Paper short abstract:

I suggest that focus on the interpretation of whiteness as the embodiment of "Christian modernity" in the representational economy of postcolonial Malaysia offers an approach to understanding hope. Following Bashkow (2006) and Keane (2007), I argue that while contemporary interactions with white people are ultimately morally ambivalent, the semiotic construction of “Orang Putih” indexes political possibility for Christian Dusun groups.

Paper long abstract:

In this presentation, I discuss how Christian Dusun, an ethnic group in northern Borneo, maintain hope in the face of widespread distrust toward the pro-Islamic policies of local Malay party rule and national political corruption and scandal. Because non-Islamic government in Malaysia is historically linked to British colonialism, many Christian Dusun I encountered during fieldwork would romantically conjure representations of “Orang Putih” (white person) as a productive locus of knowledge and power. This picture is partly formed by the perception of the “Orang Putih” as an essentially Christian figure, who fought the odds to bring people the word of God back “before there was any religion in Borneo.” Drawing on my 18 months of research in the state of Sabah, I suggest that focus on the interpretation of whiteness as a particular expression of "Christian modernity" in the representational economy of postcolonial Malaysia offers an approach to understanding hope, what Miyazaki (2004:4) identifies as “a method that unites different forms of knowing.” Following Bashkow (2006) and Keane (2007), I argue that while contemporary interactions with white people are ultimately morally ambivalent, the semiotic construction of “Orang Putih” indexes political possibility for Christian Dusun groups.