This article looks at the state of sociolinguistics and the sociology of language in Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore and Malaysia go their ways as independent polities, but probably with far greater amity and cooperation than if the marriage had never been dissolved. Economically and politically, they remain complementary. In Singapore, language problems are in symbiotic relationship with political, economic, cultural, and social processes. For the past years, as of 1984, a Speak Mandarin campaign has been directed at the Chinese-speaking population, ostensibly to enhance cultural pride and unity among them. There is also a campaign in progress to reinforce certain aspects of traditional Confucian ethics, corresponding to an Islamization campaign for Muslims in Malaysia. This article shall deal briefly with the conflicts apparently inherent in the policies of the Singapore Government and the need for a more coherent understanding, in both Malaysia and Singapore, of sociolinguistic processes.

Author: Musalmah Johan.  Publication: MIERScan, 3 October 2005. 

Abstract: All indications are that, the eradication of poverty will continue to be one of the main items in the national agenda to ensure that the
poor are not to be left behind.

Indeed, terrorism and insurgency were much more acute problems in nearly all the Southeast Asian countries from the 1940s to 1980s. Similarly, religious consciousness and identity began to rise in Southeast Asia from the 1970s. While it is more visually pronounced among the Muslims, it is also evident among followers of other faiths, especially Christianity and Hinduism in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Religious “fundamentalism” is by no means limited to Muslims.   Paper presented by Dato’ Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan at the 9th Asian Security Conference held at New Delhi on 9 - 10 February 2007.