Investigating intercultural communication across ethnic diversity: a preliminary study at University Malaysia Terengganu

Abstract

The Malaysian context is diverse in that there are three main ethnic and religious groups: Muslim Malay, Chinese Buddhist and Indian Hindus. These ethnic and religious groups are reflected in the staff composition at the University Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), a university on the East Coast of Malaysia. The site has been selected because, given the ethnic mix, there is potential for intercultural communication problems to surface among the staff which includes the three ethnic groups. The objective is to ascertain whether these communication patterns generate problems and conflict which may, in turn, affect the university's productivity.