Mediated management of meaning: on‐line nation building in Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract In Malaysia, the Internet figures prominently in the imagery of modernity. Associated with a high‐tech future where the country is positioned in the midst of regional and global flows, the Internet represents the way forward. The Malaysian middle classes are at the forefront of this process of social transformation, their wired lifestyles serving as a model for society. Having readily adapted the Internet, the middle classes have been acculturated in the global culture of networking that it denotes. Their exposure to the world at large has heightened their sense of national identity. Meanwhile, their experience in decentralized interaction has provided them with the means to participate in the construction and reconstruction of national imageries. A medium for on‐line nation building, the Internet has evolved into a machinery of meaning that allows Malaysians to participate in the cultural management of their nation.