Weapons of the Weak- Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance

by James C Scott

  Islam, 40n, 59, 134–35, 171, 172, 191, 193n, 333, 334; tithe (zakat), 10, 18, 21, 31, 87, 144, 156, 169–72, 173–78

  Ishmail Arshad. 159

  Jaafar, Haji, 6, 89, 94, 97, 155, 157, 173, 175, 178, 200n, 234, 267; in village politics, 127, 132, 136, 277

  Jamil, 93, 127, 227, 263

  Java: resistance in, 41, 283n; tebasan system, 162n

  Jegatheesan, S., 79n, 115n

  Jenun (village), 226

  Jitra (town), 248

  Jual janji. See Credit: jual janji

  Jual pokok padi, 110n, 162n, 165n

  Justice, poverty and, 27, 237; of inevitability, refuted, 322–24, 330, 334

  Kadir, Haji, 2, 7, 23, 25–26, 89, 90, 94, 96, 114, 119n, 128n, 144–47, 149, 173, 197, 200n, 207n, 229, 251, 267, 269–70, 271–72, 279–81; a miser (Ceti), 14, 20–21, 171, 176, 178, 195, 209; PAS membership, 133

  Kamil, 2–3, 5, 94, 99, 126n, 127, 145, 149, 152, 161n, 173–74, 212, 222, 251, 267

  Kampung Jawa (village), 276

  Kangkong (village), 253

  Karim, 92, 116–17, 132, 150–51, 156, 161, 223, 263, 281

  Kasim, Tok, 20, 94, 109, 144, 146, 155, 157, 161–62, 174, 188, 195, 224, 229n, 251, 252

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  Kedah (state), 53–54, 55, 58, 59, map 2 (61), 62–85, 124, 132, 221, 298n, 313–14; landownership in, 14, 16, 18, 62, 64n, 68–70, 82, 311–12; land tenure in, 70–74; peasant resistance in, 62–64, 245, 248–55, 266, 275–76; population increase, 63, 71, 245; poverty in, 63, 64 and n, 71, 81–82; rice bowl, 63; settlement of, 18, 62; social relations, 147–48, 180, 243, 334, 337. See also Muda region

  Kelantan (state), 53, 55, 62n, 135n, 190, 236n, 314; migrant labor from, 67, 111, 115, 117n, 158

  Kemubu Irrigation Project, 55, 56n

  Kenduri (ritual feasts), 149, 169, 172–74, 175–76, 177–78, 238–39

  Kepala Batas (town), 1, 86–87, 126, 128, 167, 170, 265, 276

  Kessler, Clive S., 58, 62n, 135n, 236n

  Khalid bin Haji Jaafar, 216

  Kinship ties, 43, 140, 185, 244, 257n, 310; and political affiliation, 133–34, 136; and tenancy, 72n, 102, 105n, 106–07, 151, 185, 210–11 and n Koran, quoted, 16n, 171

  Kuala Lumpur, 124; 1969 riots in, 53

  Kubang Jerai, 253

  Kupang system, 119–20, 12 n, 260

  Labor, 180, 313–14; as commodity, 307n; forms of control over, 152, 172, 175, 185, 193–94, 307; exchange, 113n, 115, 300; share groups as incipient unions, 119–20, 250–55, 258–60; solidarity or lack of it, 254–55, 261–62, 265; See also Agricultural labor; Wage labor, paddy Labor market, 259

  Ladurie, Emmanuel Le Roy, 18n

  Land hunger, Sedaka, 101–02, 105, 107, 135, 149, 164–69

  Landlords, 44–45, 244; and kin tenants, 72n, 102, 105n, 106–07, 151, 164, 210–11 and n; outside, 100, 102, 106–07 and n, 165, 196–97, 206–09, 235; tenant relations, in Sedaka, 104–05, 136–37, 153–54, 164–69, 189, 193–94, 205–12; UMNO supported by, 54. See also Land rents; Tenancy

  Landowners: large, 15–19, 71, 96, 107, 110, 123–24, 154, 164–66; Sedaka, 95–96, 102, 107, 110, 164, 189; smallholders, 68, 71, 96, 102, 110, 149

  Landownership, 140, 311–12; inequities, 82, 91, 95–98, 311; in Kedah, 14, 16, 18, 62, 64n, 68–70, 82, 311; landgrabbing through indebtedness, 14–17, 64 and n, 96–97, 149, 311; in Sedaka, 91, 95–98, 110, 189

  Land policy, Malaysian, 52, 54, 55

  Land preparation. See Field preparation Land prices, 69, 82, 96–97, 149

  Land rents, 43, 164, 166, 185, 205, 264; cash (sewa tunai) vs. paddy (sewa padi), 72–73, 103–04, 151–54 and n, 242; ceilings, 54, 105; increase in, rationalization and resistance, 205–10, 242; living (negotiable) vs. dead, 104, 151–54; in Muda, 72–73, 105; pajak, 73, 108–10, 164, 166–67, 210; in Sedaka, 103–10, 151–54, 166–67; views of poor vs. rich on, 151–54

  Land tenure: categories of, 70–71; in Muda, 70–74; polarization, 71, 102; in Sedaka, patterns, 98–99, 100–02, 189, 356–57

  Lazim, 93, 109, 127, 157, 168, 209, 251

  Leasehold tenancy (pajak), 73–74, 76, 100, 102, 107–10, 164, 166–69, 210, 242

  Lebai Hussein, 13, 93, 127, 128n, 132n, 197, 206n, 221, 223, 252, 264n

  Lebai Pendek, 94, 109, 114, 144, 161n, 174, 178, 200, 213, 219n, 225, 234, 253, 267; in village politics, 89, 127, 130, 216–17, 218n, 226

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  Lebai Sabrani, 2, 7, 170, 195, 227–28, 231, 232

  Lefebvre, Georges, 270n

  Legitimacy of the inevitable, refuted, 322–24 and n, 330, 334

  Lenin, Vladimir Ilich, 318, 343, 344n

  Leninism, 297, 348

  “Let it be known” (sembunyi tau): negotiations, 207 and n, 250, 258–59, 260; threats, 270

  Lewis, I. M., 289n

  Lewis, Oscar, 138

  Liberality of the rich, 184–85, 189, 212, 306, 308–09; tolong, 192–95, 213, 283. See also Charity; Kenduri; Zakat

  Livestock theft and killing, 265, 266–67, 271–72, 289

  Loans, rice vs. cash, 142–43, 146–47. See also Credit

  Local government, 53; in Sedaka, 130–32, 134, 217–18, 227–28, 231

  Long, Tok, 94, 127, 267, 272, 360

  Ludke, Alf, 296n

  Lukacs, Georg, 349

  Luxemburg, Rosa, 344n, 350

  Maeda, Narifumi, 191

  Mah, Tok, 94, 126n, 206n, 251, 264n

  Mahathir, Mohamed, 220–21

  Mahmud, Tok, 89, 94, 141n, 161n, 164, 177 and n, 229n, 249, 252, 275

  Malays, 63; intraethnic assignment of blame, 168–69, 181; political alignments of, 52–53, 57–58

  Malaysian Plan (third, 1976–80), 57

  Malnutrition, 66n, 67, 180

  Mansur, 11, 89, 92, 132n, 146, 151, 171, 173, 198, 223, 225, 226, 229, 244, 253, 254, 280

  Marcuse, Herbert, 315

  Marginalization of the poor, 76–77, 169, 180–82, 233, 241, 243, 284, 312–14; cultural, 237–40

  Martinez, Pedro, 294

  Marx, Karl, 246, 247, 261, 265n, 308, 315

  Marxism, 38–39, 297, 307n, 315–16, 340–41, 348

  Mass movements, 38, 297, 298 and n, 317–18

  Mat Buyong, 93, 108, 126n, 127, 128n, 166

  Mat “halus,” 11, 16–17, 90, 92, 146, 156, 160, 198, 244, 257, 263; critical of the rich, 142, 175, 177, 196, 230n; gleaning work, 118–19, 257; ignored in RPK aid, 142, 223, 227, 228–29; income, 117

  Mathiesen, Thomas, 340n

  Mat Isa, 94, 157, 173, 196, 229, 230n, 250, 252, 257

  Mat Khir, 93, 145

  Mat Nasir, 93, 166, 169, 198, 229

  Mat Sarif, 92, 132n, 210, 269–70

  Mat Tamin, 130

  Maxwell, W. George, 64n

  Mechanization: impact in Sedaka, 95, 109–10, 111–25, 181, 305; in Muda, 64–65, 74–76, 82. See also Combine-harvesters; Tractors; Trucks and lorries

  Melaka (Malacca, state), 191

  Mengkuang (village), 110n, 164n, 165 and n, 167, 216, 254, 276

  Merbuk (village), 226, 251

  Mexican Revolution, 343–44

  Midon, 92, 175, 270

  Migration, 124–25, 160, 245; seasonal, 64, 67, 110, 125, 246

  Miliband, Ralph, 247n, 315, 317

  Millenarianism, 320n, 332–33, 334, 335n, 336

  Milling, 48, 64, 107; state facilities, 56, 82

  Miriam, 250

  Mohd, Shadli Abdullah, 72n, 74n

  Mokhzani bin Abdul Rahim, 2 In, 188, 196

  Money flow, 162, 194–95

  Moore, Barrington, Jr., 27, 237, 239n, 245, 264n, 322–23 and n, 342–43, 350

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  Moral context of village life, 134–35, 184–85, 199, 234–35

  Mosques, prayer houses, 55, 65, 87, 89, 170

  Motorcycles, 66, 124n, 148, 159, 214, 219, 267

  Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA), 82, 84, 160, 248, 253; political and class character of, 126, 128–30

  Muda Irrigation Project, 55�
��56, map 1 (60), 64–65; consequences of, 64–85; MUDA II, 123n

  Muda region, 59, maps 1–2 (60–61), 63, 180, 313; class conflict, 147–48, 243, 248–55; decline of small pure tenancies, 70–72; farm mechanization in, 64–65, 74–76, 82, 157–58, 181; farm size, 63, 64, 69, 70, 71–72, 76, 82; income, 63, 65, 77–81, 355; population growth, 63, 71. See also Kedah Mudin, Tok, 227

  Mullin, Gerald, 291, 293, 329

  Musa bin Lebai Pendek, 89, 214–15, 216–17

  Mustapha, 93, 118, 168, 222n, 277

  Mutuality, in resistance, 261–65, 290

  Mystification, 39–40, 287, 317, 321, 322–24

  National Front (Barisan Nasional), 53, 57

  “Naturalization” of the inevitable, 322–24

  Nayan, Haji, 167, 176, 188, 209

  Negotiations (sembunyi tau), 207 and n, 250, 258–59, 260

  Neighborhood ties, 43, 106–07, 140

  New Economic Policy, 54

  Nizam bin Haji Lah, 93, 166, 186, 188, 210, 216, 274

  Nor, 4, 15–18, 94, 97, 142, 229n

  Oil palm, 50, 55, 245

  ‘Old Tiennon,’ 284–85

  Omar, Tok, 93, 108, 132n, 198

  Oppression, 186, 327–28. See also Exploitation; Repression

  Oppressor, identification with, 327–28

  Orwell, George, 349, 350

  Osman Haji Ismail, 229n

  Paddy: green in field, selling of, 110n, 162n, 165n; price of, 48, 51, 56, 68, 72, 79–80, 110, 111, 206 and n, 275; theft of, 267–71. See also Rice

  Paddy Marketing Authority (LPN), 86

  Padi Cultivators’ Act, 52, 56n, 105, 165n, 168n

  Pahang (state), 245, 335n

  Paine, Thomas, 347

  Pajak. See Leasehold tenancy Partai Islam (PAS), 53, 58, 183n, 274, 276; in local government coalition, 224 and n; repression of, 274–77; in Sedaka, 126–28, 131–36, 215–16, 218, 223–24, 244n, 274–77; Sedaka members omitted from RPK aid, 130, 131–32, 135, 143–44, 220, 221–23, 226–33, 279, 281

  Parties, political, 52–59, 183n; in Sedaka, 126–28, 131–37, 223–24, 244n-45n

  Past, defining, 178; factual understanding of, 181; idealization of, by the poor, 164, 178–80

  Paternalism, 338, 340

  Patnaik, Utsa, 296

  Patronage, 184–85, 191, 199n; nonpatronizing, 197; political, 58, 191, 221; political, in Sedaka, 12, 126, 128–32, 135–36, 142–44, 220–23, 225–33

  Peasant politics, 295–96

  Peasant resistance, 28–29, 285, 295–301; in Kedah, 62–64, 170n, 246–55; Malay, history of, 62–64, 298. See also Resistance

  Peasant revolution, 28–29, 37, 343–44

  Penang, 48, 124

  Pendang (village), 276

  Perak (state), 245

  Perlis (state), 53, 59, 188, 245

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  Permatang Buluh (village), 254

  Philippines, 41n, 333

  Piece-work, 34, 117–18, 119, 215n, 256, 260

  Pilfering, 29, 32, 266–70, 290–91, 296, 301, 329

  Piven, Frances Fox, 43, 323

  Poaching, 35, 41, 265, 291

  Poland, resistance in, 34, 283n, 294n, 339

  Police, Malaysian, 246, 266, 275–77

  Politics, 52–59, 191, 314; class overtones of, 134–35, 220, 314; in Sedaka, 11–12, 128–37, 180, 215–18, 220, 223–33, 278–81

  Poor, the, 1–13, 22–27, 112–18, 123–25, 140–48, 219–20, 246, 310, 347–48; blame assignment by, to local Malays, 61–62, 168–69, 181–83; dissimulation strategies of, 25, 200–04, 209, 281, 284–85, 287; exclusion from institutions, 83–84, 128, 137, 142, 297; exploitation of, 39, 76–77, 135, 180, 204–12, 243; “get poorer,” 80, 155, 182; “good poor,” 198, 278–81, 312; and government aid pattern, 130, 131, 142–44, 221–23, 226–28, 231–33; loss of gleaning for subsistence, 118–19, 154; loss of tenancy, 100, 102, 108–10, 123–24, 164–69, 210–11, 242; loss of wage work, 9, 76, 112–15, 123, 150, 155–64; marginalization and redundancy, 76–77, 137, 169, 180–82, 233, 236–40, 243, 284, 312–14; past reconstructed by, 164, 178–80, 346; penetration of ideological hegemony by, 318–22, 336, 346; pressure on, for compliance, 276–80; and the rich, see Class relations; rich neighbors’ views of, 144–47, 150, 154, 158–60, 181, 187, 197–98, 201, 236, 278; of rural Malaysia, 51; Sedaka incomes of, 91, 95, 124; and Sedaka landownership, 95–98; 102; and Sedaka land tenure, 101, 108 (see also Tenancy); Sedaka, loss of status and dignity in, 236–40; Sedaka party affiliations, 133, 220; social control over, 34, 152, 169–78, 185, 192–98, 307, 312–13, 345; views on cash rents, 151, 152–54; views on combine-harvester, 116, 155–58, 160–64, 167–68, 242–43, 248–55; views on double-cropping, 148–49, 150–51; views on pajak landlords and rents, 166–67 and n, 168–69. See also Subordinate groups

  Population: ethnic composition, 53; growth statistics, 50; of Muda region, 63, 71, 245; of Sedaka, 100, 102, 351–54

  Poulantzas, Nicos, 247n, 315

  Poverty, 10n, 52, 236–40; cultural and ritual meaning of, 237–40; distribution of, 53; government programs to relieve, 51, 52n, 54–55, 221–22; and justice, 27, 237; in Kedah/Muda, 63, 64 and n, 71, 81–82; recent reduction of, 55. See also Poor, the

  Poverty-level income, 9, 51–52, 81 and n, 82, 91

  Power relations, 22–27, 193–94, 286 and n, 287–89; euphemization in, 306–08

  Pragmatic resignation, 324–27, 334

  Precolonial Malaya, 48, 59, 62, 298

  Primary school, Sedaka, 131, 136

  Production relations, 76, 212, 255, 305–09, 346; changes in, 76–77, 110–24, 162, 167–68, 180–83, 235, 243, 265; growing irrelevancy of poor to, 76–77, 169, 233, 241, 284, 312–14; major issues of, 305, 308, 345, 346

  Profit motive, 184–85, 225, 234–36; cases of ignoring, 192, 234

  Proletarianization, 124, 241; of countryside, 68, 182

  Property relations, 140; euphemization of, 306–09; social use of private property, 308, 311–12. See also Landownership

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  Property rights, 49, 234, 237; contested, 265

  Public works programs, 129–30

  Puteh, Cik, 6, 93

  Race, issues of, 134, 218, 334

  Radzi, Tok, 92, 223

  Rasid, Haji, 13, 16

  Razak, 1–13, 17, 18, 22–26, 89, 92, 132n, 145–46, 151, 168, 175, 177, 193, 198, 211, 271

  Reaping of paddy, 74, 75, 119; wages for, 119, 258–60

  Reddy, William M., 299n

  Red Sash Society, 334

  Reformism, 318, 341–44

  Religion, 43, 320n, 334; millenarianism, 320n, 332–33; and politics, 58–59, 134

  Religious Affairs Office, 169, 171, 274

  Religious feasts. See Feasts

  Rents. See Land rents Repression (coercion), 40, 246, 274, 317; and consent, 278 and n; extremes of, 286–87, 327–28; fear of, 246, 274–77, 304, 336; nature of resistance determined by institutions and level of, 299; “routine,” 274–78

  Reputation, politics of, 17, 24–26, 185, 198, 228–30, 234–36, 240, 262–63, 282, 284, 288, 290

  Resettlement schemes, 55, 124–25, 131, 245

  Resistance, 28–37, 204, 239–40, 284–85, 304, 329; anonymous forms of, 36–37, 242, 248, 250, 266–72, 273, 277–78, 282–89, 297; collective, 248–65, 273, 292, 295, 297–99; consequence of, as criterion, 291–92, 293–95, 301; definitions of, 289–303; everyday forms of, 29–30, 31–34, 35–37, 240, 265–73, 290–92, 302–03; in form of argument, 233–34, 239, 241; ideological, 234–40, 297, 304–05, 347; individual, 265–72, 273, 292, 293–97, 299–303; intention as criterion for, 290–92, 295, 301; nature of determined by form of labor control, 34; nature of determined by institutions and level of repression, 299; open, obstacles to, 242–48, 273; passive, 31–34; personalization of, 347–48; political vs. prepolitical, 290–92; real vs. token/incidental, 292; response of state to, 36, 274–76; “routine,” 255–73, 281–82, 321; Sedaka, to combineharvester, 116, 154–64, 242–43, 246, 24
8–55; Sedaka issues, 308, 309, 345, 348; in Sedaka and Kedah, 62–64, 242–73, 275–77, 348; Sedaka, to trucking, 212–19, 248; selfindulgent vs. principled, 290–91, 292, 293–97; symbolic, 235–36, 240, 282–83, 290, 328

  Revolution, 293–94, 316, 317–18, 340–45, 350; peasant, 28–29, 37, 343–44

  Rice: new strains, 55, 64–65, 115; prices, 48, 51, 56, 68, 72, 79–80, 110, 111, 206 and n, 275; production costs, 110, 111, 115n, 155–56; production increase, 55, 65, 66, 110, 156; sufficiency (Malaysia), 148–49, 313. See also Paddy Rice cultivation, 51 and n, 55–56, 74; before double-cropping, 306–07; in Kedah, 63, 64–65; lodging of plants, 118, 164, 258, 260; monoculture, 64, 90; in Sedaka, 110–25. See also Field preparation; Harvesting; Mechanization; Reaping of paddy; Threshing of paddy; Transplanting of paddy Rice policy, Malaysian, 52, 55–56

  Rich, the, 13–27, 137, 140–41, 144–48, 310; access to institutions, 126–30, 132, 135–37; dependence on state, 312–13; dissimulation strategies of, 199–204, 206–12; excuses for stinginess, 174–75; “get richer,” 80, 155, 182; government aid abused by, 130, 131–32, 144, 222–23, 226–28, 231–33; ideological position of, 310–14; justification of conduct, 184, 199, [Page 386] 204–12, 231–33, 236, 312 and n, 313; landownership, 15–19, 107, 181; as land tenants in Sedaka, 108, 109–10, 123, 165–69; misers, 14–15, 20, 151, 173–74, 176–78, 187–89, 195, 308; overstatement of charity by, 203n; and the poor, see Class relations; poor neighbors’ views of, 141–44, 146–47, 151, 153–54, 156–58, 160–62, 1,65-69, 173–74, 176–78, 181, 187–89, 195–98, 200–01, 308; rich renting to the rich, 167–68; Sedaka incomes, 91, 95, 124; Sedaka landownership, 95–98; social authority of, 235, 283, 311–12 and n; views on cash rents, 152, 154; views on combine-harvester, 155–60; views on double-cropping, 148–50; views on pajak system, 167. See also Elite

  Rituals of status reversal, 287n, 331

  Ritual ties and status, 43, 169, 172, 180, 237 and n, 238–40. See also Feasts

  Roads, 54, 65–66, 253; Sedaka, 223

  Rokiah, 2–3, 4, 89–90, 108, 158, 160 and n, 161, 167n, 168, 173, 176, 188, 198, 222–23, 225, 263–64, 271, 281; as share group leader, 89, 250 and n, 254

  Rosni, 89–90, 93, 117, 158, 171, 188, 198, 201, 206–08, 212, 228, 229n; as share group leader, 89, 250 and n, 252–53, 258, 259