LIVING ON THE PERIPHERY : DEVELOPMENT AND ISLAMIZATION AMONG THE ORANG ASLI IN MALAYSIA

 

What set out as a study on the survival strategies of the Orang Asli in the wake of state-led development found the author being confronted by another element - Islamization - influencing both their social relation and their access to development. 

 

The book gives an exceptional peek into the contemporary social and economic situation of the Orang Asli in their villagers' close relation with both Chinese and Malays, including intermarriage, over many generations. 

 

Living on the Periphery exposes the attitudes of the non-Orang Asli, their different world views, and especially their control of local resources. Even for people familiar with Malaysia, Nobuta's ethnographic account puts a spotlight on the jarring inequalities experienced by Orang Asli that otherwise are so easily overlooked. 

"Living on the Periphery shows that there is no shortage of problems arising from development projects and Islamization in the history of the small indigenous Temuan community studied ... The book is exceptional in that it provides by far the most detailed description to date of development and Islamic pressure on the Orang Asli."