Could Ancient Egyptians Have Learnt The Art Of Mummification From Kedah

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REGIONAL history enthusiasts have poked fun at claim made by a famous Kedah cleric/preacher that ancient Egyptians preserved their mummies using camphor imported all the way from Yan, Kedah.
The claim by former Kedah PAS Ulama Council deputy head Syeikh Muhd ​​Zainul Asri Mohd Romli which inevitably links the region to one of the world’s most iconic civilisations – ancient Egypt – has been described by Facebooker SEA Heritage & History as “bold” but “continues to spark curiosity and controversy”.

Although the claim can be traced back to at least 2022, it nevertheless attracts eyeballs amid extravagant effort by ‘celebrity’ Arabic linguistic scholar Prof Solehah Yaacob to glorify the Malay civilisation – notably ancient Malays can fly, taught the Roman the art of shipbuilding, navigated the seven seas and schooled the world on their maritime prowess.
Whether such claim should be laughed off or warrants further scientific research by the archaeologist fraternity, the initial reaction to the latest exposé by the popular Southeast Asia’s historical, cultural and heritage site is that “he (Zainul) forgot to mention the Egyptians learn how to do mummification from Kedah”

Another witty commenter to the post which has already attracted 2.5K likes, 1.7K comments and 194 shares at the time of writing reckoned that the claimant “must as well state that the entire pyramid construction work was contracted to Kedah”.

One commenter went on to marvel at the suggestion that ancient Malays did not stop at teaching Egyptians how to preserve mummies and build pyramids alone but also “taught the Egyptians how to ride/have fun with camels”.
“Very soon the Malays will change the world’s history of creation. Europeans learn to build satellite stations from the Malays,” he envisages.

“They taught the Americans to build atomic bombs. That’s how the Americans bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That’s why Malaysia is so backward.”
As to how the pyramids are shaped, one commenter attributed it to the triangle nasi lemak packing whereby after “having had nasi lemak from Kedah port, the Romans dropped off some at the Egyptian port which (eventually) triggered the pyramid model!”

One commenter cheekily went on to moot the idea that “later someone will claim that Queen Elizabeth of England was born in Kedah, Malaysia and migrated to England”.

Other comments bordering facts and fiction include that of “claiming Superman’s kryptonite originated from Kedah” and that “Gardenia (bread) was from Kedah and used as election deposits. ”

Well, one can laugh his/her heart out till this meticulous commenter “burst the bubble”.
“Camphor that the Egyptians used actually sourced from Southeast Asia. Kapur barus (Malay word for camphor) in Sumatra and Kedah are among the earliest sources of camphor used in Egyptian mummification process,” he revealed.

“As unlikely as it is, the trade involved intermediaries through the Indian Ocean, the Persian traders and finally into Egypt. So, I won’t say 100% debunked but it does leave some plausibility. I was quite surprised when I dig up more too” –  Focus Malaysia

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