Malaysian Science Fiction in the Mahathir Era (1981-2003): From “Knowledge Society” to “Lingkungan Teknikal” (Technoenvironments)?

Abstract During the first, long tenure of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minster of Malaysia (1981-2003), the country embarked on a long-term strategy to achieve the status of a highly developed nation. This “Vision 2020” ( Wawasan 2020 ) placed high-technology, especially Information and Computer Technology (ICT) at the centre of the country’s transformation, in line with the notions of “Knowledge Society” and “Knowledge Economy.” Within the political framework of that period, the government discourse was propagated through government agencies and institutions, including schools, universities, and the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), as well as by the media controlled by or in sympathy of the government. Positive visions of high technology in the future Malaysia were soon to be found in many publications, including in the now booming genre of science fiction for the youth. This article examines several of these textual scientific and technical imaginaries, including the novel Panrita by Arena Wati (1993), as well as popular science fiction novels and short stories. It is found that often the plot centres on the notion of a journey. The youth novels mostly depict a concrete trip to planets and galaxies far away, while in one case, a time-machine brings the juvenile heroes to an early 20 th century Malay anti-colonial struggle against the British. In these journeys, the utopian vehicles symbolise Malay/Malaysian agency and competence in science and high technology, being at par with other developed nations. In the award-winning novel Panrita , the voyage through these new Technoenvironments also encompasses a deep spiritual and religious meaning within Malaysian Islam. Given the great political emphasis on Malay language and culture in this period, de-centring away from the Anglosphere, the question is raised whether in the Malaysian case the English term should be localised, e.g. by the Malay term “lingkungan teknikal”, building on previous theoretical contributions in Malay, including that of Sohaimi Abdul Aziz (2013) on “teknoteks” (technotext).