malay ruling elites, it has also further polarized the country along ethnic lines and more importantly within the Malay community itself. Regrettably, after 62 years of independence, the new adversaries are now the “other” Malays.