Preamble
History is not a set of facts, but what someone chose to tell for a specific purpose.
Established in 2016, Imagined Malaysia (IM) is an alternative history organization. We are composed of history enthusiasts who are mainly Malaysian by citizenship, but transnational in historical imaginings and in practice. We espouse critical and collaborative histories that engage with the urgencies of the local and global present.
The following goals shape our initiatives:
1. Empowering the Public as Producers of History
Knowledge of the public should be accountable to the public. Imagined Malaysia thinks with the public, not for or about them. We cultivate interest, agency, and space among ordinary people to reimagine their pasts, present and futures through alternative materials, tools, and frameworks. We keep most, if not all of our events free of charge to eliminate barriers to public participation. We see the public not as a passive recipient of historical narratives, but as an active participant in their creation. As such, we resist taking up labels of expertise while acknowledging the limits of this resistance. Professional historians alone cannot write the histories of Malaysia and Southeast Asia; the public should be the contributor, if not the author.
2. Pluralizing Official Narratives
We demystify and democratize the practice of writing history. Imagined Malaysia stands behind the notion that history cannot be solely produced by states and privileged institutions, especially in the Global North. Ethnonationalist and masculinist histories also distort a rich past of transregional communities and obscure the solidarity amongst them. Imagined Malaysia breaks free of national boundaries both in method and in analysis, investing in intellectual and institutional alliances across nations and sociopolitical identifications. Imagined Malaysia strives towards reclaiming a multivocal history that is relevant and important for the public, while retaining all its complexities.
3. Bridging Academia and the Public
We see historical knowledge as a collaborative endeavour between academia and civil society. The intellectual and the political are mutually constitutive; diffusing knowledge is central to making knowledge. We refuse either isolating the public from historiographical questions and debates or disengaging with experts based on haphazard accusations of intellectual elitism. Rather, we aspire to simultaneously cultivate historically informed thinkers among the public, while also encouraging professional historians to confront the political and ethical stakes of their craft. Imagined Malaysia wants to serve as a platform that promotes critical dialogue between research and pedagogy, the university and the world beyond it. This is where historical and historiographical literacy intertwine. Imagined Malaysia aims to produce historical knowledge that is critical, embodied, and provisional.
4. Fostering Inclusion and Equity
We firmly denounce discrimination on lines of race, religion, class, sex, sexuality, gender, age, and disability. But we also acknowledge that these forms of injustices play out differently across historical, geographical and political locations. As such, we engage in dialogic processes of knowledge production and dissemination with the public, while also continuously renewing our understandings on the current plight of marginalized communities. It is in this spirit of self-reflection that we promote history as a tool for dialogue, agency, and sociopolitical justice.
5. Innovating Historiographical Methods
A rigorous and ambitious retelling of the past necessitates methods that are equally rigorous and ambitious. We want to radically reshape approaches to voice, authorship, and representation in history. Over the years, Imagined Malaysia’s diverse approaches to engaging history—participatory research, capacity-building workshops, advocacy campaigns, heritage conservation initiatives, public forums, exhibitions and creative performances—have laid the groundwork to rethink conventional historiographical practices and methods, especially for studying Malaysia and Southeast Asia. We aim to stimulate local and international researchers to think more capaciously about their projects and the ethical contributions to the region.
Conclusion
Imagined Malaysia aspires to become the foremost point of reference in doing transregional history as public history. We see our endeavours as contributing towards making history a public practice in Malaysia, Southeast Asia and beyond. Through our continuing efforts at public education and historical research, we hope to promote constructive dialogue between academia and lay publics, producing histories that are collaborative, inclusive, and generative.
After all, history can only be rewritten with your voice.
Share your story with us.