Orang Asli Now: The Orang Asli in the Malaysian Political World

Orang Asli Now provides a comprehensive, intimate internal perspective of the Orang Asli Political movement in Malaysia. Roy Davis Linville Jumper rectifies the deficiency of documentation on this minority group with regard to the Malaysian policy shift designed to enhance ethnic pluralism and foster greater political stabilization among the primary ethnic groups: the Malay, the Chinese, and the Indians. This policy has also allowed the Orang Asli to establish a new vibrancy in Malaysia. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with Orang Asli leaders, Malaysian government officials, media, and other sources, Roy Jumper examines the Orang Asli participation in the political process, including its interaction with other groups, and identifies factions within the movement. He provides a clear, thorough history of the Orang Asli movement and the events that led to its establishment as a political factor in Malaysia. This book, with an unusual degree of political sophistication, places this little-known 400 year-old polity in the context of contemporary Malaysian politics.