Negotiating Ethnic Identities: Alcohol as a Social Marker in East and West Malaysia

From the point of view of alcohol consumption, there are two contradicting tendencies in the present-day Malaysian society. On the one hand, Western influences, including the consumption of alcoholic beverages, have gained ground along with industrialisation and increased standards of living. On the other hand, Islam has become more influential in the country during the past couple of decades. These two contradict each other as far as alcohol consumption is concerned. The article sets out to examine present-day alcohol consumption as well as positive and negative experiences related to alcohol in Peninsular Malaysia as well as in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The focus of the article is to study the impact of ethnic and religious identity on alcohol consumption in East and West Malaysia. The information on West (Peninsular) Malaysia was collected in 1996 and 1997 and the information on East Malaysia (Sarawak) in 1999. The study, however, is not only about the quantities and qualities of alcohol consumed in Malaysia. The alcohol issue is used as a ‘window’ through which the broader issue of the construction of ethnic or racial boundaries in the country is studied. Officially, Malays do not drink alcohol because they are Muslims. In reality, however, some Malays do drink. Ideologically, politically and socially drinking is used as a way of segregating races in Malaysia in general and defining the superiority of the Malay race in particular.