The first chapter of Reading Bangkok explores the historical origins of Bangkok from the fall of the Ayutthaya kingdom towards the early 20th century. Ross King\u2019s primary argument lays upon the idea that Bangkok (and by extension, Siam) holds a dualistic identity, a surface level (masked) identity and an internal identity.[1] Bangkok\u2019s ethno-religious diversity of Buddhist Thai, Lao, Khmer, Muslim Patani, Christian-Portuguese and Chinese serve the foundation of Bangkok\u2019s internal identity, not predicated on any singular ethno-religious background. While on the surface, rigid and homogeneous notions of a singular \u2018Siamese\u2019 identity upheld barriers to distinguish the local from the foreign in the name of European-inspired \u2018modernity\u2019.<\/p>\n
I would argue that this phenomenon of masking diversity is evident in other cities of Southeast Asia, namely Malacca (and, by extension, Malaysia). The colonial administration encouraged the construction of separate and rigid ethno-religious identities, providing them the agency to define the parameters of a grand \u2018Malayan\u2019 identity.<\/p>\n
Sin Yee Koh highlights that Malaysia\u2019s ethno-religious diversity has been masked by a rigid Malay-centric vision of Malaysian identity.[2] Unlike Siam, this surface-level identity has not been applied through local, elite-driven movements towards \u2018modernity\u2019 but by British-driven efforts to homogenise Malaysia\u2019s diverse population under an anglo-centric understanding of \u2018Malayan identity\u2019.<\/p>\n
This is exemplified in Thomas Newbold\u2019s 1839 Political and Statistical account of British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, namely, Malacca. Newbold acknowledges Malacca\u2019s ethno-religious diversity, however, it appears that his census has inconsistencies with broadly constructed identities that appear to segregate and simplify the city\u2019s population. Newbold incorporates the diverse peninsular Malay, Acehnese, Moluccan and Bugi population under a broad Malay category.[3] But at the same time, he produces a specific \u2018Javanese\u2019 category despite its similar origins to the broadly defined \u2018Malay\u2019 ethnic group.[4] Additionally, Newbold includes both broad religious and ethnic groups within his census to categorise people of unidentifiable or fluid backgrounds. Those with South-Asian ancestry that do not fit under the \u2018Chuliah\u2019 or \u2018Bengali\u2019 categories were identified as \u2018Hindoo\u2019.[5] Those who were not identified as \u2018European\u2019 but followers of the Christian faith (no matter what ethnic group) fit under the broad Christian category.[6]<\/p>\n
This census highlights two ideas. Firstly, the colonial administration failed to provide agency to Malacca\u2019s internal diversity and created broad categories that compartmentalised the city\u2019s population for easier administration. Secondly, the desire for simplification highlights a highly rigid notion of identity, one that disregards demographic fluidity for concretely define categories of identification.<\/p>\n
The colonial administration was arguably not blind towards Malacca\u2019s internal diversity as Newbold does acknowledge local Eurasian populations. However, this fluidity is disregarded as a form of \u2018impurity\u2019. The Portuguese-descent population, which have resided in Malacca for 400 years and are highly inter-mixed with the peninsular Malay and Chinese populations, are regarded as \u2018degenerated\u2019 and \u2018impoverished\u2019.[7] However, the Dutch population are deemed \u2018respectable\u2019 due to their \u2018pure\u2019 lineage to elite officers of the previous Dutch colonial government in Malacca.[8]<\/p>\n
As the colonial administration engaged in the segregation of Malacca\u2019s demographic diversity, this provided ample agency for the administration to construct an understanding of a broader \u2018Malayan\u2019 identity. Newbold creates a dichotomous relationship between the \u2018native\u2019 and the \u2018foreigner\u2019, with the peninsular Malay population labelled as \u2018native\u2019 and all other populations seen as \u2018foreign\u2019.[9] This constructed identity removes agency from the domestic population and provides power to the colonial administration to define Malayan identity for themselves.<\/p>\n
Koh\u2019s analysis supports this as the colonial administration\u2019s assertion of what it meant to be \u2018native\u2019 constructed a national identity that emphasised the importance of the \u2018native\u2019 Malay over the \u2018foreign\u2019 Chinese and Indian population.[10] Much like in Siam, a homogenous identity masked Malaya\u2019s internal demographic diversity under rigid definitions of race and religion, emphasising the indigenuity of a native \u2018Malay\u2019 population as the primary representation of Malayan identity. The \u2018mask\u2019 of the \u2018native\u2019 dominated nationalist politics and arguably dominates local Malaysian politics today.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bibliography:<\/p>\n
Primary Source:<\/p>\n
Newbold, Thomas John, Political and Statistical account of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, viz. Pinang, Malacca and Singapore; with a History of the Malayan States on the Peninsula of Malacca, vol. 1. (London, 1839).<\/p>\n
Secondary Sources:<\/p>\n
King, Ross, Reading Bangkok (Hawaii, 2011).<\/p>\n
Koh, Sin Yee, Race, Education and Citizenship: Mobile Malaysians, British Colonial Legacies, and a Culture of Migration (New York, 2017).<\/p>\n
[1] Ross King, Reading Bangkok (Hawaii, 2011), p. 1.
\n[2] Sin Yee Koh, Race, Education and Citizenship: Mobile Malaysians, British Colonial Legacies, and a Culture of Migration (New York, 2017), pp. 88-89.
\n[3] Thomas John Newbold, Political and Statistical account of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, viz. Pinang, Malacca, and Singapore; with a History of the Malayan States on the Peninsula of Malacca, vol. 1. (London, 1839), p. 136.
\n[4] Ibid.
\n[5] Ibid., pp. 136-137.
\n[6] Ibid.
\n[7] Ibid., p. 138.
\n[8] Ibid., pp. 137-138.
\n[9] Ibid., p. 44.
\n[10] Koh, Mobile Malaysians, pp. 88-89.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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