Stability in Flux: The Ambivalence of State, Ethnicity and Class in the Forging of Modern Urban Malaysia

Abstract

The author examines the changing concepts of national identity & class that form the basis of Malaysian modernity, which, in turn, is part of a broader political, social, & cultural transformation. The article traces the history of Malayness since the European colonial period, through the crisis of 1969 & the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) split in 1987, to the creation of Vision 2020 in 1991. Goals of Vision 2020 include the development of a scientifically & technologically effective Malaysian economy combined with cultural & moral improvement. For the past 2 decades, Malaysia has seen rapid economic growth & urban transformation, as shown by detailed examples involving the state of Penang & the town of Pulau Tikus. Modernity in Malaysia is an effort to combine "old" & "new" identities. J. R. Callahan.