Negative narratives and stereotypes of Malays in Singapore have been repeatedly reproduced over the years. They’ve become so entrenched and internalised that more affluent Malays often distance themselves from the “typical Malay”. But how do we make sense of the “Malay Excellent”—the model minority who has ostensibly succeeded under Singapore’s much-vaunted meritocratic system?

Author Archives: Faris Joraimi
Faris Joraimi is an undergraduate at Yale-NUS College. An enthusiast of classical Malay literature and history, he has written for a number of platforms including, ‘Karyawan’, Mynah magazine, Budi Kritik, as well as ‘S/pores’ (s-pores.com), an online journal exploring new directions in Singapore studies.
Posted inResearch
A History of Malay Singaporeans in Ten Objects
Malay identity is vast, multifaceted and diverse, but you wouldn’t know it from the recent controversial debates over the Presidential election.