ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the workings of the political management in an urban environment where ethno-cultural and religious diversity is especially strong. The case of Penang illustrates that in a rainbow nation' such as Malaysia, where ethno-cultural diversity is especially marked in urban settings and far less so, if not totally missing, in rural areas, the social production of co-existence between the various communities occurs through a repeated celebration of diversity based on the principle of unity in separation. The respectful reciprocal recognition of affiliation to the different ethnic communities is mirrored and experienced in everyday life and social practices, which, accordingly, vividly spells out the difference between tolerance' and toleration'. This occurs despite the constant state of tension, which in any case does not escalate into acts of physical, structural or symbolic interethnic violence, aside from rare exceptions immediately and firmly condemned by civil society institutions and political authorities.
