Dignity and Political Expectation of the Malay Electorate in Malaysia

Abstract

Malays as an ethnic group makes up the majority of Malaysia’s 32
million population. However, the Malays continue to feel economically and
socially insecure with their position vis-à-vis other ethnicities such as the
Chinese, which have led to the continued support for conservative political
figures and parties. This study proposes that the Malays fear the loss of their
dignity in a multicultural world more than the fear of being left behind. Previous
studies have shown that the Malays are seeing the improvement of their
physical and psychological well-being, and thus can be said to be living a life
with dignity. Despite better conditions, the Malays are still reluctant to embrace
inter-ethnic equality as it is perceived to threaten the community mindset of
the Malays. Using a survey that was distributed to 458 respondents of adult
Malays, this study seeks to discover the relationship between respondents’ view
on felt dignity and their political expectation. Based on a number of bivariate
correlation analysis, it is found that while most of the Malay respondents expect
it to be the government’s duty to empower and protect the Malay community,
there is a modest relationship between those who feel dignified and secure to be
more liberal in their political expectation. The implication is that government
policies should continue in uplifting the Malays as a pre-condition for a more
egalitarian Malaysia.