‘The Bugis pirate was a British invention’

A prominent historian says colonial officers lied because they needed a reason to extend their control of Malaya.

(FMT) – Historian Khoo Kay Kim has criticised those who characterise the Bugis as pirates, saying they are ignorant of historical facts.

Speaking to FMT, the emeritus professor said the lie was started in the 18th century by British civil servants in Malaya and they did it in order to get permission from the British government to extend their administration in the country.

“They needed a reason to give to the British government,” Khoo said. “By saying the Malay rulers were pirates, it was easier for them to intervene.

“The British government would have stopped it if it knew that all this talk of pirates was based on lies.”

He said there was no way the Bugis could be considered pirates because piracy, as defined by the law of the time, could be committed only in areas that had no government.

“The areas around the Straits of Melaka and the South China Sea were all part of the Malay realm of governance and if a ship were to enter the region and not pay toll, then the ruler had the right to attack the ship. That’s not piracy.”

“Bugis pirate” is a phrase frequently used by the opposition to mock Prime Minister Najib Razak’s claim of being a descendant of Bugis warriors.

Last month, a speech by Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad invited the wrath of local Bugis community leaders who urged him to apologise for insulting the group. It was followed by the Sultan of Selangor, who is of Bugis lineage, calling for Mahathir to be investigated for sedition.

Mahathir has since denied he was referring to the Bugis people in general, saying he had only questioned if Najib’s forefathers were “Bugis pirates”.

According to Khoo, the Bugis moved to the Malay peninsula from their native Sulawesi some time in the 17th century.

“They were very good traders and they were also very good fighters. So they did manage to take control of a lot of the Malay peninsula.”

He said the Bugis attained their sultanate in Selangor legitimately from the viewpoint of Malay tradition.

“In the Malay tradition, somebody could only be called a sultan if he had daulat (legitimacy and authority).

“When the Bugis took control of Selangor in 1745, the ruler never used the title of sultan. He was just called Raja Lumu.

“But in 1766, Raja Lumu sailed all the way to a place called Kota Lumut (not the current Lumut) in Perak and there he was installed as sultan by Sultan Mahmud of Perak and only then did he use the title Sultan Salehuddin Shah.”

According to an official of Persatuan Melayu Bugis Selangor (PMBS), the Bugis and Malay cultures had become intertwined because of their long association with each other.

Mohamad Romazi Nordin, who heads PMBS’s culture, youth and sports wing, said one of the factors that could have led to the melding of the two cultures was marriage.

Marriages between the two peoples had occurred even during the era of the Malacca Sultanate, he said.

“They have associated with each other for so long that it seems like they share the same culture,” he added.

However, he also said the two cultures weren’t all that different to begin with because the Malays and Bugis lived in similar environments.

He said the two peoples had always produced and eaten the same kinds of food, enjoyed the same kinds of music and kept similar taboos.

Romazi is also the secretary of the Malaysian Historical Society’s Selangor chapter.