The Real Malay

The Real Malay

Author: Sir Frank Swettenham

Publisher: Silverfish

ISBN : 9789672438045

Weight:

Year: 2020

Page: 192pp

Price : RM45

… the ignorance of all Europeans in the colony concerning their near neighbours in the Malay Peninsula almost passes belief.

… Mysterious Malaya was a terra incognita to (the) official and trader alike. There were no reliable books on the subject, the whole country was an absolute blank on every map; even the names of the States and the titles of their rulers were not known to more than half-a-dozen Englishmen. Of the nature of the country, the character of the people, their numbers, distribution, sentiments, or condition, there was an ignorance, profound, absolute, and complete.

… The first requirement (for the British official) was to learn the language of the people to be ruled. I mean, to speak it and write it well. And the first use to make of this knowledge was to learn as much as possible about the people — their customs, traditions, characters, and idiosyncrasies. An officer who has his heart in his work will certainly gain the sympathies of those over whom he spends this trouble.