Malayland

By Dina Zaman

Sixteen years after the publication of I Am Muslim, Dina Zaman returns with her new memoir, Malayland, a reflection on what it means to be Malay and Muslim in 21st century Malaysia.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 176

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What does it mean to be Malay in the 21st century? This question is especially
relevant in a country like Malaysia, where identity politics is frequently highlighted
and closely policed by the state. 

Dina embarked on Malayland during the Covid pandemic in an effort to understand
the anger and frustrations of her fellow ethnic Malays who were fighting against
enemies, real and imagined, and a new world order imposed by a virus that killed
over seven million people globally. Growing up in a Malaysia where Malay anger
seethed and bubbled under the many nightclubs in 1980s Malaysia—a time where
secularism had putatively killed the Malay Muslim heritage—Dina traces the roots of
contemporary radicalism to the 1998 Reformasi movement which set the nation on a
new, more extremist path.

Today race and faith are discussed and embraced frenetically, where hateful
extremism is hidden under the rhetoric of nationalism, where young Malaysians are
zealously asserting their political and birth identities in social media. The sense of irony
and humour that Malaysia was once known for is now perhaps irretrievably
lost. Malayland is a reflective book: memories and flashbacks of a childhood filled with
earthquakes, spooks and a sense of wonderment and curiosity about a country that is
fighting for a desired identity.

About the Author
Dina Zaman is a Kuala Lumpur-based writer and researcher. She is the co-founder of
IMAN Research, a think tank focusing on socio-political and security matters, and a
founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peacebuilders. She has written
extensively for the Malaysian media and is a contributor to The Jakarta Post. Her latest
passion projects revolve around Terengganu Royal History. Dina is the author of three
non-fiction titles – I am Muslim (Silverfish Publishing), Holy Men, Holy Women (SIRD)
and Malayland (Ethos/Faction). King of the Sea (Clarity Publishing) is her first foray into
fiction.