MALAYS HAVE THE MOST STRONG INFLUENCE
By: Hamly Hadi
(Historical Observer)
In my opinion, the tribe that has the strongest influence is the Malay tribe. Even though it is relatively young because it was only born in Malacca at the beginning of the 15th century, it is able to influence other ethnic groups.
Malay identity was formed after Prameswara and his followers in Malacca began to convert to Islam so that Malays became the trend center at that time. Malays traded to various regions in the archipelago while spreading the Islamic religion, Malay culture and Malay language so that other tribes who converted to Islam began to follow Malay culture and language so that over time they claimed to be Malays because at that time Malays were considered the first Muslims to have a typical Indonesian culture so converting to Islam was considered to be Malays.
Thus, ethnic groups in areas visited by Malays eventually identified themselves as Malay. For example:
1. The Mon and Khmer people in Kedah now identify themselves as Malay.
2. The Siamese people in Pattani now identify themselves as Malay.
3. The Mon, Siamese, and Champa people from Vietnam in Kelantan now identify themselves as Malay.
4. The Batak people on the east coast of North Sumatra now identify themselves as Malay.
5. The Minang people in Kampar now identify themselves as Malay.
6. The people of Palembang, who are closer to Java, still use Javanese names, but also insist on identifying themselves as Malay.
7. The indigenous people of Kalimantan, after being influenced by the culture, language, and Islam in West Kalimantan, also identify themselves as Malay.**
Banjarmasin, January 20, 2026
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