Publication: Popular discourse on indentity politics and decentralization in Tanjung Pinang Public Schools
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Issued Date
2006
Resource Type
Language
eng
Rights
Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic Citation
Asia Pacific View Point. 47, (2006), 273-285
Suggested Citation
Faucher, Carole Popular discourse on indentity politics and decentralization in Tanjung Pinang Public Schools. Asia Pacific View Point. 47, (2006), 273-285. Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/8777
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Authors
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Thesis
Title
Popular discourse on indentity politics and decentralization in Tanjung Pinang Public Schools
Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
This paper explores the discrepancies between the official rhetoric on
Malayness and the emerging discourse on national identity among the
urban Malay (Melayu) youth of the Indonesian province Kepri. The
population of the Riau Archipelago is multiethnic, with Malays as the
majority and Kepulauan Riau represents an important historical center for
the whole Malay World. Because of this, local leaders have engaged this
newly formed province in a series of attempts to revitalize a transnational
ethnic awareness based on an inclusive Malay identity framework.
However, most of the students I met during my recent fieldwork in
Tanjung Pinang’s public schools tend to reject most ideas of reinforcing
the bridge with the Malays of neighbouring nations, and prefer to
perceive themselves primarily as Indonesian. This should not come as a
surprise. Since 1998, the popular culture scene has been largely
influenced by reformasi movements all over Indonesia. For the Tanjung
Pinang youth, urban Indonesia, represented especially by Jakarta, is
synonymous with dynamism and democratization, while Malaysia and
Singapore are regarded as moralistic and patronizing.