Malay history twisted by ‘Western Christian conspiracy’, claims Isma
(MM) – Malays face a “Western Christian conspiracy” that has lasted over four centuries, Muslim group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) claimed today, as it launched its bid to rewrite the history of the Malay archipelago to reflect what it believes to be the true representation of Malay civilisation.
Isma president Ustaz Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman said Malaysian history and, by extension, the history of the Southeast Asian region has long been skewed towards the “contributions of the colonists” and non-Malays, which downplayed the greater role played by the Malays in developing the region.
“This is a conspiracy against the Malays. If you understand (history), you would know that the Malays were the lynchpin of the region,” he said at a press conference after launching a three-day colloquium on building the sovereignty of Malay-Muslims in the region here.
“The Western Christians want to change the timeline of history, which is the best way to destroy the Malays and the most effective way to do that is to destroy them through education and give a wrong picture of history,” he said.
Abdullah Zaik claimed that there are many instances where Western powers, especially the British, had revised history to suit their interests such as the argument that the Malays are lazy and only good at agriculture.
He added that the Malays were instrumental in the development of Islamic civilisation outside of the Arab region and even claimed that they had a role in helping the Ottomans’ victory in the Battle of Constantinople and were involved in the Crusades.
“During that era, the strength of a civilisation was determined by your mastery of the seas and the Malays were masters of the seas. Then the British came and changed everything, bringing their taxes and saying that Malays cannot trade or own mines. They said Malays can do nothing but agriculture.
“We have become dayus (soft) and without dignity… this is the end result of 460 years of colonisation,” he declared.
The British Empire made its foray into Malaya in the late 18th century, progressively expanding its influence until it controlled the entire Malayan peninsula, Sarawak and Sabah, which was then known as North Borneo, over the next two centuries.
The British eventually relinquished all control over Malaya in 1957, and later in Sabah and Sarawak in 1963, leading to the formation of what is now known as Malaysia.
Prior to the British, the Dutch held Malacca between the 17th and 19th centuries due to its importance as a regional port city, before handing it over to the British under the Anglo-Dutch treaty in 1824.
Abdullah Zaik said the Malays, especially the youths, have all but lost their identity and are “poisoned by liberal thinking” of the west, which he added will eventually lead to a breakdown in religion, society and country.
“Of course the enemies of Islam would be happy with this situation and would want to continue to strengthen their position.
“History needs to be rewritten according to the Islamic version. We don’t just want to uphold the social contract, but also the fact that this region is the centre of Malay civilisation,” he said, referring to the social contract that has been the basis for Malaysia’s race-based politics and government policies.
“We need to work hard to correct the Malay identity among the Malays,” Abdullah Zaik added.
Historians from the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Aceh, Java, Cambodia, Sulawesi, Riau and Patani are among the participants of the three-day colloquium, which will focus on three areas.
Aside from gathering data on the genesis of Malay civilisation in the region, the conference will also delve into the conspiracies and reasons for the fall of the Malay-Muslim civilisation and to establish links between Malay organisations in the Malay archipelago.
