Examining Malaysian youth’s responses to wokeness through the lens of Tang Ping (躺平): a textual analysis of selected short stories by Malaysian university students

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Youth plays a crucial role in shaping Malaysia's future, yet their identities are increasingly moulded by digital globalisation that transcends physical borders. This study investigates how Malaysian youth navigate the influx of foreign ideologies, specifically Western ‘Wokeness’ and the Eastern ‘Tang Ping’ (lying flat) movement, primarily through engagement with global social media and cross-border digital discourse. By examining eight winning short stories from a university-level competition themed Redefining Wokeness through the Malaysian Lens, the research identifies how these ideologies are filtered through a specific local socio-cultural sieve rather than being adopted wholesale. The analysis reveals that when wokeness is recontextualised within the Malaysian framework of social harmony, it loses its characteristic Western aggression and becomes less confrontational. Drawing upon Michel de Certeau’s theory of tactics, the study argues that Malaysian youth employ ‘tactics’ of improvisation, subversion and reappropriation to navigate these global forces. This research is significant for highlighting how globalisation, mediated through digital consumption, is actively reshaped by youth to preserve local values of harmony and non-aggression. It also emphasises writing as a crucial platform not only to understand Malaysian youth more deeply, but also as an outlet of expression.