Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

During the 19th century, many laborers from India and China immigrated to Malaysia colonialized by the British. As a result, Malaysia became a multi-religious society, comprising Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Since Malaya (Malaysia) achieved independence in 1957, Malaysia has produced many famous athletes from various ethnic background. For example, Lee Chong Wei, who is Chinese-Malaysian, was an outstanding world number one badminton player. Currently, Malayans constitute 55 percent of the entire population, followed by Chinese 23 percent and Indian 7 percent. However, religious differences make a deep imprint on sports participation, especially concerning athletes’ outfits. Recently, there have been incidents involving female Muslims, who were scolded by the conservatives because of their clothing. The paper will explore the phenomena and give insights into the situation.