BRITISH DISCOURSES AND MALAY IDENTITY IN COLONIAL SINGAPORE

Abstract

This article examines British discourses on Malay identity in colonial Singapore against the backdrop of the latent realities of that era. I argue that British discourses are determined by a confluence of ideological, political and methodological underpinnings as well as other factors which gave rise to a tenuous understanding of what it meant to be ‘Malay’. Nevertheless, such discourses should not be disregarded because they provide us with useful vantage points from which the much neglected subject of Malay identity in colonial Singapore could be approached, refined and fully understood. British discourses on Islam, perceived differences between Malays and other ethnic groupings, the Malay language, the notion of a ‘depressed community’ and class divisions will be interrogated in order to arrive at a more comprehensive portrayal of Malay identity in colonial Singapore.