Punjabi Muslim Malaysians and the heritage we must not erase

 

HISTORY | How much of our history disappears when individuals deny their ancestry? For Punjabi Muslim Malaysians, this question concerns a community whose contribution to nation-building far exceeds its size. Their story deserves to be remembered in full.

Police service became an important early avenue of migration and employment in British Malaya. Beyond the barracks, Punjabi Muslim cattle rearers, bullock carters, mine workers, transport operators, and cloth pedlars sustained growing settlements. Their descendants would go on to distinguish themselves in education, public administration, business, and the professions.

Yet while many cherish this inheritance, I have encountered a small number of successful individuals widely known to be of Punjabi Muslim ancestry who denied it when I approached them. Such encounters are deeply troubling. They raise an uncomfortable question about the value we place on our forebears when economic advantage becomes entangled with identity.

From Punjab to the police barracks

In 1873, Captain Tristram Speedy travelled to Punjab on a recruitment mission that opened an important chapter in the history of Malaya’s Punjabi Muslims. Engaged by Ngah Ibrahim, the territorial chief of Larut, Perak, he recruited 95 discharged sepoys in Lahore to help restore order amid fighting between rival Chinese mining factions. The men included Pathans, Sikhs, and Punjabi Muslims.

These pioneers came from Punjab in undivided British India. Pakistan did not exist when Speedy recruited his men; Punjab was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947. Lahore became part of Pakistan, while Moga, remembered in the name of Kampung Mogah in Tanjung Malim, lies in present-day India. Describing all these early migrants as arrivals from Pakistan would therefore be anachronistic.

Punjabi Muslims shared a language and aspects of everyday culture with their Sikh neighbours, while Islam connected them with Malaya’s Malay population. These ties helped them settle and build their lives here.

Speedy’s recruits helped form the nucleus of the early Perak police establishment. Punjabi Muslims subsequently served in the colonial police and the Malay States Guides (MSG), a military regiment established in 1896 with its headquarters in Taiping. Their numbers in the MSG rose from 49 in 1900 to 90 by the end of 1914.

In North Borneo (present-day Sabah), the British North Borneo Company began recruiting Punjabi Muslims for police service in the 1890s.

Today, Punjabi Muslims are concentrated in Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Kelantan, Penang, Kedah, and Negeri Sembilan. Their geographical spread reflects generations of migration, work, and settlement.

Working families and lasting roots

Besides serving in the police and military, first-generation Punjabi Muslim migrants to British Malaya, like many Sikh and Pathan migrants, engaged in dairy farming, cattle and buffalo rearing, and bullock-cart transport. Others worked as watchmen or labourers in the tin mines around Kampar, Tanjung Tualang, and Malim Nawar, Perak.

Mohamed Akbar Yasin of Banir, Perak, recalls several cattle rearers: Ashraf, also known as Acah Bhai, in Tanjung Tualang; Feroz Khan in Temoh; and Chanda Nazam Din in Chenderiang. Community testimony also places Punjabi Muslim bullock carters in Temoh, Kampar, Mambang Di Awan, and Chenderiang.

Motor transport brought further opportunities. Families operated lorries and taxis, carrying goods and passengers between expanding towns. Taxi owners remembered locally include Ghulam Khan in Batu Gajah and Ibrahim in Chemor, Perak. Others combined transport work with livestock rearing, cultivation, or small businesses.

In Selangor and neighbouring Kuala Lumpur, community accounts identify settlements around Segambut, Sungai Besi, the fifth mile of Jalan Ipoh, Batu Arang, and Puchong. Kuala Lumpur’s growth provided work in transport, security, and commerce, linking these families to a network stretching from Perak’s smaller towns to the Klang Valley.

The textiles and clothing trades also offered opportunities, including cloth trading in Pasir Mas, Kelantan. Penang became another important commercial centre. Anwar Fazal’s family, for example, ran Fazal Mohamad Brothers in Taiping before moving the business to Chulia Street in Penang.

Kampung Mogah and transport pioneers

Kampung Mogah in Tanjung Malim preserves a direct link between an ancestral homeland and a Malaysian settlement. Situated opposite what is now Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, it took its name from Moga in Punjab. Today, it has 13 houses and one surau.

The Mogah name also became associated with a transport enterprise built on Punjabi cooperation. Family testimony dates the establishment of Mogah Omnibus Company Limited to the late 1930s. Its founding partners were Jiwa Hazara, Tota Singh, and two Punjabi Muslims, who had worked as taxi owners and drivers. A photograph shows Punjabi Muslim friends accompanying Tota’s wedding party in a Mogah bus to the Batu Gajah gurdwara on April 28, 1940.

The company linked Tanjung Malim, Slim River, and Sungkai, connecting residents with markets, schools, and neighbouring towns. Shared language, friendship, and working relationships sustained the partnership.

Associations and mutual support

Associations helped dispersed families organise mutual support and pursue common interests. The Overseas Pakistani League in Penang and Province Wellesley was probably formed in 1948, as its first annual general meeting took place on Jan 2, 1949, according to the Indian Daily Mail on Jan 16, 1949. Its founding president, Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, had served in the Malayan civil service.

The Straits Times on Sept 28, 1953, reported that a conference ending the previous day had agreed to establish the Malayan Pakistani League to protect and promote common interests. S Mohamed Shafi of Kuala Lumpur became its founding president, with Mohd Hussain of Selangor as general secretary.

In June 1959, the Selangor Pakistani Association and the Central Pakistani Association dissolved to form the Malayan Pakistani League of Selangor. The Singapore Standard of July 4, 1959, named Rustam Ali as its president and C Mohamed Akram as secretary.

Today, the Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysia Pakistan Community Association (MyPak), led by its founder and current president, Amin Ali Sidik, is a principal association representing Pakistani Malaysians.

MyPak champions the Pakistani community’s interests and preserves its heritage. For more than 25 years, Amin (below) has served the Pakistani Malaysian community with dedication, giving it a stronger voice and helping keep its heritage alive for future generations.

In Penang, the Pakistani Malaysian League is led by its president, Abdul Rafique Karim.

Service in govt, national institutions

Punjabi Muslims have made notable contributions to public service. In policing, Sher Mohamed Allah Baksh (below) joined the force in 1934, became an inspector in 1946, and rose to assistant superintendent in 1948. Awarded the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry in 1947 for combating armed criminals in Kampar, he later served as Selangor’s deputy chief police officer from 1966 until his retirement in 1969, completing 35 years of service.

Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff (below) served as Johor police chief from 2008 to 2015. He subsequently headed Bukit Aman’s Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department and Special Branch. Having joined the Royal Malaysia Police in 1977, he retired in 2018 after four decades of service.

In diplomacy, Mohd Arshad M Hussain served in the Foreign Ministry for more than 36 years. He headed Malaysian missions in the Philippines, Australia, and Austria, and served as Malaysia’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna. As ambassador to the Philippines, Arshad was involved in efforts to secure the release of Malaysian captives among the 21 people abducted by Abu Sayyaf from Sipadan Island, Sabah, on April 23, 2000, and taken to Jolo Island in the southern Philippines.

In politics, Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, who is reportedly of Punjabi Muslim heritage, served as Malacca’s ninth chief minister from 1999 to 2013 and became its seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri in 2020. He also served as deputy transport minister and deputy health minister.

Mohd Arshad Atta Mohammad spent 17 years in the Administrative and Diplomatic Service, primarily in the Finance Ministry, including two years at the World Bank in Washington, DC. He joined the Malaysia International Shipping Corporation in 1991, where he led the corporate planning unit and helped diversify its operations into land-based activities.

In social protection, Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed, a medical doctor, joined the Social Security Organisation in 2001, became its chief executive in 2015, and was appointed group CEO in 2023.

Scholarship and the professions

In scholarship, professor Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof (below) became an internationally recognised authority on traditional Malay and Southeast Asian theatre, particularly mak yong and wayang kulit. He pioneered Malaysia’s first performing arts programme at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 1970 and contributed to the documentation supporting mak yong’s Unesco recognition.

His son, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, a prominent lawyer, has distinguished himself in civil, commercial, administrative, and constitutional litigation.

Wazir Jahan Karim is a distinguished anthropologist and professor emerita at USM. A pioneer of gender studies in Malaysia, she founded USM’s Centre for Research on Women and Gender. Her scholarship encompasses women, Orang Asli communities, food cultures, and the preservation of Malay and Jawi Peranakan heritage.

Other noted academics include the late professor Dr Gulam Rusul Rahmat Ali, whose research advanced food science and food safety, and professor Abdul Rashid Mohamed Shariff, known for his expertise in remote sensing, precision agriculture, and smart farming.

Abdul Majid Nabi Baksh, formerly a professor of English at the University of Malaya, later practised law and taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Monash University Malaysia.

His brother, Mohamed Rashid Navi Bax, held senior positions in educational administration, including director of the Polytechnic Management Division and deputy director-general responsible for the Private Higher Education Management Sector in the Higher Education Department of the Higher Education Ministry.

Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir led the Malaysian Palm Oil Board for seven years, from 2019 to 2026. A specialist in plant molecular biology, genetic engineering, and biosafety, he developed the world’s first transgenic oil palm in 1997 and became a fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in 2016.

In medicine, Dr Shah Kamal Khan Jamal Din is a leading oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Dr Mohamed Amir Shah Abdul Aziz, a clinical oncologist practising in Penang, has more than 20 years of experience.

Yasmeen Muhammad Shariff is a Punjabi Malaysian lawyer specialising in family law and children’s rights. She became the first Malaysian elected to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2012, later serving as vice-chair. Her work includes juvenile justice reform and protecting women and children.

Enterprise across generations

An early example of family enterprise is Car & Co, the sporting-goods business Charagh Din (below) founded in 1926 on Java Street, now Jalan Tun Perak, in Kuala Lumpur. Managed today by third-generation family members Qadeer Ahmad and Abdul Hamid, it reflects the community’s longstanding commercial presence and the continuity of family businesses.

Family enterprise has also contributed to the country’s food culture. Naiz Ali MeerAlam (below) founded Pakeeza Restaurant and Catering in September 1985. Now managed by his son, Rizal Naizali, the popular North Indian restaurant in Ipoh has attracted members of Perak’s royal family, including Sultan Nazrin Shah.

Later generations built businesses and corporate careers extending well beyond the community’s early occupations. Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid is a distinguished Malaysian aviation leader. He spent 29 years with Malaysia Airlines before leading Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad for 11 years from 2003 to 2014.

In maritime logistics, Mubarak Ali Gulam Rasul became CEO of Lumut Maritime Terminal in March 2015, bringing extensive experience in port expansion and operational improvement.

In Penang, Abdul Rafique Karim founded Syarikat Manora in 1975 to undertake housing and commercial developments. Appointed Pakistan’s Honorary Consul-General in Penang in 2007, he has promoted bilateral ties and supported the Pakistani community. He has also served as a Penang municipal councillor.

In finance, Mohamed Akwal Sultan Mohamad has more than 40 years of experience, particularly in debt resolution. He served as deputy general manager of Danaharta, the national asset management company, and helped establish the Small Debt Resolution Scheme. He was also the founding CEO of the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency.

Civil society and sporting achievement

Anwar Fazal, whose family’s trading history links Taiping and Penang, became an internationally influential consumer advocate. A co-founder of the Consumers Association of Penang, he was president of the International Organization of Consumers Unions from 1978 to 1984 and received the Right Livelihood Award in 1982. His advocacy linked consumer protection with public health, environmental responsibility, and social justice at both local and global levels.

Ishtiaq Mobarak (1948–2013), one of Malaysia’s outstanding hurdlers, represented the country at three consecutive Olympic Games in 1968, 1972, and 1976. At the Montreal Olympics in 1976, he was Malaysia’s flag-bearer and reached the 110m hurdles semi-finals. Ishtiaq (below) also won a bronze medal at the 1966 Asian Games and a silver medal in 1974.

Noraseela Mohd Khalid (below) distinguished herself as Malaysia’s most successful female 400m hurdler. She won four SEA Games gold medals and a bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games, and represented Malaysia at the 2012 London Olympics. Her personal best of 56.02 seconds, set in June 2006, remains the national record.

The cost of denying our roots

Over generations, intermarriage, shared religious life, and participation in local communities have drawn many Punjabi Muslim families into Malay society. The extent of this assimilation has varied from family to family. Many remain proud of their Punjabi ancestry, and a substantial number still speak the language fluently.

Their relationships with Sikhs also deserve recognition. A shared Punjabi language, food traditions, and memories of village life sustained friendships across religious differences. Family accounts recall Punjabi Muslims attending gurdwara functions. In Tanjung Tualang during the 1940s, Ali Mohammed and his wife even shared accommodation with a Sikh couple.

Assimilation into Malay society can be a natural expression of marriage, faith, and everyday belonging. Children of intermarried families may inherit several cultures and should feel free to honour every part of that inheritance. Acknowledging Punjabi ancestors need not diminish anyone’s Malay identity or loyalty to Malaysia. Being proudly Malaysian is entirely compatible with taking pride in one’s Punjabi Muslim roots.

My concern is the denial of known ancestry. I consider it morally improper to deny one’s heritage to secure or retain the economic advantages associated with bumiputera status. Neither social acceptance nor material gain justifies disowning our roots. Doing so dishonours those whose sacrifices helped make our success possible.

A grandfather who tended cattle or drove a lorry and a mother who sustained a household deserve a place in the family’s memory. Their dignity should never depend on the economic value of an ethnic label. Our children deserve an honest account of their origins and the struggles that shaped their lives.

These few cases should not overshadow the many who cherish their Punjabi heritage. The friendships, shared homes, and business partnerships recalled here show how different inheritances can coexist, enriching our shared Malaysian story.

Punjabi Muslim Malaysians deserve a recognised place in our shared history. Preserving their contributions and distinctive heritage is a national responsibility. By safeguarding a community’s history and culture, we honour those who came before us and help future generations know their roots, value their heritage, and carry its wisdom forward.

Let us build a Malaysia in which no citizen feels compelled to erase an ancestor to secure an opportunity, and no family has to choose between remembering its roots and belonging fully to this country. - Mkini

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RANJIT SINGH MALHI is an independent historian who has written 19 books on Malaysian, Asian, and world history. He is highly committed to writing an inclusive and truthful history of Malaysia based upon authoritative sources.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.