Marhaen

Sebelum ini dikatakan Hang Tuah lima bersaudara itu berbangsa Cina….. ‘Hang Too Ah’ katanya…. Ada orang Melayu jadi ‘gayat’ seketika hanya berbekal hipotesis dangkal bersandar fonetik sebutan bahasa.

Sebelum ini dikatakan juga Parameswara itu adalah pendatang dari ‘Indonesia’ yang lari ke Melaka. Maka anak-anak Melayu ‘gayat’ seketika memikirkan Sultan dan Raja mereka sama ‘kaum’ dengan orang gaji Indonesia nya.

Sebelum ini juga dikatakan Tanah Melayu ini adalah sebahagian dari ‘Barr Chin’ yang bermaksud ‘benua/tanah negara China’. Sekali lagi bangsa Melayu di Malaysia terkesima seketika dengan hujah puak kiasu ini yang hanya berbekal Peta Arab yang tidak wujud pun sama sekali!

Kenapa perkara ini berlaku saudara dan saudari sekalian?

Ini adalah kerana sikap kita yang tidak mahu belajar dari sejarah! Perkara ini berlaku akibat kesilapan kita dalam menulis sejarah kita sendiri!



Sebelum aku mengulas lebih lanjut tentang kesilapan kita sendiri dalam mencatat sejarah (dalam entri akan datang), aku akan jawab dahulu hujah-hujah yang dikemukakan oleh saudara John Doe ini. Intipati dan rumusan dari artikel John Doe ini akan aku kupas satu persatu secara ringkas mengikut kefahaman aku tentang sejarah bangsa kita. Di sini aku tidak mahu pergi secara detail tentang fakta-fakta yang dikemukakan oleh John Doe, kerana sejak dari awal penulisan artikel sudah menunjukkan beliau tidak faham kronologi sejarah bangsa Melayu itu sendiri. Tidaklah diketahui samaada beliau tidak mengkaji secara lebih dalam ataupun beliau buat-buat tidak tahu. Wallahualam.



Kefahaman Saudara John Doe 1 :

Beliau menampilkan hujah tentang persoalan Parameswara adalah pendatang dari Sumatera dan menekankan orang Cina datang lebih awal ke Nusantara berdasarkan bukti-bukti dari pengembara China, kubur seorang Muslim berbangsa Cina dan sebagainya.

Ulasan Marhaen Kacak :

Secara keseluruhannya, saudara John Doe tidak faham langsung tentang pembelajaran ilmu sejarah dan sama sekali tidak menelusuri ilmu serta fakta sejarah itu sedalamnya. Dengan kemudahan pakcik ‘Google’, sila taipkan frasa ‘Srivijaya’ ataupun ‘Champa’ di dalam kotak carian Google. Adakah anda malas ataupun ataupun anda memang seorang chauvinist rasis yang tegar?

Kenapa tidak anda kaji manuskrip kuno China tentang kaum ‘Kunlun’ di mana gelaran itu merujuk kepada Bangsa Melayu. Kenapa anda tidak kaji catatan pengembara dan pedagang China yang menggelarkan ‘Mo-Lo-Yuer’ kepada bangsa Melayu di Nusantara ini?

Siapakah Maharaja-Maharaja Srivijaya dan Champa itu sebenarnya? Dari bangsa manakah mereka? Adakah Srivijaya adalah jajahan takluk Emperor dari Dinasti Tang atau Yuan?. Mereka adalah bangsa Melayu!

myson champa

Dari awal artikel lagi anda telah tewas dalam hujah anda. Bila mengkaji sejarah, kita tidak boleh menyempitkan skop kita pada sempada geografi moden. Tiada Indonesia, Tiada Malaysia, Tiada Brunei. Yang ada adalah Nusantara. Srivijaya untuk pengetahuan anda adalah Empayar Bangsa Melayu yang menaungi Nusantara ini berkurun-kurun sebelum kelahiran Majapahit!. Kerajaan Champa pula adalah kerajaan orang Melayu suku Cham yang menguasai Indochina.

Parameswara adalah putera Srivijaya yang menubuhkan kerajaan di Melaka. Kenapa penduduk tempatan terutama Orang Laut di Melaka dengan mudah menerima Parameswara sebagai Raja mereka? ini adalah kerana baginda adalah waris empayar Srivijaya yang telah zaman berzaman menaungi bangsa Melayu di Nusantara ini! Lebih lama dari tarikh catatan-catatan pengembara dari China dan Afghan yang dinyatakan oleh saudara John Doe!

Nenek Moyang orang Melayu (baca : Melayu) memiliki nusantara ini sejak zaman berzaman. Suku Jawa bebas membuat penempatan di Selangor. Orang Champa bebas membuat penempatan di Acheh. Keturunan Mamanda Datuk Najib membuka penempatan di pesisir pantai Pahang. Sebab apa? kerana seluruh Kepulauan Melayu ini adalah tanah tumpah darah mereka! Mereka boleh berada di mana-mana. Semua suku kaum dalam bangsa besar Nusantara ini adalah bersaudara. Ini telah tercatat dalam sejarah sejak sekian lama.

Mudah sahaja nak fahami perkara ini tapi golongan seperti saudara John Doe tidak mahu faham agaknya……Melayu berasal dari Yunnan, China?…. Teori lapuk…. Maybe aku akan terangkan hasil kajian sejarahwan yang lebih bernas dari teori Melayu-Yunnan ini di lain masa ye….



Kefahaman saudara John Doe 2 :

John Doe mengolah artikel dengan menggunakan hujah kedatangan Islam ke nusantara untuk mejadi pendinding teori ‘Melayu bukan pribumi’ nya. John Doe mempersoalkan tarikh kedatangan Islam di Nusantara dengan memberikan hujah tentang kedatangan pendakwah China di Brunei yang diketahui antara wilayah terawal di Nusantara menerima Islam. Beliau menggunakan hujah teori kedatangan islam ini sebagai bukti menyatakan kedatangan orang dari benua China (Muslim) seawal era pra-islam di Nusantara lagi. Beliau juga mempersoalkan status keislaman Awang Alak Betatar yang juga diketahui pemerintah pertama Brunei yang memeluk agama Islam.

Ulasan Marhaen Kacak :

Sekali lagi saudara John Doe sejak awal-awal lagi terkeliru tentang konsep agama dan bangsa. Saudara John Doe berfahaman seolah-olah kedatangan Islamlah yang menjadi titik tolak memunculkan apa yang dikatakan ‘Bangsa Melayu’ itu. Hujah beliau tentang Puteri Johor-Temasik, Kerajaan Kota Gelanggi dan sebagainya menunjukkan saudara John Doe ini tidaklah begitu celik sejarah hendaknya. Bagi saudara John Doe, Nusantara ini bukan didiami oleh bangsa Melayu sebelum kedatangan Islam, tetapi didiami oleh makhluk asing dari Planet Marikh!

Tiada masalah pun isu kedatangan Islam ke Kepulauan Melayu dengan isu ‘Melayu Pendatang’ ini. Ini hanyalah hujah dangkal golongan yang buta sejarah. Sebelum kedatangan Islam sekalipun Nusantara ini telah didiami oleh Bangsa Melayu ini! Sebelum ini aku dah terangkan tentang Srivijaya. Tidak percaya Maharaja-Maharaja Srivijaya ini berbangsa Melayu? Golongan yang sependapat dengan John Doe bolehlah sekali lagi menggunakan khidmat pakcik Google untuk mengkaji Batu Bersurat Kedukan Bukit, Batu Bersurat Talang Tuwo, Batu Bersurat Kota Kapur dan sebagainya. Dengan bahasa apa ia ditulis? Adakah bukti sejarah ini ditulis dengan bahasa Planet Marikh ataupun Bahasa Kantonis?

prasasti kedukan bukit

Walaupun Kerajaan Melayu seperti Srivijaya dan Champa ini tebal dengan pengaruh Hindu-Buddha, ini tidak bermakna mereka bukan orang Melayu. Mungkin saudara John Doe merujuk maksud Melayu itu dari Perlembagaan Malaysia agaknya. Agak lucu sekali, ketika seluruh sejarahwan di dunia mengiktiraf Srivijaya dan Champa sebagai Kerajaan Orang Melayu, saudara John Doe mengatakan Melayu itu muncul secara tiba-tiba setelah kedatangan Islam ke Nusantara! Amat lemah sekali pengetahuan sejarah anda!

Adakah jika terdapat pengaruh Buddha sesebuah kawasan itu adalah terus dicop milik orang Thai? Adakah jika terdapat pengaruh Hindu terus di katakan asalnya tanah Majapahit ataupun lebih ekstrim Tanah Orang India? Adakah jika Kota Gelanggi berjaya diekskavasi dan ditemukan patung Buddha setinggi seratus kaki terus dikatakan Malaysia ini kepunyaan Bangsa Thai?

Memang melucukan sama sekali hujah yang dikemukakan oleh chauvinist seperti anda. Usia Kota Gelanggi ataupun Candi di Lembah Bujang dan Sungai Batu adalah jauh lebih tua dari kewujudan Kerajaan Ayutthia itu sendiri malahan pada ketika Kota Gelanggi itu di zaman kegemilangannya, Bangsa Thai sendiri masih berperang dengan Orang-Orang Han di Tanah Besar China. Akibat kekalahan dalam perang, Bangsa Thai, Viet dan Lao ini lari ke Indochina untuk mencari perlindungan.

Jadi, dari celah mana pengaruh Bangsa Thai di Semenanjung ini? Bangsa Thai adalah puak gasar yang tidak pandai berkerajaan di kala orang Melayu sudah pandai membina kota-kota indah di Semenanjung, Segenting Kra (Ya..ini adalah tanah orang Melayu juga), Jawa, dan di merata tempat lagi di Kepulauan Melayu ini dan siapa sangka Suku Melayu Cham sudah membina peradaban hebat di tanah yang dipanggil Vietnam sekarang sekurang-kurangnya sejak awal abad ke 5 lagi!.

Lagi satu fakta saudara John Doe perlu tahu, Temagi, satu watak di yang dikatakan dibunuh oleh Parameswara di Pulau Singa (Temasik) bukanlah gabenor atau putera dari Siam (Thai). Bangsa Thai masa ini baru merangkak-rangkak hendak menubuhkan Kerajaan Ayutthia. Watak misteri ini adalah dipercayai dari satu Kerajaan Melayu di Benua Siam! Ya…tentu spesis saudara John Doe pening kan? Orang Melayu di Tanah Siam?…. Itu lah fakta sebenar yang perlu difahami oleh chuvinist seperti John Doe. Melayu itu berkerajaan sampailah ke Benua Siam malahan hingga Vietnam (Suku Cham)

keris

Nenek Moyang orang Melayu ini tetap berbangsa Melayu walaupun masih tidak menganut agama Islam sekalipun. Inilah lah kenyataan pahit yang perlu ditelan oleh golongan Chauvinist ini. Jadi, siapakah penduduk asal kota di Lembah Bujang? penduduk asal di tapak bersejarah kota-kota Champa di Vietnam?. Mereka adalah orang Melayu walaupun mereka tidak menerima Syiar Islam lagi! Ini yang tidak difahami oleh saudara John Doe. Seganlah dengan Prof Emiritus Khoo Kay Kim brader…….

Saudara John Doe dan teman seperjuangan boleh bertanya kepada Prof Khoo tentang bentuk hubungan Emperor China dan Maharaja-Maharaja Srivijaya serta Sultan-Sultan Melayu (sesudah Islam). Hubungan ini bukan dalam bentuk seperti Imprealisasi Barat ke atas Tanah Melayu. Hubungan diplomatik antara dua kerajaan ini lebih kepada hubungan perdagangan kerana Kerajaan-Kerajaan bangsa Melayu di Nusantara mengawal jalan laut antarabangsa di Nusantara. Jikalau Tun Perpatih Putih dihantar ke China untuk mengadap hormat kepada Emperor China, Laksamana Cheng Ho pula melawat Melaka sebagai tanda persahabatan.

kerid

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian. Jika anda telah lihat artikel dari John Doe di Blog Lim Kit Siang ini, didapati beliau memulakan bicara dengan begitu ilmiah sekali. Sampai ke Brunei sekali beliau terjah! Syabas! Anda memang hebat dari segi mencari bukti untuk hujah anda. Tapi malang sekali bibliografi yang panjang serta penerangan yang nampak terperinci adalah tidak berguna jika di salahgunakan oleh pengkaji atau penulis yang sudah awal-awal tidak menelaah fakta sejarah dengan mendalam apatah lagi memahami kronologi sejarah nusantara ini.

Dari awal-awal lagi beliau sudah gagal dalam memahami konsep sejarah Bangsa Melayu di Nusantara dan amat malang sekali saudara John Doe tidak memahami perbezaan antara bangsa dan agama itu sendiri. Sungguh melucukan. Akhirnya segala polemik yang dibangkitkan oleh beliau diakhiri dengan logik-logik yang tipikal ala-ala hujah oleh budak darjah tiga :

Kenapa di Melaka masjid berbentuk seni China?

Kenapa di Melaka ada Bukit China?

Kenapa tiada kubur sultan di Melaka?



Lawak Antarabangsa sungguh!



Lawak-lawak juga ye… Dalam post akan datang aku akan ulas tentang kesilapan kita dalam menulis sejarah bangsa kita sendiri. Ramai pihak yang berkokok mengalahkan ayam jantan bila di cabar ‘kemelayuan nya’ sampai nak hunus keris pusaka bangsa lagi. Tetapi apabila diberi hujah yang macam bernas seperti dari saudara John Doe di atas, terus bisu dan kaku seribu bahasa. Tergagap-gagap nak jawap hujah ilmiah dari golongan chauvinist ini.

Dari kes-kes macam ini lah kita perlu ambil iktibar bahawa pembelajaraan dan kefahaman tentang sejarah itu adalah sangat penting untuk pendinding terakhir survival kita di bumi bertuah ini selain benteng Islam itu sendiri. Selagi Islam tebal di dalam jiwa umat Bani Jawi ini, selagi itulah kita akan dipandang umat yang terpuji. Wallahualam

adios

JANGAN BERLAGAK MARHAEN JIKA TIADA JIWA MARHAEN


Malay history: What’s missing from the textbooks

by John Doe | CPIASIA

Brunei has always been known to be one of the earliest Muslim Kingdoms in Southeast Asia. They pride themselves in this fact. All their neighbors pride themselves in this too, and of course, since it is fact, it is irrefutable. Right?

Good. Let’s quickly look at some FACTS then:

It is taught in school textbooks that Pateh Berbai, the brother of Awang Semaun and Awang Alak Betatar, discovered Brunei. Awang Alak Betatar subsequently became Brunei’s first Sultan and was known as Sultan Muhammad Shah. Awang Semaun and Awang Alak Betatar were the famous heroes in Brunei during that time.

Sultan Muhammad Shah was the first Sultan of Brunei. He ruled Brunei from 1363 to 1402. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei as a result of his conversion to Islam in 1363 for his marriage to a Johorean-Temasik princess. Prior to conversion to Islam, he was known as Awang Alak Betatar.

He sent a mission to China in 1371 by which his name is recorded in Ming historical record as Mo-ha-mo-sha. Sultan Muhammad Shah died in 1402. Sultan Muhammad Shah was the first Sultan of Brunei. He ruled Brunei from 1363 to 1402. He married the daughter of Iskander, a Johorean-Temasik princess introduced by Bal-Paki, her brother-in-law to be.

So far so good… Oh Really?
Read the above again very carefully !! Sultan Muhammad Shah married a Johorean-Temasik princess in 1363. Now, for all those products of Biro Tata Negara (BTN) out there, what year was Malacca formed? 1403. So, there was a Johor king already in 1363? Are you going to argue with Ketuanan Brunei on this? (By the way, he’s more Melayu than YOU!) Also for those who insist that Penang be handed over to Kedah, read the following again and again …

The Johor ruler was under the Thais. The entire Peninsular belonged to the Thais! The ‘king’ of Singapore (Temasik), whom Parameswara of the Malaccan Sultanate murdered in cold blood was in fact the brother-in-Law of the ‘King’ of Pattani, who was under Ayodthaya rule. For those who do not know, Ayodthaya is in Thailand. And that, my friend was already well established before 1363.

Next, Kota Gelanggi was also another Thai City, (yet to be publicized). And why not? Because it is a Thai Buddhist kingdom. Yes, it’s along the Johor River. All I’m allowed to say at this point is that Kota Gelanggi is REALLY along the Johor River. Expose Kota Gelanggi, and you will find its 30ft Buddha statues and its many Buddhist Temples, in all it’s glory.
So, for Penang to go back to Kedah, ALL of the peninsula needs to go back to the Thais. Sarawak needs to go back to Brunei, Brunei needs to go back to Majapahit, Sabah needs to go back to the Philippines, and Parameswara needs to go back to Palembang, leaving the Orang Asli in charge all over again. (I find it ludicrous that the Orang Asli are disqualified as ‘Bumiputera’ although they have been here since 60,000 years ago)

Next, the year 1363 is of great significance. Why? That was the year that the first Sultan of Brunei converted to Islam. And he immediately became the Ruler of Brunei? What was he before that? A fisherman? A carpenter? A farmer? What was Awang Alak Betatar in 1362? And what happened the following year when he became a Sultan? Is becoming a Muslim enough to justify becoming a Sultan? Was he the first person in Brunei to convert to Islam?

Let’s scroll back time by 100 years; the year is now 1264. A full hundred years BEFORE Awang Alak Betatar converted to Islam, and declared himself a Sultan. A trip to Bandar Seri Begawan is not complete unless one visits the Muslim graves at Rangas. Chuck your ‘pantang’ out the window if you want to enjoy this first-hand, and in real life. Amongst these tombstones is the one of a Chinese Muslim by the name of Pu Kung Chih-mu. He was buried there in 1264. He was a Muslim, buried in a Muslim grave! This is more than a hundred years earlier, before the ascension of Awang Alak Betatar as the ‘first’ Sultan of Brunei. Not only that, he is not the only Chinese Muslim there. I cross-checked against the Brunei Museum Journal of 1993, and found that this has been so well documented!! In fact, this grave had already been found since 1973. Whole communities of Chinese Muslims had already been living in Kampong Batu well before the 12th Century. It is clearly recorded in the 1973 Brunei Museum Journal, and was visited by professors from Japan and China. Pictures are on page 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12. Some are even in colour.

So, here’s another nugget for BTN un-educators. The Chinese brought Islam to this region in 1264. Wait! That’s not even correct. It was even earlier, because, this Muslim Chinese died in 1264. He had lived a full life in Brunei before he died. And before anyone even thinks of contesting this, let me draw your attention to yet another well-established fact, and let’s see how early the Chinese arrived.

According to records – as in the ‘Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca Compiled from Chinese Sources’ by WP Groeneveldt in 1880 – a Chinese Islamic trader arrived in Brunei in the 10th century. His name was P’u-lu-shieh. He was both a trader and a diplomat. SQ Fatimi writing in the Sociological Research Institute in Singapore in 1963 under an article entitled ‘Islam Comes to Malaysia’, P’u-lu-shieh name is akin to Abu al-Layth.

The Brunei King at that time was named ‘Hiang-ta’. The arrival of the diplomat-trader from China was greeted with great ceremony. If this is so, Islam actually arrived in Brunei in the year of 977.

If this is the year 977, and the Sultan’s name in the year 977 is Hiang-Ta, then how can Awang Alak Betatar be the ‘first’ Sultan of Brunei in 1363? For those with very bad logic (or timeline problems), the year 977 is 406 years older than 1363. And in the year 977, the Chinese were already sending Muslim ambassadors to Brunei. The real question should be, thus, who exactly was that ‘Hiang Ta’ who ruled Brunei in the year 977? An Iban? A Kadazan or a Chinese?

It gets even better. The MOST interesting thing was that the Brunei king’s delegation to China to return the emperor’s greetings was also headed by another Muslim official by the name of P’u A-li (Abu Ali).

Based on this fact alone, Abu Ali must have held an important position in the Brunei government if he was tasked to be Brunei’s ambassador in those days. This is again, irrefutable proof that there was already a government, with a King, and some members of his royal court were Muslims. Again, this is proof that Islam had already reached Brunei before the year 977. This is 75 years into the beginning of the Soong Dynasty, and only severely retarded people will say that Abu Ali was an Arab because of his name.

And by the way, Malacca was not to have been discovered for another 400 years. Is there a prawn under the stone? You can bet your bottom dollar (because Ringgit is worthless toilet paper) that whenever John Doe writes, there is.

A number of European historians claimed that Brunei was still not a Muslim nation until the 15th century. However, the Ming Shih, Book 325, a Chinese reference book noted that the King of Brunei in 1370 was Ma-ho-mo-sa. Some say that this should be read as Mahmud Shah. In fact, local Brunei historians prefer to take this to refer to Muhammad Shah, the first Sultan of Brunei.

Robert Nicholl, a former Brunei Museum curator argued in another paper entitled ‘Notes on Some Controversial Issues in Brunei History’ in 1980 that the name Ma-ho-mo-sa could be pronounced as Maha Moksha which means ‘Great Eternity’. ‘Maha Mokhsa’ would make it a Buddhist name. Nicholl goes on to argue that even the Brunei Sultan who died in Nanjing in 1408 was not a Muslim. (History books always detail that the Sultan of Brunei went to China, but few will state that he died there),

Another historian Paul Pelliot said Ma-na-jo-kia-nai-nai was reconstituted as Maharajah Gyana (nai). But the closest title would have been Maharaja Karna. However Brunei historians have insisted that the King was Sultan Abdul Majid Hassan, who would have been the second Sultan of Brunei.

Nicholl further argued that Sultan Muhammad Shah converted to Islam as late as the 16th century and not during the 14th century as is widely known. However according to Brunei historians, Sultan Muhammad Shah converted to Islam in 1363 and that he ruled until 1402. After which time, it was Sultan Abdul Majid Hassan, who died in China who ascended the throne. That was when Sultan Ahmad reigned in Brunei beginning 1406.

And why did I bring up this detail? Simple !! Read the top all over again:

Sultan Muhammad Shah married a Johorean-Temasik Princess in 1363.

And that Kota Gelanggi and the entire peninsular Malaya belonged to the Thais. And if this is true and correct, then both the Sultan of Brunei and his wife, would have been Buddhists.

In fact, the entire peninsular Malaya had been Buddhist and/or Hindu ever since the second century when Lembah Bujang was built. And since this is the year 1363, all of Brunei and Borneo was also under the rule of King Hayam Wuruk, who was King of the Majapahit empire. And what religion did they have? (I’ll give you a hint… they built the Borobudor. And for those who claim that Borobudor is a mosque in disguise, please learn to recognize temple architecture.)


Borrobudor in all its splendour.

Oh, and even more important is this:

“Sultan Abdul Majid Hassan whose proper name is Zein Ul-Abidin, frequented the near distant islands, that He called ‘Solook’ (Sulu) from 1402 to 1424. Marrying the daughter (Parmursuli) of the Sulu Tomaoi (chief) Baginda” – it means he had a Filipino wife.

Also important to note, that since this is 1363, Parameswara had not yet swum across Pirate-Bay to reach Temasik yet. Hence, the need to locate the earlier kingdoms which pre-date ‘His Royal Pendatangness’.

During the reign of Wikramawardhana, the series of Ming armada naval expeditions led by Admiral Hajji Mahmud Shams (aka Zheng He), a Muslim Chinese admiral, arrived in Java for several times, spanning the period from 1405 to 1433. By 1430, Zheng He’s expeditions has established Muslim Chinese and Arab communities in northern ports of Java, and thus Islam began to gain foothold on Java’s northern coast. “Admiral Hajji Mahmud Shams (aka Zheng He) was so frustrated when he first arrived in Java, because he could not find a single halal restaurant there”, so wrote Mah Huan, his scribe, thus deciding to spread Islam to the “barbarians” as Chinese records would write.

Also interesting to note is the following:

“In late Yuan Dynasty, China became chaotic, people who lived along the coastal area of Fujian, under the leadership of Ong Sum Ping’s siblings, escaped to eastern Kalimantan — they landed at the river mouth. When they were exhausted, facing a shipping crisis, someone lost their arms. After that, the Kadazans named it as Sungai Kinabatangan — the place where the Chinese lost their arms.

Ong Sum Ping and his sister, and the Chinese people developed the area of Sungai Kinabatangan, and they increased their influences there. With the increase of his prosperity, the natives named him Raja, or King. The Chinese named him as ‘Chung Ping’ – meaning the General. We can clearly see that Ong Sum Ping controlled Eastern Kalimantan.

This is Ong Sum Ping Rd in Brunei.

(Part 2 will appear tomorrow)

Bibligraphy
Kenneth Hall, Maritime trade and state development in early Southeast Asia, citing Wang Gungwu, ‘The Nanhai trade: a study of the early history of Chinese trade in the South China Sea’, JMBRAS 31, 2 (1958): 33, citing Paul Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese, studies in the historical geography of the Malay peninsula before 1500, Kuala Lumpur, 1961, and other secondary sources;
Yoshiaki Ishizawa, ‘Chinese chronicles of C1st-5th century AD Funan’,
Yoshiaki Ishizawa, ‘Chinese chronicles of C1st-5th century AD Funan’, citing Wan Zhen, Nanzhou yuwuzhi.
Louise Levathes, When China Ruled the seas, citing the Liang Shu (History of the Liang dynasty) and (i) Paul Shao, Asiatic Influence in Precolumbian art, Ames, Iowa State Univ 1976, and (ii) David H.Kelley, ‘Nine lords of the night’, Studies in the Archaeology of Mexico and Guatemala, 16, Berkeley, Univ of California Dept of Anthropology, Oct 1972 & ‘Calendar animals and deities’, Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 16, Albuqerque, Univ of New Mexico, 1960.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Ongkili, James P. “Ancient Chinese Trading Links.” East Malaysia and Brunei. Ed. Wendy Hutton. Tuttle Publishing, 2001.
Saunders, Graham. A History of Brunei. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.
Wright, Leigh. “Brunei: An Historical Relic.” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 17 (1977).
“Background Note: Brunei Darussalam”. U.S. State Department. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/m/v/mvp111/karin.htm, citing vol.231 of The Great Chinese Encyclopedia, compiled by court historians of the Wang emperors from 502 to 556 AD (other refs give the editor’s name as Ma Tuan-Lin);
Prof V.G.Nair, Buddhist mission visits America before Columbus,
http://www.saigon.com/~hoasen/mission.htm;
http://www.1s.com/hkmission/history/chinese.htm, citing hearsay of an 1100 page diary in the Chinese imperial archives of which only 75 pages of partial excerpts seen;
http://users.wi.net/~maracon/; http://www.ventanawild.org/news/se01/fusang.html;
Kenneth L. Feder, Frauds, Myths and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology, p113-4, citing Frost, F, 1982,
The Palos Verdes Chinese anchor mystery, Archaeology, Jan/Feb 23-27,
quoted on www.kenspy.com/Menzies/Ships.html regarding irrelevance of these anchors.
J.V.G.Mills, introduction, to Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng Lan; John Carswell, Blue & White, p.87; Louise Levathes, When China ruled the seas; Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng Lan. Inscription in Galle

Malay history: What’s missing from the textbooks (2)

by John Doe | CPIASIA

Also interesting to note is the following:

In Late Yuan Dynasty, China became chaotic, people who lived along the coastal area of Fujian, under the leadership of Ong Sum Ping’s siblings, escaped to eastern Kalimantan — they landed at the river mouth. When they were exhausted, facing a shipping crisis, someone lost their arms. After that, the Kadazans named it as Sungai Kinabatangan — the place where the Chinese lost their arms.

Ong Sum Ping and his sister, and the Chinese people developed the area of Sungai Kinabatangan, and they increased their influence there. With the increase of his prosperity, the natives named him Raja, or King. The Chinese named him as ‘Chung Ping’ — meaning the General. We can clearly see that Ong Sum Ping controlled Eastern Kalimantan.

This is Ong Sum Ping Road in Brunei.

“Located the north-western part was the Sultanate Brunei; its southern area was controlled by local Malays (from Palembang) and they were in a state of decline. In the eastern part, they suffered from the invasion of the Muslim Sultan of Sulu. When the new (first) ruler — Sultan Muhammad Shah — ascended to the throne, he asked for the help of Ong Sum Ping. Sultan Muhammad Shah married his daughter to Ong Sum Ping, and titled him as Maharaja Lela. Muhammad Shah also asked his brother to marry the sister of Ong Sum Ping, and titled her as Puteri Kinabatangan. Via these marriages, these two regional powers built a close relationship. Under the cooperation of Ong Sum Ping and the Chinese armies, they fought against the Sulu Muslim invasion, and Brunei was saved from utter collapse…”

Without Chinese help, Brunei and Sabah would have collapsed and fallen to the Muslim pirate Suluks. And the year is the early 1400s. And for the record, ‘Kina’ (kee-na) is used by Kadazan Dusun which similar to ‘Cina’ (chee-na) used by Malay which refer the Chinese. So, the correct way to say it in today’s context, is to call it CheenaBatangan, and Mount CheenaBalu, or Mount CheenaBaru (had they mispronounced it), and Kota CheenaBalu (to replace the British given name of Jesselton).

This is all in line with how the Kadazan pronounces Kina, to mean Cheena. Ask your Kadazans friends, if you want to find out more. (‘Sino’-anything, means Chinese)

Mt Kinabalu, is known a Mt CheenaBalu in the Kadazan Language

This is the first clear record of the ‘Social Contract’. Both pendatangs would fight side by side to ward off other vicious attackers. Both pendatangs would help each other in times of need. And both pendatangs would intermarry, regardless of religion.

The second is that Maharaja Lela is a Chinese, and his name is General Ong Sum Ping. Now I ask you this: What is the significance of the title ‘Maharaja’? It contains the word ‘Maha’ followed by ‘Raja’. It is a title to mean ‘Most High King’. A title befitting a God and put together, it means “The God King, Lela”. The king of Thailand (Rama V, aka Chulalongkorn) also changed his name, from Dharma Raja to Dewa Raja)

Using one’s brains, one would easily deduce the following:

Firstly, the Sultan of Brunei was extremely so grateful that he elevated his Chinese brother-in-law to ‘God’ status.

Secondly, no Muslim is going to do that. ‘Maha’ anything is reserved for Allah. And to title his Chinese brother-in-law in this manner, whether Ong Sum Ping was a Muslim or not, is simply unthinkable had the Sultan really been a Muslim. Which again reinforces that Sultan Muhammad Shah was no Muslim.

Thirdly, Malaysia still has the title ‘Duli Yang Maha Mulia’ so I could be wrong about Muslims being able to call a human ‘Maha-something’ instead of the word reserved only for the divine.

And the best of course, is reserved for last:

“In fact according to Chinese records of the Liang Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, Brunei had been sending her envoys to China and had also been receiving envoys from China. The earliest records stated that in the years 517AD, 521AD and 631AD, Brunei had sent her envoys to China. In 977AD, China sent her envoys to Brunei.” (see The Brunei Times)

The above sends a clear message that someone else was already King in Brunei circa 876 years before Sultan Muhammad Shah declared himself as Sultan. It is also very clear that the Chinese were already in Brunei 53 years before the Prophet Muhammad was born.

Also important to note, that the Chinese arrived at least 876 years before Parameswara reached Malacca. Could the Chinese have been the original royal lineage of Brunei? Remember that by the Year 53-Before-Prophet Muhammad, Chinese had already been living in Borneo. And never forget that the earliest Arabic maps label Malaya as ‘Barr Chin’ to mean Land of the Chinese.

And even earlier is this:

Second half of the 5th century: The Buddhist monk Hui-Shen and his Afghan companions travelled from China to Fu-Sang. Yes, the Afghans were Buddhists and carved the Bamiyan Buddhas that were destroyed by the Taliban.

Hui Sen visits Holotan (Java), on his way back to China. And the King of Java then sends seven missions to China begging them to recognize his kingdom, because no one else recognized them. This brings up strange questions. The Javanese kings did it, the Sultan of Brunei did it, and even Parameswars did it. Why were all these kings sucking up to the Chinese over the centuries? Is this what Ketuanan really means? Sucking up to China? All the Austronesians have certainly done it for the past 1,600 years, or more…

Final parting thoughts… Why are the oldest mosques in Malacca shaped all like Pagodas (in Trengkera)?

Why is there no ‘local’-shaped mosque architecture in Malacca? Why is there Bukit Cheena in Malacca, but no Bukit Melayu or more importantly, no Bukit Sultan? Why is there zero trace of any grave belonging to the Sultan of Malacca? Before anyone gives his lame excuse, there are at least 15 royal graves here in Brunei. All intact, all complete, and no missing links.

There are all records ranging from the Chinese (the later ones were Muslims) being in Borneo right from the fifth century right up till the 15th century. So the next time someone tells you that the Chinese only arrived in the 19th century …

Postscript: If I wrote a book on collective Southeast Asian History (complete with actual location photographs), I wonder how many of you people will buy it?

Related: Malay history: What’s missing from the textbooks (1)

Bibligraphy

Kenneth Hall, Maritime trade and state development in early Southeast Asia, citing Wang Gungwu, ‘The Nanhai trade: a study of the early history of Chinese trade in the South China Sea’, JMBRAS 31, 2 (1958): 33, citing Paul Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese, studies in the historical geography of the Malay peninsula before 1500, Kuala Lumpur, 1961, and other secondary sources;

Yoshiaki Ishizawa, ‘Chinese chronicles of C1st-5th century AD Funan’,

Yoshiaki Ishizawa, ‘Chinese chronicles of C1st-5th century AD Funan’, citing Wan Zhen, Nanzhou yuwuzhi.

Louise Levathes, When China Ruled the seas, citing the Liang Shu (History of the Liang dynasty) and (i) Paul Shao, Asiatic Influence in Precolumbian art, Ames, Iowa State Univ 1976, and (ii) David H.Kelley, ‘Nine lords of the night’, Studies in the Archaeology of Mexico and Guatemala, 16, Berkeley, Univ of California Dept of Anthropology, Oct 1972 & ‘Calendar animals and deities’, Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 16, Albuqerque, Univ of New Mexico, 1960.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Ongkili, James P. “Ancient Chinese Trading Links.” East Malaysia and Brunei. Ed. Wendy Hutton. Tuttle Publishing, 2001.
Saunders, Graham. A History of Brunei. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.
Wright, Leigh. “Brunei: An Historical Relic.” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 17 (1977).
“Background Note: Brunei Darussalam”. U.S. State Department. Retrieved 2008-12-16.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/m/v/mvp111/karin.htm, citing vol.231 of The Great Chinese Encyclopedia, compiled by court historians of the Wang emperors from 502 to 556 AD (other refs give the editor’s name as Ma Tuan-Lin);

Prof V.G.Nair, Buddhist mission visits America before Columbus,

http://www.saigon.com/~hoasen/mission.htm;

http://www.1s.com/hkmission/history/chinese.htm, citing hearsay of an 1100 page diary in the Chinese imperial archives of which only 75 pages of partial excerpts seen;

http://users.wi.net/~maracon/;http://www.ventanawild.org/news/se01/fusang.html;

Kenneth L. Feder, Frauds, Myths and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology, p113-4, citing Frost, F, 1982,

The Palos Verdes Chinese anchor mystery, Archaeology, Jan/Feb 23-27,

quoted on www.kenspy.com/Menzies/Ships.html regarding irrelevance of these anchors.

J.V.G.Mills, introduction, to Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng Lan; John Carswell, Blue & White, p.87; Louise Levathes, When China ruled the seas; Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng Lan. Inscription in Galle