Research On The Formation And Evolution Of Language Education Policy In Malaysia From The Perspective Of Power Game

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country dominated by Malays,Chinese and Indians.In the process of nation-state building,Malaysia has been faced with the reshaping of ethnic relations,the essence of which is the distribution of power and interests among ethnic groups.Language,as an important carrier of ethnic culture,has been playing an important role in the process of ethnic assimilation since the very beginning,and the debate and game around the issue of language education has not yet ended.This paper uses the power theory to study the language education policies in Malaysia,so as to grasp the essential characteristics of relevant policies from a unique perspective,provide a more profound explanation of why and how the policies have changed,and also provide a new analytical thinking for the future development of the policies.In addition,it also provides an insight into the ethnic political ecology from the perspective of language education policies to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of Malaysia.Language education is closely related to culture,and language education policies are an important way for the Malay ethnic group to achieve cultural leadership.After the World WarⅡ,different nation-state building concepts and nationalist ideas took shape among Malaya’s ethnic groups.With the development and maturity of Malay nationalism,elites of the Malay ethnic group came into being with a power concept of ethnic dominance,emphasizing the pursuit of political and cultural leadership.Among them,the pursuit of ethnic cultural leadership conflicts with the essence of multiculturalism,which leads to power game among different ethnic groups in different periods and shapes the formation and evolution of language education policies.Before Malaya’s independence,the consciousness of cultural power and political power of Malay ethnic group gradually awakened and the power concept of ethnic dominance came into being,emphasizing the cultural leadership of the Malay ethnic group,which structurally conflicted with the multicultural and equal cultural power concept of non-Malay ethnic groups.However,in the face of colonialists,in order to promote political cooperation,the elites of the Malay ethnic group compromised on language education policies and achieved national independence and political power by compromising cultural power.In the early years following national independence,the Malay ethnic group’s sense of power increased,and they began to compete for political and cultural power.Having consolidated their political power,the elites of Malay ethnic group continuously promoted the status of Malay language in language education policies,and contained the development of the native language education of non-Malay ethnic groups,resulting in serious ethnic conflicts.During the period of New Economic Policy,with political power safe in hand,the elites of the Malay ethnic group fully implemented the application of Malay language in the field of education,and the language education policies mainly aimed to promote the replacement of English and non-Malay native languages with Malay language as the language of education.During the period of National Development Policy,the government’s political power was no longer stable due to the internal divisions of the Malay ethnic group.Elites of the Malay ethnic group partially lifted the restrictions on the education of native languages of non-Malay ethnic groups,and gained the support of non-Malay ethnic groups by making concessions on cultural power to consolidate political power.For more than half a century,the evolution of language education policy is the result of the mutual influence between political power and cultural power of the Malay ethnic group,which is a special form of power game and a unique strategy.In Malaysia,political power is the core and guarantee of the dominant position of the Malay ethnic group.When political power is insufficient or unstable,the Malay ethnic group can obtain political power by compromising cultural power;when the political power is consolidated,the Malay ethnic group hopes to gain cultural power through political power and realize the transformation from political power to cultural power.To sum up,language education policies are an important way for elites of the Malay ethnic group to compete for cultural power and an important strategy to consolidate their political power,the formation and evolution of language education policies are closely related to the power game among ethnic groups.Based on the status of power game in different periods,the evolution of language education policies shows different characteristics.As the result of the ethnic politics in Malaysia,this kind of power game is still going on in the country,and will become more visible through certain policies at certain stages.Due to the power concept of Malay dominance,language education policies are subject to further changes in the future.Through the theoretical framework of power game,we will get a better understanding of ethnic politics,and greatly promote the dynamic research of language education policies in the future.