{"id":58,"date":"2020-03-22T03:38:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-22T03:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wordpress-5.3.2\/wordpress\/?p=58"},"modified":"2020-07-30T13:42:36","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T13:42:36","slug":"invented-tradition-in-a-modern-malaysia-a-concept-note","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58","title":{"rendered":"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1Ygqp4NKjwCFW7f5m9iqbc3l5TR-fA1FE\/preview\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"donation\">\n<h3><ion-icon name=\"card-outline\" size=\"large\"><\/ion-icon> Enjoyed this article? Want to tip the author?<\/h3>\nFollow the instructions below:\n<br><br>\nStep 1: Bank in to our account Persatuan Sejarah Anak Muda, Maybank, 512316642160\n<br><br>\nStep 2: In the reference section name the author you&#8217;re tipping.\n<br><br>\nStep 3: Please email details of your tip to jeremy@imagined.my\n<br><br>\nThanks!\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n <meta name='description' content='The term \u201ctradition\u201d evokes a sense of an immemorial past. It encompasses rituals and practices that have been identified as historical, in turn legitimising the existence of particular beliefs and identities. Although traditions form the foundation of political systems, cultures and religions, they could be argued to be of more recent invention. More often than not, traditions can be deemed to be deliberate constructions for ideological ends. This profound point was first presented in an edited volume titled, The Invention of Tradition (1983) by two Marxist-influenced historians, Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. The collection of articles comprises discussions on the construction of symbolic and ceremonial practices in the course of 200 years of British domestic and imperial society. Today, The Invention of Tradition is regarded as a classic work of historiography, and has performed a great service in the study of traditions and their claim to be historical, social and cultural. In the editorial section of the volume, \u201cinvented tradition\u201d is defined as,\na set of practices, normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past.\nWith this theory, Hobsbawm and Ranger propose that tradition is not exclusive only to so-called \u201ctraditional societies\u201d. Rather, one of the main features of traditionalism, within the context of a modern society, involves a concerted effort to create various forms of myth, ritual and practice in the service of rising social and political powers. They argued that \u201cthe strength and adaptability of genuine traditions is not to be confused with the \u2018invention of tradition\u2019. Where the old ways are alive, tradition need be neither revived nor invented\u201d. Consequently, the rise of nationalism could be considered as a point at which politics, technology and social transformation all converged to establish unity in times of social fragmentation and disintegration. This contention was put forward by Hobsbawm in the final chapter of the book, where he discussed the emergence of mass politics from 1870 to 1914 being the apex of invented traditions. The creation of the modern nation-state, as witnessed in Europe with the decline of the church, resulted in a growing bureaucracy, increased literacy and the democratisation of politics. Due to this, the ruling elite faced increasing difficulty in maintaining obedience, loyalty and the cooperation of their subjects which in turn, compelled the need to develop other institutional forms of social unification.\nHobsbawm and Ranger\u2019s theory is not only limited to the progress of modernity in a European context. In fact, its application has been extremely useful to understanding the political developments witnessed in Malaysian history. The fortification of the Malay ruling elite was best shown in Donna Amoroso\u2019s seminal work, Traditionalism and the Ascendancy of the Malay Ruling Class in Colonial Malaya. Amoroso\u2019s book argues that the colonial government of British Malaya utilised and reinvented the traditions of the Malay ruling class to \u201cdisguise the highly interventionist nature of indirect rule, offering proof that British Malaya still consisted of sovereign Malay Muslim Sultanates\u201d. Amoroso\u2019s critical study revealed that no part of the leadership of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was as inevitable and indisputable as was often depicted in the discourse of electoral politics prior to Malaysia\u2019s 14th General Elections. By applying the concept of \u201cinvented tradition\u201d, she demonstrated that the position of the Malay sultans, the multiethnic balance of  power and UMNO\u2019s prestige were a reflection of anticolonial struggles and the colonial logic of \u201cgood government\u201d. \nAs a result, British norms of governance influenced the establishment of the modern Malaysian state, a state which has supported the global capitalist system while remaining deeply rooted in what could be described as \u201can orientalist vision of exotic rites\u201d, along with a \u201cconveniently deferential mass public\u201d. Similar to Hobsbawm\u2019s final chapter, Amoroso observed that the birth of mass politics in Malaya was a product of the unprecedented changes that came after the Japanese Occupation in World War 2. These changes include the introduction of the printing press and left-leaning political organisations, causing a constant negotiation between modern and traditional concepts of Malay identity. References to essentialist figures like \u2018Si Ah Chong\u2019 and \u2018Si Ramasamy\u2019 in the printed press \u201chelped make the PKMM\u2019s [Parti Kesatuan Melayu Muda] sporadic efforts at interethnic alliance a priori suspect endeavours\u201d. Intriguingly, proponents of UMNO and political conservatism as expressed by Malay oral tradition, gave success to the transformation of a so-called progressive traditionalism and with the support of the British Military Administration (BMA), they garnered much public appeal. At the end, UMNO prevailed with their assertions of Bangsa Melayu that owed its allegiance to the royal institution as the \u201cpolitical struggle against the Malayan Union had transformed the Malay rulers into symbols of the new nation\u201d.\nIn the second edition of Imagined Malaysia Review, the editorial team takes inspiration from the way in which the dissection of \u201cinvented tradition\u201d has served to illuminate the actual mechanisms of indirect rule, the function of colonial authority and how indigenous patterns of rule have been transformed, making long-persisting adaptations to the postcolonial developments of countries like Malaysia. Featuring a range of topics, each contributor strives to show the dynamism in reading the history of Malaysian society and resonate with the spirit of scholarship on \u201cinvented tradition\u201d. Bryan Cheah\u2019s reflective account of the Malaysian LGBTQ community reveals how the nation\u2019s Hindu-Buddhist past carries the weight of our \u201crainbow history\u201d. Rowena Razak, whose thorough examination of existing literature on Iran-Malaysia relations compels us to ponder on the complexities of Malaysian foreign policy and its interactions with Muslim sectarian politics. Muhammad Adib\u2019s thought-provoking study on the concept of \u201cbebalisma\u201d (ignorance) illustrates the declining role of intellectuals in developing societies like Malaysia. Charles Brophy explores the concept of \u201cpassive revolution\u201d and its links to ideas of traditionalism and the development of elite rule in Malaya, while Razan Rose discusses the visual representations that can be observed in Malay-language newspapers of the 1930s. Besides research articles this issue also includes an insightful photo essay of one of the country\u2019s oldest Hakka settlements, Kampung Hailam by Dennis Ong and Yvonne Tan, as well as a review of Garry Rodan\u2019s Participation without Democracy: Containing Conflict in Southeast Asia by Jeremy Lim. \nThrough this issue, Imagined Malaysia attempts to explore why it is worth questioning the role of stories from our past in wrangling with how traditions are shaped. As highlighted by the likes of Hobsbawm, Ranger and Amoroso, history has the ability to bring forward desired changes because it acts as \u201cthe sanction of precedent, social continuity and natural law\u201d. The past is not deemed as something that is linear in narrative but a part of the process in developing tradition also involves establishing \u201ccontinuity with a suitable historic past\u201d. Perhaps with this publication, we hope to widen the space for young thinkers to share their ideas and trajectories on how \u201cinvented traditions\u201d in a modern Malaysia are often made out of progressive social needs. Traditions are, after all, constantly in the service of change so that rapid social transformation can be made \u201cmore palatable for those experiencing it\u201d.'> \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Netusha Naidu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-full-width.php","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[13,14,11,10,12],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Netusha Naidu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Imagined Malaysia Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-22T03:38:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-30T13:42:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"854\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"598\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"imreview\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Imagined Malaysia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/logo.png\",\"width\":595,\"height\":895,\"caption\":\"Imagined Malaysia\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/\",\"name\":\"Imagined Malaysia Review\",\"description\":\"Imagined Malaysia Review is a collection of writings that offers new perspectives on history, culture, and current affairs in Southeast Asia.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png\",\"width\":854,\"height\":598},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58\",\"name\":\"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-22T03:38:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-30T13:42:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#\/schema\/person\/3771e3355ba24b7293cd89c0696073ba\"},\"headline\":\"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-22T03:38:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-30T13:42:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":9,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"donna amoroso\",\"historiography\",\"hobsbawm\",\"invented tradition\",\"ranger\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Issue 2: Invented Traditions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#\/schema\/person\/3771e3355ba24b7293cd89c0696073ba\",\"name\":\"imreview\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a833fcc3aca5ec0c071bf775792721b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a833fcc3aca5ec0c071bf775792721b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"imreview\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review","og_description":"by Netusha Naidu","og_url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58","og_site_name":"Imagined Malaysia Review","article_published_time":"2020-03-22T03:38:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-30T13:42:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":854,"height":598,"url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review","twitter_image":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"imreview"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#organization","name":"Imagined Malaysia","url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/logo.png","width":595,"height":895,"caption":"Imagined Malaysia"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#website","url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/","name":"Imagined Malaysia Review","description":"Imagined Malaysia Review is a collection of writings that offers new perspectives on history, culture, and current affairs in Southeast Asia.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover1.png","width":854,"height":598},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#webpage","url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58","name":"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note - Imagined Malaysia Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-03-22T03:38:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-30T13:42:36+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#\/schema\/person\/3771e3355ba24b7293cd89c0696073ba"},"headline":"Invented Tradition in a Modern Malaysia\u2014A Concept Note","datePublished":"2020-03-22T03:38:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-30T13:42:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=58#webpage"},"wordCount":9,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#organization"},"keywords":["donna amoroso","historiography","hobsbawm","invented tradition","ranger"],"articleSection":["Issue 2: Invented Traditions"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#\/schema\/person\/3771e3355ba24b7293cd89c0696073ba","name":"imreview","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a833fcc3aca5ec0c071bf775792721b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a833fcc3aca5ec0c071bf775792721b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"imreview"},"url":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257,"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}