Singaporean Kling following Chinese Ways

By John Doe

The above sounds absurd !! Under UMNO, the above sounds illogical, yet, that is exactly and accurately describing the first King of Malacca. I dare not call him a Sultan because we now know from Sejarah Melayu that Raja Secander Shah never converted to Islam.

According to Sejarah Melayu, it was his great-grandson Sultan Kichil besar who became the 1st Muslim King of Malacca. (Read HERE) He was NOT the first Muslim King of Malaya, because Malaya already had Kedah, Terengganu, Beruas, and so on. They existed hundreds of years before Malacca was born. ( Read HERE ) (before I get slandered again, I'm using Malaya to refer to the geographical Malaya)

In yesterday's Article, (Read HERE ) i quoted the Ming Shi Lu, (official translated version by Prof Dr Geoff Wade of NUS). You can easily obtain the original Chinese manuscripts to read it, should you understand Chinese. I call your attention to the following exact transcript recorded by Emperor Yong Le on the 11th Nov 1405. And I quote:
"...He (Bai-li-mi-su-la) wants his country (Malacca) to become like the divisions within China and to follow Chinese ways.."

Why should this Keling from Singapore want to follow Chinese ways at all? After all, he is already a GOD. As all Hindu Kings are Gods anyway. And if Raja Secander Shah was already a God, then there would be absolutely no need to suck up to the Chinese Emperor, who is only the "Son of Heaven". The Ming Shi Lu called the King of Malacca as "Bai-li-mi-su-la". Most translate this to be Pa-Ra-Mes-Wa-Ra. Except that it does not accurately "translate" well.

If one were to look at the records dated on the 26th May 1434, one would immediately notice that the Malaccan King's name is given as "Xi-li Ma-ha-la-zhe". This translates accurately as Seri Maharaja. The phonetic "Pa La Me Sua La" would have been a much closer and accurate transcript. Can some of my Indian Friends please help with this? What would Bai-Li-Mi-Su-La" most closely approximate? Use Hindostani if you wish. Even Pali or Sanskrit would also work as well. Those were the languages of the region. Regardless, it contradicts Sejarah Melayu's name of Raja Secander Shah. Perhaps Sejarah Melayu is wrong? Perhaps the Ming Dynasty records are wrong? Unless you tell me that Raja Secander Shah had a split personality, and decides to use 2 completely different names !! (btw, Paramesvara is a common name used for Deceased Hindu Kings. Call it a favourite posthumous name, if you will) What is the alternative then?

Let's see if we can make sense of the records. Like a good detective, let's put together what we know. Firstly, Raja Secander Shah would have made a lousy Hindu. He did not build his Mount Mehru, like the Kings of Angkor, or Borrobudor. Since both were in the 6th and 8th century, it meant that the technology was already around during Malacca's time. We also know that Lembah Bujang's architecture was around 1400 years before Raja Secander Shah reached Muar. So either Raja Secander Shah was incredibly inept, or he was spectacularly lazy.

On the other hand though, he could have faithfully practised "Chinese Customs and followed Chinese Ways" as recorded by Yong Le. hence, the Bukit Cheena, as we see today is vestigial of just that. I've screamed and shouted about the complete lack of evidence of any Malaccan King. I've also screamed and shouted about the complete lack of any Muslim graves either. I've also demonstrated that either the Hang Jebat Series of graves are NOT their actual graves, or they have to be Buddhist, either from Thai Lopburi or Sri Lanka. (Read HERE ) Perhaps all the "Cheena Buildings" in Malacca were indeed built by Raja Secander Shah. You must remember that it was Bai-Li-Mi-Su-La who asked to be a part of China, and not that China conquered them, as clearly shown by the Ming records, and I quote:
"...you, king of the country of Melaka, came to Court and made known your sentiments. He said that your land is in harmony, the people are healthy, things are abundant, the customs are pure and splendid, that you cherish virtue and admire righteousness and wish to become like a division of China, so that you will be superior to the other border regions, and you would forever remain our subordinate state and annually carry out your tribute duties..."

Hence, subsequent Kings of Malacca, despite converting to Islam, continued to build Mosques in the Chinese Style, in the style of the ones found in and around Malacca today. You see, Malacca paid tribute to China for the entire Malaccan Sultanate till the Portuguese colonized it.

It is perhaps fitting that i tell you a story which i heard. UMNO was said to have told the Malays the following:

"Zheng He came to Malacca, and the Muslim Malays converted him to Islam"

I didn't know whether to laugh, or to cry.

We know from the same records that Malacca continued to be a part of China and dutifully paid their Tribute Duties at least until the 2nd Jan 1509. An extract is as follows:

"...The tribute envoy Huo-zhe Ya-liu and others from the country of Melaka departed on their homeward journey, but as their ship had been damaged by a typhoon, they requested that the Guang-dong Provincial Administration Commission be instructed to repair it for them..."

This means, that despite Zheng He's expeditions being stopped, Malacca was still a part of China for over 100 years, and was willingly "following Chinese Ways"... till at least 1509. Zheng He would have also made sure that Bai-Li-Mi-Su-La would have kept his promise and adhered to "Chinese Ways". For those of you who have been to Hue or Hoi Ann in Vietnam, you would have immediately noticed how "Chinese" the buildings look. (Vietnam was under Chinese rule for over 1,000 years, for those who do not know) Is this what we have all been "overlooking" all this while? Perhaps the original buildings to the north of the Stadhuys was built by Raja Secander Shah. Maybe it was rebuilt by the Dutch to preserve the original style?

Below is a picture of Hoi Ann. And yes, you would have almost thought that it was Malacca, except that this river is 15 times wider than the Malaccan River.

Raja Secander Shah's Palace should have looked like the picture below, if he were to obey the Son of Heaven's command, Yong Le.

Lastly, and perhaps sadly, (contrary to Sejarah Melayu) there is absolutely no mention of any Hang Li Po, Hong Li Poh, or any princess given away to be betrothed to any King of Malacca recorded in the Ming Shi Lu. Her origins is a complete unknown. Her ancestry is also a complete unknown. If UMNO wants to use Ming records to "validate" Malacca, then UMNO has to admit that Hang Li Po does NOT appear anywhere in the Ming Shi Lu. UMNO also has to admit that, according to the very same records, Malacca "belonged" to China for 100 years, throughout the entire Malaccan Sultanate. How sad... too bad.

In conclusion, perhaps all the Hindu Graves on Pulau Besar do indeed contain the remains of the Early Hindu Royal Malaccan Family, and the setup of the township of Malacca closely resembling Hoi Ann of Vietnam were indeed built by Raja Secander Shah. Perhaps Raja Secander Shah wore Fine Chinese Silk Garments, as those were his personal gifts from Emperor Yong Le. Perhaps Hang Jebat and gang were from Sri Lanka (or Lopburi), and were Buddhists (unless the graves presented by Tourism Malaya are fake).

Perhaps we will never know, unless and until we get rid of the incompetent racist UMNO, and start doing some real ground-research beyond recorded history. Because as far as written History goes, UMNO's version of history is like drinking soup with a fork. FULL OF HOLES !!!

Footnote:
*Be careful of your toilets clogging when you flush Malayan History Textbooks in your Jamban.