There is one version about the Hang Tuah group which says they were Chinese
martial arts exponents sent by Emperor Yung Lu of Ming China to accompany
his daughter to Melaka to become the bride of Sultan Mansur Shah.

The name of this princess was HANG Li Po. It is said that her five
bodyguards carried the same surname, hence:

HANG Tu Ah --  HANG Je Bat -- HANG Lee Kew --  HANG Lee Kir -- HANG Kasturi
(perhaps of Indian origin with Chinese permanent residence!)

Mind-blowin' stuff, eh !!???!!



----- Original Message -----
From: "fakhruddin" <famoy@...>
To: <Sejarah-Melayu@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 11:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Sejarah Melayu] Internet Poll: Who was right,Hang Tuah or Hang
Jebat?


> I like the last remark by Hang Tuah before he dismissed Jebat.. " I did
this
> in the name of unity".. how succintly put and how appriopriately could be
> applied to today situation. Also this will auger well with the legend
saying
> " takkan Melayu hilang di dunia".. sacrifice in the name of unity seems
the
> hall mark of Malay tradition and by doing so it could gurrantee the
survival
> of Malays.. is it?
>
> Am also intrigued when I read thru the Hikayat Hang Tuah where the
comments
> by other three legendary fighters that make up the 5- fearsome team namely
> Lekiu etc .. are not detailed enough to reflect what transpired in the
name
> of comradeship..
>
> Also I wonder futher whether there is any writting about the rise and fall
> of Malacca Empire which detailed out how Parameswara able to build up
> Malacca from small port to such magnitude that even European power feared!
> I just wonder is it due to luck or Parameswara having such visionary ideas
> and prowess to do so. Maybe then we could relook the strategy of this
person
> and could use to this modern times!
>
> rgds
> Fakhruddin
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Sabri Zain <sabrizain@...>
> To: <Sejarah-Melayu@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 9:31 AM
> Subject: [Sejarah Melayu] Internet Poll: Who was right, Hang Tuah or Hang
> Jebat?
>
>
> > Further to my earlier posting about the Jebat legend, it is interesting
> > to note that there is some evidence that, in modern times certainly, a
> > majority of people seem to side with Jebat rather than the more
> > conservative, politically-correct Tuah world view of unquestioning
> > loyalty to Sultan and Sultanate (there must be a contemporary sociology
> > PhD thesis in this somewhere!)
> >
> > In my website page on the Hang Tuah-Hang Jebat legend, I'd incorporated,
> > at the end of it, an online poll that asked the question: "Who do you
> > think was right - Hang Tuah or Hang Jebat?"
> >
> > Users were given the option of clicking on one of four possible
> > responses-
> >
> > 1. Hang Tuah
> > 2. Hang Jebat
> > 3. Both were wrong, in their own ways
> > 4. Both were right, in their own ways
> >
> > Of 2,439 respondents so far, 39% were squarely in support of Hang Jebat
> > and 22% for Hang Tuah. 23% said they were both right (in their own ways)
> > and 17% said they were both wrong.
> >
> > I must add, though, that there may have one major factor in recent times
> > that could have skewed the above results somewhat. From my observation,
> > a large number of responses appear to have been made in the months of
> > political upheavals in Malaysia following the sacking and jailing of
> > former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998.
> >
> > So, who do YOU think was right? Now's your chance to have a say in this
> > centuries-old debate! Just go to
> > http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/melaka2.htm
> >
> >
> > /\__/\
> >   o  o
> > ={_!_}=
> >
> > Sabri Zain
> >
> > "For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
> > - Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
> >
> > Join the Sejarah-Melayu E-mail Discussion List
> > To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to
> > Sejarah-Melayu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> >
> > Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
> > 'Promoting a greater awareness, interest and study of the history of the
> Malay Peninsula'
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>
>
>
> Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
> 'Promoting a greater awareness, interest and study of the history of the
Malay Peninsula'
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

I like the last remark by Hang Tuah before he dismissed Jebat.. " I did this
in the name of unity".. how succintly put and how appriopriately could be
applied to today situation. Also this will auger well with the legend saying
" takkan Melayu hilang di dunia".. sacrifice in the name of unity seems the
hall mark of Malay tradition and by doing so it could gurrantee the survival
of Malays.. is it?

Am also intrigued when I read thru the Hikayat Hang Tuah where the comments
by other three legendary fighters that make up the 5- fearsome team namely
Lekiu etc .. are not detailed enough to reflect what transpired in the name
of comradeship..

Also I wonder futher whether there is any writting about the rise and fall
of Malacca Empire which detailed out how Parameswara able to build up
Malacca from small port to such magnitude that even European power feared!
I just wonder is it due to luck or Parameswara having such visionary ideas
and prowess to do so. Maybe then we could relook the strategy of this person
and could use to this modern times!

rgds
Fakhruddin
----- Original Message -----
From: Sabri Zain <sabrizain@...>
To: <Sejarah-Melayu@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 9:31 AM
Subject: [Sejarah Melayu] Internet Poll: Who was right, Hang Tuah or Hang
Jebat?


> Further to my earlier posting about the Jebat legend, it is interesting
> to note that there is some evidence that, in modern times certainly, a
> majority of people seem to side with Jebat rather than the more
> conservative, politically-correct Tuah world view of unquestioning
> loyalty to Sultan and Sultanate (there must be a contemporary sociology
> PhD thesis in this somewhere!)
>
> In my website page on the Hang Tuah-Hang Jebat legend, I'd incorporated,
> at the end of it, an online poll that asked the question: "Who do you
> think was right - Hang Tuah or Hang Jebat?"
>
> Users were given the option of clicking on one of four possible
> responses-
>
> 1. Hang Tuah
> 2. Hang Jebat
> 3. Both were wrong, in their own ways
> 4. Both were right, in their own ways
>
> Of 2,439 respondents so far, 39% were squarely in support of Hang Jebat
> and 22% for Hang Tuah. 23% said they were both right (in their own ways)
> and 17% said they were both wrong.
>
> I must add, though, that there may have one major factor in recent times
> that could have skewed the above results somewhat. From my observation,
> a large number of responses appear to have been made in the months of
> political upheavals in Malaysia following the sacking and jailing of
> former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998.
>
> So, who do YOU think was right? Now's your chance to have a say in this
> centuries-old debate! Just go to
> http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/melaka2.htm
>
>
> /\__/\
>   o  o
> ={_!_}=
>
> Sabri Zain
>
> "For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
> - Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
>
> Join the Sejarah-Melayu E-mail Discussion List
> To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to
> Sejarah-Melayu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
> Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
> 'Promoting a greater awareness, interest and study of the history of the
Malay Peninsula'
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Hello there,
thanks for the idea of this newsgroup and the many interesting documents
which have been already circulated.

This article on the rethinking of Jebat is particularly interesting. I
would like to have a point clarified though about the handing over of the
Kris Tamingsari to Jebat. I guess  that it was taken from Hang Tua after his
alleged death. Did the keris belonged to Hang Tua or was its ownership a
prerogative of the title of Ketua Panglima? Obviously Jebat is a much more
complex and modern character which better fits the contemporary perception
of things, hence the results of your survey I suppose. To me both of them
show a
superb resolve in accepting one owns fate. If anything Jebat does so with
grandeur and detachment since he eventually prefer to give his life rather
than
kill his best friend.  What if they were both right and wrong at the same
time? It is indeed a complex issue mixing personal dilemma and political
manipulation, certainly a very modern topic!

I also have a question on the origin of the name Melayu itself. From the
little bit I know,
it is plainly related to the rise of Malacca. What is the current academic
position
on the origin of the name so far?
I am currently working on some research on Pulau Bintan and accessing  some
very
interesting oral history sources which could cast a new light on a few
aspects of the early legends of the Sejara Melayu. This could contribute
a few interesting things ( most probably controversial to some Malaysian
academics)
to this news group.  Will keep in touch with you on that subject if you
think it relevant.

Looking forward to your reply and best regards.

gilles

Further to my earlier posting about the Jebat legend, it is interesting
to note that there is some evidence that, in modern times certainly, a
majority of people seem to side with Jebat rather than the more
conservative, politically-correct Tuah world view of unquestioning
loyalty to Sultan and Sultanate (there must be a contemporary sociology
PhD thesis in this somewhere!)

In my website page on the Hang Tuah-Hang Jebat legend, I'd incorporated,
at the end of it, an online poll that asked the question: "Who do you
think was right - Hang Tuah or Hang Jebat?"

Users were given the option of clicking on one of four possible
responses-

1. Hang Tuah
2. Hang Jebat
3. Both were wrong, in their own ways
4. Both were right, in their own ways

Of 2,439 respondents so far, 39% were squarely in support of Hang Jebat
and 22% for Hang Tuah. 23% said they were both right (in their own ways)
and 17% said they were both wrong.

I must add, though, that there may have one major factor in recent times
that could have skewed the above results somewhat. From my observation,
a large number of responses appear to have been made in the months of
political upheavals in Malaysia following the sacking and jailing of
former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998.

So, who do YOU think was right? Now's your chance to have a say in this
centuries-old debate! Just go to
http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/melaka2.htm


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

Join the Sejarah-Melayu E-mail Discussion List
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to
Sejarah-Melayu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

From a 1998 article by AHMAD FAIZ ABDUL RAHMAN in the newspaper Harakah
http://www.jaring.my/pas/harakah/a19981123/1031b3e12.html

Revisionist reading of a Malay legend

Rethinking Jebat

As centuries pass, folk-heroes, be they Robinhood, Zorro or our very own
Hang Tuah tend to become larger than life. Their imperfections are
conveniently forgotten or glossed over and their deeds are made to be
more grand sounding than what could have actually transpired. AHMAD FAIZ
ABDUL RAHMAN cannot help but wonder why Malaysians, especially Malays,
look to Hang Tuah as a legendary hero. There is more to the legend of
Hang Tuah than what Malaysians have all been led to believe, he writes.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Almost every culture has folk-heroes. They would champion the plight of
the weak against a tyrant ruler or the forces of tyranny. From Robinhood
to Zorro, such people remain as legendary figures of justice and
righteousness who would inspire many more people onto similar paths of
selflessness.

According to legend, Robin of the Hood was of noble descent who would
return to the people what the rich landlords and barons had taken
unjustifiably from the peasantry. "Stealing from the rich to give to the
poor," as the saying went.

And who could forget Zorro. He was a gentleman, a Spanish Don who took
pity on the Mexican peasantry who were continually exploited and
oppressed by the Spaniards. As legend has it, he would appear just in
the nick of time, in his famous black attire and with his face hidden
behind a black mask, to save Mexican peasants from almost certain doom.

Of course, one must take into account that as centuries pass, such
folk-heroes tend to become larger than life. Their imperfections are
conveniently forgotten or glossed over and their deeds are made to be
more grand sounding than what could have actually transpired. Still, the
fact that they fought generally on the side of the weak and oppressed
remains unchanged.

Indeed, that is what heroes are made of - their willingness to fight on
the side of the weak so as to tip the balance in favour of the
oppressed.

Thus one cannot help but wonder why Malaysians, especially Malays, look
to Hang Tuah as a legendary hero? Was it not fundamental in his
character to obey his master without question? If so, how can there be
any considerations for fighting on the side of truth and justice because
of his unthinking nature?

Perhaps it is not fair to pass judgement on Hang Tuah, especially when
he has been dead for nearly five centuries now (albeit legend has it
that Hang Tuah is still alive and well). And legendary heroes being what
they are, they tend to become larger than life.

Thus what needs to be analysed is not just the man as he has been made
out to be by soothsayers and storytellers throughout generations but
also Hang Tuah as he could have originally been (albeit only Allah knows
the true worth of the man). At the very least, it would shed new light
on other legendary characters associated with him.

According to the legend of Hang Tuah as popularly recounted, ultimate
evil lies in Jebat (Tuah's best friend turned arch rival) regardless of
what the tyrant Raja had done to his most loyal servant, Tuah. Although
the Raja was wrong to believe in the slanders (fitnah) of those who were
jealous of Tuah, Jebat was wrong in avenging the supposed death of Tuah
by revolting against their common master, the tyrant Raja.

Notice that nowhere in the legend is there any mention of the common
people, except that when Jebat went amok it is said that he killed
people indiscriminately.

And the only reason why he was powerful enough to mount a revolt was
because of a magical Malay dagger (keris) called keris Tamingsari which
made him invincible (kebal).

Jebat was also said to have made the Raja's concubines (gundek-gundek)
into his own after successfully unseating the Raja from his throne. And
for what seemed like days on ends, Jebat did what he pleased at the
royal palace until he was finally deposed by Hang Tuah.

Again no mention is made of the common people. For many, the reason for
this may be all too obvious - the legend of Hang Tuah has been concocted
and perpetuated by the royal or "noble" class or, rather, caste. They
would tell the story in a way that would safeguard their interests
regardless of truth and justice.

For that matter, Tuah may have actually been the loyal and unquestioning
servant who cared for nothing other than the pleasure of his master. And
maybe the common people were indeed insignificant because of the culture
of total obedience to the Raja which prevailed during those times. But
even so, the fact that the tale has been proudly recounted to
generations of Malays who are also Muslims is truly amazing.

How can generation upon generation of Muslims who are guided by the
teachings of Islam on justice for all, regardless of kith or kin, be
they rich or poor, accept such a twisted tale without question, let
alone be proud of it? And amazingly, Islam for the Malays reaches all
the way back to Parameswara, the founder of Melaka in the early period
of the 15th century.

Perhaps there is more to the legend of Hang Tuah than what Malaysians
have all been led to believe; or at the very least, the legend itself
calls for revisionist thinking. That is to say, the legend desperately
needs reinterpretation but in a way that would not alter the content of
the legend too much whilst ensuring that its focus is shifted to
something more tenable or real.

Recall that it was Jebat and only Jebat who began the rebellion. He did
what was unthinkable during those times because it was simply the right
thing to do. "Justice has been done," claimed the Raja when Tuah was put
to death for disloyalty (durhaka). To Jebat, however, justice had yet to
be seen to be done.

Nonetheless open rebellion was not a matter to be taken lightly.
Otherwise, during his appointment as the new Captain General (Ketua
Panglima), Jebat would have used the opportunity of having the keris
Tamingsari handed over to him by the Raja to immediately thrust it into
the Raja's heart. Soon enough, however, Jebat's hesitation on the matter
would be put to rest.

After the supposed demise of Tuah, the evil conspirators in the Raja's
court took every opportunity to poison the Raja's mind against Jebat
with the same accusations they had made against Tuah. They began by
pointing out that unquestioning obedience was never really Jebat's
strong point. Of course, he did exhibit some sense of loyalty to the
Raja but, unlike Tuah, Jebat would almost always seek to reason out his
master's orders before carrying them out.

Indeed, this was perhaps why the Raja tended to prefer Tuah over him.
And seeing how Jebat has become somewhat disturbed by the execution of
Tuah, these conspirators used his lack of attentiveness in the daily
affairs of the Raja's court as a sign that Jebat was now questioning the
Raja himself.

Interestingly enough, had Jebat been a schemer, the corrupting influence
of power - what with the keris Tamingsari safely in his hands - would
have caused all those ignoble souls in the Raja's court to side with him
in his upcoming revolt. Jebat's "ascension" to the throne would have
seen wave after wave of purges in the ranks of the nobles, especially
the direct descendants of the Raja, save those who conspire with Jebat.
However, all this did not happen because Jebat would have no part in it
and the conspirators knew it.

So the day finally came when the Raja confronted Jebat. Jebat explained
that he cannot but question the Raja's wisdom, firstly in executing Tuah
based on false accusations and secondly in continuing to seek the
counsel of those who conspired against Tuah. That marked the beginning
of Jebat's open rebellion.

As legend has it, a spectacular fight ensued between Jebat and the royal
guards who tried to cease him. Whether it was the keris Tamingsari or
Jebat's own silat skills that saved him, Jebat prevailed.

The Raja managed to escape to safety. And for what seemed like days on
ends, Jebat ruled the palace and its grounds - the seat of the Melaka
empire.

Many of the nobles who sympathised with Jebat were too afraid to come to
his aid and those that did found members of their family either murdered
or held to ransom and their property destroyed. Jebat's own family and
relatives had gone into hiding. Some of them managed to emigrate to
other lands in safety while others were not so fortunate.

And at one stage, all that was left of Jebat's supporters were the few
who had nothing else to lose and the Raja's many, many concubines who
stayed not because of any threat of violence held out against them by
Jebat and his men but out of their own choice.

Soon enough though, as word of Jebat's rebellion traveled through the
land, his following began to grow. It even prompted small pockets of
rebellion against minor overlords that the people perceived to be
tyrannical.

In fact, had Tuah not reappeared from hiding, the situation would have
degenerated into an outright civil war. Tuah's reappearance gave pause
to the small pockets of fighting throughout the land. The people were
eager to know on which side Tuah was fighting. Unfortunately, to the
chagrin of those who saw justice in Jebat's cause, they found out that
Tuah was on the side of the Raja.

The Raja had struck a deal with Tuah - in exchange for a full pardon,
Tuah was to heal the land. Tuah agreed.

At first, Jebat could not believe what he was hearing. He would dismiss
rumours of Tuah's return from the dead as the common people's wish for a
miracle. When the rumours refused to subside, Jebat reasoned that it
could only have been an imposter, one he could easily expose when the
time came.

What a shock it was for Jebat when it was indeed Tuah who appeared at
the palace gates. And by Tuah's side was the Datuk Bendahara who was
eager to confirm the fact that the former Captain General did not die
but was hidden by him without the Raja's knowledge.

Tuah was duly invited up to the palace by Jebat and when they met at the
palace steps, they were both so overcome by emotions that for a while
neither could speak. After all, words were not really important
especially when they both knew why Tuah was here at the Royal Palace.

For the first time since Tuah's fall from grace, Jebat shed a tear for
his friend and for himself. All that Jebat did was for justice and the
love for his best friend, and now that same person has come to repay him
by killing him.

"When do we begin?" was the first words spoken by Jebat. "Whenever you
are ready," replied Tuah. They were both superb martial arts exponents.
So legend would have it that their duel lasted for days. And in between
fights they would rest and pray. They even had the opportunity to
reminisce old times.

All the while though, Jebat was trying to gauge his best friend's
determination as well as reassess the man's character. And the longer
the fight lasted the more disillusioned Jebat became, especially when
their time together seemed to have done nothing to change Tuah's resolve
in wanting to kill him.

Indeed, this did not surprise Jebat since it had always been Tuah's
nature to carry out the Raja's orders to the very end. Jebat's utter
disillusionment, however, caused his anger to overwhelm him.

Jebat's sudden burst of anger fueled his fighting pace so drastically
that it caught Tuah off guard giving Jebat the opening he needed to
thrust the keris Tamingsari through Tuah's lower abdomen. But to Tuah's
surprise, Jebat did not take it. They both knew that fatal blow would
have put an end to their duel once and for all.

Dumbfounded, Tuah did not move or attempt to belatedly counter what
would have been Jebat's victory blow. And as abruptly as the duel
started, it ended with Jebat slowly getting up from his low attack
stance.

"I cannot bring myself to kill you... even when I have lost control of
my anger... totally," said Jebat between breaths. "The outcome... is
decided." Slowly, Jebat sat in mid-prayer position and laid the keris
Tamingsari on the wooden floor in front of him. After a long pause,
Jebat said, "Fulfil the wish of our master."

Without the slightest hesitation, Tuah thrust his keris into Jebat's
left breast but he did not drive it right through Jebat's back. And
before retrieving the keris, Tuah uttered softly in Jebat's left ear,
"Forgive me, my brother. The people must stand united. It is for the
good of the nation." Tuah then quickly retracted his keris.

By then Jebat had felt no pain. Tuah's poison laced keris had put him in
a state of unconsciousness almost as soon as Tuah's last words were
uttered. And Jebat would have died soon after had Tuah not applied an
antidote which he carried secretly in a pouch hidden in his belt.

After applying the antidote, with a heavy heart, Tuah picked up the
keris Tamingsari and sheathed it in his belt in place of his own keris.
He then lifted Jebat's limp body in his arms, brought Jebat outside and
slowly laid him on the palace's front lawn.

Upon seeing Tuah, the Raja's supporters began cheering over and over,
"Hidup Hang Tuah! Daulat Tuanku!" (Long live Hang Tuah! Mighty is the
Raja!) They even rushed onto the palace grounds to confront the remnants
of Jebat's supporters. But Tuah called them to a halt by drawing the
keris Tamingsari in a threatening manner.

After he was sure that he had attracted everyone's attention, in a low,
menacing voice, Tuah uttered, "They are now under my protection." And
when satisfied that everyone had understood, Tuah sheathed the keris
Tamingsari and said "Go and make preparations for our beloved Raja's
return."

To this the Raja's supporters erupted with joy and continued shouting
their cheer "Hidup Hang Tuah! Daulat Tuanku!" over and over.

One of the Raja's concubines whom Jebat had on occasions confided in
during his rebellion came up to Tuah and asked, "What will become of
us?"

Tuah replied, "No harm will come to any of you. That was part of the
agreement."

"What about Panglima Hang Jebat?" she asked using the honorific for
warrior General in reference to Jebat.

Tuah answered, "The Raja wanted him dead. That was part of the agreement
too."

"But he will not die, will he?" she remarked. "I saw what you did."

Tuah replied, "Just as he could not bring himself to kill me, I can
never bring myself to kill him. Go now. Heal his wound."

"He will live, but his good name and that of his descendants would be
tarnished forever," she remarked further.

To this Tuah replied almost sagely, "Someday, our descendants will
understand. They will know the truth. And with that knowledge and
understanding - who knows? - maybe they will find another way."

/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

Saudara Ali,

Cerita saudara mengenai penaklukan Siak oleh Sultan Mansur juga terdapat
dalam Sejarah Melayu - dalam Sejarah Melayu raja Siak tersebut digelar
Maharaja Permaisura. Setelah kubunya ditawan angkatan Melaka dan
Maharaja Permaisura dibunuh, anak beliau Megat Kudu dinikahkan dengan
puteri Sultan Mansur dan dijadikan raja Siak oleh Sultan Mansur, dengan
gelaran Sultan Ibrahim. Tetapi beliau bukanlah Raja Ibrahim yang
dikatakan mengambil gelaran Sri Parameswara Dewa Shah. Raja Ibrahim
tersebut adalah anak Sultan Melaka yang lebih awal lagi, iaitu Sultan
Muhammad Shah, dan ibunya adalah seorang puteri Rokan (bukan Siak).

Ali Umar Harahap - Tripatra wrote:
>
> Saya tidak banyak tahu tentang sejarah melayu ini,
> cuma ada satu buku sejarah melayu di Riau (Sumatera) yang mengatakan
> sebagai berikut :
> Pada waktu Sultan Mansyur Syah berkuasa di Melaka,
> Melaka menaklukkan kejaan Hindu/Budha di Gasib dan rajanya yang
> bernama
> permaisura ditawan.
> Setelah Gasib ditaklukkan oleh Melaka, Sultan Mansyur Syah mengangkat
> anak
> raja Siak yang ditaklukkannya
> bernama Megat Kudu untuk memegang kekuasaan di Siak dibawah naungan
> Melaka
> dan juga dijadikan menantu raja Melaka.
> Megat Kudu masuk Islam bergelar Sultan Ibrahim.
> Apakah Sultan Ibrahim itu sama dengan Raja Ibrahim yang dimaksud pak
> Sabri
> Zain...?
> Terimakasih....
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sabri Zain [mailto:sabrizain@...]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 8:14 AM
> To: Sejarah-Melayu@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Sejarah Melayu] Percanggahan Suma Oriental dengan Sejarah
> Melayu
>
> For those of you not familiar with Malay, this newspaper article
> (published today) raises a few of the issues on the orgin of Melaka's
> founder that (by a remarkable coincidence!) you'll find in one of my
> postings last week (Feb 8: 'The Founder of Melaka: Palembang Prince or
> Singapore Renegade?')
>
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> Percanggahan Suma Oriental dengan Sejarah Melayu
>
> Oleh: YUSOF OTHMAN
>
> Utusan Malaysa, Feb 13
> http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/archive.asp?y=2002&dt=0212&pub=utusan_malays
> ia&sec=rencana&pg=re_07.htm
>
> Parameswara mungkin tidak pernah wujud dalam sejarah tanah air dan
> dengan demikian Tun Sri Lanang bukan orang yang bertanggungjawab
> memadamkan nama tersebut dalam buku Sejarah Melayu.
>
> Apa yang sebenarnya berlaku bukan Parameswara yang membuka Melaka
> seperti yang dicatatkan oleh Sejarah Melayu tetapi ialah Megat
> Iskandar
> Syah. Tome Pires melalui bukunya Suma Oriental menggunakan nama
> Parameswara sebagai pembuka Melaka pada 1402 berasaskan
> maklumat-maklumat yang dikumpul melalui proses dengar cakap dari
> orang-orang Melaka yang masih ada selepas Portugis menawan Melaka
> tahun
> 1511.
>
> Pada tahun 1512 Tome Pires telah mengumpulkan maklumat itu dan
> dibukukan
> mengikut pandangan penjajah Portugis dan kacamata penulisan sejarah
> Barat. Sudah pasti tidak ada pembesar-pembesar istana yang masih
> tinggal
> di Melaka di masa itu dan sudah tentu pula Tome Pires mendapat
> maklumat
> dari orang-orang bukan Melayu dibandar tersebut. Dengan demikian
> nama-nama yang bukan serasi dengan lidah melayu telah disebut sebagai
> pembuka negeri Melaka.
>
> Parameswara adalah perkataan Tamil dan Hindu. Perkataan Melayu yang
> hampir-hampir bunyinya ialah ``Permaisura''. Ada catatan oleh Winstedt
> (1948) menyebut Parameswara sebagai Sultan Melaka pertama (mangkat
> 1424)
> dan Sultan Ketiga Melaka iaitu Raja Ibrahim memakai gelaran Sri
> Parameswara Dewa Shah (mangkat 1446).
>
> Maklumat ini dikongsi bersama oleh Wake (1964) dan Yung-lo Shih-lu dan
> Hsuan-te Shih-lu dengan menyebut nama sebagai ``pai-li-mi-su-la''
> sebagai pembuka Melaka dan sultan keempat Melaka bernama
> ``Hsili-pa-mi-hsiwa-er-tiu-pa-sha'' sebagai Sultan Melaka keempat. Apa
> yang berlaku ialah Winstedt dan Wake memang tidak tahu bahasa Melayu
> samalah seperti Tome Pires dengan sewenang-wenangnya menyebut
> ``Permaisura'' sebagai Parameswara manakala Yung-lo Shih-lu dan
> Hsuan-te
> Shih-lu menyebut dengan pelat Cina mereka tetapi lebih mirip sebutan
> itu
> kepada ``Permaisura''. Sebenarnya Raja Melaka memakai gelaran Sri
> Permaisura Dewa Syah bukan Sri Parameswara Dewa Syah.
>
> Gelaran Permaisura adalah menggambarkan raja lelaki mengikut istilah
> Melayu samalah dengan Permaisuri merupakan raja perempuan gelaran yang
> dipakai sampai hari ini. Dengan demikian tidak hairanlah jika Sultan
> Iskandar Syah boleh juga digelar Permaisura. Hingga sekarang gelaran
> Permaisura tidak lagi dipakai di Malaysia tetapi negara Brunei
> Darussalam masih menggunakannya untuk memberi gelaran kepada ahli-ahli
> kerabat terdekat.
>
> Ternyata sekali istilah Permaisura adalah istilah Alam Melayu yang
> gagal
> digarap oleh sarjana-sarjana asing dengan menukarkannya mesjadi
> istilah
> Tamil atau Hindu walaupun kedua-dua sebutan ini berpunca dari bahasa
> Sanskrit. Hasilnya seluruh Malaysia menggunakan fakta Parameswara
> sebagai sultan pertama Melaka. Pada saya ia merupakan satu perogolan
> sejarah yang sangat ketara dan memalukan. Ini tentulah muslihat di
> sebaliknya.
>
> Parameswara dikatakan adalah anak Raa Sumatera yang lari ke Singapura
> dan mengalahkan pemimpin tempatan bernama Temagi yang di bawah naungan
> Siam, dan mengambil alih pemerintahan Singapura.
>
> Oleh kerana takutkan serangan Siam, Parameswara lari ke Melaka dan
> membuka negeri tersebut. Ini cerita yang dipungut oleh Tome Pires,
> pengarang penjajah Barat. Sejarah Melayu menyebutkan Sang Nila Utama
> pembuka Singapura dan mangkat pada tahun 623 Hijrah. Singapura
> diperintah oleh empat lagi raja-raja Melayu sehinggalah Megat Iskandar
> Syah dikalahkan oleh Majapahit dan lari ke Melaka dan mangkat pada
> tahun
> 678 Hijrah setelah memerintah tiga tahun di Singapura dan 22 tahun di
> Melaka.
>
> Inilah fakta sejarah yang dirakam oleh Sejarah Melayu tetapi
> dipadamkan
> oleh Tome Pires dan disokong pula oleh Winstedt dan Wake.
>
> Lima raja-raja Melayu di Singapura dipadamkan dari sejarah asal
> apabila
> Singapura menulis semula sejarah mereka pada tahun 1965 dan ternyata
> sekali bukan Tun Sri Lanang yang memadamkan nama Parameswara yang
> tidak
> pernah wujud dalam sejarah tetapi akar umbi sejarah kita telah diputar
> belit sehingga lima raja-raja Melayu Singapura telah dipadamkan dari
> sejarah asal kita.
>
> O.W.Walters dalam bukunya bertajuk Kejatuhan Sri Wijaya Dalam Sejarah
> Melayu (Cornel University 1969-terjemahan DBP 1990) telah menghentam
> Tun
> Sri Lanang habis-habisan pengarang Sejarah Melayu sehingga nama Tun
> Sri
> Lanang sendiri disebut sebagai ahli salasilah sahaja. Cara beliau
> mengkaji dan menghentam karangan Tun Sri Lanang ini seolah-olah dia
> hidup sezaman dengannya dan mengikut pula teknik-teknik penulisan
> sejarah terkini.
>
> Tujuan Walters adalah jelas iaitu untuk menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai
> bahan sejarah dan hanya layak dianggap sebagai satu hasil sastera
> sahaja
> berpandukan teknik-teknik saintifik dan penulisan sejarah semasa.
> Itulah
> kejahilan utama sarjana-sarjana barat apabila menilai hasil karya
> klasik
> anak pribumi tanpa mengenali budaya etnik tersebut dan di zaman silam
> pula.
>
> Memanghlah benar ada unsur-unsur mitos kayalan dan legenda dalam
> Sejarah
> Melayu seperti Raja Suran turun ke laut dan berkahwin dengan Puteri
> Mahtabul Bahri sehingga mendapat tiga orang anak iaitu Nila Utama,
> Nila
> Pahlawan dan Kerisna Pandita yang kemudiannya naik semula ke darat dan
> jatuh di Bukit Seguntang. Tetapi keturunan Nila Utama yang menjadi
> Raja
> seramai lima orang di Singapura bukanlah satu mitos atau khayalan.
>
> Alasan mitos hanya digunakan untuk memadamkan nama lima orang Raja
> Melayu Singapura dari buku sejarah. Jika ini dibuat di Singapura ia
> mempunyai cerita yang lain walaupun Stamford Raffels sendiri mengakui
> wujudnya lima raja-raja Melayu tersebut.
>
> Ternyata sekali tugas-tugas pengkaji sejarah yang mempunyai motif
> tertentu dan juga mungkin mendapat upah yang besar dalam usaha
> pemadaman
> dan pencabulan sejarah ini. Walters sangat berjaya dalam usahanya dan
> usaha beliau sudah tentu dibantu oleh Wang Gungwu sarjana yang lebih
> serdahana yang mengambil fakta dari tulisan sejarah Cina untuk
> membantu
> pendapatnya. Walters yang mengambil pelbagai sumber termasuk dari Sri
> Lanka dan India adalah sarjana upahan yang benar-benar telah berjaya
> menjahanamkan asas-asas sejarah asal Tanah Melayu dan kerajaan Melayu
> Melaka.
>
> Sejarah Melayu adalah sebuah karangan agung yang hingga sekarang ini
> telah diterjemahkan ke lebih 20 bahasa dan menjadi kajian oleh ramai
> pakar-pakar sejarah dan sastera.
>
> Apabila kini, ia dianggap sebagai suatu hasil sastera sejarah, maka
> martabatnya telah turun ke taraf yang paling bawah. Ini semua adalah
> hasil penggunaan teknik-teknik penulisan sejarah moden bagi mengukur
> hasil tulisan oleh anak watan yang langsung tidak tahu teknik moden
> dalam penulisan sejarah pada masa itu.
>
> Dari segi dialektik ukuran ini sudah tentu tidak boleh dipakai. Tetapi
> apa yang berlaku kita menerima alasan kajian saintifik sejarah untuk
> menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai bahan sejarah.
>
> Jika pihak luar mengatakan Sejarah Melayu bukan buku sejarah atas
> alasan
> tidak menggunakan teknik saintifik dalam penulisannya seperti
> memasukkan
> unsur-unsur mitos dan khayalan dan tidak pula mempunyai tarikh bagi
> peristiwa-peristiwa tertentu, maka kita sebagai khalayak kepada buku
> ini
> wajib mengambil fakta-fakta penting sebagai asas kepada penulisan
> sejarah asal usul kita.
>
> Menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai buku sejarah mendedahkan kita kepada
> tipu
> helah penjajah dan konco-konconya untuk menakluk minda dan warisan
> ketuanan Melayu sejak turun-temurun kepada suatu keadaan lengang
> sejarah
> dan lupa sejarah dan mengambil nama-nama asing untuk dijadikan fakta
> sejarah.
>
> Sejarah Melayu ditulis lebih awal dari Suma Oriental. Ia ditulis di
> antara tahun-tahun 1445 dan 1450 iaitu sewaktu Sultan Muhammad iaitu
> Sultan Melaka ketiga dan Sultan Muzaffar Syah Sultan Melaka kelima.
>
> Ini berpandukan kepada rakaman adat istiadat yang terperinci yang
> dicatatkan dalan buku tersebut.
>
> Namun begitu penulisan buku ini bukan dibuat sepanjang masa tetapi
> ditimbun-tambah dari semasa ke semasa dalam zaman Sultan Mansor Syah
> dan
> Sultan Mahmud (Sultan terakhir) Melaka.
>
> Tun Sri Lanang hanya menyunting serta menokok tambah dan memperbaiki
> penggunaan bahasa sewaktu beliau tertawan ke Acheh bersama-sama dengan
> Raja Abdullah (Raja Seberang, Kesultanan Johor Riau-Lingga) pada tahun
> 1612, ada kemungkinan naskah-naskah lama sejarah Melayu yang tidak
> tersusun, dirampas oleh Portugis dan disimpan di Goa, India atau
> naskah
> ini dilarikan oleh pembesar-pembesar Melayu dan disimpan di Goa,
> Makassar.
>
> Adalah menjadi tradisi Bendaharalah yang memegang semua surat-surat
> penting kerajaan pada masa lalu.
>
> Sejarah ringkas zaman melaka ini pernah dipetik secara yang tepat oleh
> Raja Ali Haji apabila beliau menulis Tuhfat Al-Nafis pada awal kurun
> ke-19 lama sebelum sarjana-sarjana barat mengkaji buku Sejarah Melayu
> suntingan Tun Sri Lanang ini.
>
> Pengkaji sejarah bukanlah orang yang boleh dibeli atau ditipu atau
> golongan orang yang berwibawa dengan gelaran-gelaran Mahaguru. Mereka
> mahu melihat apa yang benar dan sekali-kali tidak mahu fakta sejarah
> diputar belitkan apatah lagi jika fakta sejarah yang diputar belitkan
> itu mempunyai agenda politik terentu bertujuan untuk melemahkan
> asas-asas kebangsaan dan ketuanan. Tugas menjahanamkan asas-asas
> ketuanan dan jati diri bangsa memanglah menjadi tujuan utama penjajah
> dan konco-konco selepasnya.
>
> /\__/\
>   o  o
> ={_!_}=
>
> Sabri Zain
>
> "For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
> - Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
>
> Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
> 'Promoting a greater awareness, interest and study of the history of
> the
> Malay Peninsula'
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>                    Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>                        ADVERTISEMENT
>
>
>
> Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
> 'Promoting a greater awareness, interest and study of the history of
> the Malay Peninsula'
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

--

/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

--- In Sejarah-Melayu@y..., Michael <pan@m...> wrote:
>
> Sandy Hook, New York, or New Jersey? The Sandy Hook I know of is in
the
> Lower New York Harbor, but it is a sandbar of the state of New
Jersey.
>

You may indeed be correct Michael. The only source reference I could
find for the actual departure point of the Potomac was in the life
history of a certain George McDowell, who is buried at the Old
Bayview Cemetery. McDowell's burial records indicate he enlisted in
1831 as a US Marine aboard the Potomac, Commander and state "the
Potomac left Sandy Hook, New York 28 August 1831 bound for the Malay
principality of Quallah Batoo"
(www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/oldbayview/mcdowellgart1.htm)

>
> Jackson's attitude is not surprising, when one considers his
government's
> atrocities against the Native Americans. From the viewpoint of a
typical
> white American of that period, the Malays were undoubtedly
considered to be
> mere "little brown people" whose lives wouldn't have been thought
to be of
> great importance. Or so I would have thought, except that "Downes
was
> severely criticized at home."
>

Well, I'm no expert on American history, but one must remember that
this was the same year as the signing of the Treaty of Payne's
Landing, (which eventually led to the Second Seminole War in 1835) -
so US military policy towards "little brown people"  may have been a
matter of some political debate at the time.

That said, the bombardment of civilians was rather harsh, especially
when compared to the little that I know of Decatur's exploits against
the Barbary Coast pirates in Tripoli, which appear to have been
restricted to purely military targets. (Correct me if I am wrong!)

At 02:04 AM 2/13/2002 -0800, you wrote:

Great post! I'm gradually reading through these fascinating historical tales.

>The United States attack on Kuala Batu
>
>by Sabri Zain


>  The Potomac left Sandy Hook, New York, on August 28th, 1831,
>and set off on what was to become the United States' first-ever official
>military intervention in Asia.

Sandy Hook, New York, or New Jersey? The Sandy Hook I know of is in the
Lower New York Harbor, but it is a sandbar of the state of New Jersey.


>One by one, the three other fortresses were captured during five hours
>of bitter fighting. Over 150 of the Malay pirates, including Mahomet
>were killed in attacks, while 2 American sea men were killed and 11
>wounded. On February 9th, the men returned to the Potomac and the vessel
>proceeded to bombard the village itself, its cannons setting fire to and
>destroying the village - and killing over 300 of its inhabitants.
>
>Downes was severely criticized at home by the press and the public for
>his severity but Jackson approved of his actions. In his fourth state of
>nation address, Jackson said that 'to inflict such a chastisement would
>deter them and others from like aggressions. This was done and the
>effect has been an increased respect for our flag and additional
>security for our commerce.'

Jackson's attitude is not surprising, when one considers his government's
atrocities against the Native Americans. From the viewpoint of a typical
white American of that period, the Malays were undoubtedly considered to be
mere "little brown people" whose lives wouldn't have been thought to be of
great importance. Or so I would have thought, except that "Downes was
severely criticized at home."

I suppose my viewpoint is that attacks on pirates were probably reasonable,
but to destroy a village - well, that brings back memories of Vietnam, I
guess. So certain things about U.S. policy may not have changed much in 150
years.

Michael

From the website of the proposed Persatuan Masyarakat Melayu United
Kingdom (Malay Society of the UK) at http://www.melayu.org.uk

------------------------------------------------------

PROPOSAL FOR THE SETTING UP OF A UK-WIDE MALAY SOCIETY

Background

It is a known fact that there are a significant number of Malays
currently residing in the United Kingdom. The number is difficult to
quantify as there is no organisation which keeps track of the presence
of the Malay community in the UK.

In areas where there are a sizeable number of Malays e.g. London, there
exists some platforms where they can interact amongst themselves.
Elsewhere in the UK, the Malay community is generally dispersed with
little or no interaction with fellow Malays. With many of them having
children who are being brought up here, there is always a danger that
the next generation of Malays may lose their religious identity and the
Malay culture.

Even though there are a large number of Malay students in the UK, those
who are resident in the UK find it difficult to interact with them. This
may be due to lack of common interest and goal. The transient nature of
the student population which come and go every so often also does not
help.

Proposal for a society
We are proposing the setting up of a UK-wide Malay society to cater for
the welfare of the Malays who are resident in the UK. By residing in the
UK we mean those who have been given indefinite leave to remain in the
UK and British citizens of Malay descend.

This will be the first UK-wide society which directly addresses the
welfare of the resident Malay community in the UK.

Target Group
The society will target the following categories for its membership.
• UK Residents of Malay descent;
• UK citizens of Malay descent;
• Malays who are working in the UK;
• Malays who are seriously considering to reside in the UK.

The target groups will include their spouses and children.

Membership
Membership will be divided into 2 categories:
• Full membership - members have the right to vote and to hold post in
the society. Members will be required to pay the membership fee which
will be decided by the committee. Full membership is open to Malays who
have been given "indefinite leave to remain in the UK" and British
citizens of Malay descend
• Associate membership - associate members do not have voting rights and
are not eligible to hold office in the society. Associate membership is
open to all that fall in the target group

Activities, however, will be open to those who have an interest in Malay
development and culture regardless of whether they are eligible for
membership or not.

Objectives of society
The society will be family-centric with a broad range of activities for
the whole family, including children. The objectives are as follows:
• To address the welfare of the Malay community in the UK in a variety
of areas e.g. assisting families to solve the problem of providing
religious education to their children, counselling, education and
business. The society will try to get the assistance of experts in the
various fields.
• To provide a link between the Malay community in the UK and Malaysia
in cultural, religious and commercial areas. The society will also try
to create an awareness in Malaysia that there exists a Malay community
in the UK who have expertise in a variety of fields.
•To enable non-resident Malay students studying in the UK to interact
and exchange ideas with resident Malay students.

Language
We expect that some of our members may not understand or speak Bahasa
Melayu. The society will use Bahasa Melayu and English in its meetings
and activities so as to be meaningful to its members.

We recognise that Bahasa Melayu will be a bonding factor amongst the
Malay community. The society will endeavour to seek the assistance of
educational experts in Malaysia to provide e-Learning of Bahasa Melayu
to second generation UK Malays or whoever is interested in learning the
language. Once implemented, it will also be useful not only to the Malay
community in the UK but also to other Malay communities residing in
other parts of the world.

Mode of Communication
Initially most of the activities and services will be provided via the
internet while the society is building up its membership. As the
membership grows, regional activities may be held in addition to an
annual nationwide meeting. The society will set up a website which is
accessible to the public. Members are requested to visit the website
http://www.melayu.org.uk/ for the latest information. A discussion
e-group will also be set up to enable members to interact with each
other via the internet.

Name of the Society
The proposed official name of the society will be "Persatuan Masyarakat
Melayu United Kingdom". The name has been chosen to reflect the growing
Malay community in the United Kingdom. The abbreviation or short name
(e.g. Melayu UK) will be decided at a later stage.

Pro tem Committee
Following the first meeting on 30 September 2001, the following has been
elected as the pro tem committee. They will hold office until the first
election to be held on the official launch of the society. The society
is expected to be officially launched in spring 2002. The venue has yet
to be chosen.

President: Hamidi Abdul Rahman
Vice President: Taib Ismail
Secretary: Alias Mas'ud
Finance Secretary: Saad Mohd Noor
Information & Publicity Secretary I: Azam Ashari
Information & Publicity Secretary II: Isa Samat

Patron
The Malaysian High Commissioner to Britain, Dato' Hj. Salim has agreed
to be the patron of the society.

Registration
Those eligible can apply for membership by contacting any of the
committee members. For those who wish to be informed of the forthcoming
launch of the society can also register their names with any of the
committee members. We will be putting an online registration form
shortly.

Membership Drive
We hope to increase the awareness of the existence of the society so
that more people can contribute towards the development of the society
and benefit from it. We also hope that our website and this document
will be relayed to various people and relevant organisations to enable
us to build up our membership.

Voluntary Contributions
We welcome voluntary contributions in all aspects from individuals and
organisations to develop the activities and services of the society.

Website
The society website is http://www.melayu.org.uk/. Please visit it
regularly for the latest information.

Contacts
The society can be contacted as follows:

Hamidi: hamidi@...

Taib: taib@...

Alias: aliasmasud@...

Saad: saadbmn@...

Azam: azam.ashari@...

Isa: isasamat@...


As the pro tem committee members are volunteers who work during normal
working hours, it is preferable to contact them via e-mail if possible.

Prepared by:
Pro tem committee Persatuan Masyarakat Melayu United Kingdom.
27 October 2001 - Bicester, Oxfordshire.



/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

Dear all,

I'd like to forward an e-mail from fellow history buff Shuhaimi Baba,
with an interesting story on the 17th Century Bugis warrior Raja Haji
and Bugis naval tactics against the Dutch East India company, in
particular his attack on Melaka in 1784.

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Shuhaimi Baba
> To: sabrizain@...
> Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2002 10:51 PM
>
> When Malays go to war during the time of Raja Haji at least, there is
> a good description which is probably similar with many other wars
> fought. The Sultans during that time were very close to their
> protectors , like a Prime Minister's status . The Sultans themselves
> were skilful warriors and fighters as described in the Tuhfat. The
> Tuhfat described the Bugis brought with them  a more
> sophisticated Bugis culture together with knowledge and maritime
> skills,  especially in making different type of boats for different
> purposes and speeds. The Dutch and British would write that this could
> be because they were always at sea and were skillfull pirates. Their
> armament for war prepation was more sophisticated than the Malays.

> When Raja Haji was furious with the Dutch for not keeping their promises.
> He knew their strength was controlling trade and commerce and making
> Malacca a trading centre . He challenged their authority by opening
> Riau as a Malay trading and commerce centre.  Riau flourished ,
> attracting cosmopolitan traders. The Dutch would normally destabilise
> the Malay empire by turning Malays against each other. But when Riau
> flourished , Sultan Mahmud became supreme ruler in Nusantara and the
> Malays and Bugis were united because there was enough trade and work
> for all. Riau threatened  the success of Melaka as Dutch trading
> centre.  The Dutch used every excuse they could to provoke and
> demanded their right to be represented in Riau without asking for
> permission from the Sultan. Raja Haji refused to allow them to land
> in Riau  for reasons that they must have the Sultan's consent first.
> This resulted in a standoff. The Dutch smelling easy victory surrounded
> Riau with their warships and frigates, easily outnumbering the Malay
> strength.  But Raja Haji used his knowledge of the weather , the
> surrounding sea area , where the silting starts, the types of size
> boats that could move in the waters surrounding Riau.. The Dutch
> planned to starve Raja Haji and the Malays before they move in with
> their attack. Raja Haji used delaying tactics . The weather worked to
> his advantage. He moved along his own ships facing the Dutch,
> practically leaping from one ship to the other  to inform them of his
> plans.  The Dutch heavier ships started to slow down as they become
> stuck in the silting waters. The weather wreaked havoc until the
> Dutch army became sick. They weren't able to move forward.  Raja Haji
> moved his guns to higher ground and fired at the ships he knew were
> carrying ammunition and the explosion spread to the other ships.

> Meanwhile the Chinses traders had helped him by bringing in rice and
> food using a secret route unknown to the Dutch. Raja Haji was told of
> reinforcements arriving with Sultan Ibrahim. But Raja haji and Sultan
> Ibrahim decided that Ibrahim should take his army to Melaka and attack
> one of the Dutch post to see if the Dutch would panic because he
> figured Ducth smelling Victory would sent all their strength to
> surround Riau. Raja Haji knew that when they receive news that Melaka
> is under attack, they would panic and break the blockade. He was
> right. Sultan Ibrahim had oragnised that the attack was planned on
> three Melaka fronts.  Raja Haji had sent his sons to fight alongside
> Sultan Ibrahim to ensure the Sultan is protected. The Dutch resistance
> fell apart as Raja Haji arrives at Teluk Ketapang. The only post left
> was Melaka city. Raja Haji did what the Dutch did to him - he
> starved them of food supplies. Thus the final appeal for help from
> Dutch govenor for one of the biggest Dutch armada to Melaka.

> During the battle for Melaka against the Dutch the Sultan Mahmud
> followed Raja Haji . The whole of Raja Haji's family - his sons and
> daughter Tengku Puteri Hamdiah went to the battle field. The army
> would bring with them their families , musicians,  cooks ,flocks of
> animals , their berzanji groups. They prepare for battle , at night
> they pray together , have dinner , be with their families and then
> they berzanji. I suppose its because at that time battles are fought
> over months. When they fight, as night falls, both enemies would call
> for break  so that they continue the next day. This was one of the
> reasons for Raja Haji beign surrounded by reinforcements from the Dutch
> armada. He did not expect the Dutch to break rules and prepare for
> battle during the night. He measured the size and strength of the
> Dutch reinforcement  by the sound , reach and destructive 'gegaran' of
> the canon fire and knew  the size of Ducth armament of magnitude he
> had not encountered.  By early dawn his suspicion was correct . His
> position was betrayed by Malays to the Dutch. They were from Acheh, who
> played both sides  with promises of reward from Dutch. He sent the
> army to escort Sultan Mahmud, his wife tengku Puteri Hamidah and the
> whole royal family to safe borders of Muar, where they would be out of
> danger and can escape to Riau quickly.

> The parting was described as very emotional. Rajah Haji gave his men a
> chance to decide if they want to continue the abttle or return home
> with the Sultan. They stayed with him even when he told them of the
> Dutch might and they were facing shahid if they continue to break the
> dutch encirlcement. Sultan mahmud promised to take care of Puteri
> Hamidah .

> Raja Haji's death was greeted with ' huge noises ' of crying, wailing
> etc.  For Raja Haji's and the family's  sacrifices , the Sultan gave
> the island of Riau and Pulau Penyengat to his wife Tengku Hamidah and
> her brothers.

> When Sultan Mahmud died , he left two sons. Court culture requires the
> new king be proclaimed before the body of the late king, before
> burial. The eldest son was not around during that time. The Dutch
> hurried the proclamation of the younger brother Rahman as they knew
> they could influence him. Not to be outdone, the British under
> Raffles, having their sights on Singapore , supported Rahman's brother
> Hussein who was at that time with his uncle in Singapore.  Both tried
> everything they could  to get Tengku Hamidah on their side and for her
> to surrender the royal regalias for the king to be crowned. But she
> could read them a mile away.

> As you know, the Malay empire later had two kings - controlled by the
> different foriegn powers. The beginning of the end. Tengku Puteri,
> apparently cursed Raffles, who had 'forced ' them to witness the
> raising of the English flag in Singapore.
> As you must know what happened to Raffles later could be a coincidence
> but every Malay in the NUsantara at that time would like to think it
> was Puteri Hamidah's curse!!
>
> Cheers
>
> Shuhaimi


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

'Gong Xi Fa Cai' - a happy Chinese New Year - to all list members . I
think now is an appropriate time to remind us of China's first major
interactions with the Malay peninsula, and add a little more information
to that which was found in Sonia's earlier posting here. Being
Valentine's Day, there is an appropriate love story at the end as well!

Those of you interested in the Babas and Nyonyas - the early Straits
Chinese - may want to visit the excellent Penang File website at
http://www.geocities.com/penangfile/ , which looks at the world of the
Baba and has articles on Baba/Nyonya sayings, and stories and articles
in the Baba dialect. Khleo's website on Melaka at
http://members.tripod.com/khleo/melaka.htm also has interesting articles
on Hang Li Poh well and Hang Li Poh Well in Melaka,  as well as the Baba
and Nyonya heritage.

For those of you interested in the Baba dialect itself, there is the
"Shak-yer Sinyor Layla" - a Baba Malay adaptation of a famous Malay
Syair (Epic poem) known variously as the Syair Sinyor Kosta and Syair
Silam Bari . The tale probably originated from an actual event set in
the 17th century - Sinyor Layla, a debonair Portugese/Dutch captain
besotted by the beauty of Siti Layla Mayang, the Chinese concubine of a
rich Chinese merchant.  Information on this Syair is available at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6795/layla.html

There is also the "Shak-yer Karangan Cheki" Or The Evils of Gambling.
Cheki is a card game created by the Babas and Nyonyas of Melaka. The
Syair tries to chronicle the foolishness of a lady who manages not only
to lose a small fortune from playing Cheki, but also fails in her
attempts to deceive her husband after she is caught by the police for
illegal gambling. Information on tis Syair can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6795/cheki.html

The above sites have a lot of information on rare Malay texts and images
from the private collections of Raimy Che-Ross and Azrail Iskandar
Putra. The site is dated 1995 and, sadly, the actual texts can no longer
be found on the website -but- you can still see them at a temporary
website I have set up at
http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/baba.htm


Ming China in the 'Sejarah Melayu'
-------------------------------------------
(illustrations accompanying this article can be found on my website at
http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/china.htm )

Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming Emperor Yung Lo (Yongle) ordered seven
major maritime expeditions under the leadership of a Muslim court
eunuch, Zheng He or Cheng Ho. Each expedition was provided with several
seagoing vessels, which were 400 feet (122 meters) high, weighed 700
tons (635 metric tons), had multiple decks and 50 or 60 cabins, and
carried several hundred people. About 60 vessels were used in the first
voyage to India in 1405, for example, and all seven journeys involved
over 28,000 persons. During these expeditions, the Chinese demonstrated
their early command of the compass and shipbuilding techniques. They
sailed the southern seas of Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, the
Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, reaching as far as
Malindi on the the coast of East Africa. But, in 1433, these missions
ended just as suddenly as they had begun.

The presence of Ming fleets in Southeast Asia acted both as a deterrent
to the expansion of the Siamese and Majapahit, and protection for the
smaller kingdoms like Melaka. China saw Melaka as an important trading
outpost and a growing force that would prevent the appearance of any
single all-powerful state that would threaten either their southern
borders or their trade. Protection by China also meant that Chinese
junks (and trading ships of all flags) flocked to the relatively safe
water of the Straits, changing Melaka from a sleepy fishing village to
one of the greatest trading ports in Asia.

The founder of Melaka, Parameswara, certainly took advantage of this and
did his best to be in the Emperor's good books. The frst Chinese envoy
to Melaka was the eunuch Yin Ch'ing, whom "Pai-li-su-ra" welcomed
warmly. Parameswara then sent a mission to China in 1405, with a request
that "the mountains of the Emperor be made the guardians of our
country." Cheng Ho was welcomed with great pomp and regalia when he
arrived in Melaka in 1409, and Parameswara himself followed him back to
China for a State visit to the Emperor in 1411. The Melaka retinue
numbered over 450 persons!

Sultan Mansur of Melaka certainly continued and encouraged Parameswara's
policy of encouraging the friendship and protection of China. The
Sejarah Melayu's account (below) of Sultan Mansur's first encounter with
China, and his subsequent marriage to the daughter of the Emperor, is
famous:


"When news reached China of the greatness of the Raja of Malaka, the
Raja of China sent envoys to Malaka: and as a complimentary gift to
accompany his letter he sent needles, a whole shipload of them. And when
the envoys reached Malaka, the king ordered the letter to be fetched
from the ship with due ceremony and borne in procession. And when it had
been brought into the palace it was received by a herald and given by
him to the reader of the mosque, who read it out. It ran as
follows:-"This letter from His Majesty the Raja of Heaven is sent to the
Raja of Malaka. We hear that the Raja of Malaka is a great raja and we
desire accordingly to be on terms of amity with the Raja of Malaka. Of a
truth there are no rajas in this world greater than ourselves, and there
is no one who knoweth the number of our subjects. We have asked for one
needle from each house in our realm and those are the needles with which
the ship we send to Malaka is laden."

"When Sultan Mansur Shah heard how the letter ran he smiled. He then
gave orders that the ship should be cleared of the needles and filled
with fried sago. Tun Perpateh Puteh, younger brother of Bendahara Paduka
Raja, was then commanded by Sultan Mansur Shah to go as envoy to China.
He set out and after a voyage of some length arrived at his destination.
.... A letter from the Sultan of Malaka was then read and the Raja of
China was pleased to hear what it said. And the sago was brought a of
China, and he asked how it was made. And Tun Perpateh Puteh answered,
"After this fashion, your Highness: our Raja ordered that each of his
subjects should roll out a grain of sago enough to fill a ship. That
will indicate how many are our Raja, no man knows their number!" Then
said the Raja of China, "Great indeed must be this Raja of Malaka! The
multitude of his subjects must be as the multitude of our own. It would
be well that I should marry him with my daughter!" ..."

"... The Raja of China bade Ling Ho (his Chief Minister) make ready
ships to convey Ling, his daughter, to Malaka. Ling Ho did so, and when
nearly ready, the Raja of China chose out five hundred youths of noble
birth (sons of ministers), with a high officer in command, to escort his
daughter Princess Hang Liu; and several beautiful women-attendants
accompanied her. ... they then set sail for Malaka, which they reached
after a voyage of some length. Word was brought to Sultan Mansur Shah
that Tun Perpateh Puteh had arrived, bringing with him a daughter of the
Raja of China. Sultan Mansur Shah was well pleased and gave orders to
his chiefs and war-chiefs to welcome her..... And when she appeared,
Sultan Mansur Shah was astonished by the beauty of Princess Hang Liu,
daughter of the Raja of China, and he gave orders that she embrace the
faith of Islam. When this had been done, Sultan Mansur Shah married the
princess, daughter of the Raja of China: and by her he had a son to whom
he gave the name of Paduka Mimat. This Paduka Mimat had a son named
Paduka Sri China, who in his turn had a son named Paduka Ahmat, father
of Paduka Isap. And the five hundred sons of Chinese ministers (who
accompanied her) were bidden to take up their abode at Bukit China: and
the place goes by that name to this day. It was they who made the well
at Bukit China, and it is their descendants who are called "the Chinese
yeomen (biduanda)". And Sultan Mansur gave robes of honour to the
Chinese minister who had brought the princess, and the minister then
sought leave to return to China. The king thereupon commanded Tun
Telanai and Mentri Jana Putra to go (as envoys) to China, for now for
the first time Sultan Mansur Shah was sending 'obeisance' to the Raja of
China, having married his daughter."


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

This is a piece from Radiq Radio's
(www.radiqradio.com) 13 Feb Chinese New Year special -
you can listen to the feature on the site.

Sonia


Masyarakat Cina, Nanyang dan tanah air - Sevan
Doraisamy

Hubungan masyarakat Cina yang berasal dari tanah besar
Cina dengan masyarakat di Tanah Melayu telah terjalin
sejak sebelum kesultanan Melayu Melaka lagi. Wartawan
radiq radio, Sevan Doraisamy cuba mengimbas kembali
sejarah kedatangan masyarakat Cina ke rantau ini
bersama-sama Khoo Kay Kim, seorang sejarawan dari
Universiti Malaya.

Lawatan masyarakat Cina ke Tanah Melayu telah bermula
seawal abad ke 13 lagi. Tujuan utama adalah untuk
mengenali rantau ini. Khoo Kay Kim dari Jabatan
Sejarah, Universiti Malaya menyatakan bahawa sejak
dahulu lagi, rantau ini dipanggil dengan nama Nanyang
oleh masyarakat Cina.

“Orang Cina mula melawat rantau ini, yang mereka
panggil “Nanyang”  sejak sekurang-kurangnya abad yang
ke 13, mungkin lebih awal sedikit. Tetapi lawatan yang
lebih bertujuan mengenali rantau ini dengan lebih
mendalam adalah pada zaman Laksamana Cheng Ho. Itu
berlaku pada awal abad ke 15 dan waktu itu juga
Kerajaan Melaka sudah ditubuhkan.”

Kedatangan masyarakat Cina, walaupun pada awalnya
tindakan untuk melawat dan mengenali rantau ini tidak
direstui sepenuhnya oleh pemerintah di tanah Besar
Cina.

“Perkembangan di dalam Negara Cina sendiri
kadang-kadang menggangu lawatan orang Cina ke rantau
ini kerana dari semasa ke semasa kerajaan Cina sendiri
tidak menggalakkan orang Cina keluar dari Cina. Jadi
(selain itu), masa Portugis misalannya, oleh sebab
orang Cina tidak begitu  puas hati dengan cara
Portugis menguruskan perdagangan di Melaka. Jadi pada
pertengahan kedua abad ke 16, tidak ramai lagi orang
Cina yang datang.”

Portugis dikalahkan Belanda untuk menguasai Melaka
pada tahun 1641. Pada masa itu, hanya sebilangan kecil
sahaja masyarakat Cina di Melaka.

Pada penghujung abad ke 17, sekali lagi masyarakat
Cina mula datang ke Tanah Melayu. Peringkat masa ini
adalah penting kerana inilah tahap sebenar kedatangan
Masyarakat Cina keturunan baba dan nyonya di Melaka.
Khoo juga menyatakan bahawa tumpuan masyarakat Cina
pada peringkat awalnya adalah di negeri-negeri Timur,
Semenanjung.

“Pada abad ke 18, didapati orang Cina lebih banyak
berkunjung ke Negeri Melayu Timur, di Kuala Kelantan,
Kuala Terengganu dan di Kuala Pahang, ramai orang Cina
berdagang di situ. Sehingga pada awal abad 19, hanya
selepas Belanda keluar dari Melaka pada 1824, keadaan
di Selat Melaka itu menjadi lebih lega kerana British
sudah mula berkuasa dan menggalakkan perdagangan ”

Beberapa perang saudara di Negeri-negeri Melayu Timur
turut menyumbang kepada aliran tumpuan pedagang Cina
ke Negeri-negeri Selat.  Pada masa itu juga banyak
lombong bijih timah mula dibuka dan pada peringkat ini
ramai lagi masyarakat Cina mula mengunjungi tanah
Melayu. Pihak British juga tidak mengambil sebarang
langkah untuk menyekat kemasukan mereka. Menurut Khoo,
British mula menyekat kemasukan orang-orang lelaki
Cina mulai tahun 1930an.

“Mulai 1930an, tak ramai lagi lelaki Cina yang datang
tetapi wanita digalakkan datang ke sini kerana nisbah
diantara lelaki wanita itu tidak baik. Selepas perang
dunia kedua, saya rasa kedudukan orang Cina dari segi
Imigresen sudah stabil. Sampai masa negara ini
mencapai kemerdekaan, kita dapati orang Cina boleh
dikatakan merupakan lebih kurang 40% jumlah penduduk
negara ini tidak termasuk Singapura. Kalau termasuk
Singapura itu, lebih tinggi sedikit.”

Kebanyakan masyarakat Cina yang datang merupakan sama
ada pedagang atau buruh. Walau bagaimanapun lebih
kurang 80% merupakan kelas pekerja yang banyak
tertumpu di lombong-lombong bijih timah.

Tambah Khoo lagi, sebelum kemerdekaan, terdapat tiga
kategori yang jelas dalam pembahagian sosial di
kalangan masyarakat Cina.

“Pertama dan yang paling rapat dengan Barat ialah
orang Cina peranakan. Sebilangan besarnya ialah
berpendidikan Inggeris. Merekalah yang digunakan oleh
pentadbiran British dan juga digunakan oleh
syarikat-syarikat Barat. Satu golongan lagi dan ini
yang paling besar ialah pekerja, golongan pekerja.
Golongan yang ketiga itu golongan yang berada, yang
kaya-raya.”

Perkembangan masyarakat Cina ini turut mengembangkan
perjuangan politik mereka. Pada awalnya, Khoo
menjelaskan politik mereka berasal dari Negara Cina
sendiri.

“Idea politik yang paling awal-awal tiba di sini itu
memang politik Dr. Sun Yet San menentang kerajaan
Manchu. Ini kemudian melahirkan Parti Nasionalis yang
dipanggil “Kuomintang”. Sebelum fahaman komunis
datang, sebenarnya lebih awal lagi sudah ada satu
golongan yang berpegang pada ideologi Anarkis. Mereka
sudah ada di sini masa tamatnya perang dunia pertama.
Jadi, seperti di Negara Cina juga, Anarkis mendahului
Komunis. Mereka aktif diantara tahun 1919 hingga 1925
di negara ini. Tetapi, sebagaimana di Cina juga mereka
mula merosot, maka di sini juga pengaruh mereka
semakin pudar. Dan dalam pada itu, pengaruh Komunis
semakin jelas ternampak.”

Khoo turut menyatakan masyarakat Cina pada awalnya
ingin kembali ke Cina tetapi lama kelamaan,
kecenderungan ini berkurangan. Mereka mula menetap
kekal di sini atas beberapa faktor.

Secara umumnya, buat Khoo, situasi sewaktu mendapatkan
kemerdekaan merupakan jangka waktu paling sukar bagi
masyarakat Cina di sini. Mereka tergesa-gesa untuk
bersetuju dalam beberapa perkara supaya British tidak
melambatkan lagi kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you'll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com

Saya tidak banyak tahu tentang sejarah melayu ini,
cuma ada satu buku sejarah melayu di Riau (Sumatera) yang mengatakan
sebagai berikut :
Pada waktu Sultan Mansyur Syah berkuasa di Melaka,
Melaka menaklukkan kejaan Hindu/Budha di Gasib dan rajanya yang bernama
permaisura ditawan.
Setelah Gasib ditaklukkan oleh Melaka, Sultan Mansyur Syah mengangkat anak
raja Siak yang ditaklukkannya
bernama Megat Kudu untuk memegang kekuasaan di Siak dibawah naungan Melaka
dan juga dijadikan menantu raja Melaka.
Megat Kudu masuk Islam bergelar Sultan Ibrahim.
Apakah Sultan Ibrahim itu sama dengan Raja Ibrahim yang dimaksud pak Sabri
Zain...?
Terimakasih....

-----Original Message-----
From: Sabri Zain [mailto:sabrizain@...]
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 8:14 AM
To: Sejarah-Melayu@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Sejarah Melayu] Percanggahan Suma Oriental dengan Sejarah
Melayu


For those of you not familiar with Malay, this newspaper article
(published today) raises a few of the issues on the orgin of Melaka's
founder that (by a remarkable coincidence!) you'll find in one of my
postings last week (Feb 8: 'The Founder of Melaka: Palembang Prince or
Singapore Renegade?')

--------------------------------------------------

Percanggahan Suma Oriental dengan Sejarah Melayu

Oleh: YUSOF OTHMAN

Utusan Malaysa, Feb 13
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/archive.asp?y=2002&dt=0212&pub=utusan_malays
ia&sec=rencana&pg=re_07.htm

Parameswara mungkin tidak pernah wujud dalam sejarah tanah air dan
dengan demikian Tun Sri Lanang bukan orang yang bertanggungjawab
memadamkan nama tersebut dalam buku Sejarah Melayu.

Apa yang sebenarnya berlaku bukan Parameswara yang membuka Melaka
seperti yang dicatatkan oleh Sejarah Melayu tetapi ialah Megat Iskandar
Syah. Tome Pires melalui bukunya Suma Oriental menggunakan nama
Parameswara sebagai pembuka Melaka pada 1402 berasaskan
maklumat-maklumat yang dikumpul melalui proses dengar cakap dari
orang-orang Melaka yang masih ada selepas Portugis menawan Melaka tahun
1511.

Pada tahun 1512 Tome Pires telah mengumpulkan maklumat itu dan dibukukan
mengikut pandangan penjajah Portugis dan kacamata penulisan sejarah
Barat. Sudah pasti tidak ada pembesar-pembesar istana yang masih tinggal
di Melaka di masa itu dan sudah tentu pula Tome Pires mendapat maklumat
dari orang-orang bukan Melayu dibandar tersebut. Dengan demikian
nama-nama yang bukan serasi dengan lidah melayu telah disebut sebagai
pembuka negeri Melaka.

Parameswara adalah perkataan Tamil dan Hindu. Perkataan Melayu yang
hampir-hampir bunyinya ialah ``Permaisura''. Ada catatan oleh Winstedt
(1948) menyebut Parameswara sebagai Sultan Melaka pertama (mangkat 1424)
dan Sultan Ketiga Melaka iaitu Raja Ibrahim memakai gelaran Sri
Parameswara Dewa Shah (mangkat 1446).

Maklumat ini dikongsi bersama oleh Wake (1964) dan Yung-lo Shih-lu dan
Hsuan-te Shih-lu dengan menyebut nama sebagai ``pai-li-mi-su-la''
sebagai pembuka Melaka dan sultan keempat Melaka bernama
``Hsili-pa-mi-hsiwa-er-tiu-pa-sha'' sebagai Sultan Melaka keempat. Apa
yang berlaku ialah Winstedt dan Wake memang tidak tahu bahasa Melayu
samalah seperti Tome Pires dengan sewenang-wenangnya menyebut
``Permaisura'' sebagai Parameswara manakala Yung-lo Shih-lu dan Hsuan-te
Shih-lu menyebut dengan pelat Cina mereka tetapi lebih mirip sebutan itu
kepada ``Permaisura''. Sebenarnya Raja Melaka memakai gelaran Sri
Permaisura Dewa Syah bukan Sri Parameswara Dewa Syah.

Gelaran Permaisura adalah menggambarkan raja lelaki mengikut istilah
Melayu samalah dengan Permaisuri merupakan raja perempuan gelaran yang
dipakai sampai hari ini. Dengan demikian tidak hairanlah jika Sultan
Iskandar Syah boleh juga digelar Permaisura. Hingga sekarang gelaran
Permaisura tidak lagi dipakai di Malaysia tetapi negara Brunei
Darussalam masih menggunakannya untuk memberi gelaran kepada ahli-ahli
kerabat terdekat.

Ternyata sekali istilah Permaisura adalah istilah Alam Melayu yang gagal
digarap oleh sarjana-sarjana asing dengan menukarkannya mesjadi istilah
Tamil atau Hindu walaupun kedua-dua sebutan ini berpunca dari bahasa
Sanskrit. Hasilnya seluruh Malaysia menggunakan fakta Parameswara
sebagai sultan pertama Melaka. Pada saya ia merupakan satu perogolan
sejarah yang sangat ketara dan memalukan. Ini tentulah muslihat di
sebaliknya.

Parameswara dikatakan adalah anak Raa Sumatera yang lari ke Singapura
dan mengalahkan pemimpin tempatan bernama Temagi yang di bawah naungan
Siam, dan mengambil alih pemerintahan Singapura.

Oleh kerana takutkan serangan Siam, Parameswara lari ke Melaka dan
membuka negeri tersebut. Ini cerita yang dipungut oleh Tome Pires,
pengarang penjajah Barat. Sejarah Melayu menyebutkan Sang Nila Utama
pembuka Singapura dan mangkat pada tahun 623 Hijrah. Singapura
diperintah oleh empat lagi raja-raja Melayu sehinggalah Megat Iskandar
Syah dikalahkan oleh Majapahit dan lari ke Melaka dan mangkat pada tahun
678 Hijrah setelah memerintah tiga tahun di Singapura dan 22 tahun di
Melaka.

Inilah fakta sejarah yang dirakam oleh Sejarah Melayu tetapi dipadamkan
oleh Tome Pires dan disokong pula oleh Winstedt dan Wake.

Lima raja-raja Melayu di Singapura dipadamkan dari sejarah asal apabila
Singapura menulis semula sejarah mereka pada tahun 1965 dan ternyata
sekali bukan Tun Sri Lanang yang memadamkan nama Parameswara yang tidak
pernah wujud dalam sejarah tetapi akar umbi sejarah kita telah diputar
belit sehingga lima raja-raja Melayu Singapura telah dipadamkan dari
sejarah asal kita.

O.W.Walters dalam bukunya bertajuk Kejatuhan Sri Wijaya Dalam Sejarah
Melayu (Cornel University 1969-terjemahan DBP 1990) telah menghentam Tun
Sri Lanang habis-habisan pengarang Sejarah Melayu sehingga nama Tun Sri
Lanang sendiri disebut sebagai ahli salasilah sahaja. Cara beliau
mengkaji dan menghentam karangan Tun Sri Lanang ini seolah-olah dia
hidup sezaman dengannya dan mengikut pula teknik-teknik penulisan
sejarah terkini.

Tujuan Walters adalah jelas iaitu untuk menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai
bahan sejarah dan hanya layak dianggap sebagai satu hasil sastera sahaja
berpandukan teknik-teknik saintifik dan penulisan sejarah semasa. Itulah
kejahilan utama sarjana-sarjana barat apabila menilai hasil karya klasik
anak pribumi tanpa mengenali budaya etnik tersebut dan di zaman silam
pula.

Memanghlah benar ada unsur-unsur mitos kayalan dan legenda dalam Sejarah
Melayu seperti Raja Suran turun ke laut dan berkahwin dengan Puteri
Mahtabul Bahri sehingga mendapat tiga orang anak iaitu Nila Utama, Nila
Pahlawan dan Kerisna Pandita yang kemudiannya naik semula ke darat dan
jatuh di Bukit Seguntang. Tetapi keturunan Nila Utama yang menjadi Raja
seramai lima orang di Singapura bukanlah satu mitos atau khayalan.

Alasan mitos hanya digunakan untuk memadamkan nama lima orang Raja
Melayu Singapura dari buku sejarah. Jika ini dibuat di Singapura ia
mempunyai cerita yang lain walaupun Stamford Raffels sendiri mengakui
wujudnya lima raja-raja Melayu tersebut.

Ternyata sekali tugas-tugas pengkaji sejarah yang mempunyai motif
tertentu dan juga mungkin mendapat upah yang besar dalam usaha pemadaman
dan pencabulan sejarah ini. Walters sangat berjaya dalam usahanya dan
usaha beliau sudah tentu dibantu oleh Wang Gungwu sarjana yang lebih
serdahana yang mengambil fakta dari tulisan sejarah Cina untuk membantu
pendapatnya. Walters yang mengambil pelbagai sumber termasuk dari Sri
Lanka dan India adalah sarjana upahan yang benar-benar telah berjaya
menjahanamkan asas-asas sejarah asal Tanah Melayu dan kerajaan Melayu
Melaka.

Sejarah Melayu adalah sebuah karangan agung yang hingga sekarang ini
telah diterjemahkan ke lebih 20 bahasa dan menjadi kajian oleh ramai
pakar-pakar sejarah dan sastera.

Apabila kini, ia dianggap sebagai suatu hasil sastera sejarah, maka
martabatnya telah turun ke taraf yang paling bawah. Ini semua adalah
hasil penggunaan teknik-teknik penulisan sejarah moden bagi mengukur
hasil tulisan oleh anak watan yang langsung tidak tahu teknik moden
dalam penulisan sejarah pada masa itu.

Dari segi dialektik ukuran ini sudah tentu tidak boleh dipakai. Tetapi
apa yang berlaku kita menerima alasan kajian saintifik sejarah untuk
menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai bahan sejarah.

Jika pihak luar mengatakan Sejarah Melayu bukan buku sejarah atas alasan
tidak menggunakan teknik saintifik dalam penulisannya seperti memasukkan
unsur-unsur mitos dan khayalan dan tidak pula mempunyai tarikh bagi
peristiwa-peristiwa tertentu, maka kita sebagai khalayak kepada buku ini
wajib mengambil fakta-fakta penting sebagai asas kepada penulisan
sejarah asal usul kita.

Menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai buku sejarah mendedahkan kita kepada tipu
helah penjajah dan konco-konconya untuk menakluk minda dan warisan
ketuanan Melayu sejak turun-temurun kepada suatu keadaan lengang sejarah
dan lupa sejarah dan mengambil nama-nama asing untuk dijadikan fakta
sejarah.

Sejarah Melayu ditulis lebih awal dari Suma Oriental. Ia ditulis di
antara tahun-tahun 1445 dan 1450 iaitu sewaktu Sultan Muhammad iaitu
Sultan Melaka ketiga dan Sultan Muzaffar Syah Sultan Melaka kelima.

Ini berpandukan kepada rakaman adat istiadat yang terperinci yang
dicatatkan dalan buku tersebut.

Namun begitu penulisan buku ini bukan dibuat sepanjang masa tetapi
ditimbun-tambah dari semasa ke semasa dalam zaman Sultan Mansor Syah dan
Sultan Mahmud (Sultan terakhir) Melaka.

Tun Sri Lanang hanya menyunting serta menokok tambah dan memperbaiki
penggunaan bahasa sewaktu beliau tertawan ke Acheh bersama-sama dengan
Raja Abdullah (Raja Seberang, Kesultanan Johor Riau-Lingga) pada tahun
1612, ada kemungkinan naskah-naskah lama sejarah Melayu yang tidak
tersusun, dirampas oleh Portugis dan disimpan di Goa, India atau naskah
ini dilarikan oleh pembesar-pembesar Melayu dan disimpan di Goa,
Makassar.

Adalah menjadi tradisi Bendaharalah yang memegang semua surat-surat
penting kerajaan pada masa lalu.

Sejarah ringkas zaman melaka ini pernah dipetik secara yang tepat oleh
Raja Ali Haji apabila beliau menulis Tuhfat Al-Nafis pada awal kurun
ke-19 lama sebelum sarjana-sarjana barat mengkaji buku Sejarah Melayu
suntingan Tun Sri Lanang ini.

Pengkaji sejarah bukanlah orang yang boleh dibeli atau ditipu atau
golongan orang yang berwibawa dengan gelaran-gelaran Mahaguru. Mereka
mahu melihat apa yang benar dan sekali-kali tidak mahu fakta sejarah
diputar belitkan apatah lagi jika fakta sejarah yang diputar belitkan
itu mempunyai agenda politik terentu bertujuan untuk melemahkan
asas-asas kebangsaan dan ketuanan. Tugas menjahanamkan asas-asas
ketuanan dan jati diri bangsa memanglah menjadi tujuan utama penjajah
dan konco-konco selepasnya.


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk


Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk
'Promoting a greater awareness, interest and study of the history of the
Malay Peninsula'



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Australian veterans mark 60th anniversary of fall of Singapore

http://news.catcha.com/my/content.phtml?1&010&&afpnews.cgi&cat=malaysia&story=02\
0213064222.4wgdusji.txt

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (AFP) - A group of 28 Australian veterans and war
widows began a series of ceremonies Wednesday to mark the 60th
anniversary of the Malayan campaign and the fall of Singapore to the
Japanese.

The group is led on its six-day commemorative visit to key World War II
sites in Malaysia and Singapore by Australia's Minister for Veteran's
Affairs Danna Vale.

"The fall of Singapore was a devastating blow to Australians, who had
built up hopes that the island 'fortress' would halt the tide of
Japanese aggression in the Pacific," Vale said in a statement.

"On February 15 we will commemorate the 60th anniversary of that
disastrous event, which ended one of Australia's costliest campaigns of
World War II and left Australia facing for the first time a war to
defend our shores."

More than 1,800 Australians were killed as British, Indian and
Australian forces were driven down the length of the Malayan peninsular
by the Japanese, and 15,000 were taken prisoner in Singapore.

The surrender of the supposedly impregnable island was described by
Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill as the "greatest disaster" in
British military history.

The commemorative ceremonies began with a visit to one of the key
campaign sites at Parit Sulong in Malaysia's southern Johor state near
the Singapore border Wednesday.

The battle there is remembered mainly for the massacre of wounded
Australian and Indian soldiers taken prisoner by the advancing Japanese
army, Australian historian John Moremon told AFP.

"About 110 badly wounded Australians and 40 or 50 badly wounded Indians
had to be left behind. They were held prisoner overnight and taken out
the next day and machine-gunned."

Two survivors of the battle were at Parit Sulong Wednesday, said
Moremon, who was travelling with the group.

They were "reflective", he told AFP by telephone, with one of the most
emotional ceremonies for the group of veterans -- aged between 79 and 87
-- and the four war widows accompanying them expected to come at the
Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore later in the week.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
-------

Parit Sulong, A Symbol Of Early Australia-Malaysia Cooperation

http://www.bernama.com/general/ge1302_20.htm

February 13 , 2002 22:59PM

BATU PAHAT, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- Parit Sulong, a quiet and peaceful town
nestled in this district may well be a symbol of early cooperation
between Malaysia and Australia, albeit marking a sad chapter in the
shared history
of both countries dating back to the Second World War.

An abandoned rubber tappers' barracks and a small garage at one end of
Parit Sulong Bridge and its compound on the bank of once lively Simpang
Kiri river was the site where some 110 young Australian army personnel
and 35 Indian troops were massacred by the Japanese army in 1942.

Australian Minister for Veteran Affairs Danna Vale said it was a very
historic battle site for Australia in its Malayan Campaign although that
was where the Australian troops suffered one of its most painful
experiences of
the war.

"The massacre is firmly etched in our history," she told a media
conference today after leading a delegation of 28 veterans including
four war widows to the site to commemorate the 60th anniversary of what
Australian history termed as its Malayan Campaign and the Fall of
Singapore.

To a question whether Australia would like to see the site preserved
given its historical importance, she said it would be "a very special
thing to do."

"It would be wonderful to do that and I certainly would like to actually
have further discussions with the High Commissioner to see how that
could be appropriate," she said, adding that it would be a wonderful
symbol of the
long established friendship between Australia and Malaysia.

She noted that there was already a plaque put up by the Australian 2/19
Battalion on the bridge to mark the place which to them was a very
honoured site.

Admitting that it was a moving experience for her and the veterans to
visit and to witness for themselves how Parit Sulong, once the deadliest
battlefield, was now a very peaceful place fast catching up with
development.

"We are very very grateful to the Malaysian government and local
authorities here for their support and in helping us commemorate this
very important event," she added.

Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Peter Varghese meanwhile said
that Australia and Malaysia have a very close defence relationship and
it would be appropriate "to try and find a suitable way in which to mark
this very important part of our shared history."

He did not rule out the possibility of erecting a memorial at the site.

"As the minister said we have already placed a plaque there and whether
we can do more is something I think we need to discuss with the local
authorities and the Defence Ministry as well," he said.

"I think because we do have so much shared history with Malaysia, if we
can try and work together to commemorate this event and other events I
think it would be a good thing," he added.

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs historian John Moremon in his
briefing on Parit Sulong said the site should be preserved as it was
there that the largest number of Australians were lost in a battle on
Malayan
soil.

The touching highlight of the commemorative ceremony which took place at
the Parit Sulong Bridge was the laying of wreaths by Minister Vale,
Varghese and representatives of the war veterans, amidst the strains of
the "Last Post".

Malaysia was represented by Armed Forces Veterans Affairs Director, Mej
Gen Mohd Amin Salleh. -- BERNAMA


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

The United States attack on Kuala Batu

by Sabri Zain

(to see the illustrations accompanying this article, go to
http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/potomac.htm )


The apparently successful conclusion of America's War on Terror in
Afghanistan is perhaps only the most recent example of the many times in
which the long arm of US military power has reached into Asia to protect
its economic interests (as in the Gulf), increase its sphere influence
(as in the Philippines), overcome enemy nations and ideologies (as in
Vietnam) or exact national revenge (as in Afghanistan).  However, it is
perhaps interesting for students of Malay history to note that the
United States' first-ever armed intervention in Asia was against Malay
states in Sumatra. The military assault on 'Quallah Battoo' (Kuala Batu)
in Sumatra was a US response to attacks by what were perhaps the
most-feared 'terrorists' of the day - the Malay pirate fleets of the
Straits of Melaka.

In February 1831, an American merchant vessel, the Friendship, called on
the harbour of Kuala Batu, on the Pedir coast of Sumatra. The ship was
taking in a cargo of pepper when a Malay boat set off from the village,
ostensibly to deliver part of the cargo. However, while the pepper was
being carried aboard, the Malays, at a given signal, suddenly attacked
the officers and crew.  Owen Rutter, in his book "The Pirate Wind", said
that every soul on board the vessel was killed in the raid and the
pirates ransacked the ship, carrying off all its cargo and cash to the
value of 8,000 dollars.

Fortunately, the captain of the Friendship, Charles M Endicott, had been
ashore with four of his men. Returning to his ship and finding his crew
dead, cargo missing and his ship in shambles, he fled the area and
sought the aid of other American cargo ships that were trading along the
Pedir coast. These ships assembled at Kuala Batu and sent a message to
the local chieftain demanding the punishment of the robbers and return
or restitution of all property seized or damaged.  However, the local
chieftain - recorded as a certain 'Mahomet' - denied all knowledge of
the attack. He had, in fact, added insult to injury by putting a price
on the head of Captain Endicott and any of his officers and seamen who
may have escaped the raid. The American ships returned to their base
port in Salem, Massachusetts, to report the incident to the authorities.

The then President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, promised swift
retribution. In his third State of Nation speech in December that year,
he told the Senate and House of Representatives that "a daring outrage"
had been committed in the seas of the East Indies involving the
"plunder" of one of its merchant-men engaged in the pepper trade at a
port in Sumatra. There appeared to be no room for diplomatic action as
Jackson believed that "the piratical perpetrators belonged to tribes in
such a state of society that the usual course of proceedings between
civilized nations cannot be pursued. I forthwith dispatched a frigate
with orders to require immediate satisfaction for the injury and
indemnity to the sufferers."

Jackson believed that if those who committed this " act of atrocious
piracy" were found to be "members of a regular government, capable of
maintaining the usual relations with foreign nations", satisfaction
could be negotiated. However, if they were to be "a band of lawless
pirates", the frigate had orders to "inflict chastisement".

The vessel selected to inflict this "chastisement" was the 'Potomac' - a
navy frigate built at the Washington navy Yard in 1822 equipped with
forty-two 32-pounder guns. Its commanding officer was a Commodore John
Downes and this expedition was its first overseas cruise. It carried
with it a combined force of over 300 armed Navy 'blue-jackets' and US
marines.  The Potomac left Sandy Hook, New York, on August 28th, 1831,
and set off on what was to become the United States' first-ever official
military intervention in Asia.

The Potomac weighed anchor five miles off Kuala Batu on February 5th,
1832, posing as a well-laden Danish East India merchant ship. Downes had
received orders from Jackson to negotiate with the Malays before
commencing any hostilities. However,  Downes took the advice of a local
Malay by the name of Adam who claimed to be friendly to the United
States. Adam suggested that the local Chieftain with indisposed to
negotiate, 'except with a very a sharp knife on his gullet.'

In the early morning of February, 7th, Downes sent first Lieutenant,
Alvin Edson, with a detachment of marines and three detachments of sea
men, with orders to attack and take by storm a group of four Malay forts
along the coast.  The landing party of 282 men rowed ashore and deployed
their forces into three parties. One party attacked the first Malay
strong hold, blowing up stockade gate and met the Malays in hand-to-hand
combat. It was reported that all the Malays fought to the death before
the stockade was overcome - the spears, ancient flintlock muskets and
earth and wood fortifications of the Malays were no match for the rapid,
long-range and overpowering firepower of modern Western rifles and
forty-two 30-pounder cannons.

One by one, the three other fortresses were captured during five hours
of bitter fighting. Over 150 of the Malay pirates, including Mahomet
were killed in attacks, while 2 American sea men were killed and 11
wounded. On February 9th, the men returned to the Potomac and the vessel
proceeded to bombard the village itself, its cannons setting fire to and
destroying the village - and killing over 300 of its inhabitants.

Downes was severely criticized at home by the press and the public for
his severity but Jackson approved of his actions. In his fourth state of
nation address, Jackson said that 'to inflict such a chastisement would
deter them and others from like aggressions. This was done and the
effect has been an increased respect for our flag and additional
security for our commerce.'

However, this 'chastisement' was very quickly forgotten by the Malays
just seven years later when in August 1838, in the same area, the U.S
merchant ship 'Eclipse', commanded by Captain Wilkins, suffered the same
fate as the Friendship. While trading at a village called Trabongan,
near the town of Muka, she was visited by a party of 24 Malays, who
asked permission to come aboard. Wilkins was wracked with fever in his
cabin, but his second mate allowed them on deck, asking them to
surrender their arms before boarding. This they did without complain.
However, when the Captain appeared on deck to receive them, the chief of
the party complained and asked that their weapons be given back to them
as a mark of good faith. Wilkins agreed to this request and the Malays
were returned their krises. Minutes later, Wilkins was stabbed and
killed.  His second mate was stabbed as well, but saved himself by
leaping overboard. Several members of the crew followed him while others
climbed up the rigging to save themselves. The pirates then began to
plunder the ship, carrying away with them four chests of opium and 18
thousand Spanish dollars.

News of this second outrage reached Commodore Read of the US frigate
Columbine at Ceylon.  He sailed with his quadrant for Kuala Batu and
demanded a surrender of the pirates and the property in their
possession. When he received no response, he promptly bombarded the
town. He then sailed for Muka where he landed a party of 30 officers and
300 men. Within hours Muka was ablaze and its inhabitant scattered to
the surrounding jungles.

The first American traders had arrived in Sumatra at the end of the 18th
century and  from then until 1860 it's estimated that American ships
based largely in Salem  made nearly a 1000 voyages,  carrying away 370
million pounds of pepper, worth 17 million dollars - almost half the
pepper produced in Acheh during this period. In fact, low operation
costs and faster ships enabled American traders to compete with the
British and Dutch in the pepper trade, which was a matter of concern to
the two colonial powers. The then Sultan of  Acheh, Sultan Muhammed Shah
(1823-38) was under pressure by both the Dutch and the British to check
this American trade and the Achinese had on occasion detained American
ships on alleged violation of British or Dutch trading laws. A treaty
signed with Acheh in 1819 with the British actually included an
undertaking to exclude American powers from Acheh.  It is therefore
unclear just how much of this piracy on American ships was pure robbery
and just how much of it was actually the colonial power games of the
period.

It cannot be denied though that the waters of the straits were indeed
infested by Malay pirates at the time. Referred to as the 'Vikings of
the East', no trading ships were safe from these sea-raiders. They could
shelter in a thousand lonely bays or a thousand hidden rivers along the
coast of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, only to sweep out to open sea
in swarms of up to 50 fast prahus and overwhelm the slow, heavy sail
ships of the East India merchant men. The pirate prahus were fast and
nimble, using both oars and light sails and were frequently armed with a
few small swivel guns. Dressed in scarlet and coats of chain-mail,
brandishing krises, two-handed swords and flint locks, the pirates
either murdered every soul on board or sold the survivors to slavery.

However, the situation was to change dramatically in 1836 with the
arrival in the Straits of  HMS Diana - the Royal Navy's first
steam-driven gunship in the East Indies  This fast moving vessel - and
those that followed it - could out manoeuvre and outrun the pirate
prahus, especially upwind, while decimating the Malay ranks with its
arsenal of long-range high-calibre cannon and rapid rifle fire from the
armed sea men onboard. While there were still many instances of piracy,
the new military technology of the West ensured it no longer became the
dreaded scourge and terror that it was centuries before.

With regard to the Potomac, after its sacking of Kuala Batu, it
proceeded to do an official tour circumnavigating the world, also
becoming the first US Navy ship to play host to royalty - the King and
Queen of the Sandwich Islands (i.e.Hawaii). It finally returned to
Boston in June 1834.  Its voyage around the world became the subject of
a book, 'Voyage of the United States Frigate Potomac', by Downes'
private secretary Jeremiah N Reynolds.

The Kuala Batu incident itself formed part of the basis of an American
novel published in 1901 by a Kirk Munroe. Called "A Son of Satsuma", it
is an interesting mingling of fiction and fact, with the book's main
protagonist Bob Whiting finding himself stranded in Sumatra when his
ship, the Friendship, is captured by local pirates. He meets a 'Malay
with gray eyes' and observes life in the pepper fields of Sumatra before
he makes his final dash for freedom and is rescued by the Potomac and
"Uncle Sam's long arm". The book ends with Whiting in Japan, making
arrangements for his trusty Japanese sidekick, Kato, to join the US
Naval Academy!

The assault on "Quallah Battoo" is celebrated in US Marine Corps annals,
but little is mentioned of it elsewhere. While significant as being
America's first military action in Asia, Downes' exploits were perhaps
not as renowned and celebrated in US military annals as the earlier
naval exploits of Stephen Decatur against the pirates of the Barbary
coast at Tripoli in Libya. Then again, if one were to change the opening
lines of the US Marines hymn to "From the halls of Montezuma, to the
shores of Quallah Batoo..." - it perhaps might not have quite the same
ring to it.

References:

'Voyage of the United States Frigate Potomac', Jeremiah N Reynolds. New
York: Harper and Brothers, 1835.

'Cougar Scream', US 166th Marine Corps, Vol. 1 Nov 1941, No. XXIII

'A Son of Satsuma', Kirk Munroe. New York: Scribners, 1901.

'The Pirate Wind: Tales of the Sea-Robbers of Malaya', Owen Rutter.
Hutchinson & Co. Ltd (1930), issued as Oxford University Press paperback
1986.

Andrew Jackson Third State of Nation, Washington DC, 1831-12-06

Andrew Jackson Third State of Nation, Washington DC, 1832-12-04


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

Join the Sejarah-Melayu E-mail Discussion List
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to
Sejarah-Melayu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Michael wrote:
>
> I have one question on a detail:
>
> >The upper class of Chinese merchants are exceedingly polite, and seem
> >intelligent....Their shaved heads and long queues, sometimes nearly
> >touching the ground, are curious features of their personal
> appearance.
>
> What do you think Commander Semmes meant by "queue"? I'm guessing that
> was
> the word he used for "pigtail" or "ponytail," as applied to hair?
>

Michael, just to make sure, I checked an American dictionary (American
College Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1952) where the very first entry for
'queue' is (n. 1. a braid of hair worn hanging down behind) ....

Funnily enough, 'a file or line of persons' is given as only the second
entry and the final entry is 'to form in a line while waiting for
something' - and the dictionary even noted that the usage of these two
particular entries is 'Chiefly British'. Which confirms my long-held
suspicion (even more so since I started living here) that it was indeed
the British who invented queuing and remain the only people on this
planet who continue this novel practice quite religiously and almost as
second nature! (The Russians haven't been doing it since the fall of
Communism and they don't count anyway, since they were forced to do it!)


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

At 07:42 PM 2/10/2002 -0800, you wrote:
>Malays in the American Civil War

Thank you, Sabri. That was fascinating!

I have one question on a detail:

>The upper class of Chinese merchants are exceedingly polite, and seem
>intelligent....Their shaved heads and long queues, sometimes nearly
>touching the ground, are curious features of their personal appearance.


What do you think Commander Semmes meant by "queue"? I'm guessing that was
the word he used for "pigtail" or "ponytail," as applied to hair?

Best,

Michael

For those of you not familiar with Malay, this newspaper article
(published today) raises a few of the issues on the orgin of Melaka's
founder that (by a remarkable coincidence!) you'll find in one of my
postings last week (Feb 8: 'The Founder of Melaka: Palembang Prince or
Singapore Renegade?')

--------------------------------------------------

Percanggahan Suma Oriental dengan Sejarah Melayu

Oleh: YUSOF OTHMAN

Utusan Malaysa, Feb 13
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/archive.asp?y=2002&dt=0212&pub=utusan_malaysia&s\
ec=rencana&pg=re_07.htm

Parameswara mungkin tidak pernah wujud dalam sejarah tanah air dan
dengan demikian Tun Sri Lanang bukan orang yang bertanggungjawab
memadamkan nama tersebut dalam buku Sejarah Melayu.

Apa yang sebenarnya berlaku bukan Parameswara yang membuka Melaka
seperti yang dicatatkan oleh Sejarah Melayu tetapi ialah Megat Iskandar
Syah. Tome Pires melalui bukunya Suma Oriental menggunakan nama
Parameswara sebagai pembuka Melaka pada 1402 berasaskan
maklumat-maklumat yang dikumpul melalui proses dengar cakap dari
orang-orang Melaka yang masih ada selepas Portugis menawan Melaka tahun
1511.

Pada tahun 1512 Tome Pires telah mengumpulkan maklumat itu dan dibukukan
mengikut pandangan penjajah Portugis dan kacamata penulisan sejarah
Barat. Sudah pasti tidak ada pembesar-pembesar istana yang masih tinggal
di Melaka di masa itu dan sudah tentu pula Tome Pires mendapat maklumat
dari orang-orang bukan Melayu dibandar tersebut. Dengan demikian
nama-nama yang bukan serasi dengan lidah melayu telah disebut sebagai
pembuka negeri Melaka.

Parameswara adalah perkataan Tamil dan Hindu. Perkataan Melayu yang
hampir-hampir bunyinya ialah ``Permaisura''. Ada catatan oleh Winstedt
(1948) menyebut Parameswara sebagai Sultan Melaka pertama (mangkat 1424)
dan Sultan Ketiga Melaka iaitu Raja Ibrahim memakai gelaran Sri
Parameswara Dewa Shah (mangkat 1446).

Maklumat ini dikongsi bersama oleh Wake (1964) dan Yung-lo Shih-lu dan
Hsuan-te Shih-lu dengan menyebut nama sebagai ``pai-li-mi-su-la''
sebagai pembuka Melaka dan sultan keempat Melaka bernama
``Hsili-pa-mi-hsiwa-er-tiu-pa-sha'' sebagai Sultan Melaka keempat. Apa
yang berlaku ialah Winstedt dan Wake memang tidak tahu bahasa Melayu
samalah seperti Tome Pires dengan sewenang-wenangnya menyebut
``Permaisura'' sebagai Parameswara manakala Yung-lo Shih-lu dan Hsuan-te
Shih-lu menyebut dengan pelat Cina mereka tetapi lebih mirip sebutan itu
kepada ``Permaisura''. Sebenarnya Raja Melaka memakai gelaran Sri
Permaisura Dewa Syah bukan Sri Parameswara Dewa Syah.

Gelaran Permaisura adalah menggambarkan raja lelaki mengikut istilah
Melayu samalah dengan Permaisuri merupakan raja perempuan gelaran yang
dipakai sampai hari ini. Dengan demikian tidak hairanlah jika Sultan
Iskandar Syah boleh juga digelar Permaisura. Hingga sekarang gelaran
Permaisura tidak lagi dipakai di Malaysia tetapi negara Brunei
Darussalam masih menggunakannya untuk memberi gelaran kepada ahli-ahli
kerabat terdekat.

Ternyata sekali istilah Permaisura adalah istilah Alam Melayu yang gagal
digarap oleh sarjana-sarjana asing dengan menukarkannya mesjadi istilah
Tamil atau Hindu walaupun kedua-dua sebutan ini berpunca dari bahasa
Sanskrit. Hasilnya seluruh Malaysia menggunakan fakta Parameswara
sebagai sultan pertama Melaka. Pada saya ia merupakan satu perogolan
sejarah yang sangat ketara dan memalukan. Ini tentulah muslihat di
sebaliknya.

Parameswara dikatakan adalah anak Raa Sumatera yang lari ke Singapura
dan mengalahkan pemimpin tempatan bernama Temagi yang di bawah naungan
Siam, dan mengambil alih pemerintahan Singapura.

Oleh kerana takutkan serangan Siam, Parameswara lari ke Melaka dan
membuka negeri tersebut. Ini cerita yang dipungut oleh Tome Pires,
pengarang penjajah Barat. Sejarah Melayu menyebutkan Sang Nila Utama
pembuka Singapura dan mangkat pada tahun 623 Hijrah. Singapura
diperintah oleh empat lagi raja-raja Melayu sehinggalah Megat Iskandar
Syah dikalahkan oleh Majapahit dan lari ke Melaka dan mangkat pada tahun
678 Hijrah setelah memerintah tiga tahun di Singapura dan 22 tahun di
Melaka.

Inilah fakta sejarah yang dirakam oleh Sejarah Melayu tetapi dipadamkan
oleh Tome Pires dan disokong pula oleh Winstedt dan Wake.

Lima raja-raja Melayu di Singapura dipadamkan dari sejarah asal apabila
Singapura menulis semula sejarah mereka pada tahun 1965 dan ternyata
sekali bukan Tun Sri Lanang yang memadamkan nama Parameswara yang tidak
pernah wujud dalam sejarah tetapi akar umbi sejarah kita telah diputar
belit sehingga lima raja-raja Melayu Singapura telah dipadamkan dari
sejarah asal kita.

O.W.Walters dalam bukunya bertajuk Kejatuhan Sri Wijaya Dalam Sejarah
Melayu (Cornel University 1969-terjemahan DBP 1990) telah menghentam Tun
Sri Lanang habis-habisan pengarang Sejarah Melayu sehingga nama Tun Sri
Lanang sendiri disebut sebagai ahli salasilah sahaja. Cara beliau
mengkaji dan menghentam karangan Tun Sri Lanang ini seolah-olah dia
hidup sezaman dengannya dan mengikut pula teknik-teknik penulisan
sejarah terkini.

Tujuan Walters adalah jelas iaitu untuk menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai
bahan sejarah dan hanya layak dianggap sebagai satu hasil sastera sahaja
berpandukan teknik-teknik saintifik dan penulisan sejarah semasa. Itulah
kejahilan utama sarjana-sarjana barat apabila menilai hasil karya klasik
anak pribumi tanpa mengenali budaya etnik tersebut dan di zaman silam
pula.

Memanghlah benar ada unsur-unsur mitos kayalan dan legenda dalam Sejarah
Melayu seperti Raja Suran turun ke laut dan berkahwin dengan Puteri
Mahtabul Bahri sehingga mendapat tiga orang anak iaitu Nila Utama, Nila
Pahlawan dan Kerisna Pandita yang kemudiannya naik semula ke darat dan
jatuh di Bukit Seguntang. Tetapi keturunan Nila Utama yang menjadi Raja
seramai lima orang di Singapura bukanlah satu mitos atau khayalan.

Alasan mitos hanya digunakan untuk memadamkan nama lima orang Raja
Melayu Singapura dari buku sejarah. Jika ini dibuat di Singapura ia
mempunyai cerita yang lain walaupun Stamford Raffels sendiri mengakui
wujudnya lima raja-raja Melayu tersebut.

Ternyata sekali tugas-tugas pengkaji sejarah yang mempunyai motif
tertentu dan juga mungkin mendapat upah yang besar dalam usaha pemadaman
dan pencabulan sejarah ini. Walters sangat berjaya dalam usahanya dan
usaha beliau sudah tentu dibantu oleh Wang Gungwu sarjana yang lebih
serdahana yang mengambil fakta dari tulisan sejarah Cina untuk membantu
pendapatnya. Walters yang mengambil pelbagai sumber termasuk dari Sri
Lanka dan India adalah sarjana upahan yang benar-benar telah berjaya
menjahanamkan asas-asas sejarah asal Tanah Melayu dan kerajaan Melayu
Melaka.

Sejarah Melayu adalah sebuah karangan agung yang hingga sekarang ini
telah diterjemahkan ke lebih 20 bahasa dan menjadi kajian oleh ramai
pakar-pakar sejarah dan sastera.

Apabila kini, ia dianggap sebagai suatu hasil sastera sejarah, maka
martabatnya telah turun ke taraf yang paling bawah. Ini semua adalah
hasil penggunaan teknik-teknik penulisan sejarah moden bagi mengukur
hasil tulisan oleh anak watan yang langsung tidak tahu teknik moden
dalam penulisan sejarah pada masa itu.

Dari segi dialektik ukuran ini sudah tentu tidak boleh dipakai. Tetapi
apa yang berlaku kita menerima alasan kajian saintifik sejarah untuk
menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai bahan sejarah.

Jika pihak luar mengatakan Sejarah Melayu bukan buku sejarah atas alasan
tidak menggunakan teknik saintifik dalam penulisannya seperti memasukkan
unsur-unsur mitos dan khayalan dan tidak pula mempunyai tarikh bagi
peristiwa-peristiwa tertentu, maka kita sebagai khalayak kepada buku ini
wajib mengambil fakta-fakta penting sebagai asas kepada penulisan
sejarah asal usul kita.

Menolak Sejarah Melayu sebagai buku sejarah mendedahkan kita kepada tipu
helah penjajah dan konco-konconya untuk menakluk minda dan warisan
ketuanan Melayu sejak turun-temurun kepada suatu keadaan lengang sejarah
dan lupa sejarah dan mengambil nama-nama asing untuk dijadikan fakta
sejarah.

Sejarah Melayu ditulis lebih awal dari Suma Oriental. Ia ditulis di
antara tahun-tahun 1445 dan 1450 iaitu sewaktu Sultan Muhammad iaitu
Sultan Melaka ketiga dan Sultan Muzaffar Syah Sultan Melaka kelima.

Ini berpandukan kepada rakaman adat istiadat yang terperinci yang
dicatatkan dalan buku tersebut.

Namun begitu penulisan buku ini bukan dibuat sepanjang masa tetapi
ditimbun-tambah dari semasa ke semasa dalam zaman Sultan Mansor Syah dan
Sultan Mahmud (Sultan terakhir) Melaka.

Tun Sri Lanang hanya menyunting serta menokok tambah dan memperbaiki
penggunaan bahasa sewaktu beliau tertawan ke Acheh bersama-sama dengan
Raja Abdullah (Raja Seberang, Kesultanan Johor Riau-Lingga) pada tahun
1612, ada kemungkinan naskah-naskah lama sejarah Melayu yang tidak
tersusun, dirampas oleh Portugis dan disimpan di Goa, India atau naskah
ini dilarikan oleh pembesar-pembesar Melayu dan disimpan di Goa,
Makassar.

Adalah menjadi tradisi Bendaharalah yang memegang semua surat-surat
penting kerajaan pada masa lalu.

Sejarah ringkas zaman melaka ini pernah dipetik secara yang tepat oleh
Raja Ali Haji apabila beliau menulis Tuhfat Al-Nafis pada awal kurun
ke-19 lama sebelum sarjana-sarjana barat mengkaji buku Sejarah Melayu
suntingan Tun Sri Lanang ini.

Pengkaji sejarah bukanlah orang yang boleh dibeli atau ditipu atau
golongan orang yang berwibawa dengan gelaran-gelaran Mahaguru. Mereka
mahu melihat apa yang benar dan sekali-kali tidak mahu fakta sejarah
diputar belitkan apatah lagi jika fakta sejarah yang diputar belitkan
itu mempunyai agenda politik terentu bertujuan untuk melemahkan
asas-asas kebangsaan dan ketuanan. Tugas menjahanamkan asas-asas
ketuanan dan jati diri bangsa memanglah menjadi tujuan utama penjajah
dan konco-konco selepasnya.


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

Well done Sabri

Am busy reading the various postings. Look forward to contributing in
the near future.

Wasalaam

Firdaus

This article is from thestar.com.my
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/1/28/features/marker28&sec=

__________________________________________________________________________


Monday, January 28, 2002

When rubber was ‘raja’

A bad-tempered Scotsman, trading agencies hell-bent on making a
profit, and smallholders eager to jump on the rubbery bandwagon
all conspired to put Malaya on the world map in the 20th century.
NICHOLAS J. WHITE looks back at the circumstances and people
that, at one point, made Malaya the world's foremost producer of
rubber.

THE chances that exist today occur certainly only once in a
hundred years, and very likely I would be true in saying once in
a thousand years,” uttered Arthur Lampard, a British director of
trading company Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd in 1910. This
“opportunity of the millennium” was not in high-tech electrical
goods, Malaysia’s most valuable exports today, but in the milky
latex that oozed from diagonal cuts in the trunks of rubber
trees. Indeed, for most of the 20th century, Malaysia’s real
money-spinner was rubber. Lampard was the leading promoter of
rubber companies in London at the beginning of the century, and
his firm, Harrisons & Crosfield , was one of the dozen or so
British agency houses that dominated Malaysia’s rubber industry
until the 1970s (see table on P26).

The rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, first arrived at the
Botanical Gardens, Singapore, in 1877 via Brazil, Kew Gardens in
London, and Sri Lanka. Yet, rubber only became a big hit on the
Malayan mainland, surpassing sugar and coffee as a cash crop,
after a massive upsurge in demand from the 1900s. For this,
Malaysia can thank Henry Ford because the famed American car
manufacturer’s mass production techniques created a huge demand
for rubber tyres.

In the 1900s, the City (referring to the financial heart) of
London was the financial capital of the world, and it was the
role of the agency houses to channel money from the profit-hungry
city into rubber plantations. The rubber boom of 1910 produced
massive profits for speculators in London who made up to
£500,000.



While the agency houses benefited through favours from British
residents and high commissioners in Malaya, their commanding role
in rubber arose mainly from their high level of organisation,
their expert knowledge of Malayan conditions, and their ability
to seize opportunities and float companies in London. Through a
system of interlocking directorships, cross shareholdings, and
local management, the agency houses came to cunningly control
rubber companies that they frequently did not own.

Malaya was ideally suited to grow rubber – there were vast tracts
of uncultivated land and uninhabited jungle, good soils, a hot
and wet climate, and a stable administration. But the plantations
also needed labour to tap the trees. British managers
increasingly favoured Indians over the Chinese because they were
allegedly more docile, while the Malays were, quite wrongly,
dubbed “lazy”. Indian tappers in Malaya were mainly Tamils,
recruited by supervisors, or kangany, through the indentured
system in southern India and Sri Lanka. Conditions were harsh and
wages worthy of Scrooge on a bad day. Sexual harassment was also
common on the estates – the Tamil tappers who went on strike in
1914 demanded an end to the molestation of female labourers by
European planters.

The land area under plantation rubber in the Malay States
expanded 250-fold between 1900 and 1921, to almost 600,000ha,
representing an investment of probably £100mil. By the 1930s,
Malaya was producing half the world’s rubber. By then, the
uncrowned king of rubber in London was Sir John Hay, a
bad-tempered Scot who enjoyed whisky as much as the British
planters on the spot did. Hay’s was a rags to riches story – he
came from a poor family that lived in Fife, Scotland, educated
himself at night school, and worked his way up through the firm
of Guthries to become its managing director in 1930. Hay held
this position in the leading agency house for some 33 years, and
made at least £1mil for himself and probably £20mil for his
shareholders in the various rubber companies that Guthries
controlled.

Not all rubber production was in the hands of the British agency
houses, however. The first entrepreneur to commercially exploit
rubber in 1896 was a Malayan Chinese, Tan Chay Yan, in Malacca .
He incorporated his Bukit Lintang estate as the Malacca Rubber
and Tapioca Company. The family wealth of Tun Tan Siew Sin,
Malaysia’s finance minister between 1959 and 1975 and head of
Sime Darby in the 1980s, was based on rubber planting, also in
Malacca. Neither should we forget the countless Malays and
Chinese who took advantage of new opportunities in the global
economy by tapping rubber trees on their smallholdings.

In Sarawak and Sabah, too, the native and Chinese smallholders
did much to put Malaysia on the world map as far as rubber was
concerned. Indeed, the low-cost production techniques of the
smallholders were so efficient that they flooded the market with
cheap, “quick” rubber, reducing the profits of the agency houses.
Restriction schemes in the 1920s and 1930s were designed to curb
smallholder production. Not surprisingly, angry groups of Malays
confronted the district officers who imposed the production
quotas!

Indeed, rubber’s history was not all plain sailing. Malaya
benefited from the booms in the global economy, but equally
suffered in its troughs. The Great Depression of the 1930s
reduced demand and between 1923 and 1932, the prices of rubber
quoted in London crashed five-fold. With the fall of Malaya to
the Japanese at the end of 1941 during World War II, American
consumers developed a synthetic substitute, which emerged as a
major competitor to plantation or “natural” rubber after the war.
At the same time, Malaya’s trees were ageing and becoming less
productive. By the 1950s, Malaya’s position as the world’s
largest rubber producer had been overtaken by Indonesia.

Enlightened replanting schemes and research programmes from 1955
restored Malaya’s competitive edge and after the country gained
independence, smallholders received increasing support from the
government.

Schemes by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), such
as the Jengka Triangle Project covering some 132,000ha in Pahang,
helped the smallholders to overtake the British-owned estates as
Malaya’s main producers of rubber.

There was the odd boom, too: the quadrupling of rubber prices
during the Korean War created massive demand for gold teeth! The
hiking of oil prices in the early 1970s made synthetic rubber
increasingly expensive, and natural was once again cheaper and in
big demand. But, Malaysia’s (Malaya was renamed Malaysia in 1963)
competitive advantages in the global economy were shifting. The
agency houses diversified into oil palm and factory-based
production from the 1960s. Changes in the structure of the agency
houses were also afoot – they fell into Malaysian ownership, and
Guthrie and Sime Darby are now big names on the Kuala Lumpur
Stock Exchange.

Today, many rubber estates are being sold off to property
developers, and in 1997, a mere 1.3% of Malaysia’s export
earnings came from rubber. But for most of the 20th century,
rubber was “raja” (king). With the tin mines, the plantations of
thin, scruffy trees, tapped by hard-working Malayan labourers
overseen by tough European managers, transformed Malaya into
Britain’s richest colony. The next time you put on a pair of
rubber gloves to do the washing, you might consider rubber’s long
history in Malaysia.

Nicholas J. White is the author of Business, Government, and
the End of Empire: Malaya, 1942-1957 (Oxford University Press,
1996) and Decolonisation: The British Experience Since 1945
(Longman, 1999).

Millennium Markers is a weekly series that looks at events and
happenings that shaped Malaysia and the surrounding region over
the last 1,000 years; it is coordinated by Dr Loh Wei Leng,
Universiti Malaya.

BBC Online
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1805000/1805298.stm

The fall of a fortress

In 1941 the Japanese embarrassed Britain by capturing the key city of
Singapore. Piers Plowright, presenter of the Radio 4 programme Fall of a
Fortress, looks at the event and the atrocities which followed.
I first came to Singapore in 1957 as a young national serviceman.

World War II had been over for 12 years and nobody there talked much
about it, or the events between December 1941 and February 1942.

In 70 tumultuous days, a Japanese army little more than 30,000 strong
defeated an allied force nearly four times as big.

It destroyed its fleet, seized its airfields, put to flight its soldiers
and forced and unconditional surrender on its divided and outmanoeuvred
leaders.

Disaster

It was one of the most humiliating defeats in British military history
and, according to Winston Churchill's private detective, one of only two
periods when the great war leader was unable to sleep.

He knew that the loss of Britain's largest overseas naval base was a
huge disaster; he may have also sensed that it was a devastating blow to
the prestige of a once mighty empire.

The 'little fellows' as Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor of Singapore in
those dark days, contemptuously dismissed the Japanese, had shown that a
well-disciplined and led Asian power could run rings round the combined
forces of the British and Australian High Command.

The city surrendered 60 years ago on 15 February 1942 and the brutal
Japanese occupation that followed over the next three and a half years
was to change history forever.

Massacres

Elizabeth Choy OBE survived weeks of torture by the Japanese secret
police.

Choy - is a hero in Singapore, after being imprisoned by the infamous
Kempeitai military police with her husband.

Her only crime was to be running a canteen in a hospital, which the
Japanese thought was an elaborate way of passing messages between the
hated Chinese.

Describing her torture, she said: "They made a frame of three sided wood
and I was asked to kneel on the frame, they tied my hand behind my back
and they tied my legs.

"I couldn't move. Then they brought in my husband who I had not seen for
a long time. He was made to kneel beside the frame to watch me being
tortured.

Collection centres

"They applied an electric current through my bare body, it was awful. I
screamed and I yelled, tears were running down my cheek."

Lee Kuan Yew, who later rose to world prominence as the Prime Minister
of Singapore, also recalled the random rounding up of citizens by the
Japanese.

He said: "We were told to collect ourselves in certain collection
centres - after a few days you go through a gauntlet, as you go through
the gauntlet to get out and they have spies or informers to point you
out."

Mr Lee was spotted as he left and told to wait in a lorry - but fearing
the worst asked to be allowed back in to collect his clothes. He then
hid for a few days and tried again. This time he was able to leave
without being picked out.

It was a move which saved his life.

"Subsequently I discovered that all those who went onto the lorry were
taken to the beaches and machine gunned," he said.

Archive Hour: Fall of a Fortress will be broadcast on Saturday 9
February at 2000GMT on BBC Radio 4


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

***************************Advertisement***************************
TechCentral
http://star-techcentral.com

*****************************************************************
This message was forwarded to you by sabrizain@....

Comment from sender:


This article is from thestar.com.my
URL:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/2/9/features/georgewalk&sec=

__________________________________________________________________________


Saturday, February 9, 2002
The Penang Story

  The life and soul of George Town
By ANDREW SIA<BR>Pictures by ZAINUDIN AHAD, ERIC LEE and ANDREW SIA

WHAT does it mean to walk through the living heritage of George Town, Penang?
The many historic buildings, the hardware if you will, of this old city have
been very much in the conservation spotlight lately. But what about the people
behind them, the historic software?

This dimension is what gives that added ummph to the Inner City Trails of George
Town — a series of walking tours promoted by the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT). As
the brochure explains:



The historic city of George Town . . . consists of living neighbourhoods and
urban villages. With over 200 years of multi-cultural history, its streets are
waiting to be rediscovered.

Tours start from the PHT office at 26A, Lorong Stewart, which was formerly a
lodge for Hainanese sailors. From this base, there is a choice of three walking
trails:  the Spice Trail — around Little India; Heritage Trail 2 — St George’s
Church, Penang Museum, Love Lane, the Carpenters Guild, Hainan Temple, Cheong
Fatt Tze Mansion etc; Harmony Trail — Yap Kongsi, Khoo Kongsi, Acheen Street
Mosque, Syed Alatas Mansion, Sun Yat Sen’s base etc.

WeekEnder was invited to a combination tour of all three trails recently. Ample
explanations are of course provided as visitors sightsee the various historical
buildings. But what’s truly special is the vivid feel of heritage delivered
through the senses of touch, sound, taste and smell.

Teresa Capol, a specialist Penang heritage tour guide, started us off on this
aspect of living heritage just opposite the PHT office. Here, at Ong Kok Wan’s
shop, the mixing machines churned away as the rich, heady aroma of coffee beans
roasted with butter, sugar, salt and even sesame oil greeted us. We got to feel,
literally, Sumatran Arabica beans in our hands and even tasted the “top blend”
of Eagle Brand Coffee.



Australia may have its winery tours, but we in Penang have our own coffee
roasting tour! But this was just the beginning. Next, we visited Lee Beng
Chuan’s shop where joss-sticks are still handmade and sun-dried.

“Nowadays joss-sticks are mass produced by dipping them in tubs layer by layer.
But it doesn’t come out nice and thick like when it’s handmade. I use real
sandalwood, unlike the factories which use sawdust and chemicals,” he explained.

Since the repeal of the Rent Control Act two years ago, his rent has increased
from RM18 to RM345 per month.

“I’ve been staying here since I was nine years old. I’m now 73. The rent will
increase every two years, maybe by about 10%. For now I can still take it. If
the rent shoots up too much, I will have to retire from my craft,” he said.

And with that, another facet of Penang’s heritage-in-the-flesh would disappear.

From there, we proceeded to Jalan Masjid Kapitan Kling (Pitt Street). Anyone who
thinks that Malaysia might have been the launching pad for the attacks on
Manhattan’s Twin Towers need only witness how the various houses of worship
co-exist so closely in Penang.

“Pitt Street is also called Harmony Street,” said Teresa. “We have the Kapitan
Kling Mosque, the Goddess of Mercy Temple, St George’s Church and the Sri
Mariamman Temple. Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and Hindus all on one street.”



Spiritualism extends beyond these formal sites into the realm of the ordinary.
At the roadside, to be exact, Teresa pointed out three trees: a bodhi, neem and
fig.

“The bodhi tree is significant to Buddhists, of course, since Buddha achieved
enlightenment while sitting under one, and under this fig tree you can see the
image of Lord Ganesha. There are a lot of neem trees because many municipal
council workers were Indians in those days. Its leaves are used during
Thaipusam. It’s also a traditional remedy for so many ailments including
purifying the blood and curing chicken pox.”

She added that the roadside flower shops served both the Hindu and Chinese
temples as well as those inclined to the cross-cultural practice of mandi bunga
— a bath with flower-soaked water.

Besides coffee roasting and joss-stick making, the walking tour visits many
traditional craftsmen — all endangered by the raising of rentals within George
Town. These include:

<LI> M. Mani, a traditional Indian jeweller, continues his work with tap hammers
and handfilers along Queen Street.

<LI> Just opposite, Kok Chan Chew chisels away on traditional Chinese
signboards.

<LI> Ng Gee Swee’s workshop at Armenian Street churns out old-style beaded
Nyonya slippers — as well as ballet and ballroom shoes!

“The rent has gone up by 10%. If it goes up too much, I will have to relocate
elsewhere,” said Ng.

<LI> Death dissolves artificial barriers and the “proof” of this can be seen at
Teik Hin along Acheen Street. Here, Chong Yee Phun has been chiselling away on
all sorts of gravestones — Chinese, Christian, Muslim and Hindu — since 1965.

<LI> V. Kaleespari, 70-year-old “pioneer grinder” at Market Street, provides a
service to Indian restaurants as far as Bukit Mertajam.



“These restaurants have their own special formula of curry powder,” explained S.
Samynathan, the manager. “Some housewives also want curry powder tailor-made to
their taste. They bring their spices and we only charge RM2 to grind two kilos.”

Who comes for these tours? According to Joann Khaw, another heritage guide,
“Sometimes during conferences, companies engage us to take their foreign guests
for a walk. I have even taken some locals who want their children to learn about
their heritage.”

Our tour ended amidst the delights of Little India. The rip-roaring rhythms of
Bollywood movie songs blasted out of music shops — the perfect backdrop for the
hectic glitter of silk sarees, glass bangles and polished brass goblets.

“At the end of my walking tours, my guests usually tell me, ‘Take me back to
Little India.’ Then I’ll sit with them in the streetside stalls for a cup of
tea. Or sometimes, we’ll have lunch at a banana leaf rice restaurant,” said
Teresa.

“There’s so much to see here. That shop for instance sells vegetables such as
snake gourd and bottle melons. Indians use them for cooking and they are
difficult to find elsewhere.”

The array of sights, sounds and smells was indeed dizzying. Wigs of real and
synthetic hair, RM1,500 gold embroidered Kanchipuram sarees, traditional pottus
(stuck on the forehead to represent the Third Eye) made of turmeric mixed with
lime as well as their modern stick-on versions, the burning of camphor, the
string of mango leaves across doorways and the sweet whiff of spices.

During Christmas, one always hears about how frankincense was a gift from the
Three Wise Men. Here at an extensive spice shop, this writer saw some for the
first time.

“Western tourists may eat mustard and cinnamon, but they have never seen the
real thing, like mustard seeds. My guests are also fascinated with these long
cinnamon sticks,” she pointed out.

“They buy back loads. For Christmas decorations, they say.”

Teresa underlined that street hawkers are important for tourism.



“They add to the atmosphere of Penang. They should not be chased off. The
authorities should just provide them with proper running water and garbage
disposal facilities.”

Cultural tourism in Malaysia has long been about watching, well, slightly fake,
traditional dances complete with shiny sequinned costumes and glittery bunga
manggar. What about the real life, yes gritty, traditional craftsmen of a great
multi-cultural city?

Tourists pay top dollar to see sheep-shearing in Australia, glass-blowing in
Germany and jewellery-making in Holland. Singapore’s Little India is being
skillfully promoted with spice shopping, “how-to-wear a saree” lessons and henna
painting. Let’s face it, marketing is one of the pillars of New Economy and the
more developed countries know how to do it.

Of course, not everybody fancies becoming a “tourist product” but if it brings
in solid cash during these uncertain economic times, why not? Tourism is not
just about the hardware of new airports, bridges and hotels but also about the
software, the brain power, of skilled people.

With the decontrol of rentals in George Town, we stand to lose traditional
signboard carvers, jewellers, slipper makers, coffee roasters, stone sculptors
and joss-stick makers in one fell swoop. When will we begin to value what we
have?

  For further enquiries on these walking tours, contact Penang Heritage Trust at
(04) 264 2631.

<!-- Page: 17 -->


__________________________________________________________________________
Your one-stop information portal:
The Star Online
http://thestar.com.my
http://biz.thestar.com.my
http://classifieds.thestar.com.my
http://cards.thestar.com.my
http://search.thestar.com.my
http://star-motoring.com
http://star-space.com
http://star-jobs.com
http://star-ecentral.com
http://star-techcentral.com

Copyright © 1995-2001 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of Star Publications is prohibited.

Malays in the American Civil War

(To see illustrations accompanying this article, go to
http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/civilwar.htm)

It is a little-known fact that a number of Malays were known to have
enlisted in the American Civil War. With Malays being well-known at the
time for their seafaring skills and feared as ruthless pirates, it is
not surprising that these individuals were combatants in the Union and
Confederate navies.

At least three Malays are known to have served in the Confederate Navy,
two aboard the CSS Shenandoah in 1864-5, and one aboard the CSS Sumter
in 1861. All enlisted under anglicized names. William Bruce, joined the
Shenandoah as Wardroom Steward, from the prize bark Alina on October 31,
1864, and left the vessel at Melbourne, Australia. Another Malay, Duke
Simmons, joined as a Seaman at Melbourne. He was one of the 42 stowaways
who shipped aboard the Shenandoah, after her departure from that city.
The CSS Shenadoah was the last of the Confederacy's high seas raiders
and terrorised Union shipping on the high seas until she sailed into
Liverpool harbour at the end of the war, where her crew surrendered to
the British government.

In a report of the movements of the CSS Sumter between June and
November, 1861, Commander Raphael Semmes mentions that both the cabin
and wardroom stewards aboard the vessel deserted at Surinam, Dutch
Guiana, on August 30, 1861. He adds that the Cabin Steward was a slave
and his (Semmes') body servant, and the Wardroom Steward was a Malay.
The muster rolls for the CSS Sumter show the names of the two stewards
who deserted as Edward Lee and Nicholas Allen. However, their ranks on
the rolls are both shown as Officers' Steward, so it is unknown at
present which one was the Malay - though it is probable Lee might have
been a Chinese born in Malaya, and was referred to as a Malay.
Alternatively, as it was common for non-Caucasian recruits to be
registered under anglicized names, he could have well been an actual
Malay.

The Union navy rolls show at least three Malays who enlisted on the
Union side (again, under anglicized names). Henry S. Bell, aged 21, was
a baker who enlisted for the war in February 24, 1862 at New York. He
described himself as a Malay, born in Calcutta. He is listed as a Cabin
Steward on the Muster Rolls of the USS Orvetta (Page 61, Volume 18).
Martin Cross, Seaman, aged 22, occupation Mariner, enlisted April 11,
1864, for 2 years, at New York. The Muster Rolls of USS Owasco (Page 24,
Volume 32) describe his birthplace as Malaya., with bronze eyes, black
hair, brown complexion. John Fernando, Third Class Boy, aged 17,
enlisted March 23, 1863, for 3 years, at Boston, is also described as
Malay (though born in the Philipines).

The CSS Sumter mentioned above was cornered by Union warships in the
Atlantic and laid up in Gibraltar, after which her captain Semmes and
many of his crew were transferred to the famous CSS Alabama - the
Confederate warship that brought the American civil war to Malay waters.

By the end of 1861 the Union's blockade of southern ports was starting
to hurt the Confederacy, 'and in consequence the Government sanctioned
the building of a number of seagoing cruisers in . Britain which
afterwards could be easily commissioned and fitted out as warships, and
cruised the oceans of the world to strike at the undefended Union
commercial fleet. The most famous of these were the CSS Alabama,
Florida, Georgia and the Shenandoah. These and half a dozen other CSS
warships succeeded in sinking a total 257 Union commercial vessels in
all the oceans of the world.  (After the war the U.S. Government claimed
130 million dollars from.Britain at the claims court held in Switzerland
in 1871/1873, because the ships were built for the Confederacy in
British dockyards in contravention of British neutrality and
subsequently converted into warships. Eventually an amount of 15 million
dollars was paid out by the British in compensation.)

The CSS Alabama had been hunting Union shipping in the Indian and
Pacific oceans and was pursued to Malay waters by the USS Wyoming. She
made a now-famous stop-over at Singapore (an account of which is give
below), and attacked the cargo ship Texan Star (also known as the
Martaban) somewhere in the Straits of Melaka. The action was observed by
the British gunboat Kwan-Tung. The Alabama left the Texan Star a burning
hulk but rescued some of the stricken ship's crew and landed them at
Melaka.

The CSS Alabama also became part of Malay cultural heritage she called
on Cape Town in August of 1863 and this was celebrated to this day
through a South African Malay folksong "daar kom die Alibama" ("Here
comes the Alabama").

Daar kom die Alibama
Die Alibama die kom oor die see (x2)
Nooi, nooi die rietkooi nooi
Die rietkooi is gemaak
Die rietkooi is vir my gemaak
Om daarop te slaap. (x2)

Here comes the Alabama
The Alabama she comes o'er the sea (x2)
Girl, girl the reedbed girl
The reedbed was made
The reedbed was made for me
To sleep thereon. (x2)

The song is called a "moppie", created and sung by the Cape Malay
minstrels or "Klopse". There are a vast number of these moppies going
back to the earliest days at the Cape, and transmitted by word of mouth
before they were written down at  the beginning of the twentieth
century.

The journal of Raphael Semmes, while he was in command of the CSS
Alabama, describes the ship's stay in Singapore. By the time the Civil
War had commenced in far away America, Singapore was already quite well
developed. It's position as a stopover point for vessels refuelling and
restocking their provisions had already been utilised by at least one
other war vessel of the belligerent nations, the USS Wyoming. The
cruises of the CSS Alabama were quite well known in the region, and the
Straits Times  included accounts of her activities in the area. It had
been predicted that the vessel would eventually call in to the port of
Singapore, but there had been so many false alarms, that the residents
had become rather doubtful of her arrival. The journal entries below
commence with her arrival in the harbor in the early evening of December
21, 1863, and is an interesting account of early Singapore and life
there.

Monday, December 21 [1863]. - At 3.30 a.m., we got underway under steam
and sail, and steered S. by E. 32 1/2 miles, S. 18 miles, and S. by W.
14 miles, and the weather setting in very thick, with heavy rain
obscuring all things, I was obliged to come [to], in 10 1/4 fathoms with
the north point of Bintang Island bearing ----- and within 12 miles by
computation of the Pedra Branca light house. We have thus to war against
the weather as well as our enemies. Soon after daylight we made a
ship-rigged steamer on our port bow, bound also for Singapore. She
anchored also, near us, astern. It clearing a little at noon, we got
hold of the marks and got underway, and taking a Malay pilot anchored
off Singapore at 5.30 p.m.

(Note:The U.S. Vice Consul in Singapore, Francis D. Cobb, advised
Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, in a communication dated
December 22, 1863, that he had tried unsuccessfully, the previous night
[December 21st], to communicate with the crew of the CSS Alabama, but
his boat was prevented from approaching the Confederate cruiser.)

Tuesday, December 22 [1863]. - Weather cloudy. At 9.30 a.m. the pilot
came on board and we ran up into New Harbor, alongside of the coaling
depot, and commenced coaling. Singapore is quite a large town, with an
air of thrift and prosperity; a large number of ships in the harbor. The
country is beautiful and green, with an abundance of fine fruit, etc.
The country around highly improved with tasteful houses and well laid
out grounds. The English residents call it the Madeira of the East, in
allusion to its healthfulness. Some twenty-two American merchant ships
here, most of them laid up. Wyoming was here twenty days ago, and left
for Rhio Strait, where she remained for some days. Finished coaling last
night, the operation having occupied no more than ten hours. Receiving
provisions.

(Note: New Harbour is today  known as Keppel Harbour. When word had
spread that the famous Confederate cruiser was in the harbor, there was
great excitement amongst the local populace. Many of the residents
headed west to the docks in an attempt to see for themselves what the
locals termed the 'Kapal Hantu,' or 'Ghost Ship.' The hub of activity on
the island was at Commercial Square, and with the appearance of some of
the personnel of the Confederate cruiser amongst the locals at the
Square on Tuesday, December 22nd, there was no doubt that the famed
vessel was indeed in the harbor.  The USS Wyoming had arrived in
Singapore at the end of November, and left the next day, December 1st,
in search of the Confederate vessel. )

Wednesday, December 23 [1863]. - Weather variable, with occasional
showers of rain. Raining heavily in the afternoon. Last night seven of
my vagabonds ran away; two of them were apprehended and brought back
this morning. Visited the city, and was astonished at its amount of
population and business. There are from 80,000 to 100,000 Chinese on
Singapore Island, nearly all of them in the city; from 12,000 to 15,000
Malays, and about 1,500 Europeans. Singapore being a free port, it is a
great entreport of trade. Great quantities of Eastern produce reaches it
from all quarters, whence it is shipped to Europe. The business is
almost exclusively in the hands of the Chinese, who are also the
artisans and laborers of the place. The streets are thronged with foot
passengers and vehicles, among which are prominent the ox, or rather
buffalo cart, and the hacks for hire, of which latter there are 900
licensed. The canal is filled with country boats, of excellent model,
and the warehouses are crammed with goods. Money seems to be abundant
and things dear. They are just finishing a tasteful Gothic church, with
a tall spire, which is a notable landmark as you approach the town, and
are completing officers' quarters, etc., on a hill which commands the
town. Barracks for three or [four] regiments lie unoccupied a couple of
miles outside the city, and a large court-house and town hall adorn one
of the squares.

The moving multitude in the streets comprises every variety of the human
race, every shade of color, and every variety of dress, among which are
prominent the gay tartans and fancy jackets of the Mohammedan, Hindu,
etc. Almost all the artisans and laborers were naked, except a cloth or
a pair of short trousers tucked about the waist. The finest dressed part
of the population was decidedly the jet blacks, with their white flowing
mantles and spotless turbans.

The upper class of Chinese merchants are exceedingly polite, and seem
intelligent. I visited the establishment of Whampoa & Co. Whampoa was
above the middle size, stout, and with a large, well-developed head. I
was told that his profits some years amounted to 40,000 or 50,000
[pounds sterling]. He was sitting in a small, dingy, ill-lighted little
office on the ground floor, and had before him a Chinese calculating
machine, over the numerous small balls of which, strung on wires, he was
running his hands for amusement, as a gambler will sometimes do with his
checks. At the suggestion of the gentleman who was with me, I requested
him to multiply four places of figures by three places - naming the
figures - and the operation was done about as rapidly as I could write
down the result. Their shaved heads and long queues, sometimes nearly
touching the ground, are curious features of their personal appearance.
The workshops all front upon the streets, and these busy, half-naked
creatures may be seen working away as industriously as so many beavers
all day long, seeming never to tire of their ceaseless toil. I saw but
one female in the street, and she of the lower class, amid all this busy
population.

Dined in the country with Mr. Beaver. The ride out was over good roads
or avenues flanked by large forest and ornamental trees, among which was
the tall, slender, graceful palm of the betel nut. The botanical gardens
are on an elevation commanding a fine view of the town and the sea, and
are laid out with taste, ornamented with flowering trees and shrubs and
flowers. Hither a band of music comes to play several times a week, when
the townspeople ride out to enjoy the scene. A few miles beyond the town
the whole island is a jungle, in which abounds the ferocious Bengal
tiger. It is said that one man and a half per day is the average
destruction of human life by these animals. Visited opium-preparation
shop. It pays an enormous license. All this beauty fails to reconcile
the European ladies to the country, I was told. The eternal sameness of
summer and heat and moisture weigh upon and oppress them, and their
husbands being away all day on business, they wilt and pine for their
European homes. The life seems agreeable enough to the men. The governor
of the "Straits Settlement" is a colonel.

(Note: The church mentioned in the preceding entry was St. Andrew's
Cathedral, built by convict labour, and the officers' quarters were
situated on Fort Canning. The enlisted men's barracks were at Tanglin.
Hoo Ah Kay, or Whampoa as he was popularly known was a businessman who
had built his fortune on shipping. He conversed fluently in English and
often entertained naval officers and other dignitaries who visited
Singapore, and did not differentiate between belligerents. Some 16 years
after Semmes' stopover, Whampoa was visited by then ex-President Ulysses
Grant, at his stately mansion in Serangoon. Visitors to the vessel were
allowed aboard on Wednesday, after coaling had been completed, and many
residents took advantage of this invitation to inspect the vessel that
had caused so much fear amongst the merchant fleet of the U.S. A
reporter for the Straits Times had an opportunity to visit the cruiser
and gave an account of his visit in the issue of Saturday, December 26.
He describes her as "essentially a handy craft, capable of the most
rapid movements, and thoroughly effective to the extent of her
strength." The reporter also had a chance to meet with Commander Semmes,
and notes that he (Semmes) had boasted that the Confederate flag on the
vessel would never be lowered in surrender. )

Thursday, December 24 [1863]. - Cloudy. Five more deserters last night.
We brought out with us four volunteers. The Quang Tung got underway at
8.30 a.m., and we followed her and steered for the Strait of Malacca,
several sail in sight.

When she left Singapore, the CSS Alabama had less than six months of
cruising left before meeting her final destiny- she was sunk by the USS
Kearsarge off the coast of Normandy, within sight of the port city of
Cherbourg

References:

"Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India." by John Cameron. Smith,
Elder and Co., London, 1865.
"The Alabama and the Kearsarge: the Sailor's Civil War." by William
Marvel. University of North Carolina Press, 1996.
"The Straits Times.". See the article titled "The Alabama," in the issue
of Saturday, December 26, 1863, page 1.
"Traveller's Tales of Old Singapore." compiled by Michael Wise. Times
Books International, 1985.
U.S. Consulate Despatches, Singapore. [Microfilm copies held at the
Singapore National Archives]
List of Officers and Men of the Shenandoah, included in an affidavit
filled out by William A. Temple at Liverpool on December 6, 1865.
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the
Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 1, pages 626, 627, 634, 706 and 707.

See also: Asians in the Civil War at
http://home.coffeeonline.com.au/~tfoen/asians.html

/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

Join the Sejarah-Melayu E-mail Discussion List
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to
Sejarah-Melayu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Munshi Abdullah's Malay Dilemma

http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/malays3.htm

Born Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir in Melaka in 1796, Munshi Abdullah is
hailed by many as one of the Malay world's great men of letters. He led
Malay literature from the world of heroic myth, fantasy and feudal
exploits, into what R O Winstedt described as "a realism that ... is in
accord with the genius of a race of extroverts." Abdullah became the
first modern Malay journalist, his autobiography Hikayat Abdullah
featuring detailed, vivid descriptions of the ordinary lives of the
people of the Malay peninsula and a native's eyewitness accounts of
British administration and rule in the turbulent first half of
nineteenth century. Of Arab and Tamil descent, contemporary British
government surveyor J T Thomson described Abdullah as having 'the vigour
and pride of the Arab, the perseverance and subtlety of the Hindoo - in
language and national sympathy only was he a Malay." His detractors
criticize him as being an insufferable Anglophile, enamoured of the
'modern' ways of the English, while deriding the lifestyle of his fellow
Malays, in particular the tyranny of their feudal rulers, their
superstitions and their lack of interest in education. These themes are
indeed evident in the passage below, which is described as 'Volume II'
of the Hikayat and was printed as a short epilogue to the main work.

The Hikayat Abdullah - Volume II
--------------------------------------------
(Translation by A H Hill, from the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, Vol XXVIII Part 3, 1955)

When I had finished the first volume of this book, for some little time
I gave myself up to thought because I felt that the period of my
lifetime had witnessed so many wonderful changes and new things which
our grand-parents had never seen.  Such events provided me with much
food for meditation. I viewed with particular disfavour the lives led by
the Malays and the circumstances of those with whom I had been
acquainted. I had observed their conduct, behaviour and habits from my
youth up to, the present time and had found that, as time went on, so
far from becoming more intelligent they became more and more stupid. I
considered the matter carefully in my mind and came to the conclusion
that there were several reasons for this state of affairs, but that the
main one was the inhumanity and the repressive tyranny of the Malay
rulers, especially towards their own subjects.  The point had been
reached at which their hearts had become like soil which no longer
receives its nourishment, and wherein therefore nothing at all can
grow.  Industry, intelligence and learning cannot flourish among them
and they are simply like trees in the jungle falling which ever way the
wind blows. I noticed that they were always railed by men of other
races, small fry whose only value is to provide food for the big fry.

I have mentioned the injustices of the rajas because it is always the
custom of the Malay ruler to despise his subjects, as. though he thought
of them as animals.  Whenever a common man meets his ruler he is obliged
to squat on the ground in the mud and filth.  If the ruler desires the
daughters or chattels of ordinary folk he just seizes them, with no sort
of fear of Allah and without sparing a thought for the poor people.  The
laws and punishments which lie imposes on his subjects depend solely on
his own private whim.  Those who find favour with him he treats kindly,
and the wicked behaviour of his own kith and kin at the expense of the
common people he condones and hides. He keeps hundreds of debt slaves,
men who have brought ruin to the common folk, murdering people with no
more compunction than killing an ant.  The rulers make no attempt to
protect their subjects, only themselves.

All this has happened because the people have been lacking in
education.  They may wish to acquire knowledge but they do not possess
the right tools, so that the results look clumsy in the eyes of men.
And any efforts they make serves only to compromise their reputation
because it invites the spiteful attentions, of other people.

Another factor is the inability of the Malay rulers to look after their
children when young.  They allow them to do anything they like, give in
to their every wish, and pay no attention to instructing them in the
humanities, in modesty or a sense of shame, or in the elements of
culture and courteous behaviour.  All they do is to find small girls as
playmates for their children when they are young and as their mistresses
when they are older.  They give then a keris, and the people of the
country stand wholesome respect and awe of the rulers' children, not
daring to refuse them anything.  Fathers compete with their children in
gambling and cock-fighting, giving them money if they require it. If the
father smokes opium so does his child, and the older the child grows the
more scandalous does his behaviour become.  Then only does the father
wish to stop him because of the hateful things which people are saying
about him.  But so far from his own father being able to stop him not
even ten of his elders and betters can make any impression on the
child.  Then at last is the country with its people consumed in the fire
of such wickedness.  As the Malay proverb says: "If the bamboo shoot be
not cut when it is young, what is the good of it when it is large and
tough?" and also "A small fire is-our friend, a large one our foe."

Many are the places and lands which have been destroyed by the
depredations of the young scions of the ruling house, whose rapacious
hands can no longer be tolerated by the people.  Other races, the
English, the Indians, the Arabs or the Chinese, do not conduct
themselves or behave in the manner I have described.  Only the Malays.
Among all these other races the ruler's children are expected to be well
educated and very intelligent.  Their parents compel them to study under
threat of punishment, and to avoid contamination with evil things n any
form, so that their good example may be emulated by their subjects who
look to them for guidance. I am indeed amazed.  If our rulers themselves
are ignorant and uneducated how can they rule their people and
administer their countries?  And if they are wicked how can they expect
to make their people good?  If the Malay rulers do not keep their own
children under control but allow them to prey upon the common people,
how can they themselves exercise their authority over the people?  The
wicked children of the rulers are like wild tigers who after the death
of their fathers will despoil the servants of Allah.  As I understand it
the object of a fence is to prevent animals from entering and destroying
the garden.  But if the fence itself proceeds to destroy the garden what
will be its final state?  Allah has created rulers that they may cherish
mankind.  He has ordered them to do good and forbidden them to do evil.
If they or their children oppress and harm the people what will become
of them in the end?  Will not they, their countries and their peoples
alike, face ruin and disaster?

As it is, under Malay rule ordinary folk cannot lift up their heads and
enjoy themselves, and dare not show any originality for it is forbidden
by the ruler. Wishing possibly to build themselves finely decorated
houses of stone, they are afraid to do so. They are afraid to wear fine
clothing, shoes and umbrellas in case these are taboo.  They are afraid
even to keep fine clothing in their houses because it is said that such
things are the perquisites only of royalty.  Rich men especially live in
perpetual fear and are fortunate if their only losses are their
belongings.  For indeed their very lives are in danger.  Means are found
whereby such men may be penalised and mulcted of their belongings.  If a
man is reluctant to lend any of his most cherished possessions, it is
accounted a serious offence.  And once he has given them up they are
lost forever.  He will never see them again.  A beautiful young girl in
his house is like a raging poison, for it is quite certain that the
ruler will take her as one of his wives with or without her guardian's
permission.  This practice more than any other arouses the hatred of the
servants of Allah. I heard of one courageous man who refused to part
with his daughter.  The ruler ordered him to be murdered on some
pretext, and then took the child away.  All such acts as these are
forbidden by Allah and His Prophet and incur the censure of mankind
throughout the world.  There is only one being who looks with favour
upon them; the Devil, the enemy of Allah, who, in company with all his
followers will be consumed in the eternal flames of hell.

Another failing commonly found among the Malays is their inability to
change or modernise their ideas or to produce anything new. They utterly
refuse to abandon superstitions of the past.  It is not their religion
which compels them to stick to valueless customs, which make them more
and more stupid and ridiculous in the eyes of other races.  It would be
no crime to give up these ignorant practices which bring them no gain,
and which only their innate conservatism compels them to retain on the
grounds that they have inherited them from their forefathers.  If it is
our duty to follow the customs of our ancestors, then will it not
equally be the duty of our descendants to follow ours?  And would you
yourself claim to be perfect; just in all your actions and an expert in
all branches of knowledge and learning? I cannot believe for a moment
that You would dare to claim this.  And if you say to me "Let me always
remain in my present way of life" I would reply "Have you ever heard
about the ancient history of the English, about a time when they were
ten times more ignorant than you are at this moment.  They wore animal
skins, lived in mud huts, daubed their arms and legs with blue paint,
walked about with dishevelled hair, made human offices to their heathen
gods, and indulged in all sorts of other barbarous practices.  But as
time went on their children substituted new customs for these
superstitions, until they progressed to the state in which you find them
today, I know not whether by accident or design.  See for yourself the
civilisation of the English to-day.  Are they clever or ignorant? If
you say that your present customs are good ones and do not need to be
changed, then the English should return to painting their limbs blue and
to discarding their present forms of clothing in favour of animal skins.
They should smash up their houses and live again in mud huts.  They
should abolish steam-power and return to dugouts and canoes, throw away
their compasses and limit their journeys by water to the shallows and
rivers.  Do you really wish to retain your ignorant practices as a
heritage for your descendants until the end of time?  Do you really
believe that conditions in which you live at present are a fitting
inheritance for your children, a way of life worth their while to
follow? I do not for a moment believe that you really maintain this, for
you yourself realise your own shortcomings.  But what are you going to
do? For you persist in following the customs, however bad, of your
ancestors.  It is your fond hope, I know, that come what may your
children will be wise and rich and good.  But if now you sow in them the
seeds of ignorance and sloth, how can they become wise and industrious?
For as a man sows so shall he reap.  If the seed is good the plant will
be good; but if bad, bad.

Man has been created by Allah as a sentient being, capable of thinking,
of using his intelligence and moral judgement.  Is it not fitting that
we should make use of these faculties? We should exercise our powers of
discrimination, holding on to the things which profit us and shunning
those which bring evil.  But such ideas are sadly lacking in the
mentality of the Malays, who do not use their minds but are content to
pursue the pleasures of the moment and to copy forever the customs of
their ancestors, If we ask them "Why is it that you live in such
dreadful ignorance, and why do you refuse to learn wisdom and how to use
your intelligence?", they will reply "What can we do?  We are poor
people and this is how we have to live." But their poverty of mind is
the result of their lack of education, which is itself due to their
unwillingness to learn.  There are many factors which prevent them from
studying and working hard.  First, their elders never did so in the past
and they themselves are therefore reluctant to start.  Second, their
rulers and officials and other people of high rank never do so, so
neither do they,.  Third, they are ashamed to be the first among many to
start a new fashion. That is why everyone persists in doing what his
neighbour does, without using his own common sense. The longer they do
this the worse their position becomes.  So far from advancing they slip
backwards, and their minds, instead of becoming keener, grow duller and
duller.  Their wits, having no whetstone on which to be sharpened, are
devoured by rust until they are quite useless for any purpose whatever.
Finally they become like a piece of land trodden under foot by mankind
in its march along the path of progress.

Great is my astonishment to see the conditions under which the Malay
people live.  They do things which no other race in the world would ever
do. Has any other race in the world so far forgotten its own language as
to have no place at all where that language is taught?  Only the Malays,
I notice, take no interest in their own language.  Because their
forefathers did not study Malay, they dare not start now.  Amazing
indeed!  For every day they speak Malay in all their dealings with each
other they use Malay, letters sent from one country to another are
written in Malay. But they do not wish to learn the language itself. I
doubt whether one man in a hundred understands the language, and even if
there are as many it is not by dint of diligent study but by slavishly
copying other people's ways.  If anyone questions them about the use of
a certain word, its origin, or why it is employed in a particular place,
they are speechless with surprise for they have never had a teacher,
being content merely to imitate others. Is it right that hundreds, nay
thousands of men should grow up not knowing how to read or write or do
simple sums?  It makes them look ridiculous in the eyes of other races
who cheat them over measurements and weights and computations, and in
general wherever writing is involved.

Other races of this world have become civilised and powerful because of
their ability, to read and write and understand their own language,
which they value highly; for instance the Arabs, the English, the
Chinese and the Indians.  All these people pay close attention to their
own language, whose vocabulary and richness of expression is thereby
increased as time goes on. Truly it is language which civilises man and
improves his knowledge and understanding, directing all his energies and
raising the level of his own culture besides importing it to others.  By
means of language alone can the secrets of the human mind be revealed.
A great nation necessarily has a fine language, in which all matters
pertaining to this world and the next can be given expression.  Such a
nation has words to describe activities and to evoke any kind of
concept, It can regulate its life through the medium of language,
affording an opportunity for men to gain untold wealth, honour and
power.  And such a language is of the greatest benefit to them in this
world and the next.  Is it not worth your while to pay some attention to
it?  If you could have asked the Malays of old times, "Are you
sufficiently educated now, and would you be glad to see your children
grow up in the way I have described", they would, I feel sure reply
"No." And they would be very sorry that they had taken no interest in
matters of such importance and benefit to them.

Is it wrong for children of the present generation to study branches of
knowledge which were quite unknown to their forefathers?  On the
contrary, the sudden lapse of the descendants of wise and learned
people, of good character, into ignorance and sin - that, I consider, is
what is really wrong and discreditable.  A young tiger that turns into a
kitten deserves our scorn, but the kitten which becomes a tiger is
admired and receives the acclamation of all, and lucky indeed are those
who enjoy, such good fortune.  But I find everyone behaving as if he
were entirely contented with his lot in life and disinclined to improve
it by any kind of education.  His attitude of mind is that of the frog
beneath the coconut shell who thinks that the shell is the sky. It is a
most serious misapprehension, for the Malays themselves do realise their
own shortcomings and ignorance.  But because they are afraid to tamper
with the customs of their fathers they continue to waste their time in
idleness.  With their own eyes they have seen many new and wonderful
ideas, the works of man which are a source of amazement as well as of
profit and advantage to us all, and yet they are unwilling to benefit by
them.

If indeed they are aware how dull-witted and lacking in education they
are, what should be the most suitable time for them to make a change for
the better?  Surely while they are still young?  For this is the time
when their minds can be trained and developed.  A tree whose branches
grow and multiply when it is young, spreading out far from the trunk,
will likely bear much fruit when it is fully grown.  Human beings are
like that tree.  People who receive any kind of education when they are
young will  assuredly reap the benefit when they are older.  Yet I
notice that the people I have mentioned display not the slightest
anxiety for their children, letting them do exactly as they fancy.  They
indulge in petty mischief and cover themselves with mud playing up and
down the lanes.  In my opinion the children cannot be blamed, for they
see and copy the example set by their parents.  The parents know how to
bear children but not how to educate them, and their final state is like
the tree with poisoned branches, anyone partaking of its fruit becoming
ill and afterwards regretting his action. I have given only a brief
account of these matters. But it is my greatest hope that these people
will take to heart the advice I have offered them.


/\__/\
   o  o
={_!_}=

Sabri Zain

"For God knows the Truth and to Him do we return."
- Sejarah Melayu at http://malaya.org.uk

Join the Sejarah-Melayu E-mail Discussion List
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to
Sejarah-Melayu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat: Who was right?

By Sabri Zain

http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/melaka2.htm

Almost every Malaysian schoolchild would know the folk story of Hang
Tuah and Hang Jebat. Hang Tuah is the most illustrious Malay hero in
Melaka, leader of a closely-knit band of Melaka's finest warriors -
Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekiu, Hang Lekir and Hang Jebat - a veritable
Five Musketeers of Malay history. But Hang Tuah is slandered by his
enemies and the Sultan unthinkingly orders him to be put to death.
Fortunately for our hero, the wise Bendahara takes Hang Tuah into
hiding. Hang Jebat, in anguish at the injustice done to his friend,
goes in a rampage at the royal palace and the Sultan is forced to
flee for his life. The Sultan laments that Hang Tuah wasa the only
warrior who could ever defeat this traitor, upon which the bendahara
saves the day by producing Hang Tuah before his royal person.

Hang Tuah is pardoned by the repentant Sultan and despatched to kill
the traitor. Hang Jebat's joy at seeing his dearest friend brought to
life turns to despair when his friend lunges at him with a kris,
declaring his loyalty to the Sultan and hatred for traitors. In the
ensuing clash, Hang Jebat is killed, still declaring his love for a
dear friend, while Hang Tuah sadly laments to his dying friend that
loyalty to Sultan and duty comes before everything.

This romantic version of the story, as reproduced in the Malay
literary classic Hikayat Hang Tuah, has always begged the question
among Malays: who was right? Hang Tuah, because he remained loyal to
his Sultan and killed a traitor, even though he was his closes
friend. Or Hang Jebat, who was willing to die fighting against
injustice and in defence of his friend?

Purely historical sources (Sejarah Melayu, Pires,et al, as opposed to
the Hikayat myths and romances) attribute the rebellious behaviour to
Hang Kasturi rather than Jebat. By all historical accounts, the
famous final conflict was is in fact between Tuah and Kasturi. Unlike
the popular folk legend, the quarrel was not over Jebat taking
revenge upon the Sultan's injustice towards Tuah - Kasturi was
actually just fooling around with of the Sultan's concubines and went
beserk. And, by the Sejarah Melayu accounts certainly, there was
little friendship exhibited in their final encounter.

Historical fact aside, the Tuah-Jebat legend is interesting in that
it reveals a paradox in the Malay psyche, and this paradox goes as
far back as the social contract and covenant that is found in verse
56 of the Sejarah Melayu made between Sang Utama Sri Tri Buana (the
Palembang ruler from whom all Malay royalty claims descent) and
Demang Lebar Daun (his minister, representing the rakyat) .

Demang Lebar Daun promised that "the descendants of your humble
servants shall be the subjects of your majesty's throne, but they
must be well-treated by your descendants. If they offend, they shall
not, however grave their offence, be disgraced or reviled with evil
words: if their offence is grave, let them be out to death, if that
is in accordance with Muslim law". To which Sang Utama replied " I
agree to give the undertaking for which you ask, but I in turn
require an undertaking from you ... that your descendants shall never
for the rest of time be disloyal to my descendants, oppress them and
behave in an evil way to them." To which Demang Lebar Daun
agreed " ... but if your descendants depart from the terms of the
pact, then so will mine.. subjects shall never be disloyal or
treacherous to their rulers, even iftheir rulers behave cruelly and
immorally ... and if any ruler puts a single one of his subjects to
shame, that shall be a sign that his kingdom shall be destroyed by
Almighty God.

Standards were therefore set for centuries to come. On the one hand,
subjects owed absolute loyalty to the ruler - no matter how badly he
behaved. On the other hand, the ruler must be the protector of the
people. And if one breached the contract, the other could as well.

Tuah represented that absolute loyalty - and the streak of loyalty to
the ruler that ran deep in the Malay psyche. If there are three
things that were important to the Malay of old, it is loyalty to
ruler, religion and 'adat', and the accompanying sets of values that
come with them.

Jebat, on the other hand, represented that consequence of breaching
that fragile covenant - the conflict within the Malay mind that seeks
expression in that uniquely Malay word - 'amok', a rupture of the
bonds that bind him.

It is, of course, very appealing to think of Tuah as the ultimate
champion of Malay loyalty, chivalry and obedience to tradition, and
Jebat as a hero of the people fighting injustice and cruelty.
Realistically thought, their actions were far from idealistic. Tuah
took loyalty to the point of blind servility. According to the
Hikayat Hang Tuah, even before the incident where the Sultan had
ordered his execution, there was an occassion where Tuah was actually
exiled by the Sultan to Inderapura. There Tuah took it upon himself
to kidnap Tun Teja Menggala, the Bendahara's daughter, knowing that
the Sultan lusted after her. Through bribes and deceptions, he
succeeded in bringing Tun Teja to Melaka and presented her to his
ruler. The Sultan was so pleased, he pardoned Tuah and promoted him
to the rank of Laksmana, granting him three river districts as well.
His loyalty to his Sultan evidently superseded any ethical
considerations.

To think of Jebat as an idealistic champion of justice is also not
completely accurate. He certainly took over the mantle of Laksmana
from Tuah with a great deal of relish. He dutifully read Hikayats to
the Sultan. When someone lamented that Hang Tuah was needed to defend
Melaka, he angrily replied "Why do you say so? Was Hang Tuah the only
warrior? It looks as if he is not around ... so I will take his
place." He even feels powerful enough to have amourous relationships
with the Sultan's concubines, which was what finally drove the Sultan
to order his death. It was not a premeditated, conscious decision by
Jebat to fight injustice and avenge his friend - he had misbehaved
and now had to accept death or defy the Sultan. And just as Tuah
indirectly defied the Sultan by going into hiding, so did Jebat by
open rebellion. Jebat going amok killing thousands of innocent people
after he was wounded by Tuah certainly is no indication that he was a
champion of the people.

In both cases - one unconsciously, and one quite consciously - they
broke the sacred covenant made centuries before between Sang Utama
Sri Tri Buana and Demang Lebar Daun.

Palembang Prince or Singapore Renegade?

By Sabri Zain

http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/parames1.htm

There are basically only two historical records which give in some
detail the beginnings of Melaka - the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals)
written some time in the 15th or 16th century, and modified in 1612
by the Johor court; and Suma Oriental, by Tom Pires, a Portuguese who
lived in Melaka after its conquest in 1511.

Both accounts do contain a core of similar information. Both trace
the lineage of the Melaka Sultans to a ruler of Palembang in Sumatra;
both describe his departure for Temasek (Singapore); both describe a
flight to Muar, Bertam and finally Melaka; and both have an account
of the famous mousedeer story that prompted Melaka's ruler to choose
it as the base for his new kingdom.

Beyong this, however, the two accounts differ markedly.

Not many people realise this, but the famous Sejarah Melayu does not
even mention the name Parameswara at all. It relates how Sri Tri
Buana (a magical, mythical ruler supposed to be a desendant of
Alexander the Great) leaves Palembang to found a new city and
establishes it on the island of Temasek, calling it Singapura. His
descendants rule for another five generations. During the rule of the
last Sultan, Iskandar Shah, Majapahit invades but the attack is
repulsed. But he is betrayed by a Court Minister/Treasurer, who sends
a message to the King of Majaphit to attack. Majaphit sends a fleet
of three hundred ships carrying no less than 200,000 men. The gates
to the city are opened by the Minister and a terrible massacre
ensues. The red stains on the laterite soil of Singapore are said to
be blood from that massacre. Iskandar Shah flees north, eventually to
found Melaka.

Pires, on the other hand, describes how Parameswara, a Palembang
prince, flees Sumatra following an invasion by Majapahit. He arrives
in Singapura, then a vassal of the Siamese state of Ayudhya, kills
the local chief there and sets himself up as ruler. Five years later,
the Siamese attack and drive him out of Singapore. He flees to Muar,
then Bertam, where he founds a settlement. His son Iskandar Shah
finds the Melaka site and asks his father's permission to settle
there.

Three other texts - the Chinese Wang Ta-yuan, 1349; Pararaton, a
Javanese history of the period; and the 14th Century Javanese epic
poem the Nagarakritagama, also have some references to events
relating to Temasek at the time. Wang Ta-yuan wrote of a Siamese
attack on Singapore with 70 junks, the Siamese fleet fleeing with the
coming of a Chinese fleet. About two decades later, a Majaphit fleet
attacks and sacks the city.

The Pararaton tells of how Gajah Mada, a famous minister of
Majapahit, swore not to taste his favourite dish until until he had
conquered Pahang, Palembang and Temasek. In 1365, the Nagarakritagama
lists Temasek as a subject of Majapahit.

You can see that the early history of the peninsula is not an exact
science and you can sympathise with the poor modern historian who has
to consolidate and reconcile such differing accounts. Was it
Parameswara or Iskandar Shah who started Melaka? Were they not in
fact the same person? Was he from Sumatra or was it his great-great-
great-great grandfather? Was it the Siamese or Majapahit who attacked
Singapura?

The Sejarah Melayu's account mentions only one date, but some events
described in it can be verified by other historical sources. However,
the main theme of this work was to laud the spleandour, greatness and
superiority of the Melaka Sultanate - and it was written at a time
when the Johor court, successors of the Melaka sultans, were being
attacked by Portuguese and Achinese, their capital sacked many times
and having to be moved from one place to another, the court
frequently on the run from marauding invaders, their territories
being overrun. The Sejarah Melayu was probably an attempt by the
Johor court to overcome its sense of lost fortunes by regaining the
past glories of a mythical golden age.

That said, one must also remember that Pires himself intended the
Suma Oriental to serve as a reference book for the new Portuguese
masters of Melaka and, as such, while appearing more 'authentic',
could not have been completely free of bias against their vanquished
foes

Suvarnabhumi: The Influence of India on Malay Culture

By Sabri Zain

http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/hindu2.htm

Hindu influence in the Malay Peninsula was initially limited more or
less rigidly to the upper class of old Malay society - the royalty.
Malay royalty was essentially Hindu royalty descended, according to
the "Sejarah Melayu", from a legendary half-Indian and half-Greek
monarch, Raja Suran, whose sons all bearing Indian proper names, Sang
Nila Utama, Krishna Pandita, Nila Pahlawan, then descended on Bukit
Siguntang in Sumatra from whence Malay royalty spread.

The spread of Hinduism was not the result of any organised missionary
movement. Indian merchants by virtue merely of their economic
standing, drew converts from the ruling and trading classes of the
races with which they traded. If Hinduism was accepted, it was
because of a desire for a better standard of living rather than
because of an understanding and appreciation of a superior religious
system.

Hinduism spread also through marriage. The small princes of the
Malaysian coastal trading centres were glad to marry off their sons
and daughters to the prosperous Indian merchants or their children.
For those who lived on the outskirts of the trading centre, the Hindu
influence was to come much later and in gradual stages. While the
common people often followed the religious faith of their rulers,
there was always an undercurrent of fear of evoking the wrath of
their earlier animistic deities. Hinduism was assimilated only with a
lot of local theological "spice" retained.

Early Malay literature is almost completely derived from Hindu epics,
from the Ramayana and the Mahabaratha. Even today, a major portion of
Malay vocabulary is made up of Sanskrit words. Today, when a Malay
speaks a sentence of ten words, probably five of them will be
Sanskrit words, three Arabic and the remaining either of English,
Chinese, Persian or of some other origin. One expert even made the
sweeping claim that there are only four words in the Malay vocabulary
which are genuinely Malay - "api" or fire, "besi" or iron, "padi" or
rice, and "nasi" or cooked rice.

Words such as putera, son; puteri, daughter; asmara, love; samudra,
ocean; belantra, jungle; kenchana, gold; sukma, soul; and literally
thousands of other words are all Sanskrit words, either in original
or in modified form.

What of the influence of India on the religious developments of the
Malaysian peoples? Malay folk-lore and Malay literature show that
during the period before the coming of Islam, about the 14th century
A.D., the greater gods of the Malay pantheon were really borrowed
Hindu divinities. They were, in some respect, modified by Malay
ideas, but only the lesser gods and spirits were actually native to
the Malay religious system. It is true these native gods and spirits
can be identified with the great powers of nature, such as the spirit
of the Wind (Mambang Angin), the spirit of the Waters (Hantu Ayer)
and the spirit of the Sun (Mambang Kuning). But none of them appears
to have the status of the chief gods of the Hindu system. Both by
land and water, the terrible Shiva and Batara Guru or Kala, are
supreme.

In Malay folk-lore we find Vishnu, the preserver, Brahma the creator,
Batara Guru (Kala) and S'ri all invoked by Malays, especially by
Malay magicians. Of all the greater deities of the Hindu system,
Batara Guru is unquestionably the greatest. In Hikayat Sang Sembah ,
the tales of Sang Sembah, Batara Guru appears as a supreme god with
Brahma and Vishnu and some subordinate deities. It is Batara Guru who
alone has the "water of life", the elixir of life, which can restore
life to dead humans and animals. To the Malays of old, then, and to
the Malay bomohs even of the present day in whom are preserved these
notions, "tok Batara Guru" or any one of the corruptions which his
name now bears, was the all-powerful god who held the place of Allah
before the advent of Islam, and was a spirit so powerful that he
could restore the dead to life. All prayers were addressed to him.

Of the lesser deities of Hinduism, the most notable who have remained
in Malay superstition and folklore are the "gergasi", half-human
forest spirits of Hindu mythology represented in Malay folk-lore as
tusked orgres that feed on human flesh. Then there is the raksaksa, a
race of cannibal giants ruled, according to the Indian Puranas, by
Ravana. A tribe of raksaksa is mentioned in the Kedah annals, Hikayat
Marong Mahawangsa, which tell of a giant king, Maroung Maha Wangsa,
who led a tribe of giants and founded the present state of Kedah
which they called Langkasuka.

All in all, that a form of Hinduism was the accepted religion of the
Malays prior to the advent of Islam is certain, and it is a fact
amply proved by Malay folk-lore and superstition, Malay literature,
Malay customs and various archaeological inscriptions.

Muslim religious teachers in Malaysia today still preach the Islamic
concept of heaven in a terminology which is neither Malay nor Arabic,
but Hindu. The sanskrit word "shurga" is always used in connection
with the Islamic concept of paradise. The proper Arabic word for this
is actually "al-jannah". In the same way, the Hindu religious
term "neraka" or hell is used by Muslim Malays to explain the Islamic
concept of hell. The Arabic word for hell is "al-nar: or the place of
fire. Then the Muslim fast, the annual religious abstention from food
and drink, is known by the Sanskrit term "puasa". A Muslim religious
teacher is often called "guru, another Hindu religious term , in fact
the name of a Hindu deity, Batara Guru. The Muslim prayer is among
the Malays, called "sembahyang". "Sembah" in Sanskrit means to pray,
and "yang" is a Sanskrit term meaning divinity or conjuring respect,
as in "Sang Yang Tunggal", the most divine one, and "Yang
Dipertuan ".

There are many other Hindu religious terms that have lost their
original meaning and are being freely and unconsciously used by
Muslim Malays in connection with the religion of Islam. This shows
that Hinduism exerted a profound influence on Malay culture before
the coming of Islam to Malaysia. And this influence has survived,
despite the strict monotheistic restrictions of the Islamic faith, to
the present day. So, in religion as well as in other aspects of
Malaysian culture, we cannot treat the influence of India as
something belonging to the past. The political influence of old India
which was climaxed by the great Empires of Sri Vijaya and Majapahit
is today at an end, but the cultural influence of India which began
at the beginning of the Christian era is still very much alive, and
it will be alive for many, many centuries to come because it has
become part of the life of the Malaysian peoples.

The Real Malay

by Sir Frank Swettenham

http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/malays2.htm

To begin to understand the Malay you must live in his country, speak
his language, respect his faith, be interested in his interests,
humour his prejudices, sympathise with and help him in trouble, and
share his pleasures and possibly his risks. Only thus can you. hope
to win his confidence. Only through that confidence can you hope to
understand the inner man, and this knowledge can therefore only come
to those who have the opportunity and use it.

So far the means of studying Malays in their own country (where alone
they are seen in their true character) have fallen to few Europeans,,
and a very small proportion of them have shown an inclination get
into the, hearts of the people. There are a hundred thousand Malays
in Perak and some more in other parts of the Peninsula; and the white
man, whose interest in the race is strong enough, may not only win
confidence but the devotion that is ready to give life itself in the
cause of friendship. The Scripture says: "There is no greater thing
than this," and in the end of the nineteenth century that is a form
of friendship all too rare.Fortunately this. is a thing you cannot
buy, but to gain it is worth some effort.

One of the architects of British Malaya, Frank Swettenham arrived in
the Malay Peninsula in 1871 and, in subsequent years, became
appointed the British Resident in Selangor and Perak, Resident
General of the Federated Malay States and, finally, Governor of the
Staraits Settlement and High Commissioner of the Malay States in
1901. This was in no small part due to his keen interest in the
country and its people - he was known as one who lived with them,
spoke their language and respected their faith, in spite of his own
English prejudices.

The real Malay is short, thick-set. well.-built man, with straight
black hair, a dark. brown complexion, thick nose and lips, and bright
intelligent eyes. His disposition is generally kindly, his manners
are polite and easy. Never cringing, he is reserved with strangers
and suspicious, though he does not show it. He is courageous and
trustworthy in the discharge of an undertaking; but he is
extravagant, fond of borrowing money. and very slow in repaying it.
He is a good talker, speaks in parables, quotes proverbs and wise
saws, has a strong sense of humour, and is very fond of a good joke.
He takes an interest in the affairs of his neighbours and is
consequently a gossip. He is a Muhammadan and a fatalist but he is
also very superstitious. He never drinks intoxicants, he is rarely an
opium-smoker. But he is fond of gambling,, cock-fighting,' and
kindred sports. He is by nature a sportsman; catches and tames
elephants; is a skilful fisherman, and thoroughly at home in a boat.

Above all things, he is conservative to a degree, is proud and fond
of country and his people, venerates his ancient customs and
traditions, fears his Rajas, and has a proper respect for constituted
authority - while he looks askance on all innovations, and will
resist their sudden introduction. But if he has time to examine them
carefully, and they are not thrust upon him, he is willing to be
convinced of their advantage. At the same time he is a good imitative
learner, and, when he has energy and ambition enough for the task,
makes a good mechanic. He is however lazy to a degree, is without
method or order of any kind. knows no regularity even in the hours of
his meals, and considers time as of no importance. His house is
untidy, even dirty but he bathes twice a day, and is very fond of
personal adornment in the shape of smart clothes.

A Malay is intolerant of insult or slight; it is something that to
him should be wiped out in blood. He will brood over a real or
fancied stain on his honour until he is possessed by the desire for
revenge. If he cannot wreak it on the offender, he will strike out at
the first human being that comes in his way, male or female, old or
young. It is this state of blind fury, this vision of blood, that
produces the amok. The Malay has often be called treacherous. I
question whether he deserves the reproach more then other men. He is
courteous and expects courtesy in return, and he understands only one
method of avenging personal insults.

The spirit of the clan is also strong in him. He acknowledges the
necessity of carrying out, even blindly, the orders of his
hereditary, chief, while he will protect his own relatives at all
costs and make their quarrel his own.

The giving of gifts by Raja to subject or subject to ruler, is a
custom now falling into desuetude, but it still prevails on the
occasion of the accession of a Raja, the appointment of high
officers, a. marriage, a circumcision ear-piercing or similar
ceremony. As with other Eastern people, hospitality is to the Malay a
sacred duty fulfilled by high and low, rich and poor alike.

Though the. Malay is an Islam by profession, and would suffer
crucifixion sooner than deny his faith, he is not a bigot; indeed,
his tolerance compares favourably with that of the professing
Christian, and, when he thinks of these matters at all, he believes
that the absence of hypocrisy is the beginning of religion. He has a
sublime faith in God, the immortality of the soul, a heaven of
ecstatic earthly delights, and a hell of punishments, which every
individual is so confident will not be his own portion that the idea
of its existence presents no terrors.

Christian missionaries of all denominations have apparently abandoned
the hope of his conversion.

In his youth, the Malay boy is often beautiful ... a thing of
wonderful eyes, eyelashes, and eyebrows, with a far-away expression
of sadness and solemnity, as though he had left some better place for
a compulsory exile on earth.

Those eyes, which are extraordinary large and clear, seem filled with
a pained wonder at all they see here, and they give the impression of
a constant effort to open ever wider and wider in search of something
they never find. Unlike the child of Japan, this cherub never looks
as if his nurse had forgotten to wipe his nose. He is treated with
elaborate respect if he so desires, eats when he is hungry, has no
toys, is never whipped, and hardly ever cries.

Until he is fifteen or sixteen, this atmosphere of a better world
remains about him. He is often studious even, and duly learns to read
the Koran in a language he does not understand.

Then, well then, from sixteen to twenty-five or later he is to be
avoided. He takes his pleasure, sows his wild oats like youths of a
higher civilisation, is extravagant, open-handed, gambles, gets into
debt, run away with his neighbour's wife and generally asserts
himself. Then follows a period when he either adopts this path and
pursues it, or, more commonly, he weans himself gradually from an
indulgence that has not altogether realised his expectation, and if,
under the advice of older men, he seeks and obtains a position of
credit and usefulness in society from which he begins at last to earn
some profit, he will from the age of forty, probably develop into an
intelligent man of miserly and rather grasping habits with some one
little pet indulgence of no very expensive kind.

The Malay girl-child is not usually so attractive in appearance as
the boy, and less consideration is shown to her. She runs wild till
the time comes for investing her in a garment, that is to say when
she is about five years old. From then, she is taught to help in the
house and kitchen, to sew, to read and write, perhaps to work in the
padi field, but she is kept out of the way of all strange menkind.
When fifteen or sixteen, she is often almost interesting; very shy,
very fond of pretty clothes and ornaments, not uncommonly much fairer
in complexion than the Malay man, with small hands and feet, a happy
smiling face, good teeth, and wonderful eyes and eyebrows - the eyes
of the little Malay boy. The Malay girl is proud of a wealth of
straight, black hair, of a spotless olive complexion, of the arch of
her brow - "like a one-day-old moon" - of the curl of her eyelashes,
and of the dimples in cheek or chin.

Unmarried girls are taught to avoid all men except those nearly
related to them. Until marriage, it is considered unmaidenly for them
to raise their eyes or take any part or interest in their
surroundings when men are present. This leads to an affectation of
modesty which, however over-strained, deceives nobody.

After marriage, a woman gets a considerable amount of freedom which
she naturally values. In Perak a man, who tries to shut his womankind
up and prevent their intercourse with others and a participation in
the fetes and pleasures of Malay society, is looked upon as a
jealous, ill-conditioned person. Malays are extremely particular
about questions of rank and birth, especially when it comes to
marriage, and mesalliances, as understood in the West, are with them
very rare.

The general characteristics of Malay women, especially those of
gentle birth, are powers of intelligent conversation, quickness in
repartee, a strong sense of humour and an instant appreciation of the
real meaning of those hidden sayings which are hardly even absent
from their conversation. They are fond of reading such literature as
their language offers, and they use uncommon words and expressions,
the meanings of which are hardly known to men. For the telling of
secrets, they have secret modes of speech not understanded of the
people.

They are generally amiable in disposition, mildly - sometimes
fiercely - jealous, often extravagant and, up to about the age of
forty, evince increasing fondness for Jewellery and smart clothes. In
these latter days they are developing a pretty taste for horses,
carriages, and whatever conduces to luxury and display, though, in
their houses, there are still a rugged simplicity and untidiness,
absolutely devoid of all sense of order.

A Malay is allowed by law to have as many as four wives, to divorce
them, and replace them. If he is well off and can afford so much
luxury, he usually takes advantage of the power to marry more than
one wife, to divorce and secure successors; but he seldom undertakes
the responsibility of four wives at one time. The woman on her part
can, and of ten does, obtain a divorce from her husband. Written
conditions of marriage, "settlements" of a kind, are common with
people in the upper classes, and the law provides for the custody of
children, division of property, and so on. The ancient maiden lady is
an unknown quantity, so is the Malay public woman; and, as there is
no society bugbear, the people lead lives that are almost natural.
There are no drunken husbands, no hobnail boots, and no screaming
viragoes - because a word would get rid of them. All. forms of
madness, mania, and brain-softening are extremely rare.

The Malay has ideas on the subject of marriage, ideas born of his
infinite experience. He has even soared into regions of matrimonial
philosophy, and returned with such crumbs of lore as never fall to
the poor monogamist.

I am not going to give away the secrets of the life behind the
curtain; if I wished to do so I might trip over difficulties of
expression; but in spite of the Malay's reputation for
bloodthirstiness, in spite of (or because of, whichever you please)
the fact that he is impregnated with the doctrines of Islam, in spite
of his sensitive honour and his proneness to revenge, and in spite of
his desire to keep his own women (when young and attractive) away
from the prying eyes of other men, he yet holds this uncommon faith,
that if he has set his affections on a woman, and for any reason he
is unable at once to make her his own, he cares not to how many
others she allies herself provided she becomes his before time has
robbed her of her physical attractions.

His reason is this. He says (certainly not to a stranger, rarely even
to his Malay friends, but to himself) "if, after all this experience,
she like me best, I have no fear that she will wish to go further
afield. All Malay girls marry before they are twenty, and the woman
who has only known one husband, however attractive he may be, will
come sooner or later to the conviction that life with another
promises new and delightful experiences not found in the society of
the first man to whom destiny and her relatives have chosen to unite
her. Thus some fool persuades her that in his worship and passion she
will find the World's Desire, and it is only after perhaps a long and
varied experience that she realises that, having started for a voyage
on the ocean, she finds herself seated at the bottom of a dry well'.

It is possible that thus she becomes acquainted with truth.

The Malays

By Sabri Zain
http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/malays.htm

The Malays are the race of people who inhabit the Malay Peninsula
(what is today Peninsular Malaysia) and portions of adjacent islands
of Southeast Asia, including the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of
Borneo, and smaller islands that lie between these areas.

Anthropologists trace the home of the Malay race to the northwestern
part of Yunnan, in China. These tribal proto-Malays, or Jakun, were a
seafaring people. They were once probably a people of coastal Borneo
who expanded into Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula as a result of
their trading and seafaring way of life. These sea-tribes, refered to
by the Portuguese historian Godinho de Eredia as Saletes (Orang
Selat, or People of the Straits), played a major part in the making
of the great Malay empires of Malacca and Johor. The present-day
Malays of the Peninsula and coasts of the Malay Archipelago are
described anthropologically as deutero-Malays and are the descendants
of the tribal proto-Malays mixed with modern Indian, Thai, Arab and
Chinese blood.

Malay culture itself has been strongly influenced by that of other
peoples, including the Siamese, Javanese, Sumatran and, especially,
Indians. The influence of Hindu India was historically very great,
and the Malay were largely Hinduized before they were converted to
Islam in the 15th century. For nearly two thousand years, the
unremitting traffic of traders between the Archipelago and India
resulted in frequent inter-marriages along the whole of the west
coast of the peninsula, especially Tamils and Gujeratis. Some Hindu
ritual survives in Malay culture, as in the second part of the
marriage ceremony and in various ceremonies of state. Malays have
also preserved some of their more ancient, animistic beliefs in
spirits of the soil and jungle, often having recourse to medicine men
or shamans (bomohs) for the treatment of ailments.

In the northern states of Perlis and Kedah, inter-marriages with
Thais were commonplace. The east coast state of Kelantan still has
traces of Javanese culture that date back to the era of the Majapahit
Empire of the fourteenth century. The Sumatran kingdom of Acheh
dominated Perak for over a century. The Bugis from Indonesia's
Celebes Islands colonised Selangor and fought for rulers in States
along the length of the peninsula - from Kedah to Johor. The
Minangkabaus from Sumatra had their own independent chiefdoms in what
is today Negri Sembilan. This mix of different races to form what is
the modern Malay can be clearly seen in the lineage of, for example,
Melaka royalty. Sultan Muhammad Shah married a Tamil from south
India. Sultan Mansur Shah married a Javanese, a Chinese and a
Siamese - the Siamese wife bore two future Sultans of Pahang.

It was this diversity of races, cultures and influences that has the
given the modern Malay race the rich and unique historical heritage
it has today.