MALAYSIAN HISTORIANS’ MISTAKES IN INTERPRETING ETHNIC HISTORY
By: Hamly Hadi
(History Observer)
Malay historians from Malaysia, such as Prof. Sholehah Yacob, appear to be seriously mistaken in interpreting the history of ethnic groups. For example:
1. When they read that the Malays originated from Austronesian people from Yunnan and Taiwan who migrated to the Indonesian archipelago around 3,000 BC, they claim that the Austronesian people are Malay. In fact, the Malays are only one of the descendants of the Austronesian people; the Malay identity was only created in 1402 AD in the Malacca kingdom.
2. When they find Negrito DNA in Malays, they claim that Malays have existed for 60,000 years, because, according to the Out of Africa theory, Negrito people arrived in the Indonesian archipelago 60,000 years ago. In fact, Negrito DNA is present in the DNA of Malays due to intermarriage between Malays and indigenous peoples of the peninsula, such as the Semang or Senoi, who are Negrito.
3. When they read history that Malays are also descendants of the sons of Noah who survived the Great Flood, they claim that Malays existed during Noah’s time.
4. When they read history that Malays are descendants of the Srivijaya people from Palembang, they claim that Malays existed during the Srivijaya era.
Their theory goes like this: Budi is Mr. Yanto’s grandson, so Mr. Yanto is Budi himself.
Even though Budi was only born in 2000, because Budi is Mr. Yanto’s grandson, Mr. Yanto is Budi.
Even though Mr. Yanto has many other grandchildren besides Budi, only Budi claims that their grandfather is Budi himself.
Everyone in the Indonesian archipelago is descended from the Austronesian people. Many tribes in the archipelago also have Negrito DNA, and everyone in the world is descended from Noah, who survived the Great Flood. However, only Malay-Malay historians claim that the Austronesians are Malay. Only Malay-Malay historians claim that the Negritos who arrived in the archipelago 60,000 years ago were Malay. Only Malay-Malay historians claim that the descendants of Noah, who survived the Great Flood, are Malay.
They fail to understand that to claim a people, they must have a language that is exactly the same as the language they use today, because the identity of a people is language.**
Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, December 25, 2025
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