The Myth of the Lazy Native : A Study of the Image of the Malays, Filipinos and Javanese from the 16th to the 20th Century and Its Function in the Ideology of Colonial Capitalism

The Myth of the Lazy Native is Syed Hussein Alatas’ widely acknowledged critique of the colonial construction of Malay, Filipino and Javanese natives from the 16^th to the 20^th century. Drawing on the work of Karl Mannheim and the sociology of knowledge, Alatas analyses the origins and functions of such myths in the creation and reinforcement of colonial ideology and capitalism.

The book constitutes in his own words: ‘an effort to correct a one-sided colonial view of the Asian native and his society’ and will be of interest to students and scholars of colonialism, post-colonialism, sociology and South East Asian Studies.

Syed Hussein Alatas' last position was Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization, National University of Malaysia. He obtained his doctorate in the political and social sciences from the University of Amsterdam. He had served as Professor and Head of the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore from 1967 before taking up the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya from 1988 to 1991. He is the author of several books, including Intellectuals in Developing Societies (London: Frank Cass, 1977), Corruption: Its Nature, Causes and Functions (Aldershot: Gower, 1990) and Corruption and the Destiny of Asia (Petaling Jaya: Prentice Hall, 1999), and many articles in scientific journals. He was awarded the Woodrow Wilson International Center fellowship in Washington D.C. in 1982-1983. Prof. Alatas passed away on January 23rd 2007 at his home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.