The New Society – Mobility & Membership

Jowati binti Juhary

[presented at ASAIHL, Sutera Harbour Resort Sabah, September 2003; organised by UMS]

Abstract

With technology, everything seems to be changing – from the way people communicate to the way people dress. Inevitably, a new society is emerging in Malaysia due to the advancement of technology. This paper attempts to discuss the changes in the Malaysian society in terms of social aspect. Particularly, the paper concentrates on the concepts of mobility and membership in the society. The method used in the paper is text analysis of various printed materials. From the finding, the researcher concludes that the mobility and membership of the society can bring positive and negative impact onto the nation. As such, scholars at all levels of the society especially from institutes of higher learning should focus on how to stabilize the society’s urge to follow the trend. This can be done by designing and developing modules for students of the university and perhaps by having social services for the society. It is hoped that the graduates have enough force in themselves to be a brand new generation equipped with the suitable knowledge for this era and yet still have the seeds of being Malaysians.

            Keywords: mobility, membership, cultural continuum, abstract culture, concrete culture, hybrid society