Read more
To date, most studies of Malaysia's aboriginal people, the Orang Asli, have studied the community in either the rural or forest settings. This book, however, outlines the dynamics of Orang Asli migration to Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's most urbanised region - and explores the lived experiences of these individuals in the urban space. The book begins by charting the history of the Orang Asli under British colonial rule followed by the community's experiences under the Malaysian government, in an attempt to provide a deeper understanding of the economic and social complexities facing the Orang Asli today. Based on extensive original research, the book goes on to discuss the interesting changes taking place among urban Orang Asli migrants with regards to gender dynamics, while exploring the unique ways in which these urban indigenous migrants maintain close links with their home communities in the rural spaces of Peninsular Malaysia. The book concludes by assessing how research on the urban Orang Asli fits into broader studies of urban and contemporary indigeneity in both Malaysia and abroad.
List of contents
1: Introduction to the Orang Asli
2: Early and recent Orang Asli history The
3: From the settlements and into the city: Investigating Orang Asli experiences
4: Contextualising indigeneity
5: Orang Asli and the question of gender
6: Inequality: The fragmentation of egalitarianism among the Orang Asli
7: Narratives on the Orang Asli and Key considerations
About the author
Govindran Jegatesen is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA) at the National University of Malaysia.
Summary
To date, most studies of Malaysia’s aboriginal people, the Orang Asli, have studied the community in either the rural, or forest, settings. This book, however, outlines the dynamics of Orang Asli migration to Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia’s most urbanised region – and explores the lived experiences of these individuals in the urban space.
