NOV 8 — As a community, Malays generally have made great strides in many areas of life, particularly in education, the professions, the arts and business, especially since the implementation of the New Economic Policy in 1971.
Predictably, the envious among Malaysians would add “corruption” to the list.
Be that as it may, the expectations of the Malays scaling greater heights have become much greater lately, especially with the epic discovery of Malay accomplishments in ancient times.
In particular, the historical findings of renowned academic Solehah Yaacob of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) have sparked interests of various kinds among academics and the Malaysian public.
For instance, Solehah pointed out that the Romans of yore learned about shipbuilding from Malay seafarers who had refined the technology at the time.
This priceless contribution helped the Romans to skilfully navigate the high seas around the world and further widen their sphere of influence especially if the earth was still flat then.
The moral of the story is that the maritime supremacy of the Malays deserves a mention and recognition.
It should also inspire modern Malays to excel in shipbuilding that dated back to the Funan kingdom. Obviously, the said skill shouldn’t go to waste.
That’s why it’s a disheartening setback for the Malay community as a whole when the Littoral Combat Ship project faced prolonged delays as well as certain technical difficulties, despite the long-held Malay tradition of shipbuilding. The delay has left the Royal Malaysian Navy having to rely on existing old vessels.
There’s no room for levity here as the truth of the matter is that gravity had failed to hold back the wild enthusiasm among Malays in ancient times to simply fly in the context of fighting enemies. This feat obviously demanded a leap of faith.
These Malays, reminded Solehah with an air of confidence, acquired the uncanny ability to fly, a vital skill that was later passed on to the Chinese as the art of flying kungfu.
This is clearly an important Malay contribution to the art of self-defence worldwide as well as to the Chinese people.
Cynics would, expectedly, decry such a significant historical account, simply dismissing it as pigs can also fly.
To be sure, this flying spirit did not plunge over time. If anything, it has inspired certain modern-day Malays.
Not too long ago, there was an attempt to make flying cars in Malaysia that could help solve the perennial problem of traffic jams in urban centres. There wouldn’t be any need to build tunnels and more tolled highways.
It’s most unfortunate, though, that the enterprising project did not take off the ground for some reason.
As intimated above, such historical discoveries have excited the Malay community as well as the local academia in various ways.
There is a group of academics who raised an alarm, labelling Solehah’s findings as pseudo-history at best and a figment of wild imagination at worst. That’s a terrible accusation to make, implying Solehah’s inability to separate reality from fiction.
Criticisms against Solehah on social media were no less cruel. For instance, making its round was a picture of nasi lemak traditionally wrapped in banana leaf, with the following observation: “According to Prof Dr Solehah, Egyptians got the idea of building the pyramid after they had nasi lemak.”
This kind of cynicism may cause ethnic disharmony. Using the same logic, someone else would then argue that the leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy was modelled after tower thosai.
Such Indian intervention doesn’t sit well with Solehah’s overriding philosophy of showcasing Malay accomplishments, although the taste of thosai may warm the cockles of her heart.
There’s also another posting that has gone viral, the effect of which might not have been originally intended by the keyboard warrior concerned.
The Facebook posting juxtaposed a photo of Solehah with the logo of the Marvel Comics, carrying a message that the comics publisher was in the final phase of discussion with her.
If this convergence of minds materialises, it would be an accomplishment to cherish especially if it occurs in the Malay world.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
