Malaysian Malays
Living with diversity
Almost 80% surveyed rank 'being Muslim' as more important than being Malays or Malaysians. By Patricia Martinez
Aug 31, 2006

Her survey between Dec 15-18, 2005, was over 1,000 randomly selected Malaysian Muslims was conducted across peninsular Malaysia. Following excerpts: -

The results of the survey indicate that a majority of Malaysian Muslims in peninsular Malaysia are defined primarily by Islam rather than by their national identity as Malaysians, but are comfortable with living alongside people of other faiths. The results also confirm what has been described as growing orthodoxy.

For example, a majority feels that Shari'a laws in Malaysia are not strict enough, and 57.3% want the hudud to be implemented.

However, a majority, 63.3%, also opted for the Shari'a to remain as it is under the Constitution in Malaysia (the other answer-option given to the question was, 'The Shari'a to replace the Constitution in Malaysia').

In terms of identity, when asked to choose which defined them most: being Malay, Muslim or Malaysian, 72.7% chose being Muslim as their primary identity.

As their second choice of identity, more respondents chose being Malaysian (14.4%) than being Malay (12.5%). When asked if they felt all three identities, 99.4% replied 'yes'.

In an effort to verify the answer to the question about which identity defined them the most, respondents were asked in a subsequent question to rank the components 'Malay', 'Muslim' and 'Malaysian' in importance. 79% of the respondents again ranked being Muslim first.

One interpretation of this result is a heightened self-consciousness about being Muslim, since Islam dominates public discourse in Malaysia.

Another interpretation is that after 49 years of nationhood, Malaysians have adopted many aspects of Malay culture - food, dress and language - thus blurring the boundaries that differentiate Malays from the rest of the population.

Islam then becomes the defining element of Malay identity.

Therefore, since racial differentiation is politics, policy and fact of life in Malaysia, perhaps the mostly Malay respondents of the survey chose being Muslim as indicating the boundaries of their identity.

Another reason could also be the intense emotion that a love for one's religion evokes, hence identifying oneself primarily by that religion rather than by nationality or ethnicity.

Whatever the reasons, most of our policies and programmes on nation-building and unity focus largely on overcoming the schisms of ethnicity.

Perhaps we should note that it is not just race, which differentiates us as Malaysians, religion is clearly confirmed as a key factor.

However this does not mean that Muslim respondents chose being defined as Muslims rather than as Malaysians, in order to be exclusive or separate.

In response to the question "Is it acceptable for Malaysian Muslims to live alongside people of other religions?" a resounding 97.1% responded 'yes.'

In response to other questions, 79.5% responded that Malaysian Muslims should learn about other religions in Malaysia, 83.8% responded that Muslims could participate in interfaith dialogue, and 76% responded that if there was an interfaith council in Malaysia, Islam should be part of that council (note that this was a theoretical question, it was not about the controversial 2005 initiative towards the Interfaith Commission of Malaysia).

Unique nation

These findings indicate a greater level of acceptance of the reality of Malaysia's diversity than appears in current public discourse.

The responses can also be interpreted as a security and confidence that Malaysian Muslims have regarding their religious identity, and the innate tolerance and justice of Islam.

These results indicate also an outcome of the daily interaction of those ordinary Malaysians who are not cocooned in their chauffeured cars but who travel, study, shop and work alongside each other.

In other words, Malaysian Muslims are able to come to terms with what it actually means to live in a multi-religious nation, without detracting from their strong sense of identity as Muslims.

This is how Malaysia is unique among other Muslim nations, and why Malaysian Muslims are often described as moderate because of their successful negotiation of the racial and religious diversity that is their context.

It is a diversity that reflects the reality of an increasingly globalised world with no nation able to claim that its population only comprises one racial or religious group, and with all of humanity having to find the skills and will to live together.

This pragmatic perspective about living with diversity also came through when 77.4% of the respondents said that Malaysians should be allowed to choose their religion.

However, it is significant that 97.7% chose 'no' to the more specific question about whether Muslims should be allowed to change their religion (the question was 'Patutkah orang Islam di Malaysia dibenarkan keluar dari agama Islam?').

One interpretation of this response is that the vast majority of Malaysian Muslims - over 97% - do not intend to apostasise, and that it is likely that they themselves, beyond laws and punitive measures, will work to keep their community together.

Other responses in the survey indicate that the strongest influence on them as Muslims are their parents (73%) with religious teachers coming in a far second at 9.4% and religious lectures and sermons at 3.2%.

Ninety-three percent (93%) had heard about Islam Hadhari, but only 53.3% were able to state that they understood what it was about.

A slim majority of only 53.7% correctly identified the Sultans as the heads of Islam in Malaysia, with over 40% describing either the mufti, the director of a state department for Islam, or the prime minister as the head of Islam.

Seventy-seven point three percent (77.3%) want stricter Shari'a laws in Malaysia, and 44.1% felt that the authority to monitor and punish the moral behaviour of Muslims should be with state religious authorities, with the family coming second at 33.3%.

However, if these results depict conservative attitudes, it should be noted that that 76.6% answered 'yes' to the question 'In Islam, do men and women have equal rights?' with more men than women answering in the affirmative! But only a slim majority, 55.5%, stated that women can be Shari'a court judges.

Complex attitudes

Finally, in terms of suicide bombing, 62.1% choose the option 'wrong action for Muslims', 11.6% choose 'Syahid' or martyr, and a high percentage - 24.8% - chose the 'don't know' response (which because of its significant size, can be interpreted as respondents not being willing to state their point of view.)

In terms of asking about their feelings regarding the US, Europe and Australia, the options 'Like', 'Okay', 'Dislike' and 'Benci' or 'Hate' were provided.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) chose 'hate' to describe their feelings towards the US, with 44.5% choosing 'Dislike.' In other words, 83.5% of Malaysian Muslims in peninsular Malaysia have a negative attitude towards the US.

In terms of Europe, 18.8% choose 'Hate' to describe their feelings, with 38.2% choosing 'Dislike,' so over 50% have a negative attitude towards Europe.

However, 34.3% chose the option 'Okay' for their feelings towards Europe, more than double the number who chose 'Okay' (13.4%) to describe their feelings towards the USA.

Eighteen point three percent (18.3%) choose 'Hate' to describe their feelings towards Australia, 36.6% chose 'Dislike' and 35.1% chose 'Okay'.

It is significant that negativity defines Malaysian Muslim attitudes towards what constitutes 'the West', and this finding is in consonance with other global surveys on Muslim attitudes, such as those conducted by the Pew Research Center (which does not poll Malaysians although it has studies on Indonesia).

The survey results show the complexity of attitudes of Muslims in peninsular Malaysia, and how this complexity reflects their real engagement with various aspects of national life.

The results also discredit some of the assumptions and generalisations in public discourse about Malaysian Muslims. As such, claims about who Muslims in Malaysia are and what they want, feel and need, are sometimes exaggerations if not generalisations.

The results are mixed, neither confirming only moderation nor indicating overwhelming orthodoxy.

But what the survey results do confirm, hearteningly, is that Malaysian Muslims are able to live with the diversity that is Malaysia, and the reality that is our world.

(Some notes: This article shares the results of a survey of over 1,000 Malaysian Muslims in peninsular Malaysia. The objective of the survey was to get Muslims themselves, instead of those who speak on their behalf, to define their identity, issues and concerns.

(Between 15 and 18 December 2005, a survey of over 1,000 randomly selected Malaysian Muslims was conducted across peninsular Malaysia. The telephone survey sought to obtain information about identity, issues and concerns, as well as what Muslims thought about suicide bombings and the countries that are often described as constituting 'the West', namely the US, Europe and Australia.

(The survey questionnaire in Malay was devised through three focus groups and in consultation with other academics, policy-makers and civil society. The survey was pre-tested before being administered by the Merdeka Center which was commissioned to conduct the survey. The Merdeka Centre sampled respondents on the basis of the proportions of the Muslim population (by state and by gender) as indicated in the updated census published in 2003 by the Malaysian Department of Statistics.)

DR PATRICIA MARTINEZ is a Malaysian who is an Associate Professor at the Asia-Europe Institute of the University of Malaya. This is the original text from which The New Straits Times published an article on Aug 10.