Basic concepts of Ethnic Relations

1. Humankind:
a. Humankind as a basic entity
b. Homosapians (knowledge man) who are created by God with perfect
disposition
i. Physical
ii. Intelligence
iii. Enthusiasm/passion
-

Identity
o District/region (eg. I am from muar)
o Family lineage (descendant of Royal Blood)
o State (Selangor)
o Nationality (Malaysian/ Indonesian)
o Racial group/tribe (Minangkabau)
o Religion ( Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism)
o Political party ( UMNO, PAS, MCA, KEADILAN)
o Race ( Malay, Indian, Chinese, Kadazan, Iban )

Pre-Historic Humans
2. Ethnic
- A group of people who see themselves as having unique cultural characteristics
and are united by history, value system (moral code), attitude or similar behavior
- Subjective aspect awareness towards the existence of one ethnic identity, feeling
of oneness and awareness of pluralistic importance (as a society)
- Objective aspect existence of cultural characteristics ( language, art clothes,
food customs, etc) of each person which can be seen and felt
- A value system refers to how an individual or a group of individual organizes
their ethical or ideological values. A well defined value system is a moral code
3. Race
- biologically, race is a group of people who share the same physical characteristics
such as skin color, nose, eyes, lips etc
- It is inherited from generation to generation
- In general race grouping (according to skin color) is divded into:o Caucasoid (white)
o Mongoloid (yellow)
o Negroid (black)
o Australoid (brown, black, tanned)

Van den Berghe ( 1967) divided race into four main aspects :
i)
Each group of people In their own race grouping has
ancestral line( phenotype) characteristics which are
different from other groups
ii)
Physical characteristics (genotype) also vary from one
race group to another
iii)
To explain a group who have the same cultural,
religious, linguistic characteristics. ( eg: Jewish race)
iv)
Race as one species (Human Race)

4. Diverse Society
- Society made up of different ethnic/ race groups under one system of ruling.
-

J.S Furnivall, is a ruling phenomena with a society of many cultures, religious,

languages and customs. They live under the same political system but their lives are
separate, low social interaction and their relationship is restricted to superficial
economic trading.Economic activities and division of labour is carried out on race/
ethnic lines. Eg. In Malaysia, Malays/ Bumiputeri country side & farming, Chinese
Town, trade & business, Indians labourers, plantations

- Van Den Bergh ( characteristics of a diverse society)

o No value consensus
o Cultural diversity
o Conflict between different groups
o Political domination by one group
o Relationship between groups are secondary, segmented and utilitarian
whereas relationships within groups are more primary.
Groups
- Human category that have the same characteristics and priorities (Women, Youth ,
Students) which do not relate or involve generations and inheritance
- When race is related to ethnicity, ( Malay, Bumiputera, Chinese, Kadazan-dusun,
India)
- Both aspects of priority and generation plays an important role
Ethnocentrism
- W.G Summer, Attitude/ belief that their culture value are higher/better than
other group)
- Ethnocentrism in a plural society always creates failure of one group in
understanding the cultural value of a race.
- Behaviour that go against the cultural value can create misunderstandings
- Ethnocentrism will create and strengthen the stereotype idea

Culture
- a way of life & behaviour of society that are inherited from generation to
generation through learning process
- Edward B.Taylor Culture as a complex whole that consist of knowledge, belief,
art, morale, rulers, custom beliefs and other abilities that are developed by human
through human as members of the society
- In Summary : Culture consists of the outcome of lives of the human community
that are material and inmaterial
o The Material Culture ( artifact), Creativity of human in the form of certain
objects like instruments(equipments), building, weapon and transportation
o The inmaterial culture ( Mentifact) the creativity and practice of human
in abstract form such as beliefs, customs, rules and regulations
Discrimination
-

The different treatment to individuals, or certain aspects like RAS, Gender, Race,
Religion, culture and social class
RAS discriminations always happen in the world society. USA, Britian incident of
the discrimination o the white over the black were always reported in the media
South Africa, the apartheid system, It use to separate the white and blacks)

Social Integration
- The union process of various group in the society through one same identity ,yet
the ethnic identity, religion values and beliefs, also the culture are preserved but
they join the same system and political structure
- The integration process can happen in many forms, such as accommodation,
assimilation, acculturation, and amalgamation
Accommodation
- The adaptation process with the mission to avoid the conflict between groups
- Accommodation involves interaction peacefully, the existence of tolerance, and
discussion for the importance of all
- All parties can preserved their identity and their attitude separately through the
adaptation process
- In Malaysia, the adaptation happen in terms of language, traditional instrument,
and beliefs
Assimilation
- The merging and joining process among the groups of individuals from different
culture/ras/ethnic that makes them into one group of the same identity.
- This concept is in a one way form with the absorption of culture of one group to
another
- Assimilation is not necessarily only the form of biological blending.
- This process depends on 2 important factors :
o The willingness of the minority group to leave their identity and culture

o The readiness of the majority to accept the minority

Aculturation
- Each group defends/ preserved their ethnic identity but they share the same
culture. Example: clothings, language, and the way of life without having the
same value system
- Acculturation involves the change and borrowing of certain cultural elements
from different group of human with different tradition
Amalgamation
- The blending process of many ethnic groups especially in the biological aspect
- Through this process, the culture entity of many groups is united through mix
marriages, and at the end produces a new identity
( A+B+C=D)