ABSTRACT
Malaysia and Singapore are self-described “multiracial” countries in which ethnic divisions shape many aspects of social, economic, and political life. While the core model of multiracialism has colonial origins, it has been sustained by successive post-independence governments, at least partially due to its political utility. This chapter examines the origins and contemporary manifestations of ethnic diversity in Malaysia and Singapore, as well as how the respective national identities accommodate that diversity. It also examines the core policies that substantiate the multiracial models in areas ranging from language and economic competition to national service and housing. Lastly, it addresses the growing contestation of state-sanctioned, essentialized conceptions of ethnic identity at elite, civil society, and grassroots levels. This contestation, we argue, is invigorating a new form of polarization between a subgroup for whom the rigid state-sanctioned ethnic identities are seen as an anachronistic colonial vestige, and another for whom those identities continue to provide welcome structure.
