The glaring influence from the Indian and Chinese cultures amongst the local Malay population is a noteworthy basis to deduce that many common cultural norms are shared among Malaysians of all ethnic backgrounds. Because of the intimate bond between India and Indianised states of Southeast Asia in the early centuries, the Indian influence is quite pervasive leading to the distinctive variation on common cultural threads of language, texts and practices (Coedes, 1966). For instance, the popular Malay traditional performance of wayang kulit originates from the Hindu text of Ramayana from India. As for the Chinese influence, its expansionist policy has encouraged many Chinese from southern China to move into countries down south including the Malay Peninsula and bringing with them their values and customs (ibid).
Besides the dominant ethnic groups of Malays, Chinese and Indians, the existence of the other ethnic groups such as Punjabis, Eurasians and Arabs has also created an ethnic diversity that makes Malaysia’s socio-cultural landscape more varied.
Nevertheless, the cultures of the main ethnic groups of Malays, Chinese and Indians are more dominant than the rest because the other ethnic groups comprise only about two percent of the population. However, since essentials of these cultural mix are evolving and are continually seeping into almost every facet of the Malaysian society, to most of the older generation particularly the more provincial-based, social and cultural traditions have become a part of their daily lives. To them, it is the respect for one another’s traditional values that creates a harmonic social relationship between the Malays, Chinese and Indians in Malaysia (Evers, 1980). As such, many young Malaysians have begun to accept intermarriages among the differing cultures although this is not traditionally encouraged. This development is in accord with one of the nine challenges of Malaysia’s Vision 2020 which is to create a united Malaysian nation that is ethnically integrated and harmonious by the second decade of the 21st century (Mahathir, 1997).
As one would expect, because Malaysians of all ethnic backgrounds have lived and interacted with one another for more than a century, they tend to follow and practice
Malaysian cultural tradition is the framework of expectations for appropriate gender conduct. For instance, the general Malaysian society would frown on women who smoke and would not approve of men who put on ear rings or wear lipstick. Another familiar social attitude is that a woman should marry a man who is better educated than her and this is one major reason why there are more and more highly educated Malaysian women who are single (Phua and Soo, 2004: 8).
One more quite noticeable feature of Malaysians is the aspect of individual identity.
Like most middle class societies in the Asian countries (see Vervoon, 1998), Malaysia’s middle class and upper class groups build their individual identities in accordance to their social class. Regardless of their ethnic groups, they live alongside one another in residential areas, are members of the same hotels, clubs and resorts. As indicated by Shamsul A.B.(1999) their lifestyles demonstrate a preference for class over ethnic values. In contrast to the lifestyle of the middle class group, Phua and Soo (1994:112) observe that Malaysia’s working class call attention to their ethnic identity over class commonality as they can benefit more as individuals in initiating the association of patronage on the basis of vertical connection between members of the same ethnic group. In support of this contention, as working class Malaysians comprise a significant number of the population, Crouch’s (1996) argument that Malaysian unification of its ethnic groups would take a long time for it to come to fruition is quite logical. Perhaps this situation explains why certain values and habits particularly the ones with religious undertones are still ethnically skewed, to be precise not “Malaysian” in character.
Going back to the sharing of customs and practices, the Malaysian cuisine for instance is a mixture of borrowings from the varied cultures making it more diverse and enriching (Phua and Soo, 2004:67). The Malay and Indian cuisines display the influence of Chinese cuisine. The same is true with Chinese cooking which to an extent is inspired by Malay and Indian foods. As an example, the Hainanese chicken rice that comes with delicious sauce, pounded chillies and garlic are taken from the Malay dishes and can only be found in Malaysia and Singapore but not on China’s Hainan island. Similarly, Malay cuisine that has been enhanced by the cuisine of the Indian sub-continent is nasi lemak and satay (ibid: 92).
Additionally, the mode of costumes worn by Malaysians is another consequence of the cultural exchange among the races. As it is, the Chinese and Indians have for the most part embraced the “Western dress” as their daily wear. As a result, the Chinese samfoo and the Indian saree are less popular among the females. The same can be said of the Malays who by and large emulate the Western style of dress, except for special occasions such as funerals or Friday prayers at the mosque, where the males would normally put on their traditional baju melayu and the females their baju kurung. At this juncture, it is important to be reminded that nowadays a majority of the Malay females are dressed in “Islamic-Malay style” where, although their attire may comprise the pants and long-sleeved blouse, their heads are covered in public.
This is in consequence of the global Islamic resurgence which saw its beginnings in the country since the past thirty years.
Other than food and costumes, another dominant cultural element that had to live through cultural exchanges is the major Malaysian vernacular languages. For instance, the Chinese dialect of Cantonese has integrated Malay words like pasar and longkang into its language. Similarly, some Indian words such as tali and roti and the Portuguese words sepatu and almari are used in the Malay language. In relation to this, the English language in Malaysia has also been modified into certain variations which would appear peculiar to the British and American. Commonly referred to as Malaysian English or “Manglish”, among the most common add-ons to it is the Malay word “lah” which is a multifunctional word popularly used for emphasis such as “cannot lah” to respond to the graveness of a request for something or “gone lah”
to explain the consequences of getting involved in something negative. Another interesting aspect in Manglish is the weird application of the word “one” as in “my one” instead of “mine” or “your one” in place of “yours” (Phua and Soo, 2004: 89).
Conversely, although one cannot deny that the enriching aspects of food, language and dress have to a great extent blurred the cultural boundaries between the Malaysia’s major ethnic groups, a common culture did not emerge because religious faith becomes the defining element of each group’s ethnicity. Young, Bussink and Hassan (1980) note that despite a long history of interactions among the major ethnic groups of Malays, Chinese and Indians, each group more or less maintained its
Muslims, do not eat at Chinese stalls which serve pork because it is forbidden in Islam. On the other hand, there are halal versions of Chinese and Indian cuisines available to Muslims in Malaysia.
In deliberating on the subject of language usage among Malaysians, it is worth reiterating that although Bahasa Melayu is the official language of the country and is secured as the first language, English is still the dominant language in the urban areas. Because urban Malaysians in their late thirties onwards are mostly English- educated, English has in fact turned into an important medium of integration within Malaysia’s urban multi-ethnic middle class group (Salleh, 1994). As a matter of fact, like all former British colonies, Malaysia which practices the free market economy was very much affected by the collapse of the Soviet bloc in the early 1990s and the ascendance of the neo-liberal globalisation which ensure the unchallenged position of the English language (Abdul Rahman, 2004). It is therefore not surprising that while Bahasa Melayu is used in official communications, in practice English is given the pride of place in daily communication and interaction, including sometimes in official, and more so in semi-official or closed door settings. With usage of the English language being established since the British occupation and being presently quite widespread in the country, this situation clearly demonstrates that the impact of globalisation in Malaysia has been quite significant.
In furtherance to the issue of globalisation and the free flow of goods and information into the country in the 21st century, like many other developing countries there has been a marked impact on the cultural norms of the society, in particular the young. In addition to the fact that much of the cultural contents on Malaysian television are American or European, the massive technological advances of the past 20 years or so have made it hard for the authorities to censor sex and violence in the mass media.
More so, the explosive growth of the internet in recent years has rendered it almost impossible to control sexually explicit material to be exposed amongst the young. In essence, as posited by Phua and Soo (2004: 75), this situation reflects “a clear case of technological advances outpacing the adaptive ability of social and cultural institutions.”
Besides this, the exposure of the young and their participation in globalised consumerism had in the eyes of the elders, particular among those in the provincial
areas, transformed them into lifestyle consumers who ape the West and disregard their own culture. For instance, there are now many Malaysian teenagers who dye their hair yellow. Also, despite the disapproval from their elders, many Chinese teenagers today are dressed in black. To the elder Chinese, black is an unlucky colour which is only worn during sad occasions such as at funerals (ibid). In addition, it is quite common now to read in the mass media about the abuse of illegal drugs amongst Malaysian teenagers. Nevertheless, it must be pointed out that at this moment, there is a sizeable Malaysian community dedicated to combating the growing “social ills”
among young Malaysians. For many among them, Asian values and civilization do represent the only hopeful alternative to the path to modernity taken by the West (Sen and Stivens, 1998).
Thus, it is obvious that Asian cultural influences in particular from India and China are the major factors for the creation of cultural exchanges amongst the Malaysian ethnic groups. This phenomenon explains the enriching impact of Malaysian lifestyle with regard to their food, attire and language. Nonetheless, of late, as a consequence to globalisation a more distinct influence of Western lifestyle has penetrated into the Malaysian culture, especially among the youths. The question that begs an answer is this: how much has the West influenced the behaviours, attitudes and thinking of Malaysians, particularly the young?