The emergence of a cohort of Malaysia-born writers producing works in English from metropolitan centres in the West alongside a growing body of Mahua (or Malaysian Chinese) literature, whose practitioners are ethnic Chinese based primarily in Taiwan and writing in Chinese, constitutes two principal trajectories in contemporary Malaysian literature. Yet, comparative discussions between Anglophone and Sinophone Malaysian literatures remain scarce. This paper seeks to address this gap by proposing the Nanyang (literally, the “South Seas”) as a decolonial framework that reveals how these literatures delink from colonial legacies and state-centric imaginaries while enacting epistemic disobedience through pluriversal engagement. The Nanyang as a pluriverse does not merely entail the coexistence of these distinct literary traditions but emerges as a non-hierarchical space of convergence for Anglophone and Sinophone Malaysia, both in the literary worlds constructed by their authors and the cultural spaces they inhabit. By examining Tash Aw and Ng Kim Chew as exemplars of Anglophone and Sinophone Malaysian literary trajectories, respectively, this paper illustrates how these marginalised literary traditions converge through complex negotiations of nationalist, global, and diasporic hegemonies, reimagining the Nanyang as a pluriverse of routes and relationality. This reframing also positions the Nanyang as a site of “stateless poetics” and the “diasporic local,” concepts that challenge institutionalised paradigms of Malaysian literary and cultural production, which continue to marginalise non-Malay linguistic traditions. The paper concludes by gesturing to other Southeast Asian littoral imaginaries to support ongoing Global South dialogues on relationality, plurilingualism, and decolonial aesthetics.

The Cold War is often depicted in binary terms: communists against anti-communists, the left against the right, or the free world versus the communist world. However, during the latter part of the Cold War, particularly following the 1979 war between China and Vietnam, earlier Cold War binaries no longer applied, and new alliances were established. These alliances often brought people with the same enemies together, despite having little in common ideologically. This article examines the historical circumstances and Cold War geographies of ethnic Khmu anti-Lao PDR and anti-Vietnamese insurgents, including their alliances with right-wing governments in Thailand and the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC). As neutralists, these Khmu occupied a political space rarely discussed in relation to the Cold War. Although the PRC provided training, weapons, and supplies to the neutralist Khmu between 1979 and 1983, later their political leader, General Kong Le, had a falling out with the Chinese, and the PRC stopped supporting his largely ethnic minority soldiers. However, up until 1989, the Thai government continued to allow the Khmu to maintain bases in Thailand for launching military operations inside Laos, until the Thai government adopted the “Battlefield to Marketplace” policy. Some Khmu continued resisting inside northwestern Laos during the early 1990s, but with declining numbers of soldiers and decreased outside support, armed resistance ended in 2003. It is critical that the geographies and alliances of the later Cold War be differentiated from those of the earlier years of the Cold War. This transnational insurgency deserves attention.

This article examines the lived experiences of multiculturalism among the Indonesian migrant women living in South Korea through the lens of ‘everyday otherness’. The process experienced in this context is seen as part of a broader development of Korean multiculturalism. The article investigates how cultural encounters are perceived, interpreted, and negotiated by Indonesian migrant women. Drawing from qualitative research that dealt with migration narratives, the study aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion on Korean multiculturalism and identify areas for improvement. It argues that everyday otherness practices in Korea have become subtler, more nuanced, and multi-layered. It reveals that while everyday multicultural practices in Korea have become more welcoming the presence of foreigners, the daily experience of racism and otherness continues, and is even more confounding.

Transnational marriage is a controversial topic in Hmong communities in the United States, Laos, and Thailand, and has sometimes led to intra-ethnic disputes and conflicts. Initially, many of the Hmong American men who travelled overseas to marry Hmong Lao or Thai women were already married. Furthermore, the Hmong American community has frequently come to believe that economic gain is the primary motivation for Hmong Lao/Thai women to marry Hmong American men. On the other hand, some activists have referred to these marriages generally as “abusive transnational marriages.” The association of economic resources with transnational marriage, including remittances, increased bride prices, and opportunities for migration to the United States, has perpetuated negative stereotypes that frequently overshadow the personal stories of many Hmong Lao/Thai women who do not fit with the stereotypes. For these women, marrying a Hmong American man signifies not only personal gain but also economic advancement for their families. This paper reviews the intricacies related to the topic of Hmong transnational marriage between Hmong American men and their Hmong Lao and Hmong Thai brides. In doing so, we argue that it is important to consider the complexity and nuances associated with Hmong transnational marriages, as they take on various forms that go beyond standard stereotypes.

This ethnographic article shows how state institutions in Malaysia classify certain spiritual practices undertaken at the graves of former religious leaders or prophets as superstitious (khurafat) and, therewith, unacceptable in Islam. Many people believe in a “super-power” (keramat) that the dead person had and in the miracles that surrounded them. However, the way the superpower is dealt with at the graves varies greatly depending on the religious and ethnic background of the people. Indian Malaysians make sense of their worshipping practices at the keramat graves on the basis of the conflation between Hindu and Islamic elements. Most Muslim Malays, however, consider this to be against the Islamic sources (Qur’an and Hadith). The meaning they assign to visiting keramat graves and practising rites at these places is characterised by an ambiguity that is reflected in the respect and adoration of the Islamic scholars and the simultaneous refusal to show it – not least because of a revitalisation of Islam in the nation-state. Thus, against the backdrop of syncretic, multireligious and political traditions in Malaysia, the ideological orientation of Islam, as well as the perception of what is considered to be superstitious and magical, is the decisive factor for a canalising, disciplining or even repressive form of handling religious and spiritual practices at the keramat graves.

This paper takes a transregional approach to examine primary historical sources that reveal the significance of the experiential and professional meanderings of Chua Boon Hean (1905-1995) for Southeast Asian studies. Chua was a writer and artist who emigrated from Chaozhou in southern China to Malaya in the 1920s. He became a prominent figure in the film industry and is recognised as a cultural icon of post-independence Singapore. Chua’s story calls for a careful re-examination of the ambiguities and connections between ‘diaspora’, ‘ethnicity’ and ‘borders’. While policymakers had reasons to adopt such labels to manage a diverse population in a colonial and post-colonial setting, researchers must recognise the limits and implications of such efforts. Experiences of social belonging and ethnic identity – more malleable than categories might allow – repudiate this approach of rigid labelling. By adding new dimensions and fresh primary sources from Chua’s archive to ongoing discussions in Southeast Asian studies, this paper illuminates the fluidity of Chinese diasporic networks and ethnic identity overseas. By examining Chua’s story through a transregional historical lens, this paper lays the groundwork for a more imaginative approach to understanding the elastic and fluid process of identity formation in modern Asia. Such a perspective can contribute significantly to the current climate of heightened mobilities and politicised exchanges in Southeast Asia.

This study argues that trans-contextual migration experiences can lead to various changes in self-identification among multiethnic and multiracial Japanese individuals. This case study examines in-depth interviews with six participants with roots in Japan, Thailand, and Germany through a narrative-based approach. The authors discusses the dynamic relationship between contextual and individual factors in influencing self-identification. Through thematic analysis of participant narratives, this exploratory case study identifies four recurring themes; migration can trigger significant changes in self-identification; migration can lead to unresolved mismatches between self-identification and societal categorisation; migration can result in the development of hybrid identifications that transcend rigid ethnic boundaries; and migration to a third cultural context can validate self-identifications in new ways. By examining themes that emerged from participant narratives, this case study illuminates the fluid and complex nature of multiethnic and multiracial self-identifications, particularly how racialisation processes intersect with ethnic identity formation across different national contexts. The study contributes to the growing scholarship on mixedness by emphasizing the importance of a biographical understanding of multiethnic and multiracial self-identifications through the lens of trans-contextual migration experiences.

In contemporary Thai politics, the rhetoric of “superwoman” (ผู้หญิงเก่ง) has gained prominence. This paper theorises the intersection of gender, politics, and neoliberalism within the Thai context. While neoliberalism reinforces precarity, it also fosters flexibility, empowerment, and autonomy for some. To understand the origins of the “superwoman” rhetoric, I employ a qualitative method that involves interviewing Thai women MPs who are in the Committee that oversees activities including children, young adults, women, elderly, persons with disabilities, ethnic groups, and gender diverse individuals (คณะกรรมาธิการกิจการเด็ก เยาวชน สตรี ผู้สูงอายุ ผู้พิการ กลุ่มชาติพันธุ์ และผู้ที่มีความหลากหลายทางเพศ). It emerges that some women politicians embody neoliberal selves (Chen 2013), where the central neoliberal principle involves treating homo economicus as the model of personhood. Their bodily dispositions align with the pursuit of individual choices, led by entrepreneurial activity in a capitalist commodifying culture. I examine the interplay between neoliberalism and Thai women politicians as immanent neoliberal subjects who epitomise hegemonic femininity (Baer 2016; Chen 2013) while simultaneously working toward political changes. While literature on neoliberalism and gender focuses on how women distance themselves from the politics of the collective and unchanged structural inequalities, Thai women politicians embody and manoeuvre normative femininity (where opulence symbolises their agency) while also working toward mobilising political change.