INSTITUTE OF MALAYSIAN AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (IKMAS)

UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA

cordially invites you to

THE SEVENTH POK RAFEAH CHAIR

PUBLIC LECTURE

Title:
Malaysia's Dominant Societal Paradigm: Invented, Embedded, Contested

By:
Prof. Dr. Anthony Milner
Holder of Pok Rafeah Chair in International Studies, IKMAS

Date/Venue:
27 January 2011 (Thursday), 9.30 pm - 12.00 noon
Bilik Senat, Paras 5, Bangunan Canselori, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Abstract

What K.J.Ratnam once called the 'communal framework' - with its strong racial or ethnic base - has
been dominant in virtually every aspect of Malaysian life over many decades. It is not, however, the
only paradigm that has been proposed for Malaysia - or Malaya, or the 'Malay World'. Nor is it
simply the product of demographic fact. The structure and the dominance of this paradigm is in part a
product of ideological engineering. This lecture will reflect on the origins and development of the
dominant paradigm - taking note of the way it gained influence, and also the competition it faced.
Surveying the history of the Malaysian paradigm can help us not only to appreciate its strength - its
capacity to resist transformative change - but also to identify where alternative concepts, discarded in
their time, may prove influential in the future. There are good reasons why Malaysia is structured the
way it is today - but on close examination neither this nor any other specific national formation is
likely to prove inevitable. The historian who examines the history of ideas in nation making therefore
has an opportunity to engage in conversations both about the future and the past.
Biographical Sketch

Anthony Milner is Basham Professor of Asian History at the Australian National University, and a
Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social
Sciences in Australia. His books on Southeast Asia include The Malays (2008, 2011), The Invention
of Politics in Colonial Malaya (1995, 2002), Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of
Colonial Rule (1982), Thai Translation (2008), and (co-ed) Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th
Centuries (1986). He is currently holder of the Pok Rafeah Chair in International Studies, IKMAS,
UKM.

Programme
9.30 am - Arrival of guests

- Registration

10.00 am - Welcoming address by YBhg. Prof. Tan Sri Dato' Wira Dr. Sharifah
Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin
Vice Chancellor, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

- Opening address by Y.B. Dato' Seri Mohamed Khaled Bin Nordin

Ministry of Higher Education

10.30 am - Public Lecture by YBhg. Prof. Dr. Anthony Milner

Malaysia's Dominant Societal Paradigm: Invented, Embedded,
Contested

Chaired by YBhg. Prof. Emeritus Dato' Dr. Abdul Rahman Embong

Principal Fellow, Institute of Malaysian & International Studies (IKMAS)

- Question and answer session

- Presentation of souvenirs

- Photography session

12.00 noon - End of Public Lecture

- Lunch at Bilik Bankuasi

ALL ARE INVITED

(For further information please call 8921-3205/4169 or 8921-3625)