MALAY rule was validated by the British in 1947, as Malay ethnocracy is validated by the Malaysian state today, on the premise on the indigeneity of the Malays in the peninsula. How valid is this claim?
The original inhabitants of the peninsula appear to have been the people generically referred to today as ‘Orang Asli.’ These speakers of Austroasiatic (Aslian) languages number somewhere in the region of 100,000 persons, usually live in rural or jungle settings, are often poverty-stricken, and are generally not Muslims. The Federal Constitution does not consider the Orang Asli as bumiputera
The earliest evidence we have for outsiders arriving in the peninsula are the persons who left the Sanskrit inscriptions when visiting or residing in what is today Kedah from the fourth century CE. The earliest evidence of any Malay inhabitants or visitors to the peninsula is the Terengganu Stone of the 14th century, an inscription written in the Malay language in Jawi script which suggests some sort of missionary activity.
The first evidence of any known Malay figure arriving in the peninsula is the entourage of Parameswara when he fled from Palembang to the Peninsula in the late 14th century. It appears that it was from this period that Malay colonization began in earnest. Most of the ‘Malay’ inhabitants of the peninsula today can trace an ancestor from beyond the peninsula within three generations.
Let us examine a few prominent Malays of today and observe their ethnic origins within the last two or three generations
-Dato' Syed Ja'afar Albar : Hadhrami Arab who came to Malaya from Java pre-war. His son, Syed Hamid Albar Ex-Home Minister.
-Khir Toyo, former Menteri Besar of Selangor - Javanese
-Mahathir Mohamed -Grandfather was from south India
-Abdullah Badawi -Mother is Cham descendant from Hainan.
-Tunku Abdul Rahman - half Thai.
-Onn Jaafar -Turkish background, shared with Ungku Aziz and Syed Hussein Alatas
-Hussein Onn, Hishammuddin Hussein -ditto
-Khairy Jamaluddin -Javanese
-Puteh Maria, first head of Wanita UMNO - Tamil Muslim from Sri Lanka
-Najib Razak –Prime Minister, Bugis descent
Such a list can be continued almost ad infinitum. Large areas of Johor are populated by descendants of Javanese who moved to the peninsula in the 20th century. Most western coastal states have large populations of persons who still identify themselves as Minang, Rawa and Maindailing. If persons from all these places are to be considered ‘Malay’ then the idea of Malay indigeneity has no meaning, and certainly cannot be used to exclude from social participation persons whose ancestors came from other areas.
It should be noted in passing it has usually been recent arrivals who have been the main defenders of the idea of Malay indigeneity. Syed Ja’afar Albar, newly arrived from Java, was adamant that the Chinese were kaum pendatang or pendatang asing (immigrants) or lodgers (orang tumpangan).
In a recent blog, Marina Mahathir wrote:
“I'd like to ask everyone, especially those categorised as 'Malays', to list their family histories. And see how many of us can really go back further than three generations born in this land. I know I can't.”
Supremacy of Malays
UMNO sees itself as the ‘protector and champion of Ketuanan Melayu’ (Malay Supremacy), which has within it the idea that that Malays are the rulers of Malaysia or ‘masters of this land’, as stated by former UMNO Youth Information Chief Azimi Daim in 2003. The UMNO Youth wing in particular is known for what some call radical and extremist defense of ketuanan Melayu.
But it not solely the youthful ultras who express such thoughts. In early 2008, Tengku Faris Petra, the Kelantan Crown Prince, while delivering a keynote speech at a forum titled ‘Malay unity is the core of national unity’, declared that as the Malays had agreed in granting non-Malays citizenship, the latter should therefore not seek equality or special treatment. The supremacy of the Malays was implicit in this statement.
The Sultans:
The Sultans of the various states are seen as or at least portrayed as symbols of Malayness, and therefore indigeneity and legitimacy. It is they who signed the Merdeka and Constitutional agreements with the British and therefore underwrite the right of Malay ethnocracy.
Yet, if we examine the history of the respective royal houses, we observe again migrants to the peninsula within the last few hundred years. None of the royal houses of Malaysia can trace their lines of descent back to the Malaccan ruling house.
We need only take a few examples to demonstrate what is being suggested.
Selangor
Raja Lumu who became Sultan Sallehuddin of Selangor (1742 –1780) was the son of Daeng Cellak, second Yamtuan Muda of Riau (1728-1745) who is turn was son of Daeng Rilaka of Sulawesi. He can thus be considered a Bugis, 2000 kilometres from home.
Johor
The Johor sultans trace their origins to 'Aidarus of Aceh, a Sayyid from the Hadramaut in Southern Arabia. And to Bugis ancestors.
Kelantan
In 1760, a certain Kubang Labu succeeded in unifying the disparate territories into a single state, but was overthrown four years later. Long Muhammad, younger son of Long Yunus, declared himself Sultan in 1800.
Negeri Sembilan
The first sultan of Negri Sembilan was a Minangkabau person appointed by the Johor sultan in the early 18th century.
We thus see that many of the Malaysian royal families are of fairly recent origin and in many cases, derived from recent immigrants. It is very difficult to validate ethnocracy through sultanates of this nature.
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