This article shares the results of a survey of over 1,000 Muslim Malaysians in peninsular Malaysia. The objective of the survey was to get Muslims themselves, instead of those who speak on their behalf, to define their identity, issues and concerns.

It is a fact of life that even in exemplary democracies, elites or those in leadership roles speak on behalf of the citizenry. Whether from the government or civil society, or either side of the political divide, speaking on behalf of people in terms such as 'Malaysians should...', 'women need...', 'Muslims want...', are often based on assumptions and generalisations about what ordinary people think, want, and need.

However, assumptions are also simply presumptions based on conversations or one's personal observation, without a method to gauge proportions or intensity of such needs and wants. These assumptions can then be described as an appropriation of the voice of those on whose behalf one speaks.