PhD Title

The Malay Middle Class in Malaysia: The Emergence, Transformation and Identity

Supervisors

Professor Michael J. G. Parnwell and Professor Victor T. King

Research Study

In the process of global modernization, the change in social class formations especially in terms of the rising numbers of the middle class has been a significant universal phenomenon. The conditions for the emergence of a middle class in societies like America and Europe in the 19th Century are now being replicated in Asian societies. Rapid economic growth, industrialization and the process of globalization has led to dramatic social change in Southeast Asia. In Malaysia, the Malay middle class has grown quite rapidly in the last 30 years after the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and it is therefore reasonable enough to focus more intention on it. The expansion the Malay middle class is important as it is often identified with and symbol of more general processes of socio-cultural change in Malaysia. It is, therefore, critical to understand the changing identity and values, occupations, life approaches, consumer demands, new urban cultural forms, religious revival and practices and their political perspectives for assessing the impact of the NEP.

Background

I am originally from Terengganu, Malaysia. I completed my undergraduate at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in South East Asian Studies. I then attended National University of Malaysia where I received his Master in Political Science.

Email: mlss@leeds.ac.uk