Tan needs a lesson in history of Malays

DBP man says Gerakan’s Tan should study about the Malay Archipelago first before making baseless claims.

KUALA LUMPUR: The public is advised to conduct an in-depth study of Malaysian history first before making baseless claims.

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) board of directors chairman, Md Salleh Yaapar said the claim of Johor Gerakan delegate Tan Lai Soon recently that all Malaysians were migrants, except for the Orang Asli and Bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak, was untrue.

Tan’s statement clearly showed he lacked in-depth knowledge of Malaysian history, specifically on the Malay Archipelago, namely, the Malay island nations encompassing Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines, he told Bernama here, today.

He was met after delivering a talk in the Ninth series of the Muslim Intellectual Discourse titled ‘About Malay Names, Origins and Identity, Towards Anticipated Enlightenment’ at DBP, here.

“Maybe Tan had a personal interest to garner the support of his party, but in the end the majority of the members of the party disagreed with his claim,” he said on the allegation by Tan made at the Gerakan National Delegates Conference on October 19.

In this regard, Md Salleh said DBP planned to organise more talks in future touching on the origins of the Malays, so that no quarters would issue erroneous and confusing statements which could affect racial harmony in the country.

“The names Melayu (Malay) and Tanah Melayu (Malay Land) are not new creations but had been known from time immemorial.

“The Malays were not from Taiwan, Yunnan or other Asian nations as claimed by certain quarters, but they came from the Malay Archipelago, he added.

- BERNAMA