The glorified myth of Hang Tuah and the misuse of funds
WHERE does entitlement end and accountability begin for politicians?
(TMI) – Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year, citing the Global Financial Integrity report 2010, Panama Papers 2016, and Pandora Papers 2017, said Malaysia had among the most cases of funds misappropriation andd money laundering by political leaders and corporations in the world.
Neither shame nor the besmirched reputation of Malaysia bothers her politicians.
The most recent example is Malacca Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh, who took off to the Netherlands in April to examine a 265-year-old manuscript at Leiden University in The Hague, claiming it could shed light on the Malay warrior Hang Tuah.
Strangely, his travelling companions included Akmal Salleh, the state exco for rural development, agriculture, and food security committee chairman.
Could Rauf clarify what relevance agriculture and food security have to Hang Tuah or the manuscript abroad?
The state government also hosted a seminar in April to strengthen research on the Malay warrior through new resources.
Rauf said a team of researchers from Universiti Islam Melaka, Universiti Malaya, and Universiti Putra Malaysia, facilitated by the Tun Perak Institute, have been conducting studies on Hang Tuah.
Then there was one Tun Muhammad Amin Tun Ahmad from Bintan, Indonesia, claiming to be the 11th heir of Hang Tuah, who handed over three keris or daggers supposedly belonging to Hang Tuah to Rauf for display in the upcoming exhibition due this month.
This led to an outcry among historians who are adamant there is no historical record of any weapon synonymous with any ancient Malay warrior.
One of them is Royal Gallery Tuanku Ja’afar curator Mohd Khairil Hisham in Negri Sembilan.
“So far I have not heard any comments from Indonesian history experts. What I have heard is that the person who claims to be the heir of Hang Tuah is a fraud,” Khairil has been reported as saying in MalaysiaNow.
Khairil said the team researching the issue should prove the Indonesian man’s claims or face criticism coming their way.
