The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Early History, has pointed out a total of three theories of the origin of Malay:
- The Yunnan theory, Mekong river migration (published 1889)
- The New Guinea theory (published 1965)
- The Taiwan theory (published 1997)
The ancestor of Malays are believed to be seafarersknowledgeable in oceanography. They moved around from island to island in great distances between New Zealandand Madagascar, and they served as navigation guide, crew and labour to Indian, Arab, Persian and Chinese traders for nearly 2000 years. Over the years they settled at various places and adopted various cultures and religions. Notable Malay seafarers of today are Moken and Orang Laut.
Some historians suggested they were descendants of Austronesian-speakers who migrated from the Philippines and originally came from Taiwan. Malay culture reached its golden age during Srivijayan times and they practiced Buddhism, Hinduism, and their native Animism before reverting to Islam in the 15th century.
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| What young Malay women were wearing during those times. |
Kedah and Melaka Literature
According to Kedah Annals, Kradaram (Kedah Kingdom) 630-1136) was founded by Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gemeron, Persia around 630 AD, and also alleged that the bloodline of Kedah royalties coming from Alexander The Great. The other Malay litereture, Sejarah Melayu too alleged that they were the descendants of Alexander The Great.
Deutero Malays
Combination of the colonial Kumbujus of Hindu-Buddhism faith, the Indo-Persian royalties and traders as well as traders from Southern China and elsewhere along the ancient trade routes, these peoples together with the aborigine Negrito Orang Asli and native seafarers and Pronto Malays intermarried each others and thus a new group of people was formed and become to be the Deutero Malays, today they are commonly known as Malays.
The traditional Malay house
Malay Nationalism
The earliest and most influential instruments of Malay national awakening were the periodical s which politicized the position of the Malays in the face of colonialism and alien immigration of non-Malays. In spite of repressions imposed by the British colonial government, there were no less than 147 journals and newspapers published in Malaya between 1876 and 1941. Among notable periodicals were Al-Imam (1906), Pengasuh (1920), Majlis (1935) and Utusan Melayu (1939). The rise of Malay nationalism was largely mobilized by three nationalist factions – the radicals distinguishable into the Malay left and the Islamic group which were both opposed to the conservative elites.
The Malay leftists were represented by Kesatuan Melayu Muda, formed in 1938 by a group of Malay intelligentsia with an ideal of Greater Indonesia, primarily educated in Sultan Idris Training College. In 1945, they reorganized themselves into a political party known as Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM). The Islamists were originally represented by Kaum Muda consisted of Middle east –educated scholars with Pan-Islamic sentiment. The first Islamic political party was Partai Orang Muslimin Malaya (Hizbul Muslimin) formed in March 1948, later succeeded by Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party in 1951. The third group was the conservatives consisted of the westernized elites who were bureaucrats and members of royal families that shared a common English education mostly at the exclusive Malay College Kuala Kangsar. They formed voluntary organizations known as Malay Associations in various parts of the country and their primary goals were to advance the interests of Malays as well as requesting British protection on Malay positions. In March 1946, 41 of these Malay associations formed United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), to assert Malay dominance over Malaya.
The bronze mural of the legendary Malay warrior, Hang Tuah with his renowned quote Ta' Melayu Hilang Di-Dunia (Malay for "Never shall the Malays vanish from the face of the earth") written on the top. The quote is a famous rallying cry for Malay nationalism.
