Malaysia In Historical Records

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Since childhood, whenever we watched sporting events, whether the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, or the SEA Games, the abbreviation used for Malaysia has always been MAS.
The national airline, Malaysia Airlines, also adopted the abbreviation MAS, and even Proton’s first electric car model was named e-Mas.
This abbreviation carries deep meaning; not only does it spark the imagination of equating the nation with gold, something most precious, but it also connects to the historical record of the name Malaysia.
Originally, Malaysia referred to a vast entity encompassing the Malay Archipelago, including the islands of Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, and our own country.
In 1831, the French navigator Jules Dumont d’Urville named the archipelago region Malaisie on his map. Later, in 1835, Thomas G Bradford translated Malaisie into Malaysia.
When the nation of Malaysia was formed in 1963, the name chosen by Tunku Abdul Rahman surely had ties to this original inspiration, as a symbol of a new and inclusive nation that also encompassed Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak.
Malaysian Archipelago before the Common Era
In Buddhist Jataka tales (before the Common Era), the Malaysian archipelago was referred to as Suvannabhumi (“Land of Gold”), highlighting the region’s wealth.
Similarly, in the Kiskindha Kanda of the Ramayana, it was called Suvarnadipa (“Golden Island”)
Professor Leonard Andaya, when discussing Malay Antecedents, referred to the Greek text “The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea”, which described merchant voyages from Indian ports to Golden Chryse (the “land of gold”), a reference to this archipelago.
Further, William Vincent, in his book “The Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients in the Indian Ocean”, wrote that the Periplus reference to the “land of gold” meant Malai-oo Kolon, pointing specifically to the Malay Peninsula.
The Malay ArchipelagoThese records portray the wealth of the “Malaysian region”, not only in resources but also as a global entrepot of trade, known as the “land of gold” to traders from around the world since ancient times.
This fact also became one of the bases for a scholar, Hamka, in interpreting the word Kafur in the Qur’an (Surah Al-Insan, verse 5) as “kapur barus” (camphor).
For Hamka, the Arab merchants’ interaction with this region predates the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), with camphor from Barus being highly sought after. The word later entered Arabic as Kafur, and English as camphor.
Accounts of Arab sailors
This trade in camphor continued into the Srivijaya era, as noted by the Abbasid-era Arab historian Al-Mas’udi in “Muruj ad-Dahab wa-Maʿadin al-Jawhar” (Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems).
He described a great kingdom called az-Zanij, ruled by a Maharaj, serving as the intermediary between India and China:
“India is a vast country, having many seas and mountains, and borders on the empire of az-Zanij, which is the kingdom of the Maharaj, the king of the islands, whose dominions form the frontier between India and China.” (177)
Within this kingdom was a place called the Bay of the Ingot of Gold, where tales told of the Maharaja throwing gold ingots into the bay each morning.
Record of I-Tsing
Chinese monk I-Tsing also wrote about this region as Malayu-SriBhoga. Derived from Sanskrit, SriBhoga means a Malayu land that is noble and prosperous with abundant blessings.
In 671 CE, he recorded his spiritual journey from Si-King (northeast China) to Nalanda, India. On his way, he stopped for six months in Malayu-SriBhoga to learn Sanskrit.
During the Hindu-Buddhist era, the region flourished as a trading hub, especially in the early Common Era, when Buddhism encouraged commercial activity. Buddhist centres in India and China also contributed to trade expansion.
Hindu-Buddhist influence in Malayu-SriBhogaLater, Islam further strengthened this development with the rise of the Malacca Sultanate. According to Marshall Hodgson, Islam, which originated in the Middle Dry Zone, took on a cosmopolitan character that gave it extraordinary strength, especially along trade routes. This created an urban culture that promoted maritime commerce.
Thus, a vast maritime trade network known as the “Seven Seas” was commercialised, encompassing the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca.
By the time of the Malacca Sultanate, the region reached new cosmopolitan heights, inheriting and surpassing earlier empires, making the Malay world a true maritime empire and global trading thalassocracy.
This success attracted envy from European powers. In 1506, King Manuel of Portugal instructed Francisco de Almeida to conquer and fortify Malacca.
When Diogo Lopes de Sequeira sailed there, he described Malacca as the richest city in the world, owing to the wealth of its merchants. Their riches were measured in bahar of gold - one bahar being equal to four quintaes (about 100 kg of gold). (Portuguese classics library)
Malaysia for the future
These compilations of records highlight the esteemed value of the name Malaysia, which has long been associated with wealth and prosperity across civilisations. The repeated association with gold in these accounts underlines this symbolism.
Of course, this greatness was also rooted in the hospitality, harmony, and openness of its people, making “Malaysia” a global trading hub from century to century.
On Sept 16, we will celebrate the 62nd anniversary of Malaysia’s founding. In another 38 years, Malaysia will reach its centennial.
The question remains: will Malaysia’s prosperity and greatness continue to grow, or will it decline into civilisational decay?
The answer depends on how faithful we are in shouldering the responsibility of safeguarding Malaysia. - Mkini
FAISAL ABDUL AZIZ is Bersih chairperson.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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