GXEX1413

INTRODUCTION TO MALAYSIA
Introduction to Malaysia
Zapin Dance Culture in Malaysia

Lecturer:
Dr. Ngeow Yeok Meng

Name
Fadial Jamaludin
Chanikarn Angkabkaew
Zhu Linglin
Wang Ya Jun
Caiyun Zhou

Universiti Malaya
Kuala Lumpur
2013/2014
1.0

Introduction

Matric No
JEB120708
TEE 1310702
JEB 120710
SEI 120703
SES 100752

It is always not enough to build road and bridges. A new generation

has to be inspired to make contribution. They will be the soul
of development, 21st century
Tun Dr Mahathir Md
This is the famous quote from the then retired Prime Minister of Malaysia in
conjunction with Malaysias 50th Malaysia Day. A documentary entittled
Malaysia:

Through

The

Decades

reflects

50

years

of

Malaysias

developments and achievements since 1963.

This documentary depicts the tremendous change in Malaysia having
undergone massive transformation from a postcard image of coconut palms to
the worlds tallest buildings, from a time when most families only had a bicycle
to owning one, if not two, three or four cars, the documentary showcases
Malaysia the way it really is - dynamic, lively and multi-layered.
The vast and tremendous change in social stucture and economy has
impacted Malaysia. New initiatives have also brought along with them new
challenges. Malaysia is never like what it used to be. Young Malaysians plays
a crucial, possibly decisive, role in chartering Malaysias future in this multiethnic country.

2.0

Objectives

The objectives of this research are as follows :

a. To showcase the different dance cultures in Malaysia
b. To focus on Zapin Dance

3.0

Malaysia, Facts and Figures

Malaysias uniqueness lies in its traditional head of state system of Yang diPertuan Agong. Currently the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong was crowned as the
Agong on 13 December 2011. Almu'tasimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Al-Haj
Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah was chosen by
a committee comprising of 9 sultans from the various Malaysian states. The
current prime minister is Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul
Razak. He is currently the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia since 2009.
Malaysia is currently enjoying much progress and prosperity under his
governance.
As of August 2013, the population of Malaysia stands at 29,336
800(Population and Demography Statistics Division, Department of Statistics
Malaysia). Its population consist of the following, 50% Malays, 24% Chinese
11% Indians 11% and the rest others. Dominantly the Malays makes up the
majority of the Malaysian population.
The 14 stripes of equal width in Malaysian flag depicts the equal status
in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government. The
flag of Malaysia is also known as Jalur Gemilang which translates to Stripes
of Glory.

The star with its 14 points represent the unity between these

entities. The crescent is an Islamic symbol, the country's official religion; the
blue canton symbolizes the unity of the Malaysian people. Yellow of the star
and crescent is the royal colour of the Malay rulers.
4.0

Dance Cultures in Malaysia

Malaysia's multi-cultural and multi-racial heritage is most prominently

exhibited in its diverse music and dance forms. The dances of the indigenous
Malay, Orang Asli and different ethnic peoples of Sabah and Sarawak are truly
exotic and enchanting. As the Chinese, Indians and Portuguese settled in
Malaysia, the traditional dances of their homelands became a part of
Malaysia's culture and heritage.

The ethnic Chinese is known for their Dance of Spring. In ancient

China, spring was welcome relief from the cold winter. It was also a time for
romance and celebrating. Performed by females, this dance depicts the happy
mood that prevails in villages.
Bharata Natyam is a classical Indian dance. The Bharata Natyam is a
solo female performance. A variety of standing positions, movement of legs
and feet and hand gestures are executed to the beat of the tabla and other
traditional instruments.
Sumazau is the national dance of the Kadazan-Dusun community in
Sabah, Borneo, the Sumazau is performed by two rows of men and women
dressed in traditional costumes. They depict the flight of birds to the rhythm of
six gongs.
As for the Malays, there are a variety of dances that is incorporated
into the Malay traditional dance. Joget is s popular dance at social funtions,
Joget is danced by couples. The music and steps are similar to the cha-cha
but the man and woman never touch and move around in a circle. Tarian lilin
incorporate female dancers holding two saucers which contain a lighted
candle each. They sway and move their arms gracefully without extinguishing
the flames.
However the more prominent and popular dance in Malaysia is without
doubt the Zapin Dance. The Zapin Dance in Malaysia is gaining its popularity
with its frequent Zapin competition held. The most prominent group that is
heavily involved with the Zapin movement in Malaysia is Persatuan Penggiat
Zapin Negeri Johor.
4.1

The Zapin Dance

The influence of the Zapin dance on Malay culture and arts started alongside
the spread of the Islamic religion, beginning in the early 15th Century. The
Zapin dance and music were brought and introduced by the Arab traders and

missionaries from Southern Yemen particularly from the Hadramaut region.

From its original form of Arabic Zapin (Zapin Arab), the dance assimilated
itself into the Malay culture and thus gave birth to a localised version known
as Zapin Melayu.
Originally, Zapin performances were popular among the royalty. It is
believed that every palace had its own Zapin troupe which performed at
various palace functions and every rehearsal was done under the watchful
eye of the Sultan. At first only males were allowed to perform; nowadays,
female dancers are included. It was also performed exclusively for religious
ceremonies but through the years it has become a form of traditional
entertainment, hence the participation of female dancers is allowed.
The dancers usually perform in pairs and are accompanied by a
traditional music ensemble which normally consists of the gambus, accordion,
rebab, marwas (bongos), rebana (drum) and dok.
There are no hard and fast rules as to the number of dancers that
perform. However because of the very interactive nature of this dance, it is
usually performed in pairs. The dancers can then tease each other,
challenging and enjoying each others company.
Zapin was inspired by the flow of the tide and the lives of fishermen,
the dance has many unexpected movements like a rotation of the body from
the waist followed by a sudden sharp and held movement of the arms and
shoulders. It is said that these movements are derived from the feeling of
being tossed around in a fishing boat and having to catch yourself before you
are thrown overboard.
There are numerous forms of Zapin dances and it varies from state to
state. One of the most popular forms and certainly more evolved and intricate
is the Zapin Tenglu from the town of Mersing.

5.0

Our Reflections

On embarking on our journey to produce the video and involved with working
together, the group experienced some exiciting moments that we would like to
share it in this paper. The various reflections are recorded in the the next few
section.
5.1

My Reflection, Fadial Jamaludin

When I was first tasked to embark on this exciting journey, it struck me that
this is going to be a a walk in the park considering that Malaysia is no stranger
to me being situated just next to Singapore. This is due to the fact that I have
always frequented Johor Bahru on a number of occasions. One humungous
challenge that I foresee is to work with four other members that comes from
different backgrounds and nationalities. There will surely be some clash of
ideas, debates will take place and conflict would be unavoidable.
However, keeping the end product in mind, which is the video, I knew I
had to go against all odds to achieve our goal. We have to come together and
work together. I soon called all members and we had our first round of
discussion. After some brainstorming, we came out with two subject matter in
hand.
1. To potray the engagement process of a Malay couple
2. To potray on Malay Zapin Dance
After much deliberation and healthy engagements, we came up with a
decision. I should say I was rather surprised, the meeting was a breeze. I was
elected as the head (maybe of the age factor) of the group. My first task was
to set task for everyone to get involved.
Caiyun and Earn was to do some findings on the Zapin Dance. I was to
do the video editing, Lingling was to compile all filming and Finn to coordinate
with his friend a Chinese Zapin dancer. Everyone was on task and I should

say that the progress of the video was very encouraging. Being the eldest in
the group I had to be flexible and mellow down my seniority. For instance in
requesting help and assisstance, I had to understand their strength before I
could assisgn them their duties and I had to have constant contact with all the
members to get updates on their progress.
One challenge we faced as a team is the issue of time to meet. We
could not find a suitable time when we can meet as a group as we were all
from different faculties. We had to resort to meeting at 8pm in the evenings. I
understand that after a long day in class it was quite tiring to meet in the
evening. With that, I kept the meeting short to only an hour and I managed to
get all the administrations ready before we meet.
One virture that surface during this encounter is without doubt the
value of being tolerant to one another and working as a team. In trying to get
things done and to get everyone positively doing their parts, I had to try to be
a team player and render assisstance where needed. The quote There is no
I in TEAMWORK can be applied in here. Teamwork when applied can be of
a huge benefit. It makes the task more manageble and it can be completed
much faster. Not only that, teamwork reduces work pressure on every worker.
If I was to be given a similar task, I dont mind doing it all over again as
the experience is enriching and meaningful to me. I doubt if I can ever have
the opportunity to work in an international setup again.
5.2

My Reflection, Zhu Ling Lin

Firstly let me say my big thank you to this module, Introduction to Malaysia.
Through this course, I came to learn more about Malaysia, its people and its
rich culture. From it too, I came to know how important teamwork is.
Firstly, I would like to talk about Malaysians culture. Malaysia has three
races mainly are Malays, Chinese and Indians. Malaysia is rich in culture. The
food, the people, the dance and so on. Malaysias multi-cultural and multi-

racial heritage is most prominently exhibited in its diverse music and dance
forms. The dances of the indigenous Malay. Orang Asli and different ethnic
peoples of Sabah and Sarawak are exotic and enchanting.
Our group gave focus on one of Malaysians dance which called Zapin.
Islamic influence on Malaysian traditional dance is perhaps most evident in
Zapin, a popular dance in the state of Johor. Introduced by Muslim
missionaries from the Middle East, the original dance was performed to
Islamic devotional chanting to spread knowledge about the history of the
Islamic civilization. In order to understand more, we went to DBKL to see the
Malay dance show. It was a really nice show. Through this show we came to
know more about Malay dance at the meantime, we saw the charm of Malay
dance.
Apart from this, I came to know the importance of group work. Our
group made up of 5 students came from different faculties and different
countries. Firstly is our group leader Mr. Fadial, he is a very gentle and
responsible man. He has a strong ability of organization and leadership. Then
we have Finn. He is a talented person who can really dance. I can see that
when we had our dance practice seseeion. Next is Miss. Earn. She is a hard
worker and is always on time student. Lastly is Caiyun. No matter how busy is
she, she never misses our group meetings. Thanks to everybody. Thanks for
your help and understanding. Through this group assignment, we learned to
tolerance, understanding and unity.
Lastly I would like to record my thanks to our lecturer Dr. Meng and my
group members.
5.3

Mr Reflection, Wang Yajun

I felt very lucky and happy to have a chance to learn about Malaysia and its
culture deeply. Since I love break dancing, I came up with the idea that we
gave our focus on Malay dance in our project. And fortunately, all the group
members agreed with me.

Then we started to make our plan. Mr Fadial gave us a new idea for
our final report, which is an easy forum to lead all the students enjoy the
Malay culture. In order to complete this, we must learn basic information
about Malaysia and Malay dance by ourselves.
The most exciting parts for me were enjoying the Malay dance show in
DBKL and learning Zapin dance. The show Inspitari was an awesome show.
Most of the famous dancers were from different states in Malaysia. They
made some innovation in Zapin dance. They leader of the show shared much
idea and information about Zapin with us. I felt that Zapin dance is a very
peaceful dance, reflecting the real life in Malay culture. Some of the
movements in Zapin dance show what people did in their daily lives. When I
was learning the basic steps, I found it also difficult, while looked easy.
Some time I found team work can be time-consuming. But it can be
very easy and efficient with motivated group members. Luckily we got a wise
group leader, Mr Fadial. He knew how to control as a teacher in secondary
school. For me, I think a group member should have the ability to come up
with his or her own idea, be motivated to finish the task and be punctual. We
interacted with each other well, and I also think our work was a huge success.
Thanks to all the group members.
In my opinion, Malaysia is a very slow moving country. Maybe because
of the hot weather, people do not want to move fast. The public transportation
is also not very convenient. But I found people here are very friendly and can
enjoy their own lives very much. For example, normal people here will not
think too much about whether the car is new or old. They think it is just a
transportation, while Chinese people will feel ashamed if their cars are old or
not from famous brand.
Malaysia is also a beautiful country for travel. There are so many clean
and wonderful islands, like Redang, Tioman and Lankawi. The beaches are
very comfortable. I like to touch the nature world on islands. I think I will go to
Redang island again.

Malaysia is country with variety of culture. People from different races

and nations live here harmoniously. Zapin dance is a big star in Malay culture.
We can feel the life in Malaysia from the movements and music. When I
dance Zapin, I feel that life is so cosy and peaceful.
5.4

Mr Reflection, Earn Chanikarn Angkabkaew

I think this course is very interesting for me as an international student. I know

a lot more about Malaysia in terms of history, culture, and the people itself.
Malaysia is a country full of variety ethnics and religions. The history of it
makes me understand more that why Malaysian people act in certain ways to
certain people. Malaysians culture is colorful not only the Malays but the
Chinese and Indians as well.
Zapin Dance is what we focus on for the group project. It is said that
the Zapin movements are derived from the feeling of being tossed around in a
fishing boat and having to catch yourself before you are thrown overboard.
The most popular form of Zapin dance is from the town of Mersing. We get to
learn the basic steps from one of our Chinese friends taking Malay dance in
UM. Although its the basic ones, I found it a bit hard. It was fun to get to know
more about Malaysia through Malay traditional dance.
Teamwork is said to be one of the soft skills you need to have. It was a
pleasure to have the opportunity to work with different people from different
countries. I learned to listen, give ideas, and how to carry out certain problems
that had occurred. Ive learned that as a team, we can make it.
Fadial, he is our group leader. Hes the heart and soul of our group. Cai
Yun has always been kind and gave support to the group. Linglin, without her,
we wouldnt have beautiful pictures and Finn hes been very helpful and
generous. Everyone has proved that they have put effort on the project and
Im proud of that.

Finally, thanks to Dr. Meng for being such a nice lecturer and
understands us as well as giving us advice.
5.5

My Reflection, Caiyun Zhou

It was a quite new experience of me when doing the project together since
its the first time learning about Malaysia. I find that Malaysias culture is
indeed very mysterious for me as a foreigner. Many colourful buildings, its
diverse choice of food, traditional clothes and traditional dances, all these
attracts me to know more about this charming land. I am fascinated that even
with so many ethnic group like Malays , Chinese, Indians and so on the
people here can live harmoniously.
In the course of doing the project together, I feel that the term
teamwork plays an important role. Gradually we learned how to get along with
each other and contributes to the work as a team. Not only that we began to
understand each others strength and weaknesses.
During the process we focused on one kind of dance called Zapin
Dance, it is a Malay traditional dance from State of Johor. The movement in
the dance expresses the life of Malay society. Many of the movement were
adapted from the way people move in the forest and on the sampan.
I would also like to thank my group for being who they are and for
being accomodating. I think this has been an enriching and valuable
experience that I will always cherish. I would also like to record my thanks to
our lecturer, Dr Meng for bringing Malaysia alive to me. Her cheerfulness and
her insights on Malaysia really opens up new information to me.
6.0

Conclusion

Zapin dance has a big potential to take Malaysia to the world stage. Having
an association that takes care of its movement and its development is a big

boost. Looking at Zapin not only at its cultural entity but it can also be looked
as entity to sell Malaysia thru tourism.
Zapin dance is just not about dancing. It promotes social interaction,
builds ones confidence, has its health benefits and many more. Looking at all
this benefits that it entices, Zapin can move Malaysia towards a positive
index.