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In an effort to meaningfully engage and grapple with these questions, PUSAKA is initiating a series – Conversations on Culture and Politics, featuring leading regional and local figures from diverse backgrounds across the fields of culture and politics. This series will be implemented in partnership with Institut Kajian Dasar, and with the support of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Malaysia. The Conversation series will focus on a range of pertinent topics that confront contemporary society in Malaysia and the region – Cultural Politics and the Nation; Culture, Freedom and Democracy;  History, Religion in Contemporary Southeast Asia and Culture and Capital.

The inaugural Conversation on Culture and Politics explored the topic, Cultural Politics and the Nation.

Cultural Politics and the Nation began with an opening video, made by PUSAKA, and an introduction by the moderator, Eddin Khoo. The moderator then posed a question to the speakers on the past, present and future of cultural understanding and engagement in Southeast Asia and asked each of them to present their views for 5-7 minutes. The programme then progressed as a spontaneous conversation among the speakers and moderator. Some of the key points discussed during the Conversation included:

1. The notion of shared histories and memories among the diverse communities of Southeast Asia. To what extent is Southeast Asia an ‘Imagined Community’?
2. Many of the intractable social problems we are experiencing in Malaysia and other countries in the region are rooted in culture, and reveal our lack of deep cultural engagement and understanding. Examples: recent controversy of the introduction of Khat (Jawi calligraphy) in schools, Chinese education examinations, growing racial-religious tensions.
3. ASEAN and exchange between nation state is too much focused on economy and trade. Culture is usually an afterthought, and even then, it is usually in terms of commodification for tourism.
4. Translation of literature as a powerful tool for political and cultural understanding and exchange.
5. Blurred cultural boundaries in areas where community links are strong and intertwined, such as Patani-Kelantan, Southern Philippines-Sabah, Kalimantan-Sarawak.
6. Tradition as an ever-evolving entity, the understanding of tradition is shifting too. Heritage and tradition needs to be linked to land, worldviews and way of life, not as a commodity to be sold by the state.
7. Identity politics, nation state vs. community, culture and human rights.
8. The language of culture should not be defined by policy makers and legalistic language. Does the state have the capacity to articulate living culture.

The Conversation lasted for an hour, then it was opened to the participants for a Q&A session, which lasted half an hour. After the Q&A session, participants were invited to refreshments.

The Conversation was documented by an audio-visual team, encompassing video and audio recording and photographs.

The actual number of participants exceeded the planned number. We were expecting an audience of 60 people, but the actual attendance was 102 people. The Conversation generated a lot of interest on Social Media, where more than 600 people expressed interest and shared the event on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Conversation aimed to engage participants from institutes, universities, as well as cultural practitioners and intellectuals around Malaysia, including in East Malaysia, as well as the general public.