From Ancient Super Battleships To Flying Malays Pushing Ketuanan Melayu To Ridiculous Extremes

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Letter to Editor
IT IS often said that history is written by winners. It is their version of “news” and interpretation of “facts” that is presented as official version of history.
In Malaysia, historical facts ae sometimes intertwined with myths, urban legends and half-truths. It is mind-boggling when such tall tales are being fed for

In recent times, there were claims that local shipbuilders had constructed massive battleships that were the envy of sailors the world over, in particular visiting Chinese envoys.

There were also attempts by senior academics at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to falsely claim that over 2,000 ships sailed to Melaka daily during the glory days of the Melaka sultanate.


The latest fable to invite ridicule was that one of “flying Malay supermen” by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Arabic language and literature lecturer Prof Solehah Yaacob who toyed with the idea of ancient Malays having perfected and taught the art of “flying kung fu” to the Chinese.

She made such claim of ancient Malays possessing supernatural abilities in a podcast of Malay rightist group Gabungan Nasionalis.
To many readers, these are fantastical claims, bordering on the ludicrous. Why even countenance regurgitating such nonsense that directly dilutes their academic credibility?

‘We’re at par with the Chinese’
One cannot help but wonder if this is merely a make-believe quest to further the Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) narrative or to ensure the then Melaka Sultanate stood as tall as the Chinese Empire.
In other words, the message is not to undermine Melaka as the supreme maritime power in ancient times – one which was capable of constructing super ships that left the Chinese superpower impressed.
After all, it was the Malay “superheroes” who actually passed down the knowledge of their airborne prowess which is the seed for Chinese “flying kung fu”.
Couple this with urban legends such as the one claiming that famed martial arts exponent, Bruce Lee, was mortally wounded from a blow by a local silat warrior, the narrative is to portray one of racial dominion.

In short, the Malays were/are superior to their Chinese brethren in many aspects.
But why pursue such a narrative that is open to mockery and ridicule – not just by other communities – but one’s own as well?
Some Malay academics have even warned the dangers of pushing “pseudo-history” where the lines between myth, fiction and historical fact are increasingly blurred to suit certain agendas.
Academicians or folklore storytellers?
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Faculty of Human Sciences lecturer Dr Sahul Hamid Mohamed Maiddin stressed that history must be grounded on verifiable evidence, not myths or fantastical tales.
“As a nation, we risk being humiliated by the academic community when such claims are debunked – as happened when a UPM paper on the jong was criticised by (renowned) French historian Serge Jardin,” he told news portal Scoop.
“For the younger generation, we risk producing individuals who are vulnerable and gullible, those who believe anything without evidence. This is the long-term damage we are witnessing today, especially on social media,” Sahul Hamid warned.

Why not highlight modern day, real life Malay heroes such as Dr Hanis Hidayu Kasim?  The Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia medical lecturer completed her doctorate at the Cambridge University with zero corrections – a rare distinction in the academic world.

Now, that is an achievement that a nation (not just a particular race) can be proud of. But I suppose pioneering research on metabolism in preterm infants is not as sexy or attention grabbing as flying supermen or “silat exponent who delivered the mortal blow that killed Bruce Lee”.
By insisting on feeding such tall tales to gullible minds, these penglipur lara (folklore storytellers) academicians are guilty of holding back the Malay race by disseminating such nonsense that subtly denigrates the Chinese.
For the moment, the propaganda machine seems to be working over-time to conjure up such stories of racial supremacy while ignoring real life heroes Dr Hanis.
A very sad state of affairs indeed.
Ordinary, non-cape wearing Malaysian
Melaka
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia

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