Malaysia: An Oriental Tourist’s Haven and an Anthropologer’s Delight!

Malaysia History:

Wikipedia, the encyclopedia says: “the history of Malaysia is a relatively recent offshoot of the history of the larger Malay-Indonesian world”. It is because anthropologists and historians could see very little aspects culturally and linguistically, to tell apart present Malaysian territories from the lands of the Malay Archipelago. According for their research, today’s division of the Malay world into half a dozen different states– Malaysia, Dalam negri, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and East Timor – is essentially the result of external influences, like the Hindu India, the Islamic Middle East and Religious Europe (west), China and Japan (north-east). Besides, the most direct shipping course passing through the Strait of Malacca, Malaysia has naturally been a shedding pot of trade ways and cultures. Thus, it is often found out that the geographical position of Malaysia has literally made it difficult for the Malay people to resist overseas influence and domination. allianz medical insurance malaysia

In the event one analyses a brief history of Malaysia, he can see these successive phases ahead of the final assertion of Malay independence. 

o The domination of Hindu culture imported from India reached its top in the great Srivijaya civilisation in Sumatra (from the 7th to the 14th centuries).

o The appearance of “Islam” in the 10th century, leading to the conversion of the Malay-Indonesian world, having a profound influence on the Malay people. The Srivijayan empire broke up into smaller sultanates, the most significant one being Melaka (Malacca).

o The intrusion of the European colonial powers and European domination: (i) Silver coast, (ii) Dutch and (iii) British, who established facets at Penang and Singapore. This triggered off the most revolutionary event in Malay history – the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824, which drew a frontier between British Malaya and holland East Indies (now Indonesia). Thus, the split of the Malay world was established permanently.

o The British had clear economical intentions in establishing their empire in the Malay world. In colonizing the Malay world, they’d forseen financial profit, banking on the evident attractions of Malaya, the tin and gold mines. Yet , soon after, the British planters started exploring the warm plantation crops including cayenne pepper and coffee. On the other hand, there was a mass immigration of Chinese and Indian staff to meet the needs of the colonial economic system. To meet the needs of a sizable and self-disciplined work-force, plantation workers, mainly Tamil-speakers from South India as well as migrant staff from southern China and tiawan were imported to the land. Thus, the Malay society suffered the reduction of political sovereignty to the British along with economical sovereignty to the China.

However, after the episode of the Sino-Japanese Warfare in the 1930’s, China emigration to Malaya ceased significantly, thereby stabilising the demographic situation. In 1957, Malay became an individual nation, with 55% Malay population, and with affluent export industries, consisting of rubber, tin, palm essential oil, and iron ore.

1963 was a significant season for the Malay world, when Malaya became Malaysia with the acquisition of the British territories in North Borneo and Singapore. It had been followed by various political onslaughts like conflict with Indonesia, the competition riots of 1969, the establishment of emergency regulation and a curtailment of political life and detrimental liberties forever. However, after the New Economic Plan introduced by the federal government in 1971, the Malaysian overall economy improved significantly, with the elimination of rural thankfully, and with the recognition between race and monetary function. The political culture of Malaysia, on the other hand, remains significantly authoritarian till recent times, with a notable drop of democracy. The question of when and how Malaysia will get a multi-party democracy, a free press, an independent judiciary and the restoration of civil and political protections remain unanswered, despite it is monetary maturity which has been quite a sensation in the Malaysian record.

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