The book Conceptualizing the Malay World: Colonialism and Pan-Malay Identity in Malaya has been reviewed in Malaysian Studies Journal. Here are a few snippets:

This book is a highly accomplished work discussing the reception and indigenization of colonial knowledge and providing a clear analysis of the modern and contemporary history of Malaya and Malaysia. The main theme of the publication, the development of pan-Malayanism centering on Indonesia Raya and Melayu Raya, is examined in a precise historical manner, and overlaps with my (the reviewer’s) research interests.

The book’s theoretical appeal lies in the way it focuses on the development of the conceptualization of “Malayness” and the “Malay world” from the perspective of the indigenization or appropriation of colonial knowledge. The structure is well organized, the English itself is of sufficiently high quality and the entire book is lucidly written – I was drawn into the book almost at once and found many parts stimulating. I expect that this book will become a must-read for future researchers, especially as a historical study of the “Malay world” and “Malayness” from the colonial to the decolonial period.

Mareishia Kenkyu〔Malaysian Studies Journal〕, No.11 (2022)

Reviewed by Hisao Tomizawa, University of Shizuoka.

http://jams92.org/MSJindex02.html

Conceptualizing the Malay World – Trans Pacific Press

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