This study analyzes the comparison between the concepts of Eastern aesthetics and Malay aesthetics from an epistemological perspective. Eastern aesthetics, often associated with Chinese, Japanese, and Indian philosophies, has significantly influenced the formation of Asian cultural identity. In this context, Malay aesthetics, which has developed within the realm of Malay art, literature, and philosophy, exhibits its own uniqueness despite often overlapping with the broader Eastern aesthetics. This study proposes an epistemological framework that can serve as a foundation for understanding the differences and similarities between these two aesthetic concepts. By applying comparative and hermeneutic analysis methodologies, this study finds that Malay aesthetics reflects characteristics of harmony with nature, beauty with moral qualities, and the integration of the physical and metaphysical, which share similarities with Eastern aesthetics but with different emphases. This study contributes to the discourse on strengthening the identity of Malay aesthetics within the broader landscape of Asian aesthetics.
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