This article is meant to be a hypothesis and it needs to be validated by scientific discoveries.

Recently I went to Malacca to pay a visit to my friend Dr. Abdul Samad the Head of Department of Computer System and Communication at the University Technical Malaysia, Malacca. He invited me at the same time to give lecture to all the lecturers, students and staff of his university on the topic of stress management and performance. I was delighted by the responses from the audience towards my lecture. It was an exciting evening to be in Malacca in the month of Ramadan. In the evening, I break my fast at Hotel Seri Malaysia and after praying solat Tarawih, Dr Abdul Samad and me went to enjoy the scenery of Malacca at night by cruising along the Malacca River. The river cruise along the Malacca river costs about RM10 per person and the ride takes about 45 minutes. We had to wait for our turn to be on board the cruise and when our boat started to sail it was already 10.30 at night. During the cruise my mind started to think about the past and I was wondering how Malacca, during the time of the Sultanates of Malacca was. When the cruise reacheed the mouth of the river, I was wondering where the palace of the Sultan of Malacca was once stood. My opinion is that the Palace must had been situated somewhere near the mouth of the river but now there is not even the ruins of the Palace left to be seen.

When the Portuguese conquered Malacca, they had destroyed the Sultan’s Palace and built a settlement surrounded by a fort known nowadays as the A Formosa. When the Dutch conquered Malacca, they in turn destroyed the A Formosa and built their own fort. What we see in Malacca now, are the buildings built by the Dutch and the British and visiting these buildings make me feel sad because it reminded me of the fallen of the Great Malay Empire to the hands of the European conquerors. I am sure the Europeans had come with cannons and guns while the Malays at those times were using only swords and arrows. With scientific and technological advancements, the European conquerors were able to defeat the Great Malay Empire. Similarly now, Malaysia could easily be defeated, should her being attacked by any of the World superpowers. Malaysia should not think that everybody in the world is just like the Malays, peace loving and accommodating. Once Malaysia becomes more prosperous, other countries might want to conquer Malaysia. Malaysia should be more proactive in protecting her sovereignty. Malaysia must be well equipped with weapons that are at par or more advanced than the weapons built by those superpowers. We never know one day that these superpowers might want to conquer Malaysia the way the Portuguese and the Dutch had conquered Malacca before. Malaysia should learn from history and should be well prepared to protect its sovereignty from the threats of these superpowers. We should not just buy weapons from them forever, but we must strive to be capable of making our own weapons which shall be more advanced than their weapons. We build our own weapons not for the purpose of attacking other countries like what the European conquerors did but solely for the protection of our own sovereignty.

Where was the Palace of the Sultan of Malacca located? We should rebuild that Palace on the same site as it used to be during the time of the Sultan of Malacca, such that it may reminds us of our past glory. I think the Sultan’s Palace was once stood on top of the hill overlooking the mouth of the Malacca River. When the Portuguese destroyed the Sultan’s Palace, they did not just destroy the Palace but they also destroyed our pride and glory. We should rebuild the Sultan’s Palace on the same site and destroy whatever buildings that had been built by the Portuguese or the Dutch on its site. We should bring back our pride and glory by building the Palace again on exactly the same site as it used to be during the time of the Great Sultanate of Malacca.

Where were the graves of all the Sultan of Malacca? None of the Sultans of Malacca were buried in Malacca. Where their bodies were taken to after they died? A friend of mine who claimed to be a descendent of the Sultan of Malacca told me that when a Sultan of Malacca died, his body would be taken to the islands of Riau for burial. Why took the body to the islands of Riau for burial? What was the connection between Riau and the Malaccan Sultanate? The present historian should revisit our history. Did Parameswara really exist? Munshi Abdullah, who was an Indian in origin wrote our history. He could have created the Parameswara figure, in order to make us believe that the Sultanates of Malacca was originated from a Hindu Prince that came from Palembang and later on converted to Islam and changed his name to the Muslim name of Sultan Muzaffar Shah. In my opinion, Parameswara never existed. The first Sultan of Malacca was Sultan Muzaffar Shah and he was one of the Princes of the Sultan of Riau at that time. The Sultan of Riau had sent him to Malacca to become the Sultan of Malacca while Malacca at that time was part of the Great Malay Empire, which covered the whole of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo and part of Java. The Sultan of Riau also sent his princes to become the Sultans in Bengkulu and Tanjong Balai in Sumatra. Malacca is a port and a trading city that handled the business of the empire. Malays were already Muslims long before the so called Parameswara converted to Islam in 1403 AD as claimed. Islam had come to the Malay Archipelago much earlier than 1400 AD and it was impossible that a Hindu King could become the King of the Malays during the period when all Malays were Muslims.

Malays are great people, and is believed to be the descendents of one of the sons of Prophet Jacob or Yaacob. Malays are probably the lost tribe of Bani Israel that had migrated thousands of years ago from the Middle East towards the east. As they migrated towards the east, some of them probably had settled along the way while others continued the journey of migration towards the east. They followed the Himalayan range and moved southward toward the present day Vietnam and Cambodia and then they finally settled in the Malay Archipelago, particularly in the islands of Riau and Sumatra. In Riau, the Malays had established the Malay Sultanate of Riau that covered the island of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. The Malaccan Sultanate was part of the Sultanate of Riau. Malays in the Malay Peninsula, the islands of Riau and Sumatra belong to the same Malay race. Even though the Javanese, Banjarese, Acehnese or Bugis are able to speak Malay, but they do not belong to the Malay race.

Malays have been Muslim all the way since the time of Prophet Jacob. Malays originated from one of the sons of Prophet Jacob and since Malays are a member of the family of Bani Israel, they are indeed a special race with special qualities. The only bad quality that the Malays have is laziness. Once the Malays can overcome their laziness, they will become a very brilliant race. Malays could have acquired bad qualities after they got used to the life of comfort and peace in the peaceful Malay Archipelago for hundreds of years. The Malays settled peacefully in the Malay Archipelago and they got used to the life of abundance with plenty of food and water until they got caught in surprise by the attacks of the Portuguese in 1511 AD.

Prof Dr Nasoha Saabin
September 2010
Integrative Holistic Wellness Centre