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Malaysian population is made up various segments. Over the years, it has developed unique characters that have become part of the make-up or the identity of Malaysia. Other than its multi-ethnics composition, such an identity has consequently given rise to political and cultural hegemonies that lead to the inevitability of conflict between the ethnics, seen as the major hurdle of the community and developmental policies. Not only has the ethnic conflict stifled socio-economic development, but it has also as well interrupted developmental policies, apart from causing extreme socialization of ethnic politics marred with prejudice and bloody skirmishes among the communities. Pursuant to that, this article examines the background of the conflict to identify the factors that influence the dynamics of the Malaysian community conflict. Hitherto, numerous literatures over the subject have pointed to the applicability of the theory of social cohesion deemed to suit Malaysia’s multi-ethic characteristic of the community. In this regard, social cohesion will be applied as a tool to measure the level of national integration among Malaysians. This study argues that the theory of social cohesion, for all intents and purposes, is defective as it fails to end ethnic conflict. As such, it is only appropriate that the theory needs to be improved to allow for accurate comprehension of the causes of ethnic conflict, and other problems that hamper national community development. At the same time, this qualitative study also offers significant opportunity for future research that seeks to resolve the problem of ethnic unity of the country. The fact is, community development and its involvement in the implementation of the related policy, are integral to preserve national harmony and political stability. More so since the system of punishment, the supposedly permanent means to make national integrity stronger, is no longer reliable due to its vulnerability to political abuse.
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In-Text Citation: (Zakaria et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Zakaria, J., Yaakob, A. F., & Zawawi, H. Y. (2022). Social Cohesion for Community Development in Malaysia: Impact to National Integration. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(11), 1293 – 1305.
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