"...WE TALK LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE": CONTESTING REPRESENTATIONS OF MALAY YOUTH DELINQUENCY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This study documents the ways in which the cultural deficiency thesis and stereotypical images have been used to explain Malay youth delinquency through a popular television show known as Anak Metropolitan. The thesis explores the development of an alternative methodology towards the study of Malay youths who have been categorized as delinquents. Synthesizing 3 main perspectives; the constructionist perspective, cultural criminology and critical ethnography, the study provides a space for the voices of these Malay youths, who have hitherto been silenced by the dominance of cultural deficiency narratives, to be heard. Over period of 8 months, intensive in-depth interviews were conducted with 6 Malay youths who have all gone through the justice system in Singapore and served their sentences. The study explores the alternative narratives that reveal the complexities within their lived realities through their socialization processes and coming into contact with institutions.