This work is about the Orang Asli, an indigenous minority people inhabiting West Malaysia. The study of three time periods (pre-colonial, colonial, and post-independence) reveals the Orang Asli have developed a common pan-Orang Asli identity and political consciousness. This research contributes to applied political science by identifying a polity among the Orang Asli, and thus refutes earlier scholarly work portraying the Orang Asli as a fragmented people void of political import.
Specifically two issues -- land and Islam -- are conclusively identified as the premier motivational forces behind Orang Asli ethnogenesis and politization. Land suitable to their quasi nomadic lifestyle has gradually become scarce and state sponsored Islam is increasingly omnipresent. Thus, Orang Asli concerns about their land rights and religious freedom have over time compelled them to negotiate their precarious existence with the Malaysian state and its pre-colonial predecessors. The identification of this ongoing relationship substantiates my research hypothesis which holds that the Orang Asli are a coherent political force in Malaysia.
Through the Orang Asli this study addresses the broader issues of race relations in Malaysia, Islam in Southeast Asia, and regime relations with indigenous minority groups in the region. In essence, the Malaysian government personifies the quintessential post colonial regime which has developed sufficient political stability to deal equitably with a disadvantaged minority group possessing latent military potential. The outcome of this situation is expected, given recent United Nations interest in the welfare of tribal peoples, to become a norm for neighboring countries beset by their own minority problems.