Focuses on Malaysia's four Prime Ministers as nation-builders, observing that each one of them when he became Prime Minister was transformed from being the head of the Malay party, UMNO, to that of the leader of a multi-ethnic nation. Each began his political career as an exclusivist Malay nationalist but became an inclusivist.

Provides informative description and analysis of the historical, economic, political and socio-cultural development of the Chinese in this country -- Book jacket.

Ethnic/racial relations have been a perennial theme in Southeast Asian studies. Current events have highlighted the tensions among ethnic groups and the need to maintain ethnic/racial harmony for national unity. This book analyses ethnic/race relations in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with special reference to the roles of ethnic Chinese in nation-building. It brings together a group of established Southeast Asian scholars to critically examine some of the important issues such as ethnic politics, nation-building, state policies, and conflict resolution. These scholars of different ethnic origins present their own ethnic perspectives and hence make the book unique. This is the most up-to-date book on ethnic/racial relations with special reference to the ethnic Chinese in three Southeast Asian countries.

First published in 1982, this text is widely regarded as a leading general history of the country. This new and revised edition brings the story of this fascinating country up to date, incorporating the latest scholarship on every period of Malaysian history, including recent research into pre-modern times. This text thus provides a historical framework that helps explain the roots of the issues dominating Malaysian life today, and the difficulties of creating a multicultural state where resources are equitably shared and the rights of all citizens are acknowledged. This book is a key text for courses on Southeast Asian history and politics. Covering a range of disciplinary subjects in the humanities and social sciences, it is also useful for anyone interested in the assessment of young, modernizing nations. New to this Edition: - A new chapter provides insights into Malaysian history of the last 15 years, including the growing influence of the internet and social media in the political sphere - Greater attention is paid to the strengthening of civil society movements that have arisen in light of perceived government failures - Fresh analysis of Islam's historical role in the Malay world and how it links with the growing Islamization of Malaysia today

This book comprises eight papers which deal with various aspects of ethnic Chinese and nation-building in Southeast Asia: ethnic Chinese and the concept of nation in the region, Chinese political participation, government's policies towards ethnic Chinese, ethnic Chinese and indigenous economics nationalism, ethnic Chinese and Sino-Indonesian relations, and China's policies towards Southeast Asian Chinese. This edition features a new postscript by the author.

The politics of nation-building has always been a central issue in Malaysia. Whilst the country has been able to sustain a relatively stable politics since the 1969 tragedy, and hence generate a rapid economic development (at least until the 1997 Asian economic crisis and later in the post 2008 General Election), the project of nation-building remains a basic national agenda yet to be fully resolved. The book explores the delicate process of nation-building in Malaysia in the post 1970s, especially in the context of the vision constructing the Bangsa Malaysia or ‘a united Malaysian nation’ enshrined in Mahathir’s Vision 2020 project which was introduced in 1991. It discusses the underlying socio-political parameters that shape and influence the politics of nation-building in the country and the construction of Bangsa Malaysia. As such, the book provides an alternative perspective in the analysis of ethnic relations and nation-building in Malaysia, thus broadens the understanding of Malaysian politics and society.

This collection of papers examines a variety of topics on the Chinese in Malaysia: the nature of Malaysian multi-ethnic society and the position of the ethnic Chinese, the conflation between ethnicity and religion, the 8 March 2008 election and its impact on the community, the similarities and dissimilarities of the Chinese positions in East and West Malaysia, the new developments in the economy, and the media and education in the past few decades under the New Economic Policy which have major bearings on the 8 March 2008 election and the post-election Malaysian Chinese community.

Nations are built by narrating their past. Threads of common memories weave the fabric of the national culture, integrating the heterogenous communities into the idea of a single nation. In multicultural societies, the process is a messy one. Different communities remember the past from perspectives that often clash with each other. Multiple memories of a multicultural nation challenge the idea of a singular national identity and call for multiple forms of belonging. Memory and Nation-Building explores the contemporary images of World War II in Malaysian literature and the continuing significance of the conflict in the collective memory and nation-building in Malaysia. Given the multicultural nature of the nation, the War memories of Malaysia are multiple and often contradictory. In the contemporary Malaysian literature, these memories embody the search for a historical narrative that would accommodate the cultural and ethnic diversity of the country.

This book considers Malaysia-Singapore relations from a range of perspectives. Geographical proximity, material flows and movements and historical links have long connected the peoples and territories in various ways. The 13 essays on history, law, politics, regional security and economy aim to define the links 'across the Causeway.'