Culture and Privilege in Capitalist Asia - Jurusan Antropologi ...

A JAPANESE FIRM IN MALAYSIA 135
circumstances, even in mixed ethnic gatherings, although some individuals may relax
the other food prohibition, the consumption of alcohol, and drink it with their non-
Malay friends in certain contexts. Dining in top-class hotels, especially with a
Western-style menu, is a way of expressing one’s upper-class status. Hence large
hotels serve ‘beef bacon’ for breakfast, so that Malays may participate in the English
breakfast lifestyle without contravening the pork taboo in Islam.
4 In the 1990s, the 850cc Kancil based on the Daihatsu Mira has been marketed as a
second car for middle-class families or as a potentially purchasable first car for
working-class families.
5 Much is made in Malaysia of the type of house one lives in: bungalow (free-standing),
semi-detached or terrace. These may be single-or double-storey. Factory workers could
at best aspire to purchase a single-storey terrrace. The middle-classes will be content
with single-storey semi-detached or double-storey terrace. Single-or double-storey
bungalows are most prestigious. In a government housing estate, the occupational
status of the residents is reflected in the house type they live in, as the government
housing loans have ceilings for the different civil servant rankings, thus preventing
people from purchasing a house type above their status. All groups seek to gain
status over neighbours with the same basic house type by carrying out expensive
renovations, which often transform the house so as to be unrecognisable from its
original shape.
6 A fictitious name.
7 It is prohibited for Muslim Malays to eat pork or drink alcohol. Hindu Indians do not
eat beef and may be strictly vegetarian.
8 The official level of Malay equity in 1971 was 2.4 per cent. By 1990 this had risen to
19.4 per cent (Osman-Rani 1990).
9 Refer to the chapter by Shamsul in this volume.
10 People from rural origins had always done without toilet paper or shampoo, but
when they came to live in the urban areas, with urban regular cash wages to spend,
they began to buy these cash items to demonstrate their urban status. Going to the
supermarkets in the urban shopping complexes and purchasing these luxury consumer
items was part of the fun of the urban lifestyle. Even neighbourhood provision shops
were stocked with a glittering array of consumer items in modern, international-style
packaging and prices which were just accessible to workers. It was difficult not to be
tempted to purchase tubes of face wash for $5 or paper tissues for $3, things which had
never been necessary before.
11 While conflict and competition have been exacerbated within classes, it has been
alleviated between classes as the workers seek personal patrons within ethnic
groupings to further their family self-interest, rather than trying to raise income levels
through mass class action (Smith 1994a).
12 A case was observed of a manual worker whose hand became swollen to the extent
that he could not work. Western-trained doctors could find no explanation and could
not cure the hand either. The man consulted a shamanic healer and was told that his
rival for promotion to the position of foreman had used an orang asli (aboriginal) type
of black magic called busong (denoting a swelling phenomenon) to affect his hand so
that he would not be able to do his job properly and hence would not receive the
promotion. If not treated for the condition, he would eventually die. The shamanic
healer was able to heal him, where Western medical science had failed after many
months of trying. Although such magical practices are found within Malay culture,