Who are the ‘Mats’ and ‘Minahs’ ? A study on the perceptions of Malay youths

• Main Author: Ili Shazana Fadlon
• Other Authors: Zhou Wubiao
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Communities, classes and races
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/43871
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This thesis is an exploratory study of the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs that Malay youth hold towards people they perceive as ‘Mat’ and ‘Minah’ . It is an attempt at finding out more about the various nuances of the Mat and the Minah label and why the labels have received much criticism and stigmatization from the society. The study also reviews past attempts by different authors in conceptualizing the Malay problem and seeks to find a link between the idea of labeling and the construction of deviance within the Malay youth community. It argues that the labeling process is a complex one as the Mat and Minah label is clouded with ambiguity and is multi-dimensional. Hence, there is no concrete qualification that one can use to justify labeling another individual as a Mat or a Minah.