Malay Muslim supremecists want to portray themselves as old-school traditionalists and culture guardians, hoping to be the local equivalent of European traditionalists. You might have mistakenly called them "conservatives" and they'd agree. But they're not. And I'll tell you why
Traditionalists have knowledge of and interest in history and traditional culture. Sometimes they might seem like apologists for racism and sexism, but always from a historical standpoint, even if that clashes with modern values
For an example of actual traditionalism, take a look at this excellent thread on principles of old European town planning
On the other hand Malaysia's population is overwhelmingly young. Today's young adults were born to parents of the Islamisation/Arabisation age. These parents were products of Mahathir's ethno-nationalism and Anwar Ibrahim's religious neo-conservatism. But this isnt about politics
Conservatism is defined as a commitment to traditional values and resistance to change or innovation. But the neo-cons of the 80s and 90s did bring change, like their newfound emphasis on aurat. They rejected the traditionalism of the older generation. They were counter-culture
Their children are today's internet generation. Most are younger than me. Too young to remember the days when religion was marginal, tudung non-existent, LGBT acceptable, Malays in beer ads, kafir an insulting term. They think these were all the influence of the British. Naive
They don't remember old Malaysian history textbooks where it was taught that the word Melayu comes from Sanskrit, or that Parameswara didn't convert to Islam (his son did). They've never read Dutch records mentioning a "Kling" community living in old Melaka before colonisation
When it was recently discovered that Kedah Tua is one of Asia's oldest civilisations, nobody noticed. None of these "proud Malays" shared it. Nor did they protest when one of the candi was torn down. USM had only 8 postgraduate archaeology students. Just EIGHT
So with no knowledge of history, they make up their own. They'll tell you to baca sejarah when they wanna defend racism. They think Malaysia's old name was "Tanah Melayu" (not true). They believe pre-colonial Malays hated LGBT, wore tudung, sported janggut kambing tanpa misai
They couldn't care less for the preservation of wayang kulit or mak yong. Ask them to name a classical Malay performance art and they'll be like "duhhhh joget hyuk3". I've even seen ridiculous claims that the kain samping symbolises covering men's aurat
Try pointing out some historical facts to them and they'll deny it without debate. Tell them "Javanese aren't Malays", "orang asli were here first", "Malay culture has Hindu-Buddhist roots" or "there were Chinese here before the Brits" and they be like:
I could go on and fill a book but the bottomline is stop dignifying these people as "conservatives" because they're not. Call them for what they are: fascists, racists, misogynists, chauvinists, sexists, bigots and wannabe pseudo-Nazis. At most, they're neo-conservatives
No joke either. A common response from those with no knowledge is "I don't believe you" or "learn more about history". Bitch I can teach you history
But they believe what they know has always been the status quo. They grew up wearing tudung, calling nons kafir, brainwashed into hating LGBT. My mom identified herself as a conservative back when being "liberal" was a good thing. Yesterday's conservatives are today's liberals 
This extends to politics as well, with the false juxtaposition between "liberal" PH and "conservative" Umno-Pas. In reality, NO party in Malaysia is liberal. Even DAP is centrist at best. By and large we are a conservative country, and that's not bad. So is Thailand
Malay neo-conservatism is not traditionalist. It is borne not out of pride or love for bangsa & agama. It comes from selfishness and an inferiority complex. At times it is in direct contradiction with traditionalism. "Race" itself is a foreign concept to the old Malay worldview
If they love Islam so much, why aren't they rejecting the very un-Islamic "hak Melayu"? If they love Malay culture, why do they think the kebaya is indecent? The truth is they love neither. They identify as Malay Muslims so they pretend to defend these identities
But their defense is on the basis of the self. "I Muslim so I love Islam, and I love Islam because I am Muslim."
Where's your love for Islam when it comes to racism and human rights?
Where's your love for Islam when it comes to racism and human rights?
They've unsuccessfully spent years trying to combine the irreconcilable identities of Muslim bigot with racial supremecist and created a bizarre songkok-clad monstrosity of invented culture. It took longer for this buffoonery to reach Sabah & Sarawak but then....
What's that you say? That's not a good example because it was just once? OK how bout this. They'll call themselves pencinta bahasa and chastise minorities for not speaking BM. But their own speech replaces Hari Raya with Eid. Don't even get me started on bahasa wicet
This ideology is the exact opposite of traditional conservatism. In fact, the Arabisation and Islamisation which they encourage is a form of modernism. Rather than ape the west, they ape the Arabs. And yes, "ape" is the most appropriate description
