Interlok: Sasterawan Negara

Interlok is excellent for an in-depth understanding of race/ethnic relations in Malaysia (obviously not for everyone)

This is a classic, historical fiction, and was banned in Malaysia several years ago.

– spans several generations

– Four chapters, each tells the story of a character and his family/community

Chapters 1-3 each dedicated to one of Malaysia’s three dominant ethnic groups:

1. Malay (aprox 51-65% of Malaysians touchy subject, depends on who’s counting and who’s allowed to vote) (ethnic Malay- to be “Malay,” according to the Constitution, you must 1)speak the Malay language; 2) generally follow Malay culture a bit ambiguous) be Muslim. That’s the catch.

2. Chinese (aprox 25% of Malaysians)

3. Indian (aprox 14% of Malaysians)

CH 4: the stories come together in an epic clash of civilizations.

Well worth the read if you have any interest in Southeast Asia. Provides some insight into the interplay of religion, ethnicity, regional economics and political forces over the past 100 years.