IDENTITY NEGOTIATION MECHANISM IN A MULTICULTURAL FIELD: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS BASED ON THE CULTURAL PRACTICE OF CHINESE IN MALAYSIA

In this work, the author finds out the way Chinese Malaysians manage their ethnic identity in the multicultural Malaysian society in terms of cultural practices and the strategies of intercultural communication. The study is a quantitative approach with analysis based on SPSS that focuses on the effects on the participation in rituals, festivals, and multilingual practices on the development of communication style and identity. The results indicate that Indirect communication is highly practiced particularly in the city or metropolitan of Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang, whereby the cultural diversity fosters subdued flexible interactions to preserve peace and identity. The urban life increases the multicultural engagements and therefore, indirect communication becomes important in ensuring a nationwide social cohesiveness besides testing the cultures to change and redefine their identity. The integrative strategies promote the bicultural competence and advance the ethnic identity, whereas the assimilation ones are linked to its diminishment. The results highlight the protective role of indirect discourse and inclusive cultural practices in managing identity in urban multicultural contexts. This study offers a foundation for future research on identity negotiation in diverse societies.