Friday, October 10, 2008

Malaysian history

A small piece of History for our future generations
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Do Malaysians really know their country's history? Or has it subverted to suit the idealogical needs of a certain community? This came to me via email and I'm reproducing it in verbatim here.

For too long our government has systematically been wiping out any references to a famous Melaka prince as being Hindu and belonging to the powerful Sri Vijaya Hindu empire. Instead our chidren are being taught that Parameswara was a Malay prince. 

What race ruled or did not rule is besides the point.What is important is not butchering history to create your own truths. You cannot change your race even if you convert - Parameswara could have been responsible for Umno's stupid and false sense of heritage through 'Ketuanan Melayu'. If this is what it is based on, there is no 'Ketuanan Melayu' because thelineage of Melaka Sultans are Indians, not Malays. It is no secret that Parameswara was an Indian and a Hindu prince. It is clear from records that Parameswara never converted to Islam. He was an Indian Hindu who fled Palembang in Sumatra to eventually found Melaka circa 1400 AD and start the entire Malaysian royalty. Malaysia 's royalty was and is of Hindu/India origin. On the other hand it was Sri Maharaja who converted himself and the court of Melaka to Islam, and as a result took on the name of Sultan Muhammad Shah sometime after 1435. 

The most famous of Indian Hindu Kings were Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola who invaded Southern Thailand, Kedah, Perak, Johor and Sumatra about 1000 AD. This is Raja-raja  Chola - the Indian/Hindu kings and not Raja Chulan - a Malay king. 

But what is really sad is that our children are taught as though Malaysian history suddenly began in 1400 with an Islamic Melaka. Even the Malays themselves are being cheated by UMNO into believing that everything started around 1400. We are also led to believe that the Indians and Chinese first arrived on the shores of Malaysia only in around 1850 as desperate indentured labourers, farmers and miners. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The cultural influences of India in particular, and China, in South East Asia span over 2,000 years, starting perhaps with the arrival from India of theBrahmanical prince/scholar - Aji Saka in Java in AD78, through to Vietnam, Cambodia (Indo China), Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Bali, Borneo, Brunei and beyond. Malay culture is Indian culture. In fact the whole of South East Asian culture is Indian culture.

The findings at Bujang Valley speak of an ancient Indian/Hindu presence in Kedah. There were Chinese settlements in Pahang and Kelantan around the 13th -14th century and in 12th century in Singapore . The early Brunei Sultanate had a Chinese Queen. One need not ponder at length the implications of Angkor Wat and Borobudur or that 60% -70% of Bahasa Malaysia comprises Sanskrit/Tamil words. But ALL of these are hidden away from the rakyat inc the Malays themselves so the Malays in particular grow up with limited knowledge of their own country and heritage 
  
To illustrate, some of these words are:

bumi  = boomi

putra  = putran

raja  = rajah

desa  =  thesam

syakti = sakthi

kolam = kulam

bahaya = abahya

jaya  = jeya

maha  = maha

aneka = aneha

nadi = naadi

kedai  = kadai

mahligai  = maaligai

mantra  = manthrum 
  
menteri = manteri 


(This list can go on and it is true because Tamil and Sanskrit are about 5, 000 years old)

An extremely important archeological find that pointed to one of the greatest empires in history - the Raja Cholan empire that ruled from the Maldives through India , Sri Lanka and right down to South East Asia found deep in the jungles of Johor a few years ago and made headlines in the mainstream newspapers in 2005, suddenly disappeared from the news….. 
The time has arrived for us to record our history as the facts tell us and not as we would like to wish it for. The truth will never hurt anyone. Lies, always will.

1 comment:

redapes said...

Great article! As I've begun studying Bahasa Indonesia (Malay), it has become immediately apparent that the true history of the region has been either forgotten or purposely wiped clean. Etymological roots are difficult to fabricate. They are ingrained in a people's collective culture and mindset.

I think it is time that the people of Malaysia and Indonesia come to terms with their ancient cultural roots. It is such an amazing past- one to be proud of. Unfortunately it has been sadly crushed under centuries of colonization followed by decades of indigenous oppression- especially in Indonesia-- but in the whole region really.

If we don't know the past, we won't know the future.

Rich

PS-- My introduction into the world of Southeast Asia has come via conservation. My organization protects orangutans-- the great red apes of Borneo and Sumatra!
I invite you to take a look at my website: Orangutan Outreach

Reach out and save the orangutans!