Combatting the Erasure of Malay Culture by Intan Balqis

In Malaysia, ‘liberal’ is often used as an insult against someone, implying that the person abandons traditional values just to conform with the idealised West. This evolved perception of the word is fascinating because the definition of the term at its surface level is “(being) willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one’s own […]” (Oxford Languages) which should align wholly with Malaysia’s formal values. In fact, the word ‘liberal’ is explicitly said in the full Rukun Negara (The National Principles) text: “Guaranteeing a liberal approach towards our traditional heritage that is rich and diverse”. Why is it then that there seems to be a contradiction between what’s written on paper and what’s practiced in reality? In particular, why is this liberal approach not extended towards the preservation of Malay culture?

In 1998, traditional Malay performing art forms such as Mak Yong, kuda kepang and wayang kulit were banned by some states in Malaysia and have consequently been performed less and less in other states. The official reasoning behind the ban was that historically, the performances had “un-Islamic” origins and symbolisms. What’s devastating is that discourse and efforts dedicated towards this matter by state officials lack any sort of nuance when in fact unique and meaningful aspects of Malay culture are at stake. For instance, the Kelantan state had lifted its ban in 2019 albeit with a few caveats such as making it compulsory for performers to cover up. The lack of nuance in this case lies in the fact that certain aspects of the traditional art forms were autocratically deemed as damaging to society by the state without considering that Malaysians are not all located at the same point in the religion/belief spectrum.

This restriction of the arts under the guise of preserving ‘Malaysian Muslim’ values can also be seen in recent examples. In June 2023, Malaysia’s Department of Higher Education had announced heavy regulations and red tape akin to a complete ban on concerts being organised in public universities. This announcement was made after a video had gone viral of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu students performing at a student-run event. Although similar bans on Western artists’ concerts being held in Malaysia have happened before and stood out more to Malaysians, the same ban on local concerts especially by young performers should raise the same, if not more of an alarm for everyone. Again, this ban wholly lacks nuance in that performing at a concert is actually a form of expression for Malay artists and youths, who themselves hold diverse opinions/beliefs.

If traditional Malay cultural art forms like kuda kepang and modern cultural art forms like singing a Malay rock song are banned, there would be nothing left to define ‘Malay culture’ in the future, except for maybe the act of being close-minded, which is itself adopted from more conservative countries. Instead of abruptly putting a stop to these Malay art forms through autocratic bans, Malay culture should be purely reflective of the current Malay demographic climate. Meanwhile, it is currently the case that there still exists a considerable number of Malays who want to see these Malay art forms thrive whether it be by performing in them or simply being an audience to them.

Furthermore, a large part behind the restriction on arts is the reasoning of respecting religious sensitivities. On the contrary, culture and religion should not have to be placed on opposing sides in the first place. When someone wants to distance themselves from certain cultural practices due to personal religious reasons, that philosophy should not be extended to others. Even if other people abide by the same religion and should therefore act the same way in their view (with respect to culture), the right to freedom of choice should be extended to others. This is liberalism as defined both in the dictionary and the Rukun Negara.

Even though Malaysians would recite and read the Rukun Negara every day in school, there still seems to be a disconnect between what is written and what is actually being practiced. Malaysians should view open-mindedness or being a ‘liberal’ as a virtue. Although refusing to accept another person’s viewpoint may seem small, it can cultivate into instances where meaningful aspects of Malay culture can even be construed as entirely bad without considering that it all comes down to personal interpretation and appreciation. Therefore, let us not be fearful of the word ‘liberal’ but embody this national principle instead to combat Malay culture from being erased.

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