How Malay is a Malay? 100%? 75%? 50%?

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ebatmustdie has written an interesting article again, titled An unfortunate article by someone I respect. Basically, some politician by the name Datuk Sakmongkol made a racist statement on Tun Mahathir's ethnic origin in an attempt to twist a non-political matter into a political propaganda. What has the world come to? All Tun Mahathir said was "I have Indian blood but I am Malay" and this Sakmongkol chap, out of nowhere, capitalised such statement into a political stunt by saying the below:

.... not because the Malay categorisation of such a fellow is a Mamak or an Indian Muslim, but because of the admission of political chameleon-ness of the person. Because of that, we can now reconcile such an admission with one particular categorisation of Dr Mahathir – that of a political liar.....

jebatmustdie has written at length in Tun Mahathir's defense which is, of course, holds water. On the other hand, you might find it entertaining to read what this Sakmongkol guy is trying to do - to become a comedian. Haha! for laughing sake, read his article Der House doctor: blatant or political liar?

As usual, I have my own thoughts to share with the forum - hence, I left the below comments with jebatmustdie :


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jebatmustdie,

One point to add, there are no pure Malays left anyway. If the Malays trace their origins, they'd probably uncover that they are one of these decendants whereby "Malay" is referred to as the Malay of peninsula origins:

1. Jawi Peranakan - Mix Malay-Indian Muslim or Malay-Arab
2. Baba Nyonya - Mix Malay-Chinese
3. Mix Malay-Siamese
4. Mix Malay-Indegenious such as Negritos, Jakun, Iban, Kadazan, etc
5. Mix Malay-Bugis
6. Mix Malay-Jawa
7. Mix Malay-Bouyan
8. Mix Malay-European such as Portugese of Melaka
9. Mix Malay-Riau
10. Mix Malay-Sumatran such as the Rawas, Minang, etc

In fact, the Malays are not even the original inhabitants of the peninsular, nor Borneo. The original inhabitants of this land are the Negroids, similar to those called Aborigines in Australia and Negros in Africa. They are Negritos, who also exist in the Philippines.

Malays are in fact, immigrants (or "Pendatangs") themselves thousands of years ago from the North, the land of Yunan somewhere south of Mongolia and middle China. Malays are the Mongoloids who travelled to the peninsula way long after the Negroids have travelled from the land of Africa.

But why are the Malays regarded as the so called "Bumiputra" (Sons of Earth) of peninsula and Borneo? Well, if I am not mistaken, there are a few criteria for which one must agree that they are sensible. They are:

1. Majority ethnic group; and
2. The ethnic that established the first effective government

Tun Mahathir wrote this in more detail in his Malay Dilemma. Majority alone will not suffice. In the case of Malays, they too established the first effective governments - the likes of Srivijaya, Mataram, Majapahit, Langkasuka, Temasek, Melaka and those of the same era that not only covers the peninsula and Borneo, it also covers the entire Malay archipelago from Acheh to Papua New Guinea, from Patani to Jawa; for which, its influence travelled to the South Philippines (Mindanao).

So, to rebut the racist comments made by those against Tun Mahathir's ethnic origin, we should acknowledge that Malay is a very broad category really. It covers a wide range of spectrum that even if your immediate father is purely 100% Chinese or Indian, but your mother is not even 100% Malay, you can still be regarded as Malay. In fact, I, myself, am 1/16 Indian + 1/16 Chinese + 14/16 Malay.

What is important is that you live like a Malay, you eat Malay food, you talk Bahasa Melayu, you dress like a Malay and to certain extent, you believe what Malays believe (although Bumiputras include those beyond Muslim). With all intent and purposes, if your spirit and soul is Malay, then you are Malay just like how Natrah was eventhough she was 100% Dutch.

To twist such racial sentiment into a political context is really an irresponsible deed with no basis. After all, let the old man (Tun) tell his story the way he likes because it is his story.





* kopihangtuah



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