On the Malays

The Malays

The Malay identity was one of greatness. For a thousand years, empires were built by them. Srivijaya was the father of Malay empires, Majapahit unified the areas known as Nusantara, or the Malay world, Malacca was the first empire that carried the Malay name and identity, Johore continued the legacy of Malacca, Acheh sealed the Malay's identity with Islam. The seed of the Malay spreads across the world, from Hawaii to Madagascar.

And the Malay was not proud of his greatness. He considered himself equal, friends with peoples of other empires, and yet humble. Malacca was vassal to the Chinese Ming Dynasty, but still consider it as friends on equal footing. Host to the various Indian states, but still welcomed them to trade and served in the Malacca court, like Mani Purindam and Tun Mutahir. The Achehnese welcomed the Turk and the discussion of Islamic theology and philosophy flourished, and history was developed as a proper discipline by Nuruddin al-Raniri, long before von Ranke's idea was used.

The Malays were open to new ideas and new views. The so-called feudal loyalty to the Crown was not to the extent of forgoing common sense and reason. Did not Hang Jebat challenge Mansur Syah for Tuah's death? Did not Hang Tuah's son challenge Mahmud Syah in the balairung for committing adultery with his wife? And did not Mahmud Syah lose the support of the young warriors for his cruelty in killing his own son? Was Acheh not founded on the idea of Islamic ideals, the people deposing cruel rulers like they did Raja Buyong the Drunkard?

But the British came. And mischief was set. The Malays, long involved in trade and mining, was limited to the scope of farming and fishing. Swettenham, Winstedt, Wilkinson-they preserved the idea of the quintessential Malay in their heads, in their books, and in their policies, and the stereotype of the Malays was shaped.

We see the seed of this view today. The Malays, reduced to the level of a joke of a stereotype. The Malays are lazy. The Malays are stupid. The Malays are involved in drugs. And incest. And rempit. The Malays are too dependent on government aid. The Malays are idle, only prone to mindless entertainment. The Malays are stuck in a feudalistic view of the world. The Malays are superstitious, close-minded, racist to an extent, yet hypocritical and have no understanding of their own faith. Despite the fact that negative traits and its link to race is merely pseudo-science nonsense.

But who made the Malays this way? Who brainwashed the Malays to accept the stereotype blindly? The British are long gone. They can be blamed no longer. The Chinese and Indians for perpetuating this view? The Aaronic scapegoat is useless. Why condemn a whole people for the views of some idiots? And mind you, idiocy is colour-blind.

Did not Mahathir tell the Malays to shed the stereotype in the Malay Dilemma? Did not Syed Hussein Alatas argue that the stereotype does not exist in The Myth of the Lazy Native? Did not Anwar say the Malays could stand on their own feet?

So who is to blame? The politicians? Is it UMNO, who allowed some bigots to hijack the Malay identity and create the view of the kris-wielding racist? Is it PAS, who created the view of the religio-fascist, close-minded Malays? Is it DAP, who have nothing positive to say about the Malays, perpetuating the myth? Is it RPK, who seem to perpetuate the view of the self-hating 'liberal' Malay in his blog? Is it the whole monarchy system itself?

The main question here now. Who took the Malay identity from the Malays?