Introduction: Ethnic Identity in Malaysia and Singapore

Abstract

An introduction to a special issue on transformations of ethnic identity in Malaysia & Singapore (see abstracts of related articles) offers a review of literature that has contributed to awareness of ethnicity in these countries & suggests a conceptual understanding of ethnic responses/identities within modern nation-states. Postcolonial Singapore & Malaysia followed different paths to achieve ethnic integration; Singapore chose cultural pluralism while Malaysia sought dominant conformity. Since the 1980s, both nations have been subjected to the transnationalization process, involving movement of capital & worker migration, which has diffused ethnic boundaries & identities. While stressing different specifics, the articles emphasize that both countries are plural societies without a dominant culture, & cast light on the hierarchical nature of plural societies - between & within specific groups - & the ability of the state to both construct & deconstruct such conceptions. J. Lindroth.