Kedah Menteri Besar Sanusi Nor recently claimed that the “Malays only have this Tanah Melayu. Indians have India, Chinese have China.” This was a twisted view of history.

A week later, The Malay Mail reported the prime minister saying that history must reflect the “sacrifice and devotion” of locals, not be dictated by the narratives of former colonial masters.

Was Sanusi Right To Say Malays Only Have Tanah Melayu? (Sanusi kata Melayu hanya ada Tanah Melayu)

UNDECIDED : Sadly, it’s no accident that the blood and sweat of Chinese and Indians in building this nation’s wealth are being erased from school textbooks - 17 of the 18 writers are from one ethnic group, noted Ranjit. 

The above is the most ungracious and "sinister" strategy to deny children from learning the true history of the country which should be used to unify all Malaysians. 

Unfortunately, it actually lower the image of the Malay community as a whole in the eyes of the World and all thanks to their political and community leaders using underhand tactics to deny the contributions of others.

Determined Sarawakian : Andrew, thank you so much for your op-ed. You’re right to highlight how Malaysian history has been repeatedly bent by political jingoism and selective favouritism. 

Too often, those who are not historians take liberties with the record, reshaping it to suit their narrative. I call this historical expunction — the deliberate erasure or distortion of inconvenient truths. This practice is hardly unique to Malaysia. Ex-colonial and neo-colonising powers have long engaged in such manipulation, especially in societies shaped by ethnic migrations during the colonial era. 

The underlying policy is always the same: containment and domination. By rewriting history, they seek to control identity, memory, and ultimately, power.

OrangePanther1466 : Andrew's piece is in direct response to Sanusi's assertion that Malays only has Peninsula Malaysia as it's homeland while the Chinese have China and Indians have India. Hence, the riposte cannot avoid the racial slant. 

The whole purpose of Andrew's co-op was to debunk Sanusi's race baiting by highlighting the other races contribution in nation building which the system have progressively belittled and perhaps, even eventually eliminate altogether over time. 

I find Andrew's article most informative and well balanced. We have to acknowledge history as it was as we cannot change it. Trying to whitewash or brownwashing it only reflects the inferiority complex of the deniers.

HJ Angus : How would Malaysia have an accurate history when ruins of a different culture were removed in Kedah and all traces extinguished? That should be a criminal offence against our shared heritage.

Dr Peter Jebaseelan Jesudason : Andrew Sia said: " I agree with Ranjit that Malays are the “tunjang” or backbone of this country. " The above statement unwittingly reinforces the " Ketuanan " ideology which has percolated through all aspects of our society in a very deliberate manner by the ruling political Malay elite. 

The fact is, Malaysia is a nation made of multiple ethnicities and religious beliefs which defines our unique character. The '' tunjang '' of Malaysia are ALL the races with their unique cultures and contributions. How would the Ibans of Sarawak or the Kadazans of Sabah feel if they are told Malays are the backbone of Malaysia? 

When MB Sanusi of Kedah says the Malays only have Tanah Melayu, whereas the Chinese have China and the Indians have India, this is patently not true. Malaysia for a start does not allow for dual citizenship. Using his warped logic, it follows the Kedah Malays have Thailand as well, because Kedah was ruled by the King of Siam before 1909. 

The British, using gunboat diplomacy managed to persuade the Siamese ruler to cede Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu to British Malaya in the Bangkok Treaty of 1909.

hrrmph : "Artificially inflated bubbles don’t help genuine Malay progress; they just mask failures". These bubbles also cocoon the Malays in a fantasy world. They will be quite unprepared to face the world and the truth when they step out, as they must. 

The real world cannot be ignored. How are they to compete globally? The government is not doing the Malays any favours in making them as precious as the protagonist in "The Princess and the Pea". 

Does anyone want their children to be so sensitive and incapable of taking care of themselves or do they want to bring them up tough, and capable? Unless of course it is not about doing the best for their "children" but to make sure they are always Tuan with armies of slaves, forever beholden, forever trapped. All for the glory of their masters.

KNSamy : Well-said! Politicians distort history for their selfish ends. But, where are our historians - and professors who teach history in our universities? Are they still figuring out the real history of this nation, yet have received their academic positions? 

Or are they serving the politicians? I see that Ranjit Singh Malhi has been the only one voicing out his views without fear or favour - and those in power in this country have successfully kept him out of any of the panels that review Malaysian history for educational institutions!

Exile : The rapid economic development of British Malaya was driven to a large extent by migrant labour from China, India, and other parts of the Malay Archipelago, while the Malay states and rulers provided the political framework within which British colonial rule operated. 

To describe Malays as the "backbone" of the country without qualification is therefore misleading, as it conflates the political foundations of the state with the economic forces that transformed it. 

If "backbone" is intended to mean the principal drivers of modern Malaysia's development, then the historical evidence points to the indispensable contributions of diverse communities rather than to any single ethnic group. 

The term is therefore not an objective historical description but a contested interpretation that depends on whether one is referring to political sovereignty, economic development, or national identity. A close examination of history shows that the political- socio-cultural landscape of the Malay Peninsula was shaped by a multitude of influences. 

The Europeans, South Asians, East Asians, Arabs, and peoples from across the Malay Archipelago contributed to the region's development, bringing with them their religions, cultural traditions, ethical values, and commercial networks. Modern Malaysia is therefore the product of centuries of interaction among diverse peoples rather than the achievement of any single community.

Change123 : The truth shall set you free.

Read the rest of Andrew Sia's article here........