This innovative book is a pioneering study of political debate in an important Southeast Asian society. It re-examines the formative period in Malay nationalism and argues against using nationalism as the paradigm of analysis. By interrogating key Malay texts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Anthony Milner shows how contested and problematic the sphere of nationalism was. Central to the book is the notion of politics and it explores the development of political discourse in Malaysia. By stressing the emerging tension in Malay political thinking between monarchy, religion and nationalism, the author provides an essential introduction to the politics and society of modern Malaysia.