Understanding cultural evolution: Why tradition adapts without losing meaning

Many in Malaysia are looking back to the good ol’ days, with some even regretting the state of affairs today.

Veteran politician Rais Yatim in a recent podcast speaks about the loss of “budaya Melayu” (ethnic Malay culture).

He then goes into the definition of ‘who is a Malay as defined under Section 160 of the Federal Constitution – someone who is committed to Islam, fluent in the lives by the culture and tradition of the Malays.

Today, after six decades of independence, there must have been many who have become Malays as per the above definition. This is in the nature of change and evolution.

People of ethnic Indian and Chinese heritage who espouse all the above may be defined as Malays as per their documentation.

Rais’ emphasis is that unless this is propagated and encouraged, the Malays face the peril of losing their identity.

Not losing but evolving into an inclusive mode. Many inter-marriages reflect this reality.

There are many people who identify as Malay and have preserved their culture and traditions.

However, the challenge comes from the elite, those who helmed Umno and Barisan Nasional. Look at their ‘budaya’ of corruption which is pervasive.

Rais does not have the courage to look at himself or his party. This is fundamentally where the rot is and he seems blind to this fact.

If you are considering the issue of Islam, the language and culture, you must also accept the fact that these also evolve.

Not all that has happened in the past is good and needs to be preserved. Nor is all that is happening today totally bad and seen as undermining the status of Malays.

His intellectual exposition lacks intelligence as it is devoid of experience.

When I was young, the ‘tudung’ (hijab) was not widely worn, nor were there issues of halal that prevented interaction.

While this evolution must be respected, no one is ready to say that their grandparents and great grandparents were less of a Muslim than the present-day generation.

It is a fact that much has been done and achieved so that many in Malaysia are now fluent in Bahasa Melayu (the Malay language), though many of us today prefer to regard this as Bahasa Malaysia (the national language). This is a realistic move forward.

We have made progress, but if this progress is evaluated in the context of past standards, then we miss the reality of evolution.

Some like Rais have to also look at themselves and how they have greatly failed the people as a whole.

After six decades in power, Umno and BN have both become so mired in corruption. It is this corruption that is undercutting the primacy of Islam. A lot of religiosity, symbolic at best, only creates cynicism.

Has corruption become part of the prevailing culture? How many have made millions and billions for themselves at the expense of the people?

This evolving culture, born through a lack of character and conduct, is so pervasive today. Look at the civil service, police, customs, immigration and now the armed forces. This has shamed the nation as a whole, nationally and globally.

Just consider the leaders of Umno and BN, past and present, and the numerous scandals that have stolen the front pages of the media. These are the people who have opened the floodgates that have undercut the ‘budaya’ of the people of Malaysia.

Customs and traditions are not static. Like life, these evolve, and while these may reflect sentiments of the past, we have to also acknowledge the imprint of the present. This is in the nature of evolution.

The perspectives of Rais’ own children would be different from what he holds to be true. I myself hold views different from those of my parents, just as my own children hold views different from mine.

Today, a majority of the Malays reside in urban areas. Their challenges are different – very different from life in the kampungs. Many of them are no longer dependent on a single wage earner in the household. Their households are also probably less patriarchal and more participative.

An urban culture is interfacing with the earlier kampung culture. This dynamic has its own stresses, strains and possibilities.

The time, space and interactions, the economic and social challenges, and the political realities of today all continue to shape my views and those of today’s generation.

While one acknowledges the influence of heritage, not all changes should be viewed negatively.

We have as a nation moved on from Malaya to Malaysia, and in this vein we also need to shift our mindset from ‘Melayu’ to Malaysian and its multicultural landscape, which includes foreign nationals, migrant workers, refugees and the stateless.

This shift in mindset should not be viewed negatively. It is a transcending concept and we do not as a result negate our origins. We evolve to the realities of today, enhancing our cultural roots.

While I agree with Rais that education is important, the question is whether it is regressive or progressive.

Across the world, right-wing identity issues are becoming dominant. Fear of the other is taking control of people’s minds in a world where diversity is no longer an option but a reality.

In India we have ‘Hindutva’ – the belief, as viewed by one group, that Hindus are losing their culture and religion and therefore these need to be preserved. Those pushing this view play on fear as a means of controlling the masses.

We have Zionism and just look at the havoc this is creating in West Asia.

Then there’s the Christian right, the radical Islam of the Taliban or Isis, and the radical Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka. ‘Ketuanan Melayu’, the Malay supremacist thinking, is an insult to the warm and hospitable culture and tradition of the Malays.

The more important question today is about education inspiring us to accept ‘the other’, to realise that in loving, caring and enabling the other, we do not become less of ourselves.

However, if the aim is to protect our identity and exclude others, if we have this pervasive fear of losing our identity, then we not only fail our own religious heritage that embraces compassion and people of different cultures, we also become less human and humane.

In this era of globalisation and the realisation that our lives are affected by events beyond our boundaries, we need to cultivate an inclusive mindset.

Events in Myanmar are on our doorstep. Economic migrants from neighbouring countries will transgress boundaries and make a home for themselves near us. They cannot be blamed for the transgressions of the military in their home country and the blatant overthrow of a democratically elected government.

Yet life must go on, and many take chances and migrate. How do we respond to these economic migrants?

That which preserves the essence of culture in a changing environment is a commitment to intrinsic virtues and values. These protect culture from being abused, but when these are absent, the rot of corruption, greed and selfishness takes over. This is so evident in our nation.

Finally, Sabah and Sarawak are educating us that there is more to Malaysia than people being Malay, Chinese or Indian. Instead, Malaysia is truly Asia, and in the spirit of inclusiveness, we can nurture and harness the dynamism inherent in our multicultural society.