Budaya Neo-feudal dalam landskap politik luar bandar: kajian kes di DUN Nusajaya

Abstract

The rural political landscape in Malaysia has not changed much since the post-independence. The ruling party is capable of retaining its power due to the strong support of the rural voters. The loyalty of the rural community, predominantly Malays and Bumiputera, resulted from the culture and feudal values, embraced for over 60 years. Subsequently, the political elites of the government practise the feudal culture of the monarchy as a neo-feudal political culture. This paper discusses the characteristics of neo-feudal culture in the rural political landscape, through the Nusajaya constituency (Kota Iskandar constituency as of the 14th General Election), as a sample. Even though the Nusajaya constituency is not entirely rural, it addresses the evolving features of feudal culture. The analysis shows that the level of acceptance of the neo-feudal culture of the rural community is substantial and different from that of the urban community. The resiliency of the neo-feudal culture and values in the rural political landscape of Nusajaya remains intact even though the area is intricate with rapid development. It also shows that neo-feudal power was exploited to strengthen one's political position. This paper explores the situation to see whether the rural communities still depend on the help and support of the ruling party, and ways in which the capability of the neo-feudal political culture in strengthening the political party's position as a protector and patronage of the rural community.