Competing for the 'Indigenous' Slot: Layered Histories and Positionings in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract:In Malaysia, multiple discourses of Indigenous rights have long existed in different forms: Malay, Orang Asli, bumiputera, natives, pribumi, Orang Asal, aboriginal—these are all terms that can be translated as 'Indigenous'. New international Indigenous rights discourses are layered upon these existing discourses and become reworked, as do local forms of Indigenous identity claims. In this paper, I examine and explore the potential and limits of the claims to indigeneity in peninsular Malaysia as different groups at times align and clash in their claims for the Indigenous slot.