Topic 1: culture and ethnic groups in malaysia

1. Definition and concept of culture

a) In general, culture means the way of life.

b) Sociological :
i)

Sanskrit word buddhaya : budhi (sanskrit: active mind) + daya (malay: means
force, power and influence).

ii) The english term of culture: latin word, colere = designing or doing.
c) "culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society".
(edward b. Tylor, 1871)

d) "culture may be defined as the totality of the mental and physical reactions and
activities that characterize the behavior of individuals composing a social group
collectively and individually in relations to their natural environment, to other
groups, to members of the group itself and of each individual to himself. It also
rates includes the products of these activities and their role in the life of the
groups ".
(franz boas, 1911)
e) "culture is a set of intellectual and material equipment that can meet their
biological and social needs in keeping with the surrounding".
(mohd taib osman,1988)

f)

culture is a set of human-made objective and subjective elements that in the

past have increased the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction of the
participants in an ecological niche and thus become shared among those who
could communicate with each other.

i)

Objective - something that has a tangible form, such as agricultural tools, art
works, houses, means of transportation, communication tools and so on.

ii) Subjective-something abstract such as norms, morals and values.

(triandis, 1994)

g) "the way of life of people, including their attitudes, values, beliefs, arts, sciences,
modes of perception and habits of thoughts and activity".
(dictionary of philosophy,1996)

In short, culture is a way of life in any society which includes belief systems,
values, beliefs, art, tradition and civilization.

2. Aspects of cultural elements:

a) Form the basis of the culture in any society,inter-related.
b) Different societies have certain elements that stand out and this varies from one
society to another.
c) Kluckhohn in his book universal categories of culture (1953) discuss the cultural
framework.
d) Based on that, koentjaraningrat (2002: 203-204) highlights seven cultural
elements, namely:
i)

Language

ii) Knowledge system

iii) Social organization

iv) Technology systems and equipment

v) Livelihood and economic system

vi) Religious system

vii) Art

3. Characteristics of culture
a) Learned culture is not herited but can be learned.

b) Shared clothing, food

c) Has universal features exist in all human groups.
d) Inherited - passed down from one generation to another generation.
e) Dynamic - over time, context and place.
f)

Have a symbolic elements

g) The existence of worldview

4. Culture can be categorized into two types, namely: -

a) Material culture - equipment and supplies life and economic systems.

b) Non-material

culture

religion

and

belief

systems,

knowledge

and

language.

5.

Matsumoto (2002): 'culture played as basic and important a role in understanding

and contributing to human behavior as did any other influences on our lives, and to
gradually understand its pervasive and profound influence on psychological
processes in al areas of functioning.'

6. Culture is the production of a community in various forms, whether tangible or

intangible (noriati a.rashid et al, 2011).
7. Culture also refers to a way of life practiced by many people involving thought,
values, beliefs, opinions, habits and way of thinking that can be inherited. Important
cultural concept to compare and contrast the different societies. Thus it seems that
man himself create a culture and cultural development will follow the progress of
society. (aziz deraman, 1994)

8. Roles of teacher in culture:

a) To educate students to be cultured as required by society
b) To conform to the explicit and implicit elements in the national philosophy of
education.
c) Understand the diversity of cultures and groups among the students in the
classroom.
9.

Two major cultural roles that need to be recognized by the teachers:

i)

Build the country's image to create character and identity

ii) To foster national consciousness and nationhood based on characteristics of

spirituality, humanity and mentality (nasrudin yunos, centre for general
studies, ukm).

Topik 2: Definition and concept of diverse group

1. Definition of Ethnic
a) Greek word ethnos meaning people.
b) ethnicity =a group of people who practise the culture that almost uniformly cover
the customs, dress, language and economic activities.
c) Ethnicity = a concept which categorizes groups of people based on their living
system. (According to Shamsul (2007), in his book 'Ethnic Relations Module'
Marzudi Md Yunus, 2009).
2. Classification:
a) customs,
b) family patterns,
c) clothing,
d) aesthetics,
e) political orientation,
f)

economic activity

g) entertainment.
Ethnicity

refers to the sense of belonging of an

ethnic group

Ethnocentrism

the feeling that arises in an ethnic group

where elements such as culture, values,
attitudes and practice are better than the
elements found in other ethnic groups

Stereotype

general statements purporting negative

impression of extravagance of the pros
and cons of the nature of a particular
ethnic group by another ethnic group

Prejudice

implicit feelings in the hearts of the

members of a particular ethnic group
against another ethnic group.

Discrimination

prejudice that exists in the ethnic group

3. Importance of Understanding Ethnic Relations

a) to avoid ethnic conflict.
b) Understanding ethnic relations provides an understanding of the degree of social
and cultural pluralism.
c) describe the historical development and socio-economic capacity of our country.
d) Ethnic relationship reflects the degree of ethnicity and source of social tensions.
e) able to understand the issues of prejudice and discrimination.
f)

helps in understanding the impact of industrialization and social change.

g) influence social policy and social planning of the country.

h) impact on the sectors of tourism, industry, trade and others.

4. Levels of Ethnic Relations

(Source: Nasrudin Yunos: Centre for General Studies, UKM)

SEGREGATION

Practice of separating people of different races,

classes, or ethnic groups,

ACCOMODATION

Conscious of cultural difference but live harmoniously

ACCULTURATION

The minority accepts the culture of the dominant group

making necessary adjustments to social situations to
prevent or reduce conflict.

ASSIMILATION

The process of reducing the boundary whereby the

minority incooperate elements of the dominant groups
culture & traits, but at the same time maintain their
own distinctive ethnic & cultural identities

AMALGAMATION

Forming a new cluster through mixed marriages

5.

Definition of Clusters
a) Smith (1945) : clusters as a unit consisting of a number of organisms having
collective perceptions about their union and have the ability to do and behave the
same way within their group.
b) Stogdill (1959) : the group is an open interaction system where the interaction
pattern is determined by the structure of a particular system.
c) Mills (1967) : group is a unit consisting of two or more individuals who work or
have contact to achieve a certain purpose and that considers cooperation
between groups as something meaningful.
d) Forsyth (1983): cluster is two or more individuals who influence each other
through social interaction.

6. Category and Function of Groups

Table 2: Categories and Functions of Clusters
No

Categories of

Functions of Clusters

Clusters
1.

Task based

group executing a responsibility based on a certain work

together for the purpose of completing the task

2.

Interest based

group of individuals who work together to achieve a

specific target / niche.

3.

Friendship based

group of individuals with similar characteristics and have

life goals, wishes and lifestyles which are mutually
agreed

7. Factors that influence the formation of the group

i)

Harmony (security guarantees)

ii) Status (tribute)

iii) Self-esteem (feeling of self-worth)
iv) Strength (building inner greatness)

8. Types and Demographic Groups

a) "Demography" was first used by Guillard (1885).
b)

"Demos" means people or people in an area

c)

"grafein" means describe or write about something.

d) demography means "writing about people or people in a location".

e) Demographic group = the statistical analysis of the number and composition of
the population in a certain location (Syed Ismail et al, 2010).
9. The scope of demography is as follows:
a) Structure of the population
b) Total population
c) Composition (age, religion, race, gender)
d) Process of population
e) Death
f)

Migration

g) Marriage
h) Changes in social status
10. The indigenous people who are considered to be the original inhabitants of Malaysia
are the Malay, Dayak, Iban, Kadazan, Kadazan Dusun in Sabah and Sarawak.
11. The ethnic groups in Malaysia are the Malays, Chinese and Indians.

12. What do you think are the effects of the 13th May 1969 incident on the racial
relations in Malaysia? Discuss steps taken by teachers to avoid such incident.
Based on the discussion as regard to the ratio of the population according to race
and ethnic groups in Malaysia, it is clear that the population of Malaysia consists of
many ethnic groups of all faiths and cultures. Hence, Malaysia has a major responsibility
to unite the people of various ethnic groups. Such effort should be undertaken jointly by
all parties including the teachers. To achieve this effort, teachers need to understand
students and implement teaching and learning strategies which are appropriate to
student comprising of various cultures and ethnic groups in the class. Next, teacher
should always think of ways, not only to share knowledge on the subject matter with the
students, but also play significant role as a mediator to realize of the national agenda,
that is unity and social integration through the creation of culture-friendly teaching and

learning environment. As a member of the Malaysian society comprising of various

ethnic groups, we should avoid prejudice, stereotypes, racism and discrimination in
order to promote harmony and national unity.
On the other hand, the concept of accommodation should serve as a guide in
establishing ethnic relations in Malaysia. In addition, teachers also need to be sensitive
to the concept of ethnicity which is a very practical way to create unity and cooperation
among students. At the same time we must remember that the concept of unity which
has its foundations from ones thoughts and self-awareness is the best way compared to
actions taken without self-awareness or thinking. It is a long journey but it will not be
realized as long as we, as Malaysians think as "A Bangsa Malaysia" (Marzudi Md
Yunus, 2009). In this context, the teacher has a great responsibility which could be partly
achieved during the teaching and learning process.