Malaysian population is made up various segments. Over the years, it has developed unique characters that have become part of the make-up or the identity of Malaysia. Other than its multi-ethnics composition, such an identity has consequently given rise to political and cultural hegemonies that lead to the inevitability of conflict between the ethnics, seen as the major hurdle of the community and developmental policies. Not only has the ethnic conflict stifled socio-economic development, but it has also as well interrupted developmental policies, apart from causing extreme socialization of ethnic politics marred with prejudice and bloody skirmishes among the communities. Pursuant to that, this article examines the background of the conflict to identify the factors that influence the dynamics of the Malaysian community conflict. Hitherto, numerous literatures over the subject have pointed to the applicability of the theory of social cohesion deemed to suit Malaysia’s multi-ethic characteristic of the community. In this regard, social cohesion will be applied as a tool to measure the level of national integration among Malaysians. This study argues that the theory of social cohesion, for all intents and purposes, is defective as it fails to end ethnic conflict. As such, it is only appropriate that the theory needs to be improved to allow for accurate comprehension of the causes of ethnic conflict, and other problems that hamper national community development. At the same time, this qualitative study also offers significant opportunity for future research that seeks to resolve the problem of ethnic unity of the country. The fact is, community development and its involvement in the implementation of the related policy, are integral to preserve national harmony and political stability. More so since the system of punishment, the supposedly permanent means to make national integrity stronger, is no longer reliable due to its vulnerability to political abuse.
Abdul Khalid, M. (2014). The Colour of Inequality Ethnicity, Class, Income and Wealth in Malaysia. Petaling Jaya: MPH publishing.
Zakaria, J., & Daud, S. (2022). Pendemokrasian di Malaysia dan Integrasi Nasional. Bangi: UKM Press.
Fukuyama, F. (2014). Good Government, Bad Government. The American Interest. Publish on 20 October 2014. http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles
Norton, A., & Haan, A. D. (2013). Social Cohesion: Theoretical Debates and Practical Applications with respect to jobs. World Development Report 2013.
Horowitz, D. L. (2001). The deadly ethnic riot. University of California Press.
Stanley, D. (2003). What Do We Know about Social Cohesion: The Research Perspective of the Federal Government's Social Cohesion Research Network. The Canadian Journal of Sociology / Cahiers Canadiens De Sociologie, 28(1), 5-17. doi:10.2307/3341872
Manca, A. R. (2014) Social Cohesion. In: Michalos A.C. (eds) Encyclopaedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2739
Stephen, P. H. (2003) Education, Social Cohesion, and the Future Role of International Organizations, Peabody Journal of Education, 78:3, 25-38, DOI: 10.1207/S15327930PJE7803_03
Green, A., Preston, J., & Sabates, R. (2003) Education, Equality and Social Cohesion: A distributional approach, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 33:4, 453-470, DOI: 10.1080/0305792032000127757
Chye, H. K. (2015). Peranan Dong Jiao Zong dan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka dalam Pengendalian dan Perkembangan Pendidikan Bahasa Ibunda. Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture vol 3 num 2.
Teo, Y. Y. (2011). [Review of Constructing Singapore: Elitism, Ethnicity and the Nation-Building Project. Democracy in Asia, no. 11, by M. D. Barr, Z. Skrbiš, & Z. Skrbi]. Pacific Affairs, 84(3), 607–609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23056230
Michael, D. B., & Low, J. (2005) Assimilation as multiracialism: The case of Singapore's Malays, Asian Ethnicity, 6:3, 161-182, DOI: 10.1080/14631360500226606
Mielusel, R., Pruteanu, S. E. (2020). Citizenship and Belonging in France and North America: Multicultural Perspectives on Political, Cultural and Artistic Representations of Immigration. Springer Nature, 9 Jan
Comber, L. (2008). The Special Branch and the Briggs Plan. In Malaya's Secret Police 1945–60: The Role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency (pp. 147-172). ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.
Verma, V. (2002). Malaysia, State and Civil Society in Transition. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Abdul Rahman, T. (2007). 13 Mei Sebelum dan Selepas. Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn Bhd.
Sua, T. Y. (2014). Pendidikan Cina di Malaysia: Sejarah, Politik dan Gerakan Perjuangan. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Baharuddin, S. A., & Yusoff, A. Y. (2014). Perpaduan kesepaduan penyatupaduan: satu negara, satu akar, tiga konsep keramat. Institut kajian Etnik (KITA). Kuala Lumpur: Institut Terjemahan Buku Malaysia.
Baharuddin, S. A. (2008). Hubungan Etnik Di Malaysia: Mencari dan Mengekalkan Kejernihan dalam Kekeruhan. Siri kertas kerja kajian etnik UKM Bil 1, November, Institut Kajian Etnik (KITA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Baharuddin, S. A. (2009). Managing A “Stable Tension” Ethnic Relations In Malaysia Re-Examined, A Khazanah Merdeka Series. Readings on Development: Malaysia 2057, Uncommon Voices, Common Aspirations.
Baharuddin, S. A. (2010. Unity in diversity: the Malaysian Experience. Siri kertas kajian etnik UKM Bil. 13 Oktober. Institut Kajian Etnik (KITA).
Huntington, S. (2004). One Nation Out of Many: Why Americanization of Newcomers is Still Important. United States Of America: American Enterprise.
Jomo, K. S., & Hui, W. C. (2014). Malaysia@50: Economic Development, Distribution, Disparities. Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.
Kim, K. K. (2009). The emergence of plural communities in the Malay Peninsular before 1874. Dlm. Lim Teck Ghee, Alberto Gomes, A. & Azly Rahman (pnyt). Multi-ethnic Malaysia: Past Present and Future, hlm. 11-31. Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.
Mauzy, D. K., & Milne, R. S. (1999). Malaysian Politics Under Mahathir. United States of America: Routledge.
Ishak, M. M. (2014). Politik Bangsa Malaysia: Pembinaan Bangsa Dalam Masyarakat Pelbagai Etnik. Kuala Lumpur: Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia dan Universiti Utara Malaysia Press.
Parekh, B. (2005). Unity and diversity in multicultural societies. Lecture delivered at the International Institute for Labour Studies, Geneva. Available at www. ilo. org/public/english/bureau/inst/download/1parekh. pdf Introduction, 25.
Ali, S. H. (2015). Ethnic Relations in Malaysia Harmony & Conflict. Kuala Lumpur: Strategic Information & Research Development Centre Malaysia.
Chua, A. (2003). World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability. New York: Anchor Books.
In-Text Citation: (Zakaria et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Zakaria, J., Yaakob, A. F., & Zawawi, H. Y. (2022). Social Cohesion for Community Development in Malaysia: Impact to National Integration. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(11), 1233– 1244.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
