Dignity and political expectation of the Malay electorate in Malaysia

• Main Author: Mohamad Shukri, Syaza Farhana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IIUM Press 2021
• Subjects: JQ715 Politics and Government in Malaysia
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/90307/7/90307_Dignity%20and%20Political%20Expectation%20of%20the%20Malay%20Electorate%20in%20Malaysia.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/90307/; https://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/id/article/view/1763
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Malays as an ethnic group makes up the majority of Malaysia’s 32 million population. However, the Malays continue to feel economically and socially insecure with their position vis-à-vis other ethnicities such as the Chinese, which have led to the continued support for conservative political figures and parties. This study proposes that the Malays fear the loss of their dignity in a multicultural world more than the fear of being left behind. Previous studies have shown that the Malays are seeing the improvement of their physical and psychological well-being, and thus can be said to be living a life with dignity. Despite better conditions, the Malays are still reluctant to embrace inter-ethnic equality as it is perceived to threaten the community mindset of the Malays. Using a survey that was distributed to 458 respondents of adult Malays, this study seeks to discover the relationship between respondents’ view on felt dignity and their political expectation. Based on a number of bivariate correlation analysis, it is found that while most of the Malay respondents expect it to be the government’s duty to empower and protect the Malay community, there is a modest relationship between those who feel dignified and secure to be more liberal in their political expectation. The implication is that government policies should continue in uplifting the Malays as a pre-condition for a more egalitarian Malaysia.