Urban Malays Research Articles

Convergence or Divergence? An Exploratory Study on Urban Malays and Indigenous People in Kuala Lumpur and Kuching

Convergence or Divergence? An Exploratory Study on Urban Malays and Indigenous People in Kuala Lumpur and Kuching

Perspectives on Malay Language Use and Autonym Preference Among Urban Malays in South Thailand

Abstract This article offers theoretical and ethnographic perspectives on language ideology and autonym preference among bi-lingual urban Malays in Pattani’s provincial capital. The first of its two substantive sections presents a concise summary of the most relevant insights provided by linguistic anthropologists and sociolinguists who have written on language ideology and the role of language in identity formation. The primary purpose of the second section is to explore the heuristic utility of these theoretical insights on a range of ethnographic vignettes where a range of language-related issues have historically represented a significant source of mistrust between the local Malay majority and Bangkok. We develop insights provided by interactionalist perspectives on language and identity formation to Malay identity formation, specifically which autonyms are strategically adopted.

Exploring Relationships Between Personality Traits and Marital Satisfaction among Urban Malays Using Malaysian Samples: A Preliminary Study

Personality is one of the most important psychological variables explored in understanding the underlying dynamics of marital relationships. Thus, this study aims to identify the relationships between personality and marital satisfaction using specific culture. This study is apart from a larger study that explored the relationships between psychological factors relating to marital satisfaction. This study was carried out adapting the explorative research design using survey and questionnaires. Cluster sampling from 10 areas within Lembah Klang were executed to gain respondents. A number of 578 married urban Malay individuals residing in Lembah Klang voluntarily participated in this study. Questionnaires consisted of questions relating to personal background, personality and marital satisfaction were distributed by trained enumerators and later collected for analysis. Results show that personality factor specifically agreeableness (? = 0.30*, k < 0.05), conscientiousness (? = 0.16*, k < 0.05) and neurotism (? = -0.12*, k < 0.05) do influence marital satisfaction. This research implies that further in depth studies in the area of marital satisfaction are much needed to explore specifically on personality. A more detailed study focussing on the psychology of marital relationships, namely personality, would be an enormous contribution to the field of psychology specifically on marital relationships.

Exploring the Relationship between Spiritual Well-Being and Marital Satisfaction among Urban Malays in Malaysia

Exploring the Relationship between Spiritual Well-Being and Marital Satisfaction among Urban Malays in Malaysia

Marital Satisfaction and General Happiness among urban Malays in Klang Valley

Marital satisfaction is a mental state that induces a married individual to feel happy regarding in his or her married life. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the background factors of married urban Malays and to determine the relationship between marital satisfaction and general happiness among urban married Malay individuals. This study employs an exploratory design using survey method in the form of questionnaire. Each questionnaire contains a set of questions and measurement tools to gather background information, the level of marital satisfaction and general happiness of the respondents. A total of 421 respondents who were Malays and have been married for at least a year, and resided in the Klang Valley area participated voluntarily in this study. In general, this study found that there were positive and significant relationships between general happiness and factors namely marital satisfaction (k &lt;0.01, r = 0.466**), age (k &lt;0.01, r = 0.148**), individual monthly income (k &lt;0.05 , r = 0.118*), family income (k &lt;0.05, r = 0.113*), length of marriage (k&lt;0.05, r = 0.114*) and age of the eldest child (k &lt;0.01, r = 0.137*). The outcome of this study suggests the importance of marital satisfaction in elevating the general happiness of married individuals. Besides that, religious beliefs and values were also found important in achieving marital satisfaction. Suggestions for future researchers and members of the helping profession like counselors, therapists and social workers working with married couples who specifically adhere to certain values and cultures were also discussed.

Cosmopolitan Malay Through Visual Imageries In 1930s Malay Newspapers

By 1930s, Malays specifically the city dwellers have already grown accustomed to the modern lifestyle, espoused by their cosmopolitan appearance and outlook. The period portrays an increase of leisure and recreational activities particularly in the consumption of goods, services, and popular entertainment—reflected in the abundance of advertisements on this type of products and activities in Malay newspapers. By late 1930s, advertisements mostly published in the form of visual imageries. Analysis on these imageries can provide insights on the presence of a certain form of cosmopolitanism embodied by this group of urban Malays. This exploratory paper inspects the portrayal of cosmopolitan Malays through visual advertisements in Warta Ahad in the second half of 1930s (1935-38). Archived materials mentioned in the paper were gathered from Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The conception of Malay cosmopolites, as this paper will argue, is a construct by advertisers and Malay intelligentsias alike, albeit with different intentions. Imageries under discussion suggest an alternative representation of Malays, the urbanites, who have attained a degree of cosmopolitan outlook through continuous exposures to what was deemed as a modern lifestyle.&nbsp; Keywords: Malay newspapers, urban Malays, advertisements, cosmopolitanism, modern lifestyle

Body Weight Status and Dietary Intakes of Urban Malay Primary School Children: Evidence from the Family Diet Study.

Malaysia is experiencing a rise in the prevalence of childhood obesity. Evidence for the relationship between dietary intake and body weight among Malaysian children is limited, with the impact of energy intake misreporting rarely being considered. This paper describes the dietary intakes of urban Malay children in comparison to national recommendations and by weight status. This cross-sectional Family Diet Study (n = 236) was conducted in five national primary schools in Malaysia (August 2013–October 2014). Data on socio-demographics, anthropometrics, 24-h dietary recalls, and food habits were collected from Malay families, consisting of a child aged 8 to 12 years and their main caregiver(s). Multivariable analyses were used to assess dietary intake-body weight relationships. The plausibility of energy intake was determined using the Black and Cole method. Approximately three in 10 Malay children were found to be overweight or obese. The majority reported dietary intakes less than national recommendations. Children with obesity had the lowest energy intakes relative to body weight (kcal/kg) compared to children in other weight categories (F = 36.21, p < 0.001). A positive moderate correlation between energy intake and weight status was identified (r = 0.53, p < 0.001) after excluding energy intake mis-reporters (n = 95), highlighting the need for the validation of dietary assessment in obesity-related dietary research in Malaysia.

Increased risks of cardiovascular diseases and insulin resistance among the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia.

BackgroundDespite the strategic development plan by the authorities for the Orang Asli, there are six subtribes of which their population numbers are small (less than 700). These minorities were not included in most of the health related studies published thus far. A comprehensive physiological and biomedical updates on these small subtribes in comparison to the larger subtribes and the urban Malay population is timely and important to help provide appropriate measures to prevent further reduction in the numbers of the Orang Asli.MethodsA total of 191 Orang Asli from different villages in Peninsular Malaysia and 115 healthy urban Malays were recruited. Medical examinations and biochemical analyses were conducted. Framingham risk scores were determined. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics, Version 20.0.ResultsA higher percentage of the Orang Asli showed high insulin levels and hsCRP compared to the healthy Malays denoting possible risk of insulin resistance. High incidences of low HDL-c levels were observed in all the Orang Asli from the six subtribes but none was detected among the urban Malays. A higher percentage of inlanders (21.1 % of the males and 4.2 % of the females) were categorized to have high Framingham Risk Score.ConclusionsOrang Asli staying both in the inlands and peripheries are predisposed to cardiovascular diseases and insulin resistance diabetes mellitus. The perception of Orang Asli being healthier than the urban people no longer holds. We believed that this information is important to the relevant parties in strategizing a healthier community of the Orang Asli to avoid the vanishing of the vulnerable group(s).

At-Home Consumption of Fish Products in Malaysia: An Analysis of Household Expenditure Survey Data

ABSTRACT Expenditures on fresh fish, shellfish, and processed fish for home consumption are investigated for households in Malaysia. A sample selection system is estimated to account for observed zero expenditures and improve statistical efficiency of estimates. Results of marginal effects, segmented by ethnicity, indicate that household size and age of household head are associated with expenditures for all three fish products across ethnic groups. Location, urbanicity, and education are associated with expenditures on certain types of fish products among ethnic Malays and Chinese only. Policy recommendations include targeting larger households with lower prices for bulk purchases and consuming households in older age groups. Efforts to promote regularity of fish product purchases should be directed toward urban Malay and Chinese households seeking convenient cooking methods, while measures to boost fresh fish consumption could be concentrated among higher-educated Malay households, given their unexpecte...

Exploring Expressions of Marital Love Prototype among Married Urban Malays

The aim of this study is to explore the prototype for expressions of marital love among urban Malays. This study applies the process for developing prototypes of love which was adapted by Fehr (1988). Questionnaire consisting of questions relating to personal background, relationship background and list of expressions of marital love were presented to 600 working married urban Malays. Data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and found that the list for prototype expressions of marital love were fit using the three component definition as suggested by Sternberg (1986), specifically, intimacy to intimate-sharing expressions, commitment to commitment-faith expressions and passion to romantic-physical expressions. Results showed that expressions for marital love which involve intimate-sharing expressions (e.g. listening to spouse’s emotional outpourings, encouraging spouse, solving problems with spouse) were most desirable compared to romantic-physical expressions which were less desirable (e.g. holding spouse’s waist, giving spouse a massage, caressing spouse). Findings suggest future studies on love within marriage should consider cultural aspects and application of implicit theory as suggested by Fehr (1988).

A Preliminary Study: What Is Love in a Marriage?

This study investigates how urban Malays give meanings to love within marriage. A total of 245 participants attending a compulsory premarital program in Klang Valley, Malaysia agreed to take part in this study. Questionnaires consisting of personal and relationship background were distributed to participants. How participants give meanings to love which exists in a marriage were rated using a self developed prototype list of Subjective Meanings of Marital Love (SMML). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19 for Windows (SPSS 19) and Sternberg’s Triangular Love Theory was applied when examining possible components of love which exists within marriage. Results showed that the most agreeable elements of love within marriage belonged to commitment and intimacy component. On the other hand, the least agreeable elements of love within marriage came from the passion component of love. Overall, the most unique results showed that participants reported that love in a marriage as having strong relationship towards God. Findings implied the importance of investigating love experiences which is specific to context of love experience - such as love within marriage and faith aspects when studying close relationships.

The prevalence of and risk factors for pterygium in an urban Malay population: The Singapore Malay Eye Study (SiMES)

PurposeTo determine the prevalence and risk factors for pterygium in the adult Malay population of Singapore.MethodsA population-based survey of Malays aged 40 to 79 years living in Singapore was conducted....

Public Knowledge and Beliefs About Depression Among Urban and Rural Malays in Malaysia

This study examined knowledge and beliefs about depression among Malaysian Malays varying in socioeconomic status. A total of 153 urban and 189 rural participants completed a questionnaire in which they had to identify two cases of depression and rate a series of items about the causes and best treatments for depression. Results showed that urban participants were more likely to use psychiatric labels ('depression') for the two vignettes, whereas rural participants tended to use more generic terms ('emotional stress'). Principal components analysis (PCA) showed that beliefs about the causes of depression factored into five components, of which stressful life events was most strongly endorsed by both groups. PCA of treatment items revealed four stable components, of which religious factors were most strongly endorsed. There were also a number of significant between-group differences in the endorsement of these factors (eta(p) (2) = .03-.11), with rural participants generally rating supernatural and religious factors more strongly than urban Malays. These results are discussed in relation to mental health literacy programmes in Malaysia.

URBAN MALAYS' USER-BEHAVIOUR AND PERSPECTIVE ON PRIVACY AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF HOUSING

The fundamental form of Malay traditional housing is to accommodate their occupant daily needs and also to provide better congruence between human behaviour and culture as compared to the modern housing. Majority of modern housing today are mass-produced and inhabitants have little choice but to adapt and change their lifestyle within the ‘given environment’ regardless of their behavioural needs and cultural background. In traditional Malay houses, the spaces are more flexible especially in the main house (rumah ibu) where most family activities took place. Separation of space in the traditional Malay house is minimal because their concern is more towards communal intimacy, and this was demonstrated in the serambi (verandah) located in front of the house where guests especially the males were entertained during social and religious functions. Using scheduled-structured questions and graphic aid during the in-depth interviews, this research found that due to the influence of modern link house layout, an interesting pattern from the perspective of urban Malays with regards to privacy concept and Malay culture emerged. Most of the respondents agreed with the re-introduction of the serambi concept in modern housing as a transition zone for informal entertaining, and it has the potential to be a social interaction space for the immediate neighbourhood. Based on the comments given six house plans were generated and respondents were asked to identify an ideal plan which they feel can fulfilled their privacy needs.

Prevalence and Causes of Low Vision and Blindness in an Urban Malay Population

To describe the prevalence and causes of low vision and blindness in a Malay population. A population-based, cross-sectional study of 3280 participants of Malay ethnicity, aged 40 to 79 years, was conducted. Participants underwent standardized ophthalmic assessments to determine (1) presenting and best-corrected visual acuity according to US and modified World Health Organization definitions of blindness and low vision and (2) the primary causes of visual impairment. Of 4168 eligible individuals, 3280 participated in the study (78.7%). The population-weighted prevalence of bilateral blindness was 0.3% and of bilateral low vision, 4.4% (US definition of presenting visual acuity). After best-corrected visual acuity, the population-weighted prevalence of bilateral blindness was reduced to 0.1% and bilateral low vision to 1.0%. Cataract was the main cause of presenting unilateral (38.9%) and bilateral (65.2%) blindness, whereas undercorrected refractive error was the main cause of presenting unilateral (68.8%) and bilateral (52.2%) low vision. Diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma were the other leading causes of blindness and low vision. The age-standardized prevalences of bilateral blindness and low vision in a Malay population were lower when compared with other Asian studies. Undercorrected refractive error and cataract are the leading causes of visual impairment among the Malay adult population in Singapore.

Popular discourse on identity politics and decentralisation in Tanjung Pinang public schools

: This paper explores the discrepancies between the official rhetoric on Malayness and the emerging discourse on national identity among the urban Malay (Melayu) youth of the Indonesian province Kepri. The population of the Riau Archipelago is multiethnic, with Malays as the majority and Kepulauan Riau represents an important historical centre for the whole Malay World. Because of this, local leaders have engaged this newly formed province in a series of attempts to revitalise a transnational ethnic awareness based on an inclusive Malay identity framework. However, most of the students I met during my recent fieldwork in Tanjung Pinang’s public schools tend to reject most ideas of reinforcing the bridge with the Malays of neighbouring nations, and prefer to perceive themselves primarily as Indonesian. This should not come as a surprise. Since 1998, the popular culture scene has been largely influenced by reformasi movements all over Indonesia. For the Tanjung Pinang youth, urban Indonesia, represented especially by Jakarta, is synonymous with dynamism and democratisation, while Malaysia and Singapore are regarded as moralistic and patronising.

Ethno-Religious Identity and Urban Malays in Malaysia

This article explores the forging of ethnic identity by urban Malays in Malaysia around a dialectic between being Islamic and being Malay. I introduce Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus and Anthony Giddens's notion of reflexivity to argue that the Islamic subject in Malaysia engages in different types of interaction which demand varying degrees of reflexivity. While Bourdieu's concept of habitus importantly reveals the actor to be a cultural agent, it denies the individual the meaningful agency that the increasing reflexivity of modernity demands. I suggest that Bourdieu's assertion that the dispositions of habitus are less than conscious does not hold true in a highly reflexive modernity. In this context, the individual is sufficiently conscious of his/her identity to be able to construct it in ways that allow it to be employed as a political weapon.

The Limits of Magic

This is the case of a Malay shaman who narrowed the scope of her diagnoses to magic, evoking scorn from her colleagues and alarm from rural patients accustomed to a variety of illness etiologies. But she found success as part of a team catering to urban Malays. Her performance satisfied expectations of clients unused to traditional shamanism and set the stage for acceptance of her partner's diagnoses couched in "common sense," educated, urbane language which nevertheless restored elements of Malay illness etiology she had discarded.

Prevalence of NIDDM and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in Aborigines and Malays in Malaysia and Their Relationship to Sociodemographic, Health, and Nutritional Factors

To determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and IGT in different ethnic groups living in the same physical environment and to find their relationship to nutritional status and dietary intake. The study was conducted among Malays and Orang Asli in six rural and urban locations in Malaysia. OGTTs were performed on 706 adult subjects > or = 18 yr of age. WHO criteria were used for diagnosing diabetes mellitus and IGT. The overall prevalence of diabetes mellitus and IGT among Orang Asli was 0.3 and 4.4% compared with 4.7 and 11.3%, respectively, among Malays. This increased prevalence of glucose intolerance among Malays was associated with higher levels of social development. Among rural Malays, the crude prevalence of diabetes in a traditional village was 2.8% and in the land scheme was 6.7%, whereas urban Malays had a prevalence of 8.2%. In contrast, the prevalence of IGT (10.5-14.8%) was higher among rural Malays, compared with 9.6% among urban Malays. Ethnic group, > or = 40 yr of age, an income > M$250, fewer daily activity, and obesity were associated with a higher prevalence of diabetes. Diabetes mellitus and IGT, which were more common among Malays than Orang Asli, were associated with more affluent life-styles and modernization.

Adat in the city: Some perceptions and practices among urban Malays

Few terms in Malay are as commonly used or as variably interpreted as the word adat.1 Adat is a crucial underpinning of Malay life, but no two Malays can totally agree as to its precise nature or range of coverage. It is at once all-encompassing of the Malay way of life, yet can have very specific connotations in the ceremonial and religious spheres. Formally and historically in the Malay peninsula two distinct types of adat are recognised: adat temenggong and adat perpateh. The first is usually described with reference to a system of kinship which follows a bilateral rule of descent and inheritance, whereas the latter, confined almost exclusively to Negri Sembilan where dwell the descendants of the Minangkabau immigrants from West Sumatra, is associated with a matrilineal rule of descent and a political structure based upon the kinship system. The other major concern with adat, both perpateh and temenggong in the research and literature, has been with so-called adat-law, or the definition of rights to property, rank and other privi leges in traditional Malay society. Studies of adat-?2cw have chiefly been