Rojak: An ethnographic exploration of pluralism and music therapy in Post-British-Colonial Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of this discursive exploration that is influenced by ethnography and autoethnography is to present how Western-based music therapy intersects with the pluralistic healthcare culture in Malaysia. We will first be situating music therapy as a Eurocentric-based healthcare practice. We will then introduce the history of Malaysia and healthcare culture through a pluralistic lens, drawing inspiration from a popular Malaysian street food—rojak, a form of salad. We use rojak as an analogy to honor Malaysia’s food culture while drawing similarities between the diverse flavors and textures between the distinct components of rojak, with the unique pluralism that exists throughout Malaysian culture and healthcare practices. Through this rojak pluralist lens, we will share several unique Malaysian vignettes to explore the different ways we consider Eurocentric music therapy as a potentially colonial practice, ranging from postcolonial theory perspective to a pragmatic, inclusive perspective. As Malaysia has maintained its pluralistic culture as a uniquely multiracial Asian country despite the lengthy history of colonization, we offer these Malaysian, post-British-colonial music therapy vignettes in this article.