Pioneer Settlers and State Control : A Javanese Migrant Community in Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

This is a case study of a Javanese rural community on the northern coast of Selangor, Malaysia, combining both field research and historical study. From the last decades of the nineteenth century through the beginning of the Second World War, a large number of Javanese migrated from Java to the southwestern states of Malaya. They are now integrated into the Malay population of Malaysia, but, in many cases, still maintain Javanese cultural traits such as language and customs. However, this paper is not a study of Javanese ethnicity in Malaysia. It will be shown that the history and present conditions of the Javanese have been determined by their relation not to other ethnics but the state, whether colonial or independent. The first part of the paper examines the past history of the Javanese migrants as pioneer settlers in the frontier, their struggle against both a tough natural environment and obstacles imposed by the British colonial state. The second part deals with their life under the rural development schemes of the Malaysian government. The Javanese community under study is now divided by people's attitudes toward the nation-state and its policies. The author argues that this internal division is a reflection of their attitude toward the state : incorporation into the state or distance from it.