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The history of Sri Lankan abounds with
reference to the presence of Malays in this country from the beginning
of the Christian era. It is a historical fact that the Malays first set
foot on Sri Lankan soil during the Empire of Sr Vijaya, which consisted
of Southern Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Southern Philippines, many
islands in the Pacific and the South China Seas.
A majority of Malays of Sri Lanka are of Javanese
origin, while a considerable number came from the Indonesian Archipelago
with Indonesian Political exiles and mercenaries comprising a
significant portion of the early population. In addition there were also
a small number who were banished to Sri Lanka and the Cape of Good Hope
in South Africa from Malaysia which included members from the Malaysian
Royal families. However, it was the Malay soldiers brought by the Dutch
to garrison their strongholds who comprised the bulk of the Malay
community. With the surrender of the Dutch to the British in 1796, the
Majority of Malay soldiers were absorbed by the British, which led to
the formation of the Ceylon Malay Regiment, later changed to the Ceylon
Rifle Regiment. It could be said that the ancestors in most cases of the
present generation Malay community served in this regiment which played
a significant role in the military history of the country until its
disbandment in 1873.
The Sri Lanka Malays by nature are a contended and a
happy race and Almighty Allah in His Mercy has bestowed on them the
ability to co-exist with their fellow citizens and their co-religionist,
the Muslim community.
The religious zeal of the early Malays made a notable
contribution to the Muslim community especially in Colombo. The Grand
Mosque at New Moor Street where the Malay Saint Tuan Bagoos Balankaya is
enshrined was designed and built by the Javanese architect Mohammed
Balankaya.
Masjid-ul-Jamaya (Java Lane Mosque) built on donations
from members of the famous Ceylon Rifle Regiment; Wekande Mosque built on the site gifted by Pandan Bali,
a Javanese chieftain which was later transferred over to Malay Priest
Saboo Latiff; Akbar Mosque, Mosques at Kurunegala, Kirinde, Kalpitiya, Nanu Oya and
Kandapola; are all ample proof of the spiritual activities of the
Malays.
In sports too, the Sri Lankan Malays have made a
significant contribution. The Colombo Malay Cricket Club which is 130
years old, is the oldest cricket club in Sri Lanka and has produced
cricketing stalwarts. Sri Lankan Malays have also figured prominently in
other fields of sports.
During the latter part of 1960, when drastic changes
were gradually taking place with signs of political unrest within the
country, Sri Lankans in general were searching for greener pastures in
other countries. Sri Lankan Malays in particular followed suit, and by
early 1980, many Malay families had migrated to Australia.
In December 1996 two SriLankan Malays in Sydney
namely, Nizar Sappideen and Razikin Dole organised a function to
provide an opportunity for the Sri Lankan Malay community to meet and
socialise. This function proved a grand success which ultimately led to
the formation of the Sri Lankan Malay Association - SLAMA.
Since its inauguration, SLAMA has held several
cultural performances at which a revival of Malay cultural dances
and Malay songs were successfully conducted. In order to teach the Malay
language, Malay lessons were published in the SLAMA Newsletter "Suara
Melayu Langkawi". In order to assist the children, Quran classes
are being held regularly. SLAMA also conducts annual Rasool Mowlood
recitals. An annual sports meet is organised for the benefit of the
members and their children.
Puan Zareena Jalill an ardent supporter of the
association composed the meaningful SLAMA anthem entitled "SLAMATH
SLAMA" while Dr Ahamed Veerabangsa designed a meaningful logo
for SLAMA.
With the formation of SLAMA, I am confident that the
small Sri Lankan Malay community in Australia will organise themselves
into a band of unity and solidarity. The ultimate aim is to impart the
knowledge and experience that the elders have gained from their parents
and ancestors, on to the younger generation of Malays in Australia.
In generations to come, and in the years ahead, we
shall pray that our children will cherish the tireless efforts of our
members.
Ameen
Brains, Braun & Beauty? by Razikin Dole |
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Malays though miniscule in numbers have made a mammoth
contribution to the islands "Brains Braun & Beauty".
The Malays whose stock came from royalty, warriors, soldiers from
foreign climes have no doubt sewn the seeds of fame in the Sports,
Academic, and the Arts. The Malays were real extroverts & fun
loving. Socialising was a favourite pastime which contributed to
the culinary prowess of the Malays. With spices & herbs freely
available, the rich distinct flavour of the Malay cuisine is
unforgettable & loved by the island populous.
Reputed for being
gutsy, fearless, strong and smart they were easy recruits to the
armed forces & police. They always excelled in their fields
and made a tremendous impact on the rest of the group. Salleys,
Jurampathys, Bohran, Musafers, Doles, Abdeens, Rahims are some of the
names that stand out.
In the academic field the Malays have proved
that they are not all braun. The community has contributed a good
share of Doctors, Solicitors, Professors, Engineers, Architects,
Accountants etc. They have always excelled in their trade and
ended up at the helm.
The women folk certainly complement the robust
male with their resplendant beauty. Their natural beauty and
gentle mannerism make them the cynosure of all eyes. Many a beauty
contest have seen Malay lasses being crowned the queen. The Ahlip
sisters Yasmin, Yoland and Mumtaz reached the pinnacle of beauty
by taking the coveted Miss Ceylon title.
The list of accolades could go on and on.
Extrapolating from the past however, the future does not paint as
rosy a picture for the community which is seeing a flight of
talent to all corners of the globe. At the very least the
community has a legacy of a rich heritage.
Awake to the
Crisis by AlHaj Thunku Ousmand
SLAMA
was primarily organised to promote and preserve the social, cultural
and religious welfare of the community. Fundamentally, these
aspirations are the principle objectives laid out by the
Association's constitution.
But in practice, whether at social
gatherings or cultural functions, Malay is hardly the language spoken. Even
Sinhalese has prominence and conversed in good measure. The majority of
families seldom exchange words at home in Malay, so much so that most children
born in Australia speak English and can hardly express in their mother tongue
since their parents encourage them to converse in the English language. It is
a fact that although we are referred to as Malays, this term is a misnomer
when applied to people whose ancestors have mainly originated from the island
of Java in Indonesia. Thus they are popularly known as "Jaa-Minissu"
by the Sinhalese and "Jaava Mansen" by the Tamils. It is the British
colonial administrators who persisted in referring to them as Malays which
gained currency. The Sri Lankan Malays have themselves accepted this label,
while conscious of their Indonesian origin. This is reflective of their
lin-guistic background arising from the fact that they used among other people
a lingua franca - "MALAY". It is sufficient that the word
"MALAY" in the Sri Lankan context came to mean any Muslim settler
from the Indonesian Malay peninsula area.
Inspite of the popular recognition given to
them as a separate ethnic minority, it is not easy to apply simple racial or
cultural criteria to distinguish a Malay from any other Sri Lankan. Though
sometimes one may come across a person with typical Malay features, in
general, Malays have scarcely retained any characteristic features. This fact
was indeed noticed by Percival, a British military officer, who was very
familiar with the Malays who remarked in 1803, that they intermarry with the
Moors and other castes and thereby acquire a much darker colour than is
natural to a Malay. For that matter, eating habits, dressing patterns and
other lifestyles etc. have changed from their Malay character. There is
however, a reliable cultural sign of self-identification as Malays and of
alignment with a Malay social system.
The language spoken in Malay homes presently
differs radically from the Malay spoken in Malay countries. Yet members of the
community call it "Bahasa Melayu" when in fact it is a creolised
version, having Malay as a source but heavily influenced by it's syntactic and
semantic structure by Tamil and Sinhalese languages. It is primarily on the
strength of this spoken tongue that the Sri Lankan Malays treat themselves as
an exclusive community.
It would indeed be a sad day for us, Sri
Lankan expatriates, when our grandchildren too will be integrated into the
Australian mainstream without a language of their own and devoid of fostering
the objectives we are striving to foster. Let us therefore make a concerted
effort to preserve our language at home and within the community and adhere to
the tradition and customs that we have professed to preserve in the SLAMA
constitution.
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Purpose of Life – Islamic Perspective - Excerpts
from a talk delivered by Muhammad Altaf
Allah (the Glorified and Exalted) said to us in the Quran:
Wa maa khalaqtul-Jinna wal-insa illaa liya-buduun. Chapter 51, Verse 56
And I created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me.
This is what the Almighty said.
Our purpose in life is to recognize our Creator, to be grateful to our
Creator, to worship the Creator, to surrender ourselves to our Creator
and to obey the laws that He has determined for us. In a nutshell it
means Worship. This is our purpose in this life and whatever we do in
the cause of this worship i.e. the system - eating, drinking, working,
dressing, sleeping, the enjoin between life and death, all of these are
just consequential, but we have been created for Worship, that is the
purpose of our life.
I don’t think that anyone who is scientific or analytical will have
much argument with that purpose. They might have some alternate purpose
within themselves, but that is something they will have to deal with,
within themselves and Almighty Allah.
I would now like to explain to you how I can
Worship Allah, the Almighty God in my daily life. If I do my 5 daily
prayers on time I am worshipping Allah. If I constantly try to remember
Allah while on a bus or while walking down the road, I am worshipping
Allah. If I don’t eat anything forbidden, don’t drink alcohol, don’t
lie, don’t cheat, don’t involve in backbiting, unnecessary chit chat,
office politics and so on, then I am worshipping Allah. If I lower my
gaze when there are women around, I am worshipping Allah. If I look
after my family by taking care of their necessities, respecting my
parents, spending time with my wife and children, I am worshipping
Allah. If I have good relationships with my neighbours, I am
worshipping Allah.
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