The politics of drama: Post-1969 state policies and their impact on theatre in English in Malaysia from 1970 to 1999

Abstract

The research undertaken in this thesis aims to understand the impact of State policies upon arts practice within the specific context of post-Riots Malaysia, a period marked by rigorous State intervention into the arena of culture, art, language, education and the economy through the National Cultural Policy (1971), the National Language Bill (1967), the National Education Act (1961) and the New Economic Policy (1971-1990). The study is located in the practice of theatre in English. It offers the hypothesis that arts practice is not exclusively affected or influenced by a policy with the stated intent of shaping art and culture within a specific nationalistic agenda. Rather, it is shaped by a complex network of influences, stemming from the inter-policy relationship between the policies introduced or enforced by the State after 1969.