Malay Women and Rice Production in West Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of rural development in West Malaysia is to increase agricultural productivity, and consequently farm income, through the introduction of modern farming methods and institutions in the rural sector. It is hoped that a commercially oriented farming population would emerge to replace what is usually viewed as a more traditional and backward agricultural sector.1 Hence, through the years there has been an increasing penetration of capital in the rural areas, subsequently transforming the social organization of production. This chapter will discuss the changes, particularly in the realm of gender relations and labour utilization patterns in rice cultivation in a West Malaysia village.