The Underrepresentation and the Disinterest of Malay Women in Nursing in the Early Post-Colonial Malaysia (1957-1977): A Cultural Perspective

(Kurangnya Penglibatan dan Minat Wanita Melayu dalam Bidang Kejururawatan pada Awal Pascakolonial Malaysia (1957-1977): Perspektif Budaya)

  • Salilah Saidun Kuliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia.

Abstract

Modern nursing started in Malaysia during the colonial rule and with embedded colonial values. During the first two decades of post-independent Malaysia, the Malays were a minority in the nursing workforce despite being the majority population. This study examines the issue of this paradoxical underrepresentation of Malay women from the lens of Malay culture during this period. Document analysis was conducted on relevant annual reports, official letters, minute papers, newspaper articles and parliamentary debates official reports between 1957 and 1977. The findings suggest that the underrepresentation of the Malays in nursing was predominantly due to the disinterest of Malay women to become nurses due to the discordance between the Malay culture and various aspects of nursing. This article highlights the importance of a culturally sensitive work environment in promoting inclusivity for the diverse members of the society.


Keyword: Nursing, Malay women, post-colonial, inclusivity, diversity

References

Aris, A. (2014). The evolution and transformation of Baju Kurung in the Peninsular of Malaysia (Unpublished Doctoral thesis). Universiti Teknologi MARA.

Berita Harian. (1957a). Ada-kah nurse tahu dia akan mati? (Did the nurse know that she would die?), p. 1.

Berita Harian. (1957b, December 25). Sebab2 kurang Jururawat (Reasons for insufficient nurses), p. 7.

Berita Harian. (1958a, June 24). Jururawat yg berdansa ibu2 bapa naik radang (nurses' dance angers parents), p. 6.

Berita Harian. (1958b, October 7). Perkara ugama (Religious matters), p. 7.Berita Harian. (1958c, november 1). 3 jururawat ka-Australia (3 nurses going to Australia), p. 2.

Berita Harian. (1959a, May 2). Orang sakit pukul nurse (A patient hit a nurse), p. 5.

Berita Harian. (1959b, september 23). Jururawat di-tikam orang sakit (nurse stabbed by patient), p. 1.

Berita Harian. (1959c, november 30). Mengapa-kah wanita2 Melayu kurang bekerja di-luar? (Why do Malay women less involved in works outside their homes?), p. 6.

Berita Harian. (1959d, December 15). sharat bahasa ini sekat gadis2 Melayu - PAs (The language pre-requisite deters Malay women - PAs), p. 1.

Berita Harian. (1960, February 20). Kematian kanak2: Melayu lebeh banyak (Child mortality: Malays are greater in number), p.1

Berita Harian. (1962, December 19). Di-hukum kerana chium jururawat di-hospital (punished for kissing nurse at hospital), p. 5.

Berita Harian. (1963a, January 2). Lebeh ramai jururawat akan di-kirim ka-luar negeri untok berlateh (More nurses will undergo training overseas), p. 5.

Berita Harian. (1963b, January 13). Temasha (Festival), p. 10.

Berita Harian. (1963c, April 10). Kelulusan untok jururawat: kesempatan mungkin dibuka untuk pelajar2 sekolah menengah Melayu (Prerequisite for nursing: potential opportunity for secondary Malay school students), p. 7.

Berita Harian. (1963d, June 21). Mengintai jururawat2 mandi - 2 bulan (Peeping bathing nurses - 2 months), p. 1.

Berita Harian. (1963e, July 17). Hantu yang rambut saperti Elvis Presley ganggu juru2 rawat di-Hospital Klang (Ghost with Elvis Presley haunting nurse at Klang Hospital), p. 1.

Berita Harian. (1963f, December 4). Menyediakan ranchangan kesehatan: beberapa kemudahan untok ra'ayat di-seluroh kampong2 (Preparing the healthcare plan: a few facilities for the people in villages), p. 6.

Berita Harian. (1964a, June 10). $500 denda chium dgn paksa ($500 fine for nonconsensual kiss), p. 1.

Berita Harian. (1964b, september 15). Kenapa tidak ramai yang mau jadi jururawat? Berita Harian, p. 6.

Berita Harian. (1964c, september 17). Jururawat bersuami luar nikah di-hukum (nurse with illicit relationship punished), p. 5.

Berita Harian. (1964d, november 2). Kementerian Kesihatan akan menambah kakitangan Melayu (The Ministry of Health will increase the number of Malay staff), p. 3.

Berita Harian. (1965a). Kechurian di-asrama jururawat dan flat (Burglary at nurses hostel and flat), p. 5.

Berita Harian. (1965b, February 1). Pakaian jururawat menjolok mata, masharakat kesal (nurse uniform too revealing, the society is dissappointed), p. 6.

Berita Harian. (1965d, October 12). Asrama di-rompak (Hostel robbed)n, p. 5.

Berita Harian. (1966a, April 5). Asrama bidan dan jururawat: surat kapada menteri, p. 2.

Berita Harian. (1966b, November 12). 324 saja dari 3,000 jururawat ia-lah Melayu (Only 324 of 3,000 nurses are Malays), p. 5.

Berita Harian. (1967, July 5). sebab2 jururawat tidak puas hati di-kampong2 (Reasons for nurses' dissatisfactions in rural areas), p. 3.

Berita Harian. (1968a, March 14). Jururawat balek dari kursus di-Bangkok (nurses come back from a course in Bangkok), p. 3.

Berita Harian. (1968b, May 25). Kesah suami "berzina" di-bawa dalam mahkamah (The case of husband commiting adultery taken to court), p. 10.

Berita Harian. (1972, December 17). Zaman gadis-gadis Melayu duduk di ceruk dapur dari pagi hingga malam sudah luput masanya, p. 3.

Birks, M. J., Francis, K., Chapman, Y., & Abdullah, B. F. (2008). From traditional healers to telemedicine: A history of nursing in Malaysia. Singapore Nursing Journal, 35(2), 16-25.

Chief Medical Officer of Terengganu. (1951, May 19). Letter to the Director of Medical services of the Federation of Malaya on Memorandum on nursing services Terengganu (Ref: Med/Tr.5/81/49).

Chief Medical Officer of Terengganu. (1953, November 17). Letter to the administrative officers and district officers in Terengganu on vacancies for assistant nurses and midwives (Ref: 8 in Med./Tr. 301/52).

Commissioner of Religion of Terengganu. (1956, January 7). Letter to the state Medical and Health Officer of Terengganu on the Proposal of Weekly Religious Classes for Nurses (Ref: no. 1 in P.A. 138/75).

Department of information Malaysia. (1978). sidang akhbar Tan sri Chong Hon Hyan mengenai penukaran pakaian seragam Jururawat Malaysia di Kementerian Kesihatan, Kuala Lumpur (Press conference of Tan sri Chong Hon Hyan on the transformation of the Malaysian nurse uniform at the Ministry of Health, K. Retrieved september 3, 2017, from http://my1foto.penerangan.gov.my/stock-photo/sidang-akhbar-tan-sri-chong-hon-hyan-mengenai-penukaran-pakaian-seragam-jururawat-malaysia-di-kementerian-kesihatan-kuala-lumpur-144553.html

Elm, B. V. & Hirschman, C. (1979). Age at first marriage in Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41(nov), 887-891.

Federal Constitution 1957. (2010). The Commissioner of Law Revision Malaysia.

Foo, B., & Richards, C. (2004). English in Malaysia. RELC Journal, 35(2), 229-240.

Gidley, J. M., Hampson, G. P., Wheeler, L., & Bereded-samuel, E. (2010). social inclusion: context, theory and practice. The Australasian Journal of University-Community Engagement, 5(1), 6-36.

Greer, D. B. (1995). Minority underrepresentation in nursing: socioeconomic and political effects. The Association of Black Nursing Faculty in Higher Education Journal, 6(2), 44-46.

Hassan, H. (2016). A study on the development of Baju Kurung design in the context of cultural changes in modern Malaysia. Wacana Seni Journal of Arts Discourse, 15, 63-94.

Hirschman, C. (1972). Educational patterns in colonial Malaya. Comparative Education Review, 16(3), 486-502.

Hirschman, C. (2016). Gender, the status of women, and family structure in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies, 53(1), 33-50.

Idris, M. R. (2016). Perkembangan pendidikan wanita Melayu di negeri-negeri Melayu Bersekutu, 1896-1941. Universiti Malaya.

Kortteinen, s. (2008). negotiating ethnic identities: Alcohol as a social marker in East and West Malaysia. Akademika, 72(1), 25-44.

Lee, n. (2014). Transformasi fesyen pakaian Muslim di semenanjung Tanah Melayu, 1930-1940 (Muslim fashion transformation in the Malay Peninsula, 1930-1940). Jurnal Perspektif, 6(3), 68-80.

Loftin, C., newman, s. D., Dumas, B. P., Gilden, G., & Bond, M. Lou. (2012). Perceived barriers to success for minority nursing students: An integrative review. ISRN Nursing, 2012, 806543. Malaysian nursing Union. (1972). Sixth Bienniel Report (1970-1971).

Malaysian nursing Union.Mariam, M. C. (1959, December 9). Kebanyakan anak2 ingin jadi guru yang berjasa. Berita Harian, p. 6.

Medical and Health Department. (1950). schemes of service for nurses. Medical and Health Department.

Medical and Health Department. (1958). Federal Government Press statement on World Health Day - Progress in nursing: 1948-1958 (Ref: D.inF. 3/58/162 (HEALTH)).

Medical and Health Department (1958). Report of the Medical Department 1957. Medical and Health Department.

Medical and Health Department (1959). Report of the Medical Department 1958. Medical and Health Department.

Medical and Health Department. (1960). Report of the Medical Department 1959. Medical and Health Department.

Ministry of Health Malaysia. (1973), Annual Report 1971-1972. Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Ministry of Health Malaysia. (1975). Annual Report 1973-1974. Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2017). Exhibition of the Transformation of nurses Uniform in Ministry of Health Malaysia. Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Othman, M. A., & Lee, P. L. (2014). Sejarah pendidikan di Tanah Melayu dari tahun 1900-1941. Jurnal Pendidikan Dedikasi, 8(1), 1-18.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1959). Parliamentary debates official report: House of Representatives (3 December, 1959). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1964). Parliamentary debates official report: Senate (25 November, 1964). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1965). Parliamentary debates official report: House of Representative (4 June, 1965). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1972). Parliamentary debates official report: Senate (14 January, 1972). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1973a). Parliamentary debates official report: House of Representatives (3 December 1973). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1973b). Parliamentary debates official report: Senate (3 May 1973). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1974). Parliamentary debates official report: House of Representatives (3 December 1974). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1975a). Parliamentary debates official report: House of Representatives (2 April, 1975). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1975b). Parliamentary debates official report: Senate (22 July, 1975). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1975c). Parliamentary debates official report: Senate (24 July, 1975). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1976). Parliamentary debates official report: House of representatives (9 november, 1976). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1977a). Parliamentary debates official report: House of Representatives (19 July, 1977). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (1977b). Parliamentary debates official report: Senate (20 April, 1977). Kuala Lumpur.

Parliament of Malaysia. (2005). Parliamentary debates official report: Senate (18 May 2005) (Vol. 10). Kuala Lumpur.

Phillips, J. M., & Malone, B. (2014). increasing racial / ethnic diversity in nursing to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. Public Health Reports, 129(suppl 2), 45–50.

Prime Minister's Office (1976). The Third Malaysia Plan. Prime Minister's Office.

Putten, J. van der. (2014). "Dirty dancing" and Malay anxieties: the changing context of Malay Ronggeng in the first half of the twentieth century. In B. Barendregt (Ed.), Sonic Modernities in the Malay World: A History of Popular Music, Social Distinction and Novel Lifestyles (1930s - 2000s) (pp. 113-134). Brill.

Ramli, M. A. (2004). Konsep masyarakat Melayu mengenai hubungan gender. Jurnal YADIM, Dec, 141-153.

Saadon, R., Ariffin, K., & Saat, I. (2016). Perkembangan pendidikan orang Melayu di Malaya sebelum kemunculan Western-tupe Education (The educational development of the Malays in Malaya before the emergence of Western-type-education). Jurnal Perspektif, 8(2), 79-96.

Secretary of the Kuala Terengganu branch of United Malays National Organisation. (1954, July 24). Letter to the state Mufti of Terengganu on the issue of nurses (Ref: no.26 in Ch. UMNO. B.K.T 26/53).

Selangor State Council. (1933, October 16). Extract from the minutes of the 343rd Meeting of the selangor state Council.

Shawal, Z. (1994). Busana Melayu. Jabatan Muzium Malaysia.State Medical and Health Officer of Perak. (1956, November 27). Letter to the State Secretary of Perak on the establishment of a school in Perak to train Assistant nurses in Malay (Ref: Med/Pk.15/194/56).

State Medical and Health Officer of Selangor. (1957, February 21). Letter to the State secretary of selangor on the Resignation of a nurse to Get Married (Ref: MED/sEL/2/2247).

State Medical and Health Office of Selangor (1938, February 21). Minute paper on Malay nurses (Ref: s544/35).

State Medical and Health Officer of Terengganu. (1956). Memo on the Weekly Religious Class at Kuala Terengganu General Hospital Prayer Room (Ref: no. 1 in Med/Tr. 21/1956).state Mufti of Terengganu. (1954a, January 8). Response Letter to the state secretary of Terengganu on the issue of nurses (Ref: no. 2 in P.A. 146/73).

State Mufti of Terengganu. (1954b, August 2). Response Letter to the secretary of the Kuala Terengganu branch of United Malays National Organisation on the Issue of Nurses (Ref: no. 5 in P.A. 146/73).

State secretary of Terengganu. (1953, December 30). Letter to the state Mufti of Terengganu on the issue of nurses (Ref: no. 19 in sKTr. 106/53).

Swettenham, F. A. (1895). Malay Sketches. John Lane.

Tahir, E. S. M. (2003). Ayah saya pejuang menentang Belanda (My father was a fighter against the Dutch Public Health Rep . Jan-Feb 2014;129 suppl 2(suppl 2):45-50. doi: 10.1177/00333549141291s209. increasing racial/ethnic diversity in nursing to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity Janice M Phillips 1 , Beverly Malone 2). In E. S. M. Tahir (Ed.), Bagaimana akhirnya saya bertudung (How I finally became a hijabi) (pp. 96-110). PTs Millenia sdn Bhd.

Tan, Y. s. (2009). Perkembangan pendidikan di Malaysia: peranan Lim Lian Geok dan Aminuddin Baki. ngan Pendidikan Di Malaysia Jurnal Terjemah Alam and Tamadun Melayu, 1, 139-166.

The Straits Times. (1965c, May 3). nurses' Week dance date, p. 5.Utusan Melayu, 1953. (1953, Dec 18). Hospital staff.

Williams, s. D., Hansen, K., smithey, M., Burnley, J., Koplitz, M., Koyama, K., ... Bakos, A. (2014). Using social determinants of health to link health workforce diversity, care quality and access, and health disparities to achieve health equity in nursing. Public Health Reports, 129(suppl 2), 32-36. doi:10.1177/00333549141291s207

Yusoff, M. N., Osman, M. K. A., Rofie, M. K., Abdul Rahman, M. N., and Md Zain, A. (2004). Pembudayaan nilai islam dalam rekabentuk rumah tradisional masyarakat Melayu (islamic values in the design of traditional Malay houses). in Paper presented at the international seminar on the values of post-modern communities (4-6 september 2004) (pp. 1-11). Langkawi.
Published
2021-07-02
How to Cite
SAIDUN, Salilah. The Underrepresentation and the Disinterest of Malay Women in Nursing in the Early Post-Colonial Malaysia (1957-1977): A Cultural Perspective. Melayu: Jurnal Antarabangsa Dunia Melayu, [S.l.], v. 14, n. 2, p. 181-200, july 2021. ISSN 2682-8049. Available at: <https://jurnal.dbp.my/index.php/Melayu/article/view/8100>. Date accessed: 25 apr. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.37052/jm.14(2)no2.