Social Issues and Identity Threat of the Sikh Minority Community in Malaysia

This paper attempts to present the social issues and fading identity problem faced by the Sikh community in Malaysia. Past studies show that there are no significant researches done specifically to identify the negative elements of the community issues. Several studies done mainly focussing the Sikh identity and language issues without relating to the social problems faced by the minority community. Through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) three main issues were identified. The issues of language fading, identity threat and mix marriages are found to be the major problems faced by the Sikh community in Malaysia. Thus, the findings of this study hoped to unveil the real problems of the minority community and would be addressed by the Sikh religious institutions and organizations. The Sikh organizations must also engage with the government agencies as equal partners to eradicate the social problems. The outcome shows that the Punjabi language is on the threat as dominated by other major languages namely English and Malay.