Reflection on Malaysian Studies
About the course:
The course Malaysian Studies (UHAK- 1022) has been an absolute joy to study. Malaysian Studies provides Introduction on Malaysia. It informs about the Early History of Malaya and the Formation of Malaysia. It informs about the Special Provision present in Malaysian constitution and about the Federal and State Regulations in Malaysian Constitution. It informs about Malaysian Religion, Malay Values Orientation and the National Integration and Unity of Malaysia.
Questions and expectations, I had taking this course:
I have always been interested in learning about Malaysia, its origin, history and other aspects such as the Malaysian culture and values. Malaysian culture has always piqued my interest. Malaysia has an ethnic diversity like no other and a cultural integration that from the outside seems like it would be impossible to maintain. However, Malaysia does it well, without facing any big hiccups. This is intriguing and fascinating too. I chose Malaysia as a destination to pursue higher education because I was captivated by how respectful Malaysian were towards people of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds and also towards themselves. I had always wanted to explore this in greater detail. After coming and staying in Malaysia for some time I have witnessed and have been intrigued by strong social values of Malay people. I have noticed that Malaysian values relating to religion, family and society are somewhat different from back in our country and I wanted to know more about this. Another major aspect of the Malay culture which I came across was the strong integration of Islam in it. I have noticed this from my Malay lecturers and classmates. Though I have come from a Muslim country, I have not seen this level of integration of a religion into a culture. I am a Muslim so naturally I was interested by this unique trait of the Malay culture and I wanted to know more.
The lectures conducted:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical classes could not be taken. All the lectures had been conducted through the online video conferencing application, Cisco Webex. All the classes were conducted by our honorable lecturer Prof. Madya Dr. Rozeyta Bte Omar.
My feelings about the lectures conducted:
COVID-19 has brough some harsh times for everyone and not being able to take physical classes is a major setback as online classes are much more difficult to conduct. However, out lecturer Dr Rozeyta really worked hard and pulled through to deliver lectures which felt as good and interactive as face-to-face lectures. The lectures were very interesting as Dr. Rozeyta spoke about each of the subjects and topics in very detail. It didn’t feel like she was giving regular old lectures, rather, it felt like she was telling stories. She explained everything in clear, coherent English which made it very easy to grasp. She did not always stick to the slides. She tried to speak about each of the topics from start to finish and tried to provide details or explanations not present in the slides to make the lectures completer and more comprehensible. She tried to answer any questions we had and tried to clear up any ambiguity. The classes were very interactive as well as Dr. Rozeyta tried to involve each and every student in the discussions. She encouraged each and every student to speak up and share their ideas. My Malaysian studies class has students from different countries of the world, so, Dr. Rozeyta would ask us about our own cultures and beliefs. When she would talk about particular topics, she would ask us about how things were in each of our countries and she would encourage us to share the differences. I remember in one particular class while the lecturer was discussing about Malay values and showing respect to elders, she mentioned that the word “beyadab” was used colloquially to describe people who are not respectful towards their elders. She asked the rest of the class what these people were regarded as in their countries. The students each shared what the term was known as in each of their languages. I was really surprised by the term “beyadab” because we in Bangladesh use a similar term “beyodob” for a similar purpose. So, all of us had a really fun discussion. This is just one example of how the lecturer tried to involve the entire class in the lecture. There are countless others. The assignments in the course were also about interesting topics. I always got to have a nice read when researching for the assignment topics. Dr. Rozeyta always tried to give sufficient time to do the assignments. She would also try to speak about the topics a little so that we didn’t have to blindly look around when conducting our research. She wouldn’t say too much though as she wanted us to do our research and find out. Overall, I can really say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the lectures.
Highlights of what I have learned:
I believe that the course has been very informative and has covered most of the parts relating to each of the topics which I have mentioned in the first paragraph. I was fascinated to learn about the British strategy of Divide and Rule. The British separated each of the major ethnicities in Malaysia to weaken their social solidarity and hence weaken their ability to stand up against British oppression. I was fascinated to learn about Rukun Negara, a collection of ideals that brought patriotism to the people of different ethnicities in Malaysia. This feeling of patriotism connected the people of different ethnicities and helped to bring social solidarity in the Nation. I learned a lot about how the religion Islam became such a defining feature of the Malay culture. It all started due to the rise of Melaka as an important trading port. Arab traders mainly brought the religion and as Melaka grew, its influence rose and Islam spread rapidly to the entire Malaysian archipelago and intertwined itself tightly with Malay values and customs.
Conclusion:
This course has been very fun and informative. It has quenched my thirst about certain subjects relating to Malaysia which I have always been curious about. It has also made me want explore and read up more on certain intriguing topics such as politics in Malaysia and the history of Malaysian sultanate. This course has provided me with the means to understand Malaysia, its people, its traditions and cultures better and will help to better incorporate myself into Malaysia through my years of university and my internship. I would really like to thank Dr. Rozeyta for her dedication throughout the semester.