A review by misspalah
The Myth of the Lazy Native: A Study of the Image of the Malays, Filipinos and Javanese from the 16th to the 20th Century and Its Function in the Ideology of Colonial Capitalism by Syed Hussein Alatas

challenging informative reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

Neither culturally nor religiously has laziness (malas) been approved by the Malays. We shall discuss this later. Anyone having firsthand knowledge of Malay fishermen and padi planters will realise how absurd the contention is. The Europeans who observed the Malays in the port towns had no idea of what was happening in the interior, of the padi planters who started work at dawn and returned home at dusk, of the fishermen who sailed at night and attended to his boat and net in the day time; or of the gotong royong (mutual help) labour in the village. Raffles knew only the Malays in the port towns. That the Malays he knew did not show the aggressive capitalist spirit is, however, a different story. There was then no Malay middle class whose livelihood depended on commerce. The bulk of the Malays were fishermen and padi planters. In the Europe of his time, commerce and empire building were the most esteemed activity by both aristocrats and capitalists whose spirit infused the East India Company. Hence a group which was not equally moved by this spirit was considered to be lazy. Industriousness was equated with acquisitiveness.

• The Study of National Character : The Myth of Lazy Natives by Syed Hussein Alatas. 

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It’s been a long time coming and I am glad I read The Indolence of the Filipino first before i finally read this book. This is because there are about 1 specific chapter where the author examined and compare the state of the indolence of the Filipino and how it differed with the Malay and Javanese Natives. To cut short, the book critically examines the colonial construction of Malay, Filipino, and Javanese natives from the 16th to the 20th century. Al-atas analysed and discussed the origins and functions of the myth of the lazy native in the creation and reinforcement of colonial ideology and capitalism. Colonial Capitalism was being repeated throughout the whole book to reiterate why the myth of the lazy native was perpetuated by colonial powers. The fact that the Malays and Javanese was so chill (chill here means we are not implicating ourselves in the rat-race) by living their lives and if they are having enough to eat for a day does not sit well with their greediness. Therefore, you can see several arguments presented by Al-atas the extension on they are justifying their control and economic exploitation of the native populations. The book also highlights the racial undertones of colonial capitalism by comparing how natives behaves / work versus how immigrant that came to toil for the colonisers – describing the Malays, Javanese, and Filipinos as indolent yet while forgetting how they used Opium to control the immigrant labours and further put them in entrapment of debt bondage. The book is not easy to read but it was so enlightening that I wish my fellow Malays, Javanese and Filipinos would have pick this up and read. Al-atas argued how the myth of laziness was used to degrade and subjugate the native populations affecting their self-esteem and identity. The fact that it is proven to have the damaging psychological effects of colonial stereotypes on native populations and had far-reaching consequences which perpetuating inequality and hindering the development of the native populations. I am not going to lie that I did get angry few times reading this book. It was infuriating to read the stereotypes and myths surrounding the laziness of the Malays, Filipinos, and Javanese just because the productivity was measured according to the coloniser’s standard. You do not want to work for us? You are lazy. You only planted paddy fields in the morning and sleep in the evening? You are lazy. The book challenges the colonial power definition of indolent and provides a deeper understanding of the historical and sociological factors that contributed to these lazy natives myths. Several prominent names were being highlighted such as Karl Mannheim, Karl Marx and others to further elaborate the construction of these myths. The introduction by the author’s son on the captive mind which hindered the discourse of the colonization also interesting given that so many intellectuals in Malaysia that are too white-washed and westernized in their writing. Overall, this has been quite an eye-opening read and I do wish I will have time to re-read this book.