Malay Politics and Nation State in Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country comprising three main ethnics, namely Malay, Chinese and Indian. As one of the multi-ethnic countries, construction of nation state becomes the government’s crucial agenda. After Malaysia achieved independence, the first endeavor towards integrity was uniting political parties, explicitly United Malay National Organization (UMNO), Malaysia Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). However, this latest advancement creates upheavals particularly in Malay political parties which are UMNO, PAS (Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party) and PKR. If Malay political parties are dispersed, then how about the attempt to construct nation state? This research is about the nation state’s challenges affected by the upheavals in Malay political parties. This research uses secondary sources and interview with Malaysia’s political leaders. In these most recent uproars, media play an important role by worsening the existing crisis. All those scenarios have shown that civil movements also claim for a more democratic ruling system and election which challenges the government on the issues of unity and nation state.