The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You Think

When discussing Malaysian politics, there is a tendency by many to look at “The Malays” as a singular block. On the one hand, there is a penchant for some to blame “The Malays” for our nation’s 99 problems. On the other hand, Malay political elites tend to propagate a narrative in which “The Malays” were “united” across racial lines once upon a time and so, there is a need to reunite the Malays once more. But are the Malays a monolith? Have they ever been?Producer's note: A couple of factual errors were made in the conversation -Concerning May 13, MCA was cited when it should've been Gerakan.The Memali incident took place in the 80s, not 50s.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.