The Post September 11th Politics of Globalism, Localism and the Malaysian State

Abstract

This paper explores a series of key dilemmas associated with the nation-state project in Malaysia and the threats to this project posed by elements of the nee-liberal globalisation in the post-September 11thperiod (S11). This post S11 period created a series of opportunities and dilemmas for the Malaysian state and was also characterized by a series of tensions as domestic political developments clashed with ambitions towards embracing nee-liberal globalisation. Political struggles featured attempts by the government parties to balance the tensions and between longstanding developmental modernist policies designed to position Malaysia and a simultaneous process of maintaining a commitment to the progressive Islamisation of everyday life in Malaysia. This paper discusses these issues in the context of observing the social, cultural and political tensions around the teaching of English and policies that proposed the teaching of science and mathematics in Malaysian schools and universities.