Bayview Beach Resort, Batu Ferringhi Beach, Penang, Malaysia

27-30 September 1999

'Malaysia boleh' - engaging multicultural voices in multiple spaces: some exploratory concepts

Dr Koo Yew Lie

Fakulti Pengajian Bahasa, UKM, Bangi, Malaysia

Abstract

This exploratory paper attempts to identify and discuss some concepts which may provide insights into the nature, processes, participant roles and practices of multiculturalism as envisaged in a multicultural classroom in Malaysia. These concepts arise largely from a personal journey undertaken to understand the dynamics of this phenomenon within the multicultural Malaysian context. In an attempt to provide for a fairer and fuller representation of various cultures both within and outside Malaysia, I have deliberately looked at concepts particularly those from indigenous (ethnic) and ëindigenisedí spaces within Malaysia. The latter involves looking at hybridised cultures expressed through Malaysian perspectives and manifested through such expressions as Malaysia Boleh, Kiasu, No Problemlah, Ikut saja etc. and signs like 8888. These hybrid cultures may often include the fusion of cultures from various spaces defined variously in terms of age, ethnicity, class, ideology and region.

The deliberate exploration of concepts arising from within Malaysian spaces is particularly important primarily in terms of my own commitment towards raising to consciousness the knowledge, power and resources of multicultural peoples, valuing these peoples and resources explicitly and towards grounding the thinking and practice of multiculturalism in a systematic way in multiple spaces: individually, nationally, internationally and globally. At the same time, concepts including Discourses, literacies, silencing, ideology and dominant/marginalised discourses are explored in relation to multicultural contexts.

I see these concepts which are being worked out at various levels of abstraction to be of some relevance to the thinking and practice of my preferred multicultural classroom in various spaces and on various levels.