“BEING A CHINESE DOES’NT MAKE ME LESS MALAYSIAN!”: MALAYSIANCHINESE YOUTHS AND IDENTITY AT THE CROSSROAD.

Abstract :

Advertising as a form of mediated communication  plays an important role in diffusing brand imageriesin the global landscapes. Related to consumption, it also plays a central role in providing symbolicmeanings and values for the creation and maintenance of the consumer’s personal and social world.  This study aims to explore the interaction of advertisements among Malaysian Chinese youths. How hasthe advertising messages consumed is a source of personal and social symbolic meanings that leads tothe construction of identities?  This study goes beyond youths’ interaction with traditional advertisingmedia as it also covers new advertising channels that youths today are more familiar with. Finally, it isalso an attempt to look at the fluid unpredictability of identity construction at the crossroads ofglobalization, tradition and cultural values, modernity and their ethnicity.

Keywords: Advertising, consumption, symbolic meanings,globalization, cultural values, identity.

PRESENTER: NG CHEE HUAT (UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA)

PRESENTED AT SEARCH 2013, TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY, MALAYSIA

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how advertising plays an

important role in providing symbolic meanings and values for the

creation and maintenance of personal and social world of the

Malaysian Chinese youths. It cannot be denied that advertising,

as a form of mediated communication is an integral part of

culture and a primary vehicle for cultural globalization.

Advertising, being pervasive is a powerful tool in contributing

to identities construction through the ideologies embedded.

In the words of Gillian Dyer (1982, 185), advertising helps

us make sense of things and it validates consumer commodities and

consumer lifestyle by associating goods with personal and social

meanings and those aspirations and needs which are not fulfilled

in real life. And Dyer believes that consuming commodities will

give consumers their identities. The role played by consumption

in identity formation has been argued by several social theorists

(Featherstone, 1987; Storey, 2003). The argument could have been

dangling around the question whether it is media consumption

(Bly, 1996; Kellner, 1995; Kroker and Cook, 1988; Willis, 1990)

or material consumption (Thompson, 1995; Dittmar, 1992) that

brings about identity formation.

The key problem statement of this study is how Malaysian

Chinese youths interact with advertisements and how this

contribute to the construction of their identity? Judging from

this statement, it is only right for the writer to not only take

mediated communication like advertising into consideration but

contemplation should also be exerted on the consumption of goods

or at least the aspiration to own or consume these.

This is along the thoughts of Thompson (1990) who says that

the symbolic resources available to the individual for the

construction of the self can be distinguished as being either

lived (practical activities and face-to-face encounters) or

mediated (through mass media) experiences.

To what extent is this true among the young Chinese

Malaysians? As young Malaysian Chinese go about their daily

activities, whether they are merely students or workers, they are

bombarded with advertising messages in myriad of form from myriad

of media; newspapers, radio, television, billboards, taxi tops,

bus backs, social media, search engines and et cetera. Do they

bother to notice these advertisements? And how has these

advertisements affected them?

1.1 ADVERTISING, CONSUMPTION AND IDENTITY FORMATION

The development of mass media has created huge opportunities as

well as challenges for policy planners in developing countries.

On one hand, there are unlimited opportunities to create and

disseminate ideas on issues relating to development

communications. From another perspective, there are worries about

possible damaging impact of television contents, particularly

from advertisements (Srikandath, 1991). Advertising has been

incriminated of giving false hopes to the many rural folks with

portrayal of better urban lifestyle (Vilanilam, 1989; Jhally,

2009). In the same vein advertising has also been accused of

offering dreamlike promises that leaves one hungry for more

(Kilbourne, 1999).

Dyer (1982, 2) reminds us not to lose sight of their

(advertisements) ideological function, which is linked to their

economic function, nor of the real messages that lie behind their

superficial gloss. She adds that advertising has been involved

in the manipulation of social values and attitudes which

supersedes the communication of essential information about

goods and services (Ibid).

In this respect, advertising has joined other institutions

to determine the values and standards of the society. In the not

distant past, a variety of institutions helped in the

transmission of cultural values within a society. Traditionally,

these have been the family, universities, judicial courts, or

even art and religion. Jhally (2003), in one of his critical

writings on the role of the advertising industry, says that the

influence of these institutions waned in the transition to the

industrial society and after that to the consumer society.

Advertising helps to affect a “transfer of values” by

establishing a nexus between what a culture views as “desirable

states of being” and “some particular products”. In the words of

Williamson (1978), they (advertisements) form a vast

superstructure with an apparently autonomous existence and

immense influence. Advertising is a conduit through which meaning

constantly flows from the culturally constituted world to

consumer goods (McCracken, 1986).

Critics of advertising in its current state argue that

advertisements create false wants rather than fulfilling actual

needs and invigorate the production and consumption of things

that are “incompatible with the fulfillment of genuine and urgent

human needs” (Dyer, 1982 p. 3). Advertisements suggest that the

primary goal in one’s life is the private acquisition and this

being the only avenue to social success and happiness.

According to McCracken (1986), cultural meaning is usually

drawn from a culturally constituted world and transferred to a

consumer good. Subsequently the meaning is derived from the

object and transferred to a consumer.

Props are often used in advertisements because of their inherent

symbolic values. These props stand for what is desired; wealth,

love, power, luxury, security. A Lexus used as a prop in an

advertisement signifies success, power and wealth. Even simple

objects like books, when accompanied by bowls of flowers,

symbolize sound educational taste, while eye-glasses are meant to

suggest intelligence. The significance of this is that products

or the consumption of these products carry and communicate

cultural meaning (Douglas & Isherwood, 1978).

Events and trends in the 1960s taught advertisers that

youth played a key role in stirring cultural dynamics. Youth are

seen as an important target market because they were thought to

be forming brand preferences, had increased amounts of disposable

incomes and influence over the families spending and were more

willing to experiment with new consumer goods and electronics

(Leiss et al., 205, p. 319). Harnessing the “cool” concept

became a pre-occupation of many businesses during this period

(Ibid).

The ubiquitous presence of branding and advertising brings

up the question of how does it shape culture and identity?

According to Cayla and Eckhardt (2008), brands are constantly

helping to create new identities and social positions for

consumers. Consumers using a particular brand are connected

through the consumption of the said brand. Brands allow people to

feel connected to others outside their environment, each being a

member of the so-called “global village” introduced to us by

McLuhan (1964).

There is a growing acceptance among scholars that

meanings interpreted by the consumer may be varied and diverse.

Furthermore, there is a line of thought that the consumer is

active and participating (O’Donohoe, 1994; Mick and Buhl, 1992;

Livingstone, 1995; Anderson and Meyer, 1988). According to

Anderson and Meyer (1988), the meaning of a particular

advertisement is not given within the advertisement itself or

delivered in the communication process, but is rather constructed

within it. Thus lived experience with a brand, through purchase

and usage over the life-cycle, will tend to dominate the mediated

experience of advertising, and both forms of experience will be

validated through social interaction especially for brands with

social-symbolic positioning (Elliot and Wattanasuwan, 1999).

Thompson’s (1990) discursive elaboration involves the social

consumption of advertising meanings as they are described,

discussed, argued about, laughed at. Willis (1990) notes that

young people are increasingly involved with advertisements and

proposes that part of this increased of interest in advertising

originates from the ability of advertisers to utilize the latest

fashions in order to make advertisements aesthetically pleasing

as a product independent of the advertised item. He also

describes young people deriving ‘symbolic pleasure’ from the

advertisements.

Therefore brands can be used as resources for the symbolic

construction of the self. This can aid in establishing and

communicate cultural categories such as social status, gender,

age, and values such as family, tradition and authenticity

(McCracken, 1993).

1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW: ADVERTISING, VALUES & IDENTITIES

There have been numerous discussions on the international

presence of the advertising and media industries. Among the

critics include the subject of the local being canopies by the

global commercial agenda (Turow & McAllister, 2009).

Advertisements produced are often seen as representing the

interests that may influence local cultural values. Many

academics have written about the challenges involving issues in

the global era relating to marketing communications. These

literatures not only questioned the influence of Western images

of other cultures, especially in developing countries, but also

its influence on certain groups of people including women, youths

and those of different socioeconomic status.

A point to note is that most of the past studies encountered

were textual studies and used the content analysis method. Not

many of them were done in the qualitative tradition.

Srikandath (1991) investigates the types of cultural values

channeled through television. Using a modified version of

Pollay’s coding frame, he analyzed a sample of Indian television

commercials to determine the types of cultural values often

portrayed in these commercials. His research showed that Indian

commercials portrays values such as high technology,

modernization and consumerism. This is accordant with the

transformation that India was going through at the time the

research was conducted which involved changes in the social

infrastructure and industrialization.

Wright’s (2001) research informs us about the relationship

between culture and transnational flow for commodities and media.

Specifically, this issue was investigated by looking at the

relationship between advertising and cultural identities in

India. The research question asks how advertising redefines,

replaces, and strengthens the categories of culture related to

identities in India and how these changes crosses with the

traditional understanding regarding self including caste,

religion, ethnic, gender and nationalism in a way that inflects

meanings and relevance.

Maitrayee Chaudhari (2009) gives us a detailed analysis on

Indian print advertisements. The advertisements were used as a

lens to view the current trajectory of public discourse in India.

Chaudhari’s research focus was on the changes in gender narrative

along the globalization wave hitting the Indian shores. Using

textual analysis on English language newspaper and magazine

advertisements she made a comparison between the role of male and

female as represented in advertisements in the present time and

the years before liberalization. According to Chaudhari, the

advertisements represented success, pleasure and individual

identities more than traditional values.

The study by McIntyre & Wei (1998) shows that in the years

following the liberalization of advertisement broadcast in China,

‘information seeking’ was the most frequent used value in

advertisements. Following that, advertisements using the

utilitarian appeal as well as values like ‘comfort’,

‘economical’, ‘quality’, or ‘effectiveness’ eventually reduced in

frequency in terms of usage. Conversely, advertisements

featuring Western values like ‘individualism’, ‘modernization’

and sexual attraction increased in frequency.

Tsao’s (1994) study on cultural values in Taiwanese

advertisements spanning from 1981 to 1990 shows a big difference

in the portrayal of culture between the two epochs. During this

span of years, Tsao observes an increase in perception concerning

the importance of time, fashion, symbols and “hard-sell” appeals

and were heavily used in advertisements during 1981-85 and 1986-

90. Tsao opines that this is consistent with the speed of social

and economic changes sweeping Taiwan during these two periods.

In the same vein, Wong (2000) studied the differences in

values portrayed in Hong Kong TV commercials for two financial

institutions from the years 1970s and 1980s. Her study shows

there was a reconfiguration of Chinese traditional values with

values such as capitalism and consumerism. Wong’s textual

analysis shows that banking advertisements in Hong Kong have

trajected from the usage of traditional values to Western values

besides showing the emerging of a consumer society where

traditional values like frugality and assiduousness have been

replaced, or combined with materialistic values like instant

gratification.

In a comparative study between China and Hong Kong from 1983

to 1998, Kara Chan and Hong Cheng (2002) show that five cultural

values dominated the Chinese television; family, tradition,

technology, modernization and collectivism. The five values that

dominated the Hong Kong television scene was quality,

effectiveness, economy, fun and modernization. The Hong Kong

advertisements featured more Western values, whilst Chinese

advertisements featured more Eastern values.

Li (2006) informs us that advertising not only reflects the

needs in a society, but help in the formation of values,

priorities, attitude and consumer behavior. For Li, studies on

advertisements in China gives us a detailed understanding of

issues concerning transformation relating to economy and social.

The question is: how is global formed within the local and how is

local formed within the global? Through in-depth interviews,

analysis of advertising campaigns and observation of secondary

data, Li concluded that the local and global often clashes among

each other. Chinese advertisements are showing the desire to

follow the ways and practices of foreign advertising and at the

same time produce ideas that are uniquely Chinese. Conversely,

transnational agencies are practicing both cultural hegemony as

well as cultural amalgamation through localization and through

the promotion of the professionalism in advertising, scientific

management, rationality, and systematic advertising practices.

From the angle of brand strategy, transnational companies balance

their works by relating these works to Chinese styles. Local

agencies are beginning to feature nationalistic and

transnationalism.

Zhang, Song and Carver (2008) conducted a study to examine

commercials featuring older adult(s) to uncover dominant value

themes. Content analysis method employed in this study reveals

that three dominant value themes (health/life, product

effectiveness, and family) appear more frequently in the Chinese

television commercials featuring older adults. Results also

indicate that the value of health/life was presented frequently

in commercials for medicine and food/health supplements and that

the family value appear frequently in food/drink commercials.

This study shows the lack of importance place on modern values in

these commercials and as expected, emphasizes the importance of

health. In other words, current television commercials featuring

older characters do not reflect the coexistence of traditional

and modern values in Chinese society. It seems that older adults

are suitably used to promote certain traditional values relating

to health and family.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH

This study is focused on how Malaysian Chinese youths interact

with advertisements. With attention on the negotiations of youths

towards values represented in advertisements, this research tries

to give a more nuanced understanding of communication discourse

among Malaysian Chinese youths and the construction of fluid and

unidirectional identities (Drzewiecka & Halualani 2002, p. 341)

through the reading of advertising texts. Referring to cohorts

within the Generation X grouping Leiss et al. (2005, p. 481-482),

say, “through our analysis of marketing communication messages

aimed at Gen X, we can use advertising as the interpretive key

that helps us explore the complexities of both youthful culture

and contemporary marketing’s efforts in responding to its

complexities.”

This study is aim:

1. to understand how Chinese youths in Malaysia interact,

understand and interpret advertisements;

2. to understand how advertisements provide symbolic meanings

and values for the creation and maintenance of the

respondents’ personal and social world;

3. to determine the importance and role of cultural values,

particularly traditional values in the daily life of ethnic

Chinese youths in Malaysia.

1.4 THE MALAYSIAN CHINESE YOUTHS IN MALAYSIA – CULTURE &

WORLDVIEW

The population of Chinese ethnics in Malaysia is estimated to be

6,517.4 million or 22.2% of Malaysia’s population (Jabatan

Perangkaan Malaysia). It can be estimated that close to 2

million of the Chinese population are aged between 15 years old

to 30 years old. The Chinese are the second largest ethnic group

in the country.

The Chinese in Malaysia are divided into fangyanqun, or

dialect groups. The Chinese in Malaysia converse with each other

using various dialects including Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka and

Teochew. According to Tan (2000), the Chinese in Malaysia also

identify themselves as Teng-lang (Hokkien), Tong-yan (Cantonese),

and others which sounds similar to Tangren (Tang people) in

Mandarin.

Mandarin is now an important language among the Chinese in

Malaysia. As a matter of fact, many of the young Chinese

Malaysians today are not fluent in their own dialect. Mandarin

seems to be a more popular conversational language among young

Chinese Malaysians.

In the aspect of religiosity, most of the Chinese in

Malaysia are adherents of the Chinese Traditional Religion (Tan,

2000). However, there are also sizeable numbers of Chinese in

Malaysia who are adherents of other major religions. The

religious worldview of the Chinese are that of non-exclusivity

and it is not difficult for the Chinese to accept the teachings

of other religions which are not defined according to the ethnic

line.

What is needed to be emphasize here is that while

ethnic Chinese are adherents of a wide variety of religion,

Confucianism as a philosophy has a deep impact on their culture

and therefore on their daily life.

The Chinese civilization system, generally known as

Confucianism, consists of a set of social and moral values which

has until now determine the family patterns, social

relationships, attitude towards the country, and educational

practices. Redding (1992, p.2) in his review of the uniqueness of

Confucianism, especially those that are related to the family,

says that Confucian values are the important principle written in

the mind of most oversea Chinese (Redding 1992, p.2).

Wang & Lin (2009) recognizes the cultural value systems as a

powerful force that shapes consumers’ motivations, lifestyles,

and product choices. “In the consumption domain, values influence

behavioural and consumption decisions that fulfil consumers’

need” (Ibid, p. 399).

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A series of focus group discussions were conducted among Chinese

Malaysian youths between ages 18 to 25 years old. Informants

selected for this purpose were derived from a variety of

education, economic and family background. Members from two of

the groups were working adults while the members of the other two

groups were from two private universities.

The researcher deliberately selected a mixture of informants

who had Chinese education and those who never went to a Chinese

school. The intent was to understand if there is a difference

between members from these two groups with regards to how they

view advertisements, materialism and globalizing factors.

Data from the focus groups were manually transcripted and

analyzed.

The findings from this study are part of a broader

exploratory study conducted by the writer for his doctorate

research. In this paper the writer covers youths’ aspirations in

life, their media exposure as well as how globalization has

affected them.

1.6 FINDINGS

1.6.1 BEING A CHINESE

A majority of the informants mentioned that they are proud to be

a Chinese. Being able to speak Mandarin or dialects is also

something to be proud of. Some of the informants mentioned that

their present cultural identity is not something that they will

discard. Informants believe the Chinese have a rich historical

and cultural heritage. For example, the Chinese language is an

important global language and China is a powerful nation.

“…Chinese is my identity, my culture and my history” (SL)

“… you know who you are, you are able to speak Chinese and

dialects, and also understanding the family history and adapt the

culture” (LEG)

“Being a Chinese is important…therefore I speak Chinese more”

(IC)

1.6.2 CHINESE EDUCATION

Having identified themselves as Chinese, informants also spoke

about the importance of Chinese education in order to succeed not

merely in this country but in other parts of the world.

“I will send my children to Chinese school because China is

growing from strength to strength” (VYC)

“My children will at least study six years in a Chinese school”

(KMK)

1.6.3 BEING A MALAYSIAN AS WELL

To the informants, being a Chinese may not necessarily mean they

are less “Malaysian” or losing their Chinese identity. As a

matter of fact, a number of informants voiced their pride of

being a Malaysian.

“… this (being called Malaysian) is just a term and I don’t think

that the word, “Malaysian” will cause me to lose my Chinese

identity. But the truth is, I am really a Malaysian” (LCL)

“It is OK as it also a real fact” (DPS)

“I’m OK if people address me as Malaysian even without Chinese,

because I think it can reduce the racist problem in Malaysia”

(LEG)

1.6.4 CHINESE ETHICS, VALUES AND RELIGION

Informants unanimously agreed on the importance of Chinese ethics

and values. They are able to identify the importance of cultural

values and ethics in their life.

“It can guide us in our life” (BT)

“Values like filial piety are important. We need to take care of

our aged parents” (VY)

“Loving parents is unconditional. It is wrong to say we need to

earn it” (AW)

“We apply Confucian ethics in our life without being conscious of

it, just like we apply Rukunegara” (EY)

In the area of religion, a majority of the informants

recognized the importance of a religious affiliation. However, a

number of them claimed they are not an active adherent . To these

people, religious rituals are left to the older members of the

family (parents or grand parents).

“I am a Buddhist but not a practicing one. I don’t have a strong

belief compared to my old folks because I do not have the time”

(SL)

“I am Buddhist but I don’t pray at home. I don’t have very

strong belief in it compared with the elders because everyone is

given the freedom to choose their belief. I may not necessary

follow the values and ways but I will respect them” (LEG)

“I am not that religious but I do pray at home and go to the

temples to pray with family and friends” (LJY)

1.6.5 ADVERTISING AND MEDIA CONSUMPTION

Most of the informants like many youths today used very little of

the mainstream media but would spend several hours a day using

the online media. There were mixed reactions by the informants on

the question of how they respond to advertisements in the online

media. While some were enthusiastic about advertisements they saw

online, there were others who were not. But generally, informants

informed that when an advertising message is interesting, it will

get them interested and they will read further to seek more

information about the product advertised.

“I go to this Taobao (淘淘淘 is a Chinese online shopping website) whenI want to buy certain things. Like this bag” (KMK)

“I search for information when I am really interested with certain

products (LJY)

“I will see if anything is interesting. If not just delete” (EY)

“Never notice except ads on the Internet” (BT)

“If the information is relevant, I will search” (DPS)

Though the informants are either undergraduates or young working

adults, they are well-informed of brands available in the market. To

these young people, good and well-known brands are associated with

good quality and reputation.

“Yes, reputation of brand is important” (IC)

“To me, Nike is important to me” (AW)

“I have been going to Fitness First for a few years and I don’t plan

to change” (VY)

When informants were asked which three brands they would like to be

associated with, among the responses gathered were,

“Nissan and Sony. I can’t think of another one” (IC)

“Apple, Cotton On and H&M” (SML)

“Bentley and Hermes (VYC)

“Ipad and MacBook” (EY)

1.6.6 BEING MATERIALISTIC

Some of the informants unashamely claimed themselves to be

materialistic.

“For technology products, I would say, “Yes, I am materialistic” (WL)

“… as long it is branded stuff” (KS)

“I am 50 per cent materialistic. I don’t care about the brand of bags,

clothes, shoes, perfume, accessories and et cetera but it is different

case with technology products like phones, computers and cameras”

(LCL)

“I want to look good as it will help improve my self-image” (SL)

“If I like something, I will go all out to get it … I will save enough

to get it” (IC)

“Yes, to a certain degree I am materialistic. I have tried Mango,

Vincci, Cotton On and others. But, I will not buy those luxury brands

like LV, Burberry, Longchamp and others” (LJY)

1.6.7 YOUTHS AND GLOBALIZATION

When asked whether globalization has affected them and the way they

live,

“I think globalization has influenced me as a Chinese, my world view

and my identity” (KS)

“I do not dye my hair but I wear T-shirts and pants. Maybe this is

part of Western culture” (LCL)

“I dyed my hair recently. It is a trend among young people and it was

a Western influence. We like to try different things for ourselves”

(LEG)

“Globalization has influenced me to view identity from another angle.

But I will still stick to my Chinese identity” (LJY)

1.7 DISCUSSION

Meanings are dynamic and exist as a result of the interaction

between the message and the receiver. According to Moran (2003),

audience’s perception is influenced by the social environment or

culture and whatsoever happens while the audience is watching the

programme. While the title of their research is “the export of

meaning”. Leibes and Katz (1993) are of the opinion that meanings

are not exported from Western television programmes, but are

produced by different sectors within the audience’s culture

related to existing cultural attitudes and political perception.

In other words, two persons exposed to the same advertisement at

the same time and at the same place may interpret the

advertisement differently subject to their own cultural

background. Grixti (2006) opines that socio-economic and

educational backgrounds play a significant role in how people

perceive and relate to local and foreign media products.

With commodification widely spread, the world is now seen

as a “gigantic shopping mall” and people’s lifestyle is being

changed by its process. We see from this study the role of media

and specifically mediated communication akin to advertising

playing an important role in the life of young Chinese

Malaysians. Because of this, youths today are often thought of as

having exceptional opportunities that allows them to create their

own identities, where in the words of Stuart Hall (1997, p. 51),

“which is always in process, always constituted within, not

outside, representation.”

We examined how global media have affected these youths. The

commercial media system is the necessary transmission belt for

businesses to market their products to every corner of the world.

These developments have given the leading world communication

companies “the unrivalled capacity to shape the symbolic

environment which we all inhabit (Murdoch 1996, p. 92) or

according to Meyrowitz (1985), culture-levellers that blurs

traditional social relations. In the words of Grixti (2006, p.

106),

“Such patterns of influence are often argued to be the most

pronounced among the young, and they are said to be

particularly noticeable in young people’s styles of dress, modes

of speech and in the types of films, TV programmes, video games

and music…”

The youths who participated in this study admitted that

globalization did made impressions on them, especially on their

world views of things and events happening around them. They are

also followers of world’s latest fashion trends and styles. For

example, dying their hair to another colour from black appears to

be a Western trend to them. The same is with the launch of new

gadgets like mobile phones as well as being well-informed about

the private lives of Western celebrities.

Material things appear to be the aspirations of these

youths. They could name luxury accessories, electronic gadgets,

expensive cars and holidays to far away destinations as something

they would love to have.

Despite all these globalizing influences, the cultural

upbringing in these young people appear to be restraining them

from being totally swallowed up to the extend they have totally

forgotten their cultural roots.

According to Rita Sim (2011), Chinese education is one of

the three important pillars that plays an important part in the

solitary and resilience of the Chinese educated Malaysian

Chinese. Lee Hock Guan (2012) goes further by stating that the

centrality of education to the Chinese is a stepping stone to

socio-economic success and a means to transmit and preserve their

language and culture. The Chinese language is seen as an identity

marker for many Malaysian Chinese today. It was former Health

Minister, Chua Jui Meng who attributed the high enrolment in

mother-language primary schools to the wish of the Chinese

community “to re-emphasise their own identity through their own

language and culture” in the face of “a hardening Malay position

in the formulation of a national culture policy based on Malay

culture.” (Ye 2003, p. 65-66).

However, from this study, we can conclude that there has not

being any difference between the aspirations and consumption

behaviour among those who had their education in Chinese and

those who did not. They share more or less the same aspirations

and ambitions in life. For example, when it comes to social

travelling, only one prefers to visit China while the rest would

choose destinations like United States, Australia, Korea and the

European continent. One would wonder where these youths would

have got the idea of traveling to these places that their parents

would not have even dreamed of. Informants talked about TV

serials (example, the Korean “Winter Sonata” did a lot to promote

tourism in Korea) and documentaries they watched that kinder

their desire to visit these places.

When it comes to aspirations in life, they voiced out for a

better and richer future, and recognition from others for their

own achievements. The attitude of being filial to their parents

is strong among these youths. They acknowledge the sacrifices

made by their parents and would want to repay their parents when

they are able. This shows the root of Confucianism is still

strong in these young people despite the post-modernist world

view of living for oneself as the ultimate importance in life.

Perhaps these words from Confucius often remind them to be

filial,

“ The Master said, “At home, a young man should be filial to

his parents. Away from home, he should be respectful to his

elders. He should be cautious and be true to his words. He

should love his fellowmen and befriend the humane…” (Analects

1.6),

In the words of Grixti (2006, p. 108), “…local cultures are

not so much being replaced by global media culture as being

inflected by it through coexisting with it.” While acknowledging

that advertising has kindled their materialistic nature , the

informants also implied that the “Chinese factor” in them is

still strong. Socio-political developments over the past few

decades since the May 13 riots, among which were the New Economic

Policy, the concept of Ketuanan Melayu and possible implementation

of Hudud in the future has all contributed to the strengthening

of cultural identity among the young Malaysian Chinese, evidence

seen in the increase of enrolment in national-type Chinese

primary schools, the increase of readership in Chinese language

print and online media as well as interest in Mandarin as a

conversational language among young Malaysian Chinese is on the

rise.

1.8 CONCLUSION

A study on youth has important implications for media and

cultural studies Material goods clearly play an important role in

everyday social life of youths. Goods like mobile phones, the

books they read and the cars they drive serve both functional and

pragmatic purposes, but they also form an intricate system of

material symbolism. This exploratory study shows that Malaysian

Chinese youths though being constantly bombarded by commercial

messages in various forms are still holding on to many values

which have been taught to them since young from family as well as

the education system. From this study, it also shows that family,

religion and language play a big part in preserving one’s

identity.

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