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The Dutch and the British have made the Malays to live in two divided countries, Malaysia and Indonesia. After their independence, the country colonized by the British adopts the name of Malaysia and the country colonized by the Dutch adopt the name of Indonesia. Now some Malays live in Indonesia particularly in Sumatra and the Riau Archipelago and some Malays live in Malaysia. There are also Malays who live as minority groups in Southern Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Malays in Vietnam used to have a Malay Kingdom known as Champa. The Malays that settled in Riau Islands used to have their own Kingdom known as the Malay Sultanate of Riau. The administrative centre for the Malay Sultanate of Riau started in the island of Lingga and towards the ends of its glorious era moved to the small strategic island of Penyegat, an island very close to Pulau Bintan, the capital city of Tanjong Pinang. The journey by ferry from Stulang Laut in Johor Baru took us about 4 hours before we reached Tanjong Pinang. A journey by smaller speed boat to Pulau Penyegat normally takes about 30 minutes.

When we arrived at Pulau Penyegat, we immediately went to a mosque. There is only one mosque in the island named the Mosque of Sultan of Riau. The mosque was built during the time of Sultan Abdul Rahman who became the Sultan of Riau in the nineteenth century (1818 – 1832). The cement was blended with egg yolks and the mosque was built without using a nail. At the entrance of the mosque, there is a display of an Al- Quran, handwrittened by one of the learned scholars of Riau in the nineteenth century. There are many royal graves behind the Mosque. The graves with their tombstones (batu nisan) covered by a yellow cloth indicate royalty. There are so many royal graveyards in the island of Penyegat. We took a tour of the island and visited all the royal graveyards. The presence of royal graveyards in the island of Penyegat clearly indicate that once upon a time, Penyegat was an administrative centre for the Malay Sultanate of Riau. Could there be a possibility that the graves of the Sultans of Malacca are located in Pulau Penyegat or Pulau Lingga? If we can prove that the graves of the Sultans of Malacca are located in the islands of Riau then we can conclude that Malacca was only a trading port for the Malay kingdom of Riau.

Munshi Abdullah wrote that Parameswara, a Hindu Prince who came from Palembang founded Malacca. Munshi Abdullah also wrote that in Malacca, Parameswara converted to Islam and took the name of Sultan Muzaffar Shah. Did Parameswara really existed? Can we trace the origin of Parameswara from the Sultanate of Palembang? Was it true during that time that Palembang Sultanate still embrace Hinduism or had it already converted to Islam. A Batu Bersurat found in Terengganu indicated that Islam has come to the Malayan Peninsula prior to 1303 AD. Where Batu Bersurat came from? Could it be possible that the Batu Bersurat had come from the Islamic Sultanate of Malacca, as during that time there was no indication that there was an Islamic Sultanate in Terengganu?

In my opinion, there is a great possibility that the Batu Bersurat, which is a written document about Islamic laws had come from the Sultan of Malacca. Terengganu at that time could had been under the control of Malacca. In that case, Malacca must have started earlier than 1303 AD and the Sultan in Malacca was one of the Sultans in the Malay Sultanate of Riau. Recently a Batu Nisan engraved with verses from the Quran was found in Pekan, Pahang dated 1028AD. Both the Batu Bersurat in Terengganu and the Batu Nisan in Pekan, Pahang showed that Islam had come to the Malay Peninsula earlier than 1403.It was possible that the Malay Sultanate of Riau started sometimes in 900AD, and the Malays during those days had already embraced Islam. What was written by Munshi Abdullah is not necessarily true as Munshi Abdullah could have written something that he had heard from someone else? Stories passed on from one generation to another generation have very limited authenticity.

In my opinion, we should conduct research in order to ascertain what were written in our history books are accurate. Our present histories were based mainly on the writings of Munshi Abdullah. Munshi Abdullah, an Indian in origin could had written only what he heard from others. Did Munshi Abdullah have substantial evidence to show that Islam came to the Malayan Peninsula only after the conversion of Parameswara to Islam in 1403AD? Was it true what was written by Munshi Abdullah that the Sultanate of Malacca started only in 1403AD and that the Malays were Hindu prior to 1403AD? Could it be possible that the Malays have been Muslim and have never been Hindus? Javanese people are not Malays and they were Hindus before they embraced Islam. Many people can speak Malays but they are not Malays. Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim is an Indian with some Malay blood and his wife Dr.Wan Azizah is a Chinese with some Malay blood. Their daughter Nurul Izzah is having in her more Indian blood than Chinese blood, with little Malay blood. Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Wan Azizah speak very fluent Bahasa Melayu but they are not Malay. Tun Abdul Razak and his son Dato Seri Najib are Bugis but they speak Bahasa Melayu more fluently than they speak Bahasa Bugis. They are having predominantly Bugis blood with some Malay blood but Bugis are not Malay people. Among all the previous Prime Ministers of Malaysia, none has or had predominantly Malay blood

Dr. Nasoha Saabin
October 2010
Dean of Faculty of Optometry
International University College of Technology Twintech
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Hang Tuah was synonymous with bravery and heroism. He was a Malay legend and a symbol of obedience without question to the Sultan. Hang Tuah had served the Sultan as Laksamana and had led many expeditions outside Malacca as ambassador to the Sultan of Malacca. He was very loyal to the Sultan and was willing to take the order of the Sultan even to the extent of killing his most trusted and loving companion Hang Jebat. Hang Tuah was the symbol of loyalty. Loyalty is a much needed quality in any establishment. The stories of Hang Tuah have been narrated over and over again throughout the ages and the stories have sometimes become a myth rather than a true historical fact. Although some stories about Hang Tuah do not seem to be logical but they are continually being narrated over the generations until today. These stories were written in our history books and are being read to our children. Stories about Hang Tuah have also been made into a movie and a theater and were watched by all of us from time to time. Are all the stories about Hang Tuah plain truth or mixed with lies? Are our historians making any research on the many stories about Hang Tuah? We should not write any lies and spreading lies about Hang Tuah. Our many generations to come will read whatever written in our history books. We should only write the truth and not lies. In case we are not certain about the truthiness of certain stories , then we should not write that particular stories in our history books. Whatever written in our history books should be authentic and proven by research and plain logic.

I have been many times to Malacca but during my recent visit to Malacca I was somehow became interested with the history of Malacca. I wanted to know about a great Malay warrior, known as Laksamana Hang Tuah. I was told that Hang Tuah had a well in Kampong Duyung, the village that Hang Tuah was supposed to be born. I went to the village and visited the well. Upon entering the village I saw a mosques by the name of Hang Tuah Mosques and then I saw a Chinese grave yard but there was no Chinese living in the village. Where have all the Chinese gone? There are two possibilities, either all the Chinese have converted to Islam and became Muslims or the Chinese have migrated somewhere else. It was possible that Hang Tuah was a Chinese who can no longer speak Chinese like the Chinese baba and nyoya and has adopted Malay cultures. Hang Tuah was employed by the Sultan to be a Laksamana and the title Hang was given to him because he was a warrior. The word Tuah could have come from the two Chinese words, Tou and Ah and was pronounced by the Malays as Tuah. Hang Tuah was the greatest Laksamana of the Sultan of Malacca and he had served all the five renowned Sultans of Malacca before Malacca was taken over by the Portuguese. In my opinion the stories about the well of Hang Tuah is only a legend. There is no scientific study to prove that the well was built and used by Hang Tuah. The legends associated with the well are not supposed to be told or written anywhere, as by doing so, we are only spreading lies about Hang Tuah to the people. As a great warrior, having a well was not an object of pride, whereas Hang Tuah should be better associated with a Kris or any other weapons of his time.

Where is the grave of Hang Tuah? Some said that Hang Tuah just disappeared and thus has no grave. Some said that Hang Tuah’s grave is in Tanjong Kling. I went to Tanjong Kling to see the grave. I was curious to know whether the grave that has been labeled as Hang Tuah’s grave was truly belong to Hang Tuah or actually belong to someone else. Why Hang Tuah, who was a noble and a warrior should be buried in Kampong Kling, a place far from the administrative centre of Malacca. When Malacca was taken over by the Portuguese, where Hang Tuah was living? Could Hang Tuah being living in an Indian village? Tanjong Kling was the village of the Indians and Indians during those times were known as Kling. When I saw the grave, I knew it has no characteristic of either a Malay or a Chinese grave. The grave has the characteristics of an Indian grave. The grave is long and it looks similar to the grave in Pulau Besar, Malacca. In my opinion the grave belongs to an Indian Muslim who had come to Malacca to preach Islam and is not Hang Tuah’s grave. Hang Tuah must had been buried in an area very closed to the administrative centre of Malacca and a possible site could be in Kampong Hulu. To prove whether Hang Tuah was a Muslim or not, requires other studies to verify. Hang Tuah could had been a non-Muslim but later on converted to Islam and this is another area that Malaysian historians can research.

The Chinese had come and live in Malaysia since the time of the Sultanates of Malacca. Are those generations of the Chinese that had lived since those ancient times Bumiputra or non-Bumiputra? Are the descendants of Hang Tuah Bumiputra?  Malays are Bumiputra and Malays are defined as those who can speak Malay, is a Muslim and has adopted Malay cultures. Kadazans and Ibans are also Bumiputra but a Chinese like the descendent of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat is not a Bumiputra. A Kadazan or an Iban is not a Muslim and does not adopt a Malay culture but he or she is still regarded as a Bumiputra because their ancestors had come to live in Sabah or Sarawak hundreds of years ago. In my opinion we have to redefine what Bumiputra and non-Bumiputra are and our definitions must be fair and logical. There are many who are not truly Malay but are being regarded as Malays. They are considered as Malays because they speak Malay language, they are Muslims by birth and they adopt Malay cultures. As I wrote in my previous article about the origin of the Malay people, the Javanese, Achiness and Bugis people are not Malay people but are being regarded as Malays because they speak Malay language and they practice Islam. The real Malay people as I have hypothesized is one of the tribes of Bani Israel who had migrated from the Mediterranean region to this part of the world thousands of years ago.

Dr. Nasoha Saabin
October 2010
Dean of Faculty of Optometry
International University College of Technology Twintech
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Segala puji bagi Allah. Semoga ayahanda Tun selamat dan kembali segera ke tanahair bersama bonda Siti Hasmah.

Jasa ayahanda Tun, Insyallah Allah akan balas kebaikannya dunia dan akhirat. Sakit yang diberiNya kepada Tun sebagai asbb utk ampunan dari Allah dan naiknya darjat ke tempat yang baik disisi Allah swt.

Note: Gambar dipinjam dari bloger bigdogdotcom

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