Music Education in Malaysia: An Overview

By Johami Abdullah
(Specialist Teachers Training College)


This article acquaints American music educators with the general status of music education in Malaysia,' a fast-developing Southeast Asian country. Most of Malaysian music education remains strongly influenced by the colonial legacy of the British, but many changes are occurring as more and more Malaysian music educators trained in America and elsewhere begin to update the formal music education process. Malaysiais a nation involved in finding its own culture and traditions after over 400 years of varying degrees of European influence and domination. Known as Malaya prior to its independence in 1957, this fast-growing country includes in its population a number of distinct ethnic subcultures as well as the majority indigenous Malaysians, and each group traditionally has provided schools at various levels. Yet, although there is a long and rich tradition of education in Malaysia,formal music education in the Malaysian schools is a fairly recent development. Some of the reasons for this may be found in our recent history.

The chief function of education during the British rule was to provide a work force of English-speaking locals to fill submanagerial and other supervisory posts in both the public and private sectors. Thus, a balanced education with an equal emphasis in the arts and the sciences was not traditionally a concern of the Malaysian schools. Moreover, the Malaysian populace was systematically indoctrinated with the notion that English ideas were second to none in many important spheres of Malaysian life, including education, law, medicine, civil administration, and politics. Such British endeavors have been successful in keeping a sizeable portion of Malaysians tied psychologically to the United Kingdom, although this situation is slowly changing. These older Malaysians, quite understandably, have been apprehensive, wary, and even pejorative of approaches and ideas that are not perceived to be from England. Non-English ideas on music education have also been considered inferior, unsuitable, or without standards. For people who think along these lines, England remains the Mecca of music education. Expectations of music educators have also been influenced by perceptions of British traditions, and music education has seldom been considered a specialized subdiscipline of music study. Many believe that anyone who has acquired some formal qualifications in Western music, and can playa standard Western instrument in the classical tradition,is fully qualified as a music educator. Even practicing music educators do not regard as important the knowledge of sub-disciplines such as music psychology, musicology,music therapy, and ethnomusicology.

Formal music education became a compulsory subject in all elementary schools in
Malaysia only in 1983-some 26 years after independence from the British. Much of the
curricular content in these courses is based on the colonial British system of education, or at least patterned along similar ideas. Unfortunately, Malaysian traditional music and the music of other non-European cultures receive non-consequential attention, even in the present curriculum. Music has yet to enter the formal curriculum in Malaysian high schools and universities, where it is treated only as an educational frill. Also, issues in music education like "utilitarian function" and "aesthetic education," which have been debated and discussed in the United States, are unknown in Malaysia.

Overseas Training for Malaysian Music Educators

The Malaysian government, especially under the leadership of our present prime
minister, began in the late 1970s to counter Malaysian over-dependence on Britain. To
diversify educational exposure for Malaysians in all fields, the government began sending students to study in countries such as the United States, Japan, Korea, Germany, and India. Selected music educators in the government service were offered scholarships to study music education at the postsecondary
level in the United States. Several of music educators in Malaysia have earned
masters degrees from American universities noted for quality music education programs
like Northwestern University, Indiana University and the University of Iowa.

Earlier, all significant music educators in Malaysia had been trained in England in a
performance-oriented system of music study at music conservatories. These Malaysians
were rigorously trained for a period of about four years to sing or to playa classical instrument to required proficiency levels. This musical training was coupled with the usual ensemble requirements, ear training,sight singing, Western music theory, and European music history. Diploma-level degrees in music were then earned from prestigious music schools like the Royal College of Music, the Trinity College of Music, or the Birmingham School of Music.

The focus of this system of musical education was, of course, on exacting standards of performance. Pedagogical concerns in music education like curriculum development,
teaching methods and strategies, music psychology, evaluation procedures, and
foundations of music education appear to have received little or no focus. Also, music appreciation courses covering ethnic music and the music of non-European musical cultures were excluded, as were research procedures in music study. Some of these teachers went on to acquire music-teaching certificates, which were primarily geared toward individualized teaching of European art music and not for teaching music in schools.

The aforesaid, however, in no way means that such pedagogically oriented subjects were not available for study at British universities. It is simply that, among
Malaysians studying music in Britain, the main focus leaned towards performance
rather than other areas.

Music Education in Colonial Times

Malaysia attained independence on August 31, 1957, after having been under varying degrees of colonial dominion, influence, or rule by several European maritime powers since 1511: Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The British first established formal public schools in Malaya during the early part of the nineteenth century. The English language was the medium of instruction in these public schools. The chief function of education during the British era, as mentioned earlier, was to equip the Malayan civil service with English-speaking locals primarily to serve British political and economic interests.

The Penang Free School, established by the British in 1816, was the first public
school in Malaya. Musical activities, if any, "in these early English schools were on a very modest scale and in the form of singing English folk and/or light classical songs, usually outside the formal curriculum. Any such activity very often depended on whether any member of the staff played the piano or had any other formal musical
background.'? These musical activities were then presented at some auspicious school
event such as the Speech Day, the Annual Sports Day, or at an official visit of a dignitary.

This utilitarian tradition of music remains strong in almost all educational
institutions and official ceremonies. Music was seldom taught for its own sake.
If any musical activity were conducted in the classroom, it was often part of the language program in the earlier grades; children sang standard nursery rhymes and folk songs in the English language. It was not uncommon to include some accompanying movement or fingerplay activities in efforts to dramatize the lyrical content of the songs. Educators felt that these musical activities helped the children to acquire a better "feel" of the English language and reduced the degree of stress and unfamiliarity usually associated with the process of learning a new or foreign
language. Many of the larger urban schools included some additional measure of music
in extracurricular activities such as marching bands, recorder ensembles, and choirs using British musical literature.

When the Japanese occupied Malaya (1941-1945), they promoted the singing of folk songs as a method of assisting students to learn the Japanese language, but this occupation left no observable impact on Malaysian music education.

Music education in Malaya after World War II improved to a degree. At school assemblies, children sang the school song, the respective state anthems, and "God Save The Queen." Musical activities were still mostly vocal with the modest addition of children's percussion instruments. Children also listened to school broadcasts of music lessons over the radio station, Radio Malaya.

During this time, the larger and better equipped English schools often organized
choirs and marching bands that helped to distinguish them as "exceptional." Military
band personnel, mostly retired, instructed and drilled the British-style marching bands in such schools. This is still a prevalent practice, as Malaysian music educators are not yet trained in marching-band techniques. Christian missionary schools in Malaysia also placed a strong emphasis on European-style choral singing and continue their strong traditions and leadership in this field.

Vernacular Schools

In addition to the prestigious British schools, three other types of primary schools
were also available during the colonial period: the Malay, Chinese, and Indian
(Tamil) schools. In each, the medium of instruction was the respective vernacular
tongue; consequently, they are called vernacular schools. About 58 percent of the
current Malaysian population of 17 million is 46 made up of the indigenous Malay races, with the Chinese and the Indians constituting the other two major "minority" groups.

The vernacular schools of colonial times were attended mostly by the children of the
lower socioeconomic classes, who usually sought employment after six years of primary
education. Very few were able to attend the urban English schools to continue their
education through the high school level, and the educational elitism almost always associated with the English schools by the local inhabitants caused many to believe that the vernacular schools were inferior.

Music education in the colonial vernacular schools was quite different from that in the British schools. In many Malay and Tamil schools, traditional and religious songs were sung, as were other songs containing moral-oriented lyrics. Monophonic singing was carried out in association with the language arts or religious programs, but there were few opportunities for public performance. Malay schools of colonial times had lessons in Qu'ranic recitation coupled with the singing of the nasyid (the generic Malay term for Islamic religious songs). Such activities, were never termed "music" nor thought of as such, because the term "music" usually evokes a secular association in the traditional Malay Muslim's mind. (In Malaysia, every Malay is also a Muslim, and thus the two words were often used synonymously.)

The late and noted ethnomusicologist Lois Ibsen al Faruqi has described Qu'ranic
recitation as cantillation combined with "improvised monophonic melody and
parlando rubato durational texture.'? In any case, sufficient musical elements exist in Qu'ranic recitation and nasyid for them to be considered musical activities. Thus, some forms of musical activity existed in Malay schools, but they were limited in nature and scope. As in the English schools, no "formal" music programs existed.

In the Chinese schools, there was much more vocal activity, coupled with a fair
measure of small-scale instrumental music making. Music reading was combined with
the Cheve system of musical notation that combines numbers and certain symbols.
Solfege singing was an integral part of music programs in Chinese schools. These two
trends probably paralleled developments in mainland China and Taiwan-at that time a
common practice of the Chinese community in Malaya. These Chinese schools placed
greater emphasis on singing (though not necessarily in the European bel canto style)
than most of the other vernacular schools.

The Chinese community was very supportive of these schools, both morally and financially, and such support allowed many of the Chinese schools to organize prestigious and costly choirs and marching bands. This tradition continues in many Chinese schools. Today, these vernacular schools exist at the primary level but have been very much homogenized and integrated under the purview of the Ministry of Education. Song books containing Chinese lyrics and the Cheve system of musical notation are readily available to the general public, thereby bearing continued testimony to the success of the sight singing music programs in the Chinese schools.

In the 70s, English was removed as the medium of instruction and the Malay language,
Bahasa Malaysia, which is also our national language, became the norm at
nearly all levels of Malaysian education. However, English is still taught as a compulsory second language in all educational institutions, and Malaysians who are conversant in the English language are looked up to and are much sought after for employment in many fields, particularly in the private sector.

Private Music Instruction

Personal instruction at the piano and other European musical instruments has been
available outside the public schools since the beginning of this century. In the early 1900s, musicians from India and the Philippines who were trained in Western musical notation and theory were brought to Malaysia to boost the manpower needed for military styled marching bands that were being formed in Malaya by the British." These bands were used in the ceremonial functions for which the British are very well known. It is believed that these imported musicians, particularly those from Goa, initiated the tradition of providing private and individualized instruction in European classical music.

Today, the piano has become the most popular classical instrument in Malaysia. A
1983 estimate by piano teachers "puts the figure of between 5,000 and 10,000 students
who sit for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM,London) external examinations for the piano each year."? Probably as many or more sit for music theory examinations which are conducted, supervised, and evaluated by ABRSM personnel in Malaysia and England. The rudiments of western musical notation, theory, and song literature from about the time of Bach and Beethoven constitute the main content of the ABRSM syllabus, which is sequentially graded for children from grade I to grade 8; children usually study about eight years to achieve a grade 8 certificate. Some rudimentary ear training and sight reading is also done in this system. The highest qualification that may be acquired locally after grade
8 is the licentiate diploma from the ABRSM. The ABRSM qualifications, which are highly prized and respected in Malaysia, are acquired mostly through private study that is offered by literally thousands of ABRSM trained music teachers and hundreds of private music "schools" in the country. For many, particularly women, private music instruction is a lucrative vocation.

The ABRSM system has produced a share of positive influence in Malaysia. It has kept
some Malaysians continually acquainted with and highly appreciative of European classical music and increased the number of classical piano players in this country. A few have gone on to excel in music studies overseas and have "become successful classical musicians in Europe and the United States." The ABRSM influence has also brought about a significant negative influence. Because of the high costs involved, this system of music education has almost always excluded children from the rural population and most of those from the lower socioeconomic classes. It has also encouraged a conservative and narrow musical outlook, in that some ABRSM-trained Malaysians tend to view all music worth knowing as a homogeneous,monolithic, European structure.

The ABRSM influence has also brought about another significant negative result for
some Malaysian parents who aspire to the point of obsession to obtain ABRSM certificates for their children. This parental pressure, coupled with the rigorous training, competitive testing, and narrow scope of the ABRSM system of musical study, may have "turned off" many musically inclined and talented children. This much-undesired outcome can also be attributed to the fact that many key concepts in music education like creativity, improvisation, and other student-centered activities are considered unimportant in the present ABRSM system.

Many Malaysians do not seem to realize that the ABRSMapproach to music education
may not be totally suited to the contemporary Malaysian context, for the ABRSM
system essentially functions with rationales and objectives that are designed to perpetuate only European classical music traditions. Other music examinations with certification have also been conducted locally by private music schools, primarily for the organ and the guitar. Most of these local music schools and establishments are peripheral developments of highly successful marketing strategies employed by international corporations to boost the sale of musical instruments such
as pianos and electronic organs for the home. Although the motives of these
schools may prove to be suspect, in all fairness they have demonstrated more
interest in innovative teaching strategies and approaches than can be found in the ABRSM school of thought. The musical content in this system includes popular music and jazz and has therefore successfully attracted an appreciable number of students, including those from middle-class homes.

Curricular Content in Malaysian Schools Since 1983 Content and methods in education are closely tied to national aspirations, ideology, and philosophy. Music education was introduced as a regular subject in the primary schools' curriculum in 1983. The goals and objectives for music education at this embryonic stage are based on what the government, in consultation with Malaysian educators,deems beneficial for the people. The current Malaysian national philosophy for education aspires to produce citizens who are not only well-educated, united, patriotic, and progressive in their thinking, but who also possess good morals and a firm belief in the Almighty. Music education in Malaysian public schools has been patterned to support these and other ancillary goals. Through improved music education, it is anticipated that students will make wiser use of their leisure time and become better able to enjoy music both now and in the future. It is also expected that musical potential in
the young will be detected early, and that participation in musical activities will provide children with another healthy avenue for their creativity and enjoyment.

Music is also expected to enhance students' academic performance in other subjects through the inclusion of some interdisciplinary material in the music program. Thus music serves a utilitarian purpose in Malaysian education. The main vehicle for the delivery of formal music education in Malaysian public schools continues to be the vocal medium. "Rote before note" is the rule rather than the exception through grade Some effort is made to acquaint children with musical notation from grades 4 through 6, but this has met with only minimal success. Sometimes students play the recorder and percussion instruments. Performance opportunities arise mainly through annual inter-school competitions at the district and state levels or during an important school event. Student achievement in music is evaluated with cognitive tests and other cumulative assessments throughout the six years of primary education, but these scores are not taken into consideration when the student's overall academic progress is determined.

At the secondary level, music education is not compulsory but is offered as an elective at two of the national-level examinations which all Malaysians take in the ninth and eleventh years of schooling. The syllabi for these examinations are patterned along the lines of the ABRSM content, with some traces
of Malaysian traditional music added on to the music appreciation areas. The syllabi for these examinations are centrally regulated and prepared by the Ministry of Education.


Basic Music Teacher Education

From 1957, when Malaysia attained independence from the British, music was introduced in teacher training institutions as a self-enrichment program. All student
teachers were required to sing and play the recorder as well as to learn the rudiments of traditional Western music theory. Beginning in the early 1960s, student
teachers were trained to teach music at the Maktab Perguruan Lembah Pantai (Lembah
Pantai Teachers' College) in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, although music was still not included in the formal curriculum of public schools. The content of this new course was a slightly modified form of the self-enrichment program first introduced in teacher training institutions in 1957. In addition to basic singing, recorder, and theory, there was also some choral work included. During this period, an Englishman, Harold Ashcroft, was quite prominent in Malaysian music education. Many of Ashcroft's students speak of the passion and love that he had for music-European classical music -and the rigorous work that he required of them.

The leaders in music education throughout the 1970s, however, were all Malaysians
trained in Britain or in the ABRSM school of thought. The key figures were Khoo Soon
Teong, Basil ]ayatilaka, Ranji Knight, and Nazri Ahmad. They were centrally involved
in planning the curricular content for music education programs in the public schools
and teacher training colleges through the 70s,and may be credited for the earliest attempts to include Malaysian music, such as patriotic and traditional songs, as part of the repertoire taught in the schools.

In 1970, the role of providing basic teacher training for music teachers was taken over by the Maktab Perguruan Ilmu Khas in Kuala Lumpur. The curricular content for the basic music teacher education program remained static until 1980, when guitar study became compulsory for all student music teachers. Nazri Ahmad, who headed the Music Department of the Maktab Perguruan Hum Khas between 1979 and 1987, was largely responsible for this innovation. He had graduated from the Royal College of Music in London in the early 70s and then studied music education at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned his M.A. in 1977. Thus, he also became the first Malaysian music educator to study music education in the United States.

Major curricular changes in teacher education were made in 1988, when keyboard
skills, music appreciation, music pedagogy,and music history were added to the existing areas in the teacher-training program in the colleges. This writer sat on the Ministry's committee to revise the music syllabus for teacher-education colleges in February 1988. There was some disagreement about the changes, particularly from music lecturers trained in the ABRSM system, and another committee continued work on the syllabus in May 1989. The final syllabus is a version of the original syllabus of February 1988, in which the new areas are retained, as there seemed no convincing reason to remove them. It appears that the new areas are here to stay, and the curricular innovations made in February 1988 will result in a major shift
away from the traditional ABRSM-based approach to music education in Malaysia.

In Malaysia there are many teachers who may be considered pioneers in the teaching
of music as a formal subject in the schools Some had taken music only as an elective
subject in their basic teacher-training programs,and others were regular classroom
teachers who could playa musical instrument and were consequently looked upon as
music educators by their school principals and required to teach music in the schools. Together, these teachers played an important role in efforts to establish music in the public school curriculum.

The rapid increase of the school population is challenging these teachers, as well as
the teacher training institutions, to keep up with students' needs for music education. The school population has more than quadrupled since independence, from
870,362 in 1956 to 3,414,175 in the mid 1980s. The enrollment of music students
into teacher training colleges has steadily increased also: In 1980, there were fewer
than 80 music students enrolled in basic teacher training. Today, there are about 550. This increase has primarily been a consequence of music entering the formal primary school curriculum in 1983.

Specialized Music Teacher Education

A major development in the history of Malaysian teacher education was the establishment of the Maktab Perguruan Ilmu Khas in Kuala Lumpur in 1959. This college was established to train specialized teachers in various areas such as physical education, art education, and special education (counseling,remedial, teaching the handicapped). A one-year music education course for certified teachers who have had at least five years general teaching experience was added to the program in 1971; teachers must have an ABRSM qualification or other proven musical skill to be eligible. Since 1983, another teacher college, the Maktab Perguruan Perseketuan in Pulau Pinang, has also been involved in the task of training both basic
and specialist music teachers.

The syllabus for this one-year music education course, first designed in 1970,
includes singing, music theory, recorder, children's percussion ensemble, scoring,
composition, and music appreciation. In 1980, the guitar was introduced as a compulsory instrument for all specialist music teacher-trainees. An average of 20 specialist music teachers are trained annually at the Maktab Perguran Ilmu Khas. Most of the graduates have served as itinerant music teachers in schools, music lecturers in teacher-training institutions, and as music administrators in state education departments. Thus, the college has become known as a leader in Malaysian
music education.

Music in the Formal Curriculum

The growing size of the Malaysian middle class and the general well-being of the
people in the 1970s signaled the establishment of music as a regular subject in the
school curriculum. In 1972, music was introduced as an elective subject for the
Lower Certificate of Education and the Malaysian Certificate of Education examinations, which are important public examinations taken by all Malaysian children in the ninth and eleventh years of their schooling.

In the early 1970s, many educators and parents spoke out against the old curriculum,
which was criticized as being too rigid, too academic, and too examination-oriented.
After some difficult planning and a number of recommendations from the Cabinet
Committee on Education, the New Primary Schools Curriculum was tested in various
Malaysian schools in 1982 and implemented throughout the country in 1983.
Of note, the new curriculum included music as a compulsory subject at the primary
school level for the first time. The inclusion of music as a regular subject in the New Primary School Curriculum may be viewed as a crucial milestone in the history of Malaysian music education as every school-age Malaysian child, irrespective of socioeconomic background, now has the opportunity to learn music as a matter of right rather than of privilege.

Teaching Methods

Because of a dire shortage of music teachers, many general classroom teachers
have been required to teach music since 1983. The content for music classes is
provided to teachers in the form of sequential lessons recorded on cassette tapes with accompanying text books and work sheets; all are prepared, distributed, and regulated by the Ministry of Education. While this practice helps classroom teachers who are untrained in music, those teachers who are capable of teaching music find very little opportunity to digress from these centrally regulated materials.
Thus a significant number of classroom teachers have seldom done more in music
classes than switch on and turn off the cassette player. This is an unfortunate result of an enthusiastic effort to get music into the curriculum, coupled with inattention to the lack of trained music teachers. To attempt to ensure the success of the new music classes, many general classroom teachers attended music courses lasting from three to four weeks each over a period of three years at
teacher training colleges throughout the country. About 5,000 such music teachers
were trained between 1982 and 1984 and given attendance certificates which brought
them very little financial reward or academic recognition. Some of these teachers recognized that they had neither musical aptitude nor the inclination to teach music but were merely following directives of their superiors.

Today, many of these teachers still use the pedagogical strategies they learned in these courses, for there has been no significant effort to provide more complete courses for them. The musical material first provided by the Ministry in 1983 has not been revised or updated. Essentially, music teachers in Malaysia are
trained to teach singing with solfege and notation. A typical lesson begins with
breathing exercises and solfege singing. The two methods often used to teach a song are the "patterning" method and the "whole" method. In the former, used in the lower
grades, the teacher models a phrase of the song repeatedly. Children echo along until
the phrase is satisfactorily learned and then move on to the next phrase. This process continues until the entire song is learned. In the whole method, the teacher sings (or plays the piano) through the whole song again and again while the children sing along with increasing familiarity (and volume) until the song is deemed satisfactorily sung. When the teacher determines that the children have learned the melodic line, the action literally begins. Teachers are taught how to make use of action songs (like "Skip to my Lou"), fingerplay songs (like "Eency
Weency Spider"), and simple rounds and canons. Actions and games also dramatize
the lyrical content of songs. Clapping the rhythm of the song is a popular interpretation of "action," and walking, running, skipping, or playing games to music are also highly recommended and encouraged. Other songs contain texts designed to teach children good morals and personal hygiene, stressing societal norms and values, and a sense of patriotism.

Much of the classroom teaching, however, barely skims the cognitive aspects of musical learning. This is glaringly apparent in Malaysian teaching methods, and the main reason lies in the fact that musical literacy is not among the stated goals or objectives. Because foreign-trained music educators are working to emphasize it, however, it should not be long before musical literacy becomes accepted as a major goal. Only since 1988 have student music teachers been exposed to major approaches
to music education like Kodaly and Orff. They are also being given more exposure to
pedagogical approaches that emphasize student-centered activities.

Conclusions

The government and top educational administrators have always shown positive
attitudes towards criticism and change, especially if such criticism came from music
educators with tertiary qualifications. However, such criticism has had to be made
through the proper channels of governmental bureaucracy, and sometimes valid ideas and suggestions are "shot down" by middle-ranking supervisors who disagree with innovative suggestions. An ad hoc committee spearheaded by mostly American-trained'
music educators, is now working on the constitution of the yet-to-be registered
Malaysian Music Educators Association (MMEA).The MMEA aspires to address many professional problems in the arena of music education as well as acting as a
"watchdog" for the music education profession in the country.

Another interesting development in Malaysian music education is the fact that an
increasing number of people are beginning to see the importance of our own folk and
traditional musics." The vast array of Malaysian traditional music extant today,
including the folk and traditional musics of the migrant races, certainly bears ample
testimony to the fact that the folk and traditional musics of all Malaysians were very much kept alive throughout the years of colonial dominion in Malaysia. The government's "Visit Malaysia Year 1990" campaign also indirectly revived local interest in Malaysian traditional music and other traditions.

Almost daily, traditional music and other cultural fare are presented in Kuala
Lumpur and elsewhere, albeit for the benefit of tourists. Efforts are now underway to include the study of Malaysian traditional music in the formal music curriculum for all primary schools. It might well be that the many developments
that have occurred in the music education scene in recent years augur well
for the future of music education in Malaysia. The tide is certainly changing. However, it appears that solutions to problems pertaining to rationale and pedagogy for music education would, initially and to a great degree, rest primarily on the leadership of foreign trained music educators and in their ability to
interpret realistically and pragmatically Western ideas from a Malaysian perspective.
To succeed, these efforts should respect the financial constraints, expectations, and
societal values of Malaysians.

Many challenges are in store for the entire music education community in Malaysia in
the years ahead. A major concern is to get music education into all levels of Malaysian education, including the tertiary levels. There may be no drastic change in the national educational philosophy, but most certainly innovations in teaching strategies, objectives, evaluation procedures, approaches and curricular content can be expected in the near future.

Acknowledgements:

The author wishes to thank his many colleagues and friends who have patiently
read through this article. In particular, I thank my immediate superior, Ms. Nik Faizah Mustapha, the principal of the Maktab Perguruan Ilmu Khas, who also read the final draft of this article and offered some very useful suggestions. All their most valued comments, suggestions, and encouragements have made this modest effort possible. ~

WE ARE ALL MALAYSIANS (Nangal Ellam Malaysia Uru Karangal )

By Johami Abdullah @ Joe Chelliah

People with a clear Indian sub-continent ancestry who are now living in Malaysia are referred to as Indians. Malaysian Indians are nether a monolithic nor uniform entity. Genetically, they could be of either South Indian Dravidian (Tamils, Telugus, and Malayalees etc.) or North Indian Indo- Aryan stocks (Pattans, Pakistanis, Punjabis, Gujeratis, and Mukerjees etc.). The different ethnic, caste and religious divides amongst Indians can be mind boggling too. A cursory glance of a Wikipedia article alone can support the aforesaid. Check it out at this website.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_the_names_of_India)


Are there Indians in Malaysia or for that matter in any part of the world? One British traveler who had traversed the whole of the Indian sub-continent had remarked in his memoirs that he did not meet even a single “Indian” in all his travels there. This was simply because each Indian he had met considered himself first and foremost a Pattan, Gujerati, Bengali, Tamil, Telegu and so on. The term Indian is supposedly derived from the name of the Sindhu (Indus River) and has been in use in Greek since Plutarchus (1st century CE). The constitution of India has provision for another name– Bharat. Indians in India commonly refer to their country as Bharat, Hindustan or India depending on the context and language of conversation.


Malaysians of Indian origin generally think along similar lines. But most of them too do not understand the subtler subdivisions and classifications of Malaysian Indians too. In Malaysia anyone who was of Indian origin was simply referred to as an Indian and the Tamils particularly were referred to by a derrogatory term keling particularly by Malays in earlier times.

ANUGERAH JUARA LAGU 2012 – A Look at Nominated Songs for the Finals

I like tradition and Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL) has been consistently organized by TV3 since 1986 and that is a good 26 years mind you. This consistency is something RTM has overlooked and subsequently lost out to the other commercially minded TV stations in such contests. I myself was on the jury of AJL in 1993 and hence a special nostalgic interest in AJL competitions ever since.

Of the AJL, Wikipedia says “Anugerah Juara Lagu “ (AJL, Malay for "Champion of Songs Awards") is a popular annual music competition in Malaysia, organized by TV3. It features the best musical and lyrical compositions of each year it is held. Nominees are derived from a list of mostly-Malay songs which have garnered the most public votes in Muzik Muzik throughout the year, and then progress into the semifinals, from which twelve songs — four songs from each of three categories (Pop/Rock, Balada, and Irama Malaysia & Etnik Kreatif) will be nominated by a panel of judges to enter the Juara Lagu. AJL honours the composers and lyricists of the songs rather than the performing artistes.”

The last line highlighted above is, to me, the key and/or punch line often missed by most people. I hope, and I am sure, the jury that normally comprises of able and eminent musicians would always bear this in mind. It’s the song and not the peripheral theatrics that should matter in the end. It is the song and not the singer would be a good axiom that should be borne in mind, never mind the fans’ and general public’s perceptions.

The other factor often talked about is the “commercial” value of the song. This should not be the sole criterion in the minds of the jury. A good song still means a good tune with appreciable lyrics to my mind. While each of us is conditioned by an assortment of various personal and conditioned musical tastes the jury member is not entitled to this “luxury” and has to remain strictly objective as any judge should be, however difficult that is. My musical tastes have evolved over more than 50 years but they have no place in the judging process. Over this period, I have been exposed to a complicated assortment of music and musical styles besides having formally learnt some of these styles as an academic too. It’s still back to the basics. A good song must have a good tune generally speaking. The tune or melody should, to be popular at least, be catchy and also easy to sing or replicate. It includes such things as melodic direction and flow coupled with unpredictability in melodic and/or harmonic schemes. However, it is possible to color a simple or weak melody with good arrangement. Those of us who are familiar with the compositions of Carlos Jobim, for instance, know that the harmonic schemes and arrangement cover up very simple or even melodies that can be perceived as weak. The “One Note Samba” is a good example in which it is the harmonic scheme that had made this song popular till today. I will not touch on melody in European classical music which is another dimension by itself.

Having said the above, I listened to all the 12 songs nominated to the finals and “judged” them as objectively as possible. I am truly sorry to say this but they all sounded bane. Let’s see how all the hard work of hundreds turns out to be tonight at the finals. All I know for a fact is that extensive audio visual effects have been planned and possibly some great “distractions” in the form of dancers, props and gimmicks to entertain Malaysian audiences. Good luck to all the composers and also the singers who still have to deliver the songs. . I list below the finalist songs together with my forecast of the possible winning songs i.e. to say gets a placing of between 1 -3. My assessment is more based on the melody and musical arrangement minus the lyrical content which I did not assess as this is not my forte though I have written some songs.

The Songs

1. Beribu Sesalan - great arrangement but a weak melody – a possible winner (3rd)
2. Sungai Lui – too simple to be a winning song.
3. Awan Nano – Melody not catchy enough to win
4. Kisah Hati – Quite nice melody – a possible winner.
5. Kalau Berpacaran – quite a retro paced song which might not be placed.
6. Wanita Seluroh Dunia – No perceptible melody to speak off so off it goes.
7. Karma – too weak a melody for a rock ballad.
8. Kekanda Adinda – melody weak.
9. Gadis Semasa – the melody was ridiculous to me, sorry.
10. Penakut – also too simple to be a winning song.
11. Sedetik Lebih – a good song with good arrangment. A possible winner (2nd)
12. Cinta Muka – its simple melody, harmony and form will make it a winner (1st).

OF EMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRANTS : NOTES ON MALAYAN HISTORY

(BY JOE CHELLIAH)

It is not uncommon in Malaysia, especially among the non-Chinese, to think that all Chinese are rich and well off. A former prime minister, writing in his book, has even described them as “predatory”. It is racial stereotyping similar to the belief that all of us Indians “speak with forked tongues” (and talk/communicate more with our hands and head movements), are wife-beaters and alcoholics by nature. What about the Malays?? Of course we have it too – lazy, indolent, hedonistic especially in sexual matters, “relaks brudder” attitude and sometimes even treacherous and run amok.

For the major part of the last 50 years, education in Malaysia has morphed into one that is almost void of the humanities. Geography and History and other social studies have been downgraded to a “foster child” status while the sciences have been glorified and deified to unbelievable levels. The Social Sciences have thus been almost totally ignored. I am yet to hear of a Department of Philosophy or any local professor who has any credentials to call himself/herself an academic in this field. Such an educational imbalance void of the Humanities and Social Sciences has, in no small way, helped large numbers of grown Malaysians still harbor such prejudices and misconceptions. At this juncture, I am going to stick to how the majority of Malaysians have come about or rather turned out to be today.

Chinese survive and have survived in a relatively harsh physical and/or a social local environment for donkey years. They experienced hell under the Japanese rule. I shall not speak off the earliest Chinese contacts with this part of the world especially during the Ming dynasty wich incidentally, is being disputed. I shall limit the discussion to more recent immigrations to Malaysia from which the bulk of the modern day Malaysians are descended from.

Between the 18th and 19th centuries came this second wave of Chinese immigration, mainly from Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Emigration records of the Chinese to Malaya do reveal a populace from every group in China. Besides the Hokkien and Cantonese we find Hakka, Teochews, Hainanese, Macauans and so on. It was encouraged by the British and allowed by the Malay rulers of the time. Their business sense of grabbing economic opportunities was also encouraged by the British colonial government and the Malay sultans themselves. With an instinct for trade and industry, the Chinese also saw economic oppurtunites deliberately missed by the British and unintendingly by the Malays themselves at the time. Alongside agriculture and mining, business opportunity in towns and small villages they founded banks, set up small, medium and large businesses to meet local needs. They even engaged and expanded to foreign trade and commerce eventually. I must repeat that these entrepreneurial ventures were left unchecked by the British as well as the Malays rulers of the time simply because such ventures served a pressing need for all communities domiciled in Malaya at the time. The British had the lion’s share of course.

Now, this is historical reality goes back to hundreds of years ago when Malays were then living their lives happily in the kampongs or riverine villages as padi planters or fishermen in the Malay diaspora of peninsular Malaya having themselves mostly settled here from the Indonesian islands. The Chinese, till today, do reside in the smaller towns in the hinterland and are to be found in every province of West and even East Malaysia engaged in an assortment of mainly economic activities.

The field of education is highly respected by the Chinese. The first Chinese school began in Malacca in 1815 even before the English medium Penang Free School kater in 1816. The Chinese built their schools and temples legally on land which they owned through their community associations or on land donated by their richer kinsmen. That is why we do not hear about the demolishment of Chinese schools or temples as often as the Tamil schools and Hindu temples that were originally built on rubber estates with British permission, often in rubber plantation clearings or even in between the rubber trees as it did not affect the rubber production per se.

Malaysian Chinese remain faithful to dialects, the predominant ones being Hokkien and Cantonese. Thus in business, they are more skilful linguistically, and hence do well in trade and industry and even established import export foreign businesses in Malaya. The Malaysian Chinese have energetically defended their identity as Malaysians of Chinese ancestry in more recent times. Under British colonial rule the Chinese in the Malay States were treated as sojourners broadly speaking without place and rights of citizenship which was officially granted to them only in 1957 by the Malay sultans, as well as the British. All this suited a purpose which encouraged economic development and pride of place, without disturbing the traditional way of Malay life in the kampongs and of course British interests as well. In spite of unfair treatment towards the Chinese in the Malay States' the primary loyalty of the Chinese (like their Indian counterparts) slowly started to lay here but not without a fond and nostalgic sense for the homeland of their forefathers. As such, the Chinese community with all its different dialects, prospered and grew naturally and earned an honored place in the racial mosaic that is present day Malaysia.

Now coming to the Indians, ample empirical evidence exists to show that they were here even before the Chinese. There is evidence of the existence of Indianized kingdoms such as Gangga Negara, Old Kedah, Srivijaya since approximately 1700 years ago. Early contact between the kingdoms of Tamilakkam and the Malay peninsula had been very close during the regimes of the Pallava dynasty (from the 4th to the 9th century CE) and Chola dynasty (from the 9th to the 13th century CE). The trade relations the Tamil merchants had with the ports of Malaya led to the emergence of Indianized kingdoms like Kadaram (Old Kedah) and Langkasugam. Furthermore, Chola king Rajendra Chola I sent an expedition to Kadaram (Srivijaya) during the 11th century conquering that country on behalf of one of its rulers who sought his protection and to have established him on the throne. The Cholas had a powerful merchant and naval fleet in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. These early Indians did not marry locals and settle down in this region as much as they spread their religion, language and general culture which were readily adopted and, till today,remain firmly entrenched in the Malay culture, whether admitted or not.

However, I wish to discuss more of the present day Indian communities in Malaysia who are essentially descended from Indian emigrants under British rule in Malaya. The British acquisition of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore from 1786 to 1824 started a steady inflow of Indian labour. This consisted mainly of traders, policemen, plantation labourers/coolies and colonial soldiers called sepoys at the time. Apart from this there was also a substantial migration of Indians to work in the British colonial government services as clerks and teachers due to their general good command of the English language seen even today. The Indian population in pre-independence Malaya and Singapore was predominantly adult males who were single with families back in India and Sri Lanka. Hence the population fluctuated frequently with the immigration and exodus of people.

As early as 1901 the Indian population in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States was approximately 120,000. By 1931 there were 640,000 Indians in Malaya and Singapore and interestingly they even outnumbered the native Malays in the state of Selangor that year. At the time of Independence in 1957 it stood at over 820,000. Today, Malaysian Indians account only for approximately 10 per cent of the total population of Malaysia. There has also been a significant influx of Indian nationals into Malaysia in recent years to work in construction, engineering, restaurants, IT and finance with many taking up permanent residence.

So there it is….our historical past. In Malaysia today we have the rich and poor from all races. If there are more rich businessmen among the Chinese it’s because of this historical background. If Indians make good lawyers, unionists, teachers and salesmen, it’s because of this historical past. And if Malays do not seem to be able to catch up easily with their Chinese or Indian counterparts in certain areas, it’s because of our historical past but the strong point of Malays has always been their political dominance all these years and even when Malaya was under British rule. As such, the non-Malays will never be able to catch up with Malay politics. With that said, I rest my case.

Bill Cosby "I'm 74 and Tired"

*I'm 74*. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

*I'm tired* of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

*I'm tired* of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honour"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offence; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't
"believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

*I'm tired* of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia, New Zealand, UK, America and Canada, while no one from these countries are allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to teach love and tolerance..

*I'm tired* of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

*I'm tired* of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

*I'm tired* of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught.

I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

*I'm really tired* of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and early 20's bedeck them selves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making themselves un-employable and claiming money from the Government..

*Yes, I'm damn tired.* But I'm also glad to be 74.. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter and her children. Thank God I'm on the way out and not on the way in.

* There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on!
**This is your chance to make a difference.
" I'm 74 and I'm tired. If you don't forward this you are part of the problem".

******************************************************************
Let's PRAY for all individuals/institutions mentioned or related to this "message".

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." -- Ephesians 6:12 (N.I.V.)

Why & How Greece collapsed : Are we heading there too??

Bureaucracy :

Greece's bureaucracy is famous in the whole of Europe! To open a cafe or pub there are 25 processes to go through! This is a country of many unnecessary rules and regulations. Sounds familiar?

A Bloated Civil Service :

There are 1.05 milliion civil servants (excluding police and armed forces). The population of Greece is only 10 million!! More than 10 % are govt. servants !! Salary increases every year & benefits for Greece civil servants is one of the best in Europe !! More and more money is needed to upkeep these unproductive bloated civil servants . The retirement age is 62 yrs old.
Does this also sound familiar?

Corruption :

Greece is the most corrupted nation in the Eurozone. Citizens pay "under table " money to:
# admit into a public hospital
# pass a driving licence
# to enter public service
# renovate your business premises or your home
# avoid income tax
Hey, are we sure we're talking about Greece here ?

Every govt. project is awarded to political cronies and at hugely inflated prices! Transparency International compared the prices of the construction costs of stadiums built for the Athens Olympics recently with similar structures in China - 500% more expensive than the Chinese , compared to Los Angeles and Sydney - 50 % more expensive ! All these with tax payers money ! And borrowings !!
This sounds like very close to home.

Tax Evasion :

Officially 80% of its citizens are supposed to pay tax but only 37% are doing so. Big businessmen and corporations have refined tax evasion to a fine art (or have the tax men taken some coffee money ? Over here, Dr. M said that the Chinese pay most of the taxes.

No transparency in Governance :

The politicians and bureaucrats falsified economic data and painted a rosy and manageable picture while the economy was rotting away. This is too similar to our politicians' style here. Unabated borrowings : Meanwhile, the politicians and bureaucrats continue to issue govt. bonds to keep afloat, series after series.They were trying to cover up the financial mess they have createdcreating one big holeto cover up the previous!!Like bailing out the cronies . . . ?

Lacking political will power to reform : To keep hold on to political power, politicians are prepared to lie, commit economic and political fraud.If reforms were taken some five years ago , the country need not go bankrupt andits citizens need not suffer so much. Political expediency and greed to political power over-rides everything and hence Greece is now abankrupt country. Luckily, it is part of the European Union and its currency is EUROs, otherwise Greeks will have to eat grass to survive !

Tourism is THE ONLY industry in Greece and over the years the Greeks have had an easy time. Many flocked to see the historical sites, enjoy summer vacation on the islands.

But they forgot that not many tourists will return after visiting the sites - there are so many other tourists attractions in the world, maybe more exotic and perhaps cheaper ! So once tourism wanes and coupled with higher costs of living - the Greeks could not and refuse to adapt and transform - still partying and having a nice time - maybe the Greek Gods will bless them ! Greece have no natural resources, no electronics industry , no R & D - no anything !

They were so laid back - cannot see what is coming and crashing down on them. Even now, the civil servants refuse to take a pay cut - because they feel that the world owes them a living ! Now does the above sound very familiar too?

Without immediate remedies and reforms, that's where we're headed too. . .it's still not too late.

The Debt owed by the British ( and Malaysians too) to the Gurkhas

Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - The Telegraph
posted by Major (Rtd) D.Swami

Like all of his colleagues who retired before 1997, when the Brigade of Gurkhas moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Britain, Lal Bahadur's connection to the UK was deemed too tenuous for him to be allowed to live here – a judgment overturned this week by Mr Justice Blake. But Lal Bahadur voiced no sense of grievance. He was simply happy to be hosting a young Englishman in his hut.

In Nepal, the Gurkhas are a caste apart. Their numbers are drawn from several ethnic groups who live in the Himalayan foothills, making up much of the country's population. To other Nepalis, the families who serve in the British Army are known as "Lahures", after the city of Lahore, in modern Pakistan, where Nepali men went to join the British Indian Army in the 19th century.

The British started recruiting Gurkhas after they fought the East India Company to a standstill in the Anglo-Nepal war of 1814-16. In the 20th century, they fought almost everywhere the British Army went.

They were in the trenches of the First World War in France and Gallipoli, and with Lawrence of Arabia in the desert. In the Second World War they fought in North Africa, Europe and most famously in the horrific campaigns in the Burmese jungle, where they excelled at guerrilla warfare. Nine thousand of them died, and more than 2,700 were decorated for bravery. Their officers believed that their hardiness, discipline and courage made them among the finest infantry in the world.

When walking in the hills, signs of the Gurkhas' pride in this tradition – which has continued in recent years in Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan – are everywhere. In villages and towns, old soldiers decorate their houses with crossed khukuris – the common household tool they have made famous as "Gurkha knives" – with their regiment number beneath.

Once, on a hilltop facing the Himalayas, two days' walk from the nearest road, I came on a monument to a man who had died in the village below. It was decorated with two crossed khukuris and the figure II, for the 2nd Gurkha Rifles. Perhaps, if he was old enough, the man was among those captured by the Japanese when both battalions of the regiment were trapped as Singapore fell in 1942.

Not long before I met Lance Corporal Limbu, another man known as "VC" had died in the nearby town of Dharan, which was built around an old British army depot. He, too, was a local celebrity, and the townspeople filled the streets for his funeral.

Naik (the equivalent of "corporal") Agansing Rai won his VC fighting the Japanese near the India-Burma border in 1944. "Under withering fire the naik and his party charged a machine gun, he himself killing three of the crew," his citation reads." The first position having been taken, he then led a dash on a machine-gun firing from the jungle, where he killed three of the crew, his men accounting for the rest. He subsequently tackled an isolated bunker single-handed, killing all four occupants. The enemy were now so demoralised that they fled and the second post was recaptured."

Such tales of valour have spawned a whole genre of military histories, often written by retired British officers. They have also been used as propaganda: during the Falklands War, a photo of Gurkhas queuing at a grindstone to sharpen their khukuris was released to the Chilean media. As hoped, it found its way to Argentina.

But the Gurkhas pay a price for such a reputation. So strong is their bond with Britain that they often fail to reintegrate into Nepalese life. Although they are admired within their own communities, many Nepalis regard them as half-foreign. Most have learnt useful skills, but rarely find employment in Nepal. Many set up their own businesses, or take work in shipping or in troublespots abroad.

In view of all this, the ungenerous policy of the British government became increasingly unpopular and embarrassing. As the Gurkha rights movement developed over the last decade, the Ministry of Defence quibbled. Retired servicemen formed organisations to press claims for better pensions, terms of service that matched other soldiers, and the right to settle in Britain when they retired. They took the MoD to court again and again, and in most cases they won.

The MoD repeatedly offered limited concessions that were rejected by veterans. In 2006, it was said that Gurkhas could settle in Britain, but only if they had retired after 1997. Under public pressure, the Home Office began allowing "pre-1997" Gurkhas to settle in Britain, but only if they could get here first. As the farce continued, the British embassy in Kathmandu started refusing even tourist visas to veterans, because they knew the Home Office would let them stay.

As Gurkhas typically retire at 35, most of the men who take advantage of the new ruling will still be of working age. But it will be of little help to those living in the greatest hardship. During the Second World War, tens of thousands were recruited, then discharged when peace came. Those who are still alive, well into their eighties, live in villages across the hills, often without access to roads, water or electricity.

I met one such man at the Hindu temple in Dharan. His wife was sick, and he could not afford medicine to treat her. In his ragged clothes, he had come to sacrifice a chicken and pray for her recovery instead.

There are around 10,500 old men like him who were honourably discharged, but did not serve long enough to qualify for a full pension. They receive a "welfare pension" of £24 a month from the Gurkha Welfare Trust, which relies on private donations. This goes further in Nepal than it would in Britain – but it is not enough. For these men, even a bus to town can be a crippling expense. Flying to Britain would be out of the question, even if they wanted to.

There are also longer-term problems. Some British officers complain that if the Gurkhas keep suing the MoD and winning better pay and conditions, they will price themselves out of the market.

For its part, Nepal's Maoist government has said it would like to stop foreign military recruitment, but only once Nepal's economy can support its own people. Yet while young British men continue to shun the army, leaving it perpetually below-strength, and while Nepal remains mired in crippling poverty, neither outcome seems likely.

Indeed, this year, as every year, at least 14,000 young men will be starting their training up in the hills, hoping to win one of the 230 jobs available each recruitment season. Despite its complications, the relationship between the British and the Gurkhas looks set to last well into its third century. @ 6:43 PM 0 Comments

WHERE IGNORANCE IS BLISS, IT’S A FOLLY TO BE WISE

I am quite amused, if not irritated, by so many posts on FB and the internet from both “irritated” Muslims as well as Christians. To me the whole thing smacks of poor understanding of the pillars of this great country of ours, Malaysia. While such Muslims think the whole world has nothing better to do than dismantle Islam from the face of this earth, Christians with quite a similar attitude are forever lamenting about Muslim transgression of their rights. The whole thing is caused by ignorance of history and the very pillars on which this country was given independence.

The colonial British knew from long before that proselytizing among Muslims is like stirring a hornet’s nest. Let sleeping dogs lie seems to have been their motto and they ruled in many Muslim countries around the world without “stirring the hornet’s nest”. In Malaysia many missionary schools were set up that also clearly steered off proselytizing amongst Muslims. To date, I am yet to hear of a single Muslim boy or girl who became enchanted with Christianity and converted. It is like some unsaid social norm amongst Muslim nations worldwide and also amongst Muslim majority nations like Malaysia and Indonesia.

The older generations of Malayans as well as Malaysians understood this well and so did the Muslims who, in return, did not grudge non-Malays from professing whatever faith they wanted and quite freely allowed temples, churches, gurdwaras etc. from being built especially in areas where there were more non-Malay. Everyone was happy and life went on peacefully and Malaya (as well as Malaysia later) progressed. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 changed all of this. Like tsunami that does not recognize distance a new Islamic fervor hit the world and the world has never been quite the same since then.

Muslims could still co-exist peacefully with others but world politics as well as local politics too changed. The oil rich Muslim nations of the Gulf and North Africa in particular were more affected by this green wave of Islamic fervor. This changed attitudes from one of co-existence to hostility particularly towards the Unites States of America in particular and its allies in general – both Muslim and non-Muslim. I lived in USA between 1984 and 1987 and I witnessed no hostility at all towards Muslims and we were free to practice our faith undisturbed and unperturbed.

Today, in Malaysia as elsewhere, political leaders tend to use religion as an easy step to immediate popularity on both sides of the divide. Religion is used to divide the people and distract people from bigger woes facing the nation. Sadly, the ordinary layperson cannot see through such ploys and are easily aroused emotionally more by politics than the ground reality.

In any case there are laws in any country which are legislated according to each country’s need and as envisaged by lawmakers. In Malaysia we have laws pertaining to Islam. This can be Googled easily these days. However, many Malaysians do not seem to be aware of their laws let alone the basic tenets of their respective religions. Prior to independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman managed to convince the sultans to cede some states' powers to the federal government. One of the terms of this agreement is that the sultans still are the ultimate authority of Islamic law in their respective states. The same arrangement was long held even during British colonial rule.


I end by quoting what each religion says regarding interaction with other fellow human beings – often referred to as The Golden Rule. Of this the Wikipedia says “The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim, ethical code, or morality that essentially states either of the following:

1.One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself (positive form)

2.One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated (negative/prohibitive form, also called the Silver Rule)

See http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc.htm for 21 versions of the golden rule in 21 religions. With this I rest my case.

THE BRITISH IN MALAYA – NOTES ON MALAYAN HISTORY

(By Joe Chelliah)

I am often appalled by the poor knowledge of Malaysian history reflected by the average Malaysian of today and therefore feel compelled to write the following general note to remind all fellow Malaysians of the deep appreciation and gratitude that we Malaysians should have for the British presence in our country from about 1777 till 1957. Blaming the colonial British for all our woes may not be the best thing to do. We Malaysians, like the rest of the world, were also not excluded from the European colonization and conquest and its aftermath. In a sense, we are lucky that we had the British and not any of the other European maritime powers over here.

We should also know, contrary to general opinion, that the British initially came to our shores merely to trade and not to conquer us. They were welcomed and invited to do so by our leaders of the time who were the Malay rulers. We should also know that Sullivan & De'Souza, a British firm based in Madras (India) sent Francis Light to meet the Sultan of Kedah, Muhammad Jiwa Shah, to open up the state's market for trading. Light was also a captain within the British East India Company. The good Sultan faced multiple external threats during this period from Siam, which was at war with Burma and saw Kedah as its vassal state and frequently demanded Kedah to send reinforcements. Kedah, in many cases, was a reluctant ally to Siam.

Through negotiation between the Sultan and Light, the Sultan agreed to allow the firm to build a trading post and operate in Kedah, but only if the British agreed to protect Kedah from external pressure. Light conveyed this message to his superiors in India. The British, however, initially decided against the proposal. Two years later, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa died and was replaced by Sultan Abdullah Mahrum Shah. The new Sultan again offered Light (who later became the British representative) the island of Penang in return for military assistance for Kedah. The British saw this as a better deal.

This "offer" by the Sultan of Kedah can be considered to have started it all and the rest is history of course but many have forgotten it. Theefore, one can see that British initially did not want to interfere in local politics which might embroil them in war and unnecessary expenditure. From a policy of non-intervention, the British were slowly forced and coerced into intervening primarily because of prevailing circumstances and anarchy in the Malay states – rival claimants the throne, wars between Chinese secret societies, lack of taxation expertise and also for the control of tin mines besides rampant piracy off our coasts especially in the Straits of Melaka.

The British, like other colonial powers, were looking for a trade monopoly to meet their local demands for raw materials as well as a market for their goods to be exported. Both needs were direct results of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. So the British eventually "grabbed" the opportunity for a policy of British intervention in the Malay states from one of non-intervention initially. But I will be failing in my duty if I do not remind all that this policy would not have materialized at all if our sultans had not insisted upon it. Instead, they allowed it willingly for mutual benefit. It was offered to the British. The opening of the Suez Canal around the time also speeded up this change in British policy in which the deal was as in “you scratch my back and I scratch yours” policy with the sovereign Malay rulers of the time.

The British then proceeded to really take good care of our sovereign sultans but left the native Malay subjects alone. These simple folks literally adored and “worshipped” their sultans at the time and led a quiet and peaceful agrarian life. The British then taught and inculcated in our rulers how to dress like the British complete with handle bar moustaches, play polo, visit England and taught them many western graces such as fine dining, cigars, golf, music and dancing. They were also pampered with pensions besides grand stone palaces built for them. Luckily the British let Islam and its practioners,mainly the Malays, alone. They well knew that it was a hornet’s nest not to be messed around with. Some Malaysians still do not see this wisdom of the British. They also did not interfere with local Malay customs and traditions. Then the British started to develop Malaya with mainly an Indian work force brought over from India. It was the same case in their Middle East colonial experience. Sadly, some Malaysians do not realize this even today.

Like it or not, we also have the British to thank for as our saviors for saving us from the Japanese, the Communists and the Indonesians sepecially Soekarno's “Ganyang Malaysia” campaign during the early 1960’s. Of course the British "saved us" because they too had so much to lose in terms of their vast rubber plantations and other such economic interests in Malaysia at the time. It was a peripheral advantage and that benefitted us Malaysians too.

I do not wish to go more into Malayan history which anyone can read up in the net these days. However, I wish to put on record some of the many things that the British left behind for us Malaysians to enjoy life today as perhaps the best ex-European colony besides Singapore. Even after Merdeka in 1957 the British continued their military presence well into 1969 to safeguard us and their own economic interests at the same time. Till today Malaysia is a member of the British Commonwealth and also a member of the Five Power Defence arrangement (FPDA)together with Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and UK whereby the five states will consult each other in the event of external aggression or threat of attack against Peninsular Malaysia (East Malaysia is not included as part of the area of responsibilities under the FPDA) or Singapore.


The British set up many basic fundamentals before they left which taught us how to run many things some of which I list below.

1. How to rule a country well albeit sometimes with a “divide and rule” policy.

2. Use English language as a great tool for progress and moderization.

3. Educate us in English traditions such as the parliamentary and state legislative procedures, judiciary, education, health care, Customs and tax collection, police, army, navy, airforce, port management, electrical power management etc.

4. Almost all our former PMs of Malaysia were educated in England like our current PM - the Tunku, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn. Only one (Tun Dr., Mahthir) was not educated there.

5. Drew up a constitution that protects the interests of all Malaysians. Of course we have altered it many times to suit our current needs especially parliamentary constituencies for a growing population. The British drew up the original constituencies in a ratio that favoured the Malays. A predominantly Malay constituency with a say 20,000 voters would have one seat in Parliament wheras a constituency with mostly non- Malay voters numbering some 80,000 voters like Bangsar would have only one wakil rakyat.

6. The Mechanics of government and governmental procedures & General Orders.

7. A well trained military force and police force that is still dominated by the Malays. After the 2nd World War and the Malayan Emergency the Malays were more trusted with the gun by the British who started the Malay Regiment and the general police constabulary.

8. A good system of schools and colleges and even a university (The MU now Universiti Malaya). Our school system also includes a vernacular system of schools to be found nowhere else in the world.

9. Food infrastructure and master plans for the development of ports, railways, roads, telecommunications, power generation, drainage and irrigation.

10. Freedom of religious worship for all but no provision for anyone to do any preaching or proselytizing to the Muslims. In fact, it is/was an offence.

11. The Internal Security Act which the government still finds very useful although it was concieved by the British during the Malayan Emergency.

I could go on and on but I think I have covered the main essence of British influence and help for Malaya / Malaysia. The British experience is very obvious with us even today. Our military and police are based on Scotland Yard and Sandhurst traditions. Even the Prime Minister (PM) is addressed in the British tradition although in our language it should MP (Menteri Perdana). Perhaps MP gives a bad military connotation associated with the Military Police and so PM was maintained although grammatically wrong in Bahasa Malaysia.

Malaysia In The Era of Globalization in Malay

"MALAYSIA IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION " by M. Bakri Musa (Translated from English to Malay). For original English version go to http://www.bakrimusa.com/archives/malaysia-in-the-era-of-globalization-71

Agama mesti bertindak sebagai lampu lakukan dalam kereta, dan bukan sebagai brek lakukan.
-Abdolkarim Soroosh, Kontemporari ahli falsafah Iran

Islam adalah agama rasmi Malaysia. Ia meresap semua aspek kehidupan rakyat Malaysia, untuk orang Islam dan bukan Islam. Dalam bab ini, saya akan mengkaji kesan Islam kepada undang-undang, pendidikan, dan ekonomi. Ini adalah tiga bidang utama yang mempunyai impak yang besar kepada keupayaan rakyat Malaysia amnya dan Melayu khususnya di mesyuarat cabaran globalisasi.

Seorang pelawat ke Malaysia dengan cepat menyedari betapa meluas Islam di negara ini. Pada kali solat Azzan (panggilan kepada sembahyang) kedengaran kuat dan jelas dari pembesar suara di menara masjid-masjid banyak. Satu dikejutkan pagi oleh Azzan dan meletakkan untuk tidur pada waktu malam olehnya. Azzan televisyen program kerap mengganggu, selalunya pada masa ini yang paling hell, seperti sebelum klimaks dramatik tempat kejadian atau walaupun di pertengahan ayat. Ia bukanlah panggilan untuk Azzan yang exasperates penonton; bukan cara kasar dan mentah di mana juruteknik robotik kembali di studio tanpa berfikir dan mekanikal berhenti pita. Jika mereka boleh mencari tempat yang mudah untuk mengganggu program untuk memecahkan komersial, mengapa mereka tidak boleh melakukan perkara yang sama untuk Azzan itu? Mereka boleh, tetapi hakikat bahawa mereka tidak melakukannya mencerminkan menghina mereka untuk penonton mereka. Dan pada bulan Ramadan, seluruh negara dalam animasi digantung; tidak boleh dilaksanakan, terutamanya dalam sektor awam.

Walaupun dalam orang Melayu yang lalu akan menyambut satu sama lain dengan "Selamat Pagi!" (Good Morning!), Hari ini mereka menggunakan Bahasa Arab salam Assalamualaikum (Salam sejahtera kepada kamu!). Anak-anak muda sekarang berjanggut sukan dan berselubung dengan serban tebal dan mengalir jubah hijau, sedar dengan haba yang terik dan kelembapan, semua dalam usaha untuk muncul "Islam."

Masjid semasa limpahan solat Jumaat, dengan jemaah yang terpaksa bersolat di luar. Dalam usaha alim mereka mereka tidak ragu-ragu berdoa lebih pengap pembetung terbuka longkang. Seperti incongruities gemuruh tidak menjejaskan perasaan mereka. Setiap tahun Malaysia menghantar lebih jemaah (atas asas per kapita) ke tanah suci daripada mana-mana negara lain. Banyak bercakap gah tentang membuat perjalanan banyak kali, walaupun ia hanya diperlukan sekali, dan kemudian hanya jika keadaan membenarkan. Tetapi saya lihat banyak anak-anak muda dan wanita sabar mengganggu kerjaya mereka untuk membuat haji.

Mungkin ini jiwa bernasib baik telah membayar gadai janji rumah mereka dan mengetepikan dana yang mencukupi untuk persaraan dan pendidikan anak-anak mereka untuk menjadi mampu perjalanan.

Ini pervasiveness Islam membawa banyak untuk mencadangkan bahawa iman sedang mengalami kebangkitan semula atau kebangkitan. Ini rupa keagamaan dan takwa hanya permukaan hadapan bangunan, satu lapisan yang sangat nipis. Umat Islam di Malaysia kelihatan Islam sahaja dalam pematuhan kepada ritual dan lain-lain manifestasi luaran agama mereka. Malangnya kita melihat dgn curiga di teras mereka. Toleransi, lama tradisi dengan Islam, adalah sedih kurang di kalangan mereka. Mereka memandang kepada umat Islam sendiri yang tidak bersetuju dengan mereka sebagai kafir (kafir) - Istilah sangat yg memburukkan apabila digunakan untuk orang Islam - dan tidak mahu mengambil bahagian dalam mana-mana rundingan sosial atau agama dengan mereka. Bayangkan apa sikap mereka terhadap orang kafir sebenar: bukan Islam rakyat Malaysia.

Pada tahap yang lebih biasa, mereka memandu seperti maniacs, sedar dari pengguna jalan raya yang lain. Mereka meletakkan kenderaan mereka di tengah-tengah jalan dan menghalang lalu lintas dalam tergesa-gesa mereka berada di masjid. Bahawa mereka akan menyusahkan pengguna jalan raya yang lain adalah tidak relevan selagi mereka mendapat mata untuk menuntut brownies agama mereka. Bagi sedekah, satu lagi sifat Islam dihormati, baik, mereka telah membayar zakat mereka (persepuluhan) dan yang mencukupi. Tidak perlu untuk mereka menyumbang kepada sekolah-sekolah anak-anak mereka atau masyarakat setempat. Mereka juga tidak menganut apa-apa kebimbangan nasib sesama umat Islam dari Bangladesh dan Indonesia di kalangan tengah-tengah mereka. Orang-orang asing adalah pendatang haram bagaimanapun, tidak sesuai dengan mana-mana muhibah. Perhambaan dan buruh indentured mungkin telah diharamkan tetapi rawatan rakyat Malaysia 'pembantu rumah mereka akan membuat pemilik hamba sebelum Perang Saudara Amerika melihat murah hati dengan perbandingan.

Bagi saya, tidak ada kebangkitan atau kebangkitan Islam di Malaysia, lebih kepada regresi kepada bentuk yang lebih sesuai untuk Badwi purba. Lebih tepat lagi, hari ini orang Melayu taksub dengan cara-cara orang Arab kuno dan bukan dengan mesej murni Islam.

Pada tahun 2001 kerajaan mengeluarkan satu penerbitan yang ditulis oleh seorang petugas yang mengisytiharkan bahawa Malaysia adalah sebuah negara Islam. Ditulis dalam bahasa Melayu, ia merupakan satu cubaan untuk kekok tumpul caj PAS bahawa negara bukan "Islam" yang mencukupi. Buku kecil ini bertujuan untuk serangan terlebih dahulu pada atau untuk "keluar Islam" PAS, agar boleh menggunakan Farish Noor (seorang penulis Malaysia) frasa. Sebaliknya, ia telah meletuskan kontroversi mengamuk. Kerajaan terpaksa menarik balik malu penerbitan bodoh. Satu ukuran penyimpangan buku panduan ini adalah yang meliputi ciri-ciri yang kapal terbang. Apa yang imej ada kena mengena dengan Islam adalah di luar pemahaman saya. Memandangkan 9-11 serangan, ia bukan satu idea yang sangat pintar untuk mengaitkan Islam dengan pesawat jet.

Selepas bahawa terdapat satu lagi kontroversi mengamuk atas beberapa esei yang ditulis dalam akhbar popular dengan meletakkan penulis-penulis Islam. Ini menimbulkan kemarahan ulama agama, yang menganggap bahawa perbincangan itu tentang Islam yang memelihara eksklusif mereka. Mereka pergi ke tahap membuat rayuan kepada Raja (ketua agama Islam) untuk mengambil tindakan ke atas penulis-penulis untuk Islam yang didakwa menghina. Bahawa Raja dan Majlis Raja-Raja itu sebenarnya dilayan seperti petisyen bodoh adalah dengan sendirinya sangat ketara.

Apa-apa kontroversi hangat mencerminkan pengasaran wacana awam di Malaysia. Perbincangan awam, jauh dari menyedarkan rakyat dan membawa mereka bersama-sama, hanya berjaya acerbating polarisasi dan mendalamkan bahagian-bahagian yang sedia ada. Menyalahkan bagi negeri ini maaf hal ehwal pergi ke kedua-dua pihak penganjur dan peserta acara tersebut. Ini perbincangan telah kurang kepada merit atau kelemahan sesuatu isu itu, sebaliknya lebih kepada mempamerkan kehebatan berpidato dan kelayakan Islam peserta. Ini perbahasan awam dengan cepat merosot kepada nama panggilan, dan dikurangkan simplistically ke "ulama saya lebih berilmu (atau alim) daripada kamu" jenis bursa.

BAB I - OTOBIOGRAFI JOE CHELLIAH (MALAY)

Bab Satu – Asal usul & Latar Belakang


Masa dan rentak kehidupan saya bermula dengan susur-galur keturunan Nadaar kerana bagi saya mengetahui tentang latarbelakang keluarga adalah satu perkara yang amat penting bagi individu. Saya percaya yang latar belakang kaum seseorang itu tiada kurang atau lebihnya kerana bagi saya semuanya sama sahaja tidak kiralah jika anda berketurunan raja atau dari kedudukan yang lebih rendah dalam masyarakat. Tiada siapa pun yang boleh memilih siapa keluarga mereka. Apa yang penting adalah siapa diri anda sebenarnya. Dari mana asal kita dan dengan siapa kita bersaudara adalah kehendak Tuhan, jadi kita tidak perlu terlalu berbangga atau berasa malu dengan asal-usul sendiri. Dengan kesedaran ini, saya berusaha mengamalkan sikap “buta warna” selagi boleh.

Berdasarkan kepada pengkelasan etnik saya berbangsa Tamil Nadaar Selatan India manakala daripada segi undang-undangnya saya adalah rakyat Malaysia. Saya dinamakan Joseph Sountharaj oleh ibu dan bapa saya. Pada usia awal remaja, saya menggunakan nama Joseph S.Chelliah, menggunakan nama bapa seolah-olah ia nama keluarga persis tradisi Eropah. Nama ini kemudiannya dipendekkan menjadi Joe Chelliah untuk menyesuaikannya dengan penglibatan saya di dalam muzik. Nama inilah yang melekat sehingga sekarang dan saya dikenali dengan nama ini terutamanya di dalam industri muzik dan dalam kalangan para peminat pop yeh yeh. Pada tahun 1970, setelah memeluk Islam saya juga mula menggunakan nama Johami Abdullah. Tetapi saya lebih dikenali sebagai Joe Chelliah mungkin kerana kaitan saya dengan muzik pop.

Tiada siapa yang akan menulis tentang kita kecualilah jika anda atau saya tokoh hebat seperti Mahatma Gandhi atau Sir Winston Churchill. Jadi, apa yang saya lakukan ini adalah satu usaha kecil untuk generasi Chelliah yang akan datang dan juga untuk mereka yang berminat dengan sejarah masa memandangkan terdapat bahagian-bahagian autobiografi ini mengimbau kehidupan di estet getah dan juga kehidupan lampau di sekolah yang ramai sudah lupakan. Lagi pula, setakat ini saya telah melalui kehidupan yang selesa dan berwarna-warni dan disebabkan itu bersyukur kepada Allah s.w.t. atas anugerah yang amat besar ini. Cara terbaik untuk saya menunjukkan penghargaan kepadaNYA ialah dengan merakamkan kehidupan saya yang indah ini untuk generasi yang akan datang. Dalam buku ini, saya akan menggunakan Tuhan dan Allah silih berganti untuk pemahaman pembaca-pembaca yang bukan Islam. Ada sesetengah golongan orang Islam tidak berapa setuju dengan praktis ini memandangkan Allah mempunyai kaitan semantik yang berbeza kepada orang Islam berbanding Tuhan dan tuhan-tuhan agama-agama lain, yang mana, sebagai implikasinya apabila ada Tuhan, mungkin juga ada dewi, “godfather” (bapa angkat) atau “godson” (anak angkat). Saya sememangnya datang daripada sebuah keluarga yang takutkan Tuhan. Hari ini, pada usia 65 tahun, saya merupakan seorang yang bahagia bersama-sama tiga orang adik beradik yang masih hidup aktif – kakak sulung saya Mabel Chandra berusia 80 tahun pada tahun ini.


Keturunan nadaar

Banyak yang telah ditulis mengenai sifat semulajadi mereka yang berketurunan Naadar, sebuah kumpulan kecil Dravidia dari India berbahasa Tamil yang kebanyakannya berasal dari sebuah daerah besar di Tamilnadu dengan nama Tirunelvelli. Penduduk asal India adalah orang-orang Dravidia dan budaya mereka telah berkembang menjadi satu cara hidup yang canggih. Menurut Wikipedia “Naadar juga dirujuk sebagai Kshatriya Naadar, Nadan, Nataar, Gramani dan Shanar. Ia merupakan salah satu kasta terkemuka di Tamil Nadu yang terletak di Selatan India. Kshatriya merupakan kelas pahlawan di dalam sistem kasta Aryan awal. Istilah Nadaar, dalam bahasa Tamil secara harfiah (literal) bermaksud “yang memerintah negara”. Keturunan Nadaar ini juga biasa digelar sebagai Annachi (secara dasarnya bermaksud abang) di Tamil Nadu.
Tirunelvelli yang berusia lebih kurang 2000 tahun penuh dengan sejarah yang berwarna-warni dan kaya dengan tradisi. Daerah ini terkenal dengan jelapang padinya. Nama ‘Tiru-Nel-Veli’ diambil bersempena sebuah cerita dongeng Hindu. Di dalam cerita tersebut Dewa Shiva melindungi padi (nel) dengan mewujudkan sebuah pagar (veli). Bandar kembar Tirunelvelli adalah Bandar Palayankottai, yang terkenal dengan institusi pendidikannya dan seringkali digelar sebagai Oxford India Selatan. Palayankottai juga dikenali kerana sebuah ‘Penjara Pusat’, tempat kurungan ramai pejuang kebebasan yang berjuang untuk keamanan di India. Daerah Tirunelvelli secara turun temurunnya terkenal dengan halwa kelapa sawit dan kraftangan yang diperbuat daripada daun kelapa sawit. Orang Nadaar juga memiliki reputasi yang baik disebabkan ketekunan dan cara mereka bekerja yang hanya boleh ditandingi oleh rasa salah dan betul mereka yang sangat kuat.

Karakter semulajadi orang-orang Nadaar inilah yang menyebabkan mereka selalu dilabelkan sebagai keturunan Dravidia yang sombong dan degil. Mungkin semangat Kshatriya (kasta pahlawan) hidup dalam diri mereka memandangkan keturunan Nadaar ini juga selalu terlibat dalam persengketaan biarpun dalam lingkungan keluarga mereka sendiri yang disebabkan perkara remeh-temeh. Kebanyakan filem moden Tamil menggambarkan perkara ini dengan baik sekali. Terdapat satu pepatah Tamil yang dengan jelas menggambarkan sifat semulajadi keturunan Nadaar yang degil ini. “Aku yakin arnab yang telah ditangkap mempunyai tiga kaki.” Plot siri drama TV Tamil yang amat popular yang diterbitkan dan disiarkan di TV Malaysia pada 2004 bertajuk Annamalai menceritakan tentang sebuah keluarga Nadaar dan siri ini menyorot ciri-ciri positif dan juga negatf komuniti ini. Siri ini diterbitkan oleh Radaan Productions dan tidak ramai yang sedar bahawa Radaan apabila dibaca terbalik berbunyi Nadaar. Orang-orang Nadaar muncul sebagai sebuah komuniti yang berjaya di India Selatan. Orang-orang Nadaar yang beragama Hindu dan juga Kristian adalah antara sub-kumpulan Tamil yang agak besar di Malaysia. Memandangkan saya berasal dari kelompok Nadaar Kristian saya lebih arif tentang Nadaar Kristian Aglikan di Malaysia. Kristian Aglikan adalah sebahagian daripada Kristian Protestan dan memihak kepada Church of England.

Beberapa orang yang berketurunan Nadaar Kristian berpendidikan Inggeris telah menjadi tokoh yang dikenali di Malaysia. J.J Raj (Senior dan Junior) cemerlang sebagai pegawai polis dan berjaya memegang jawatan tertinggi di dalam pasukan Polis Diraja Malaysia dalam tahun-tahun 1950-an dan 1960-an. Saya mempunyai seorang bapa saudara yang mempunyai nama keluarga Light yang memegang jawatan tinggi di dalam Keretapi Tanah Melayu. P.P.D Samuel, seorang usahawan yang berjaya dan perintis dalam pendidikan swasta di Malaysia pada 1960-an, juga seorang lagi bapa saudara saya. Beliau merupakan ketua pegawai eksekutif dan pengasas The Federal Institute of Technology, perintis institusi pendidikan persendirian di Malaysia. Bapa beliau, Rev. David Samuel, merupakan seorang paderi Anglikan yang terkenal dalam tahun 1960-an. Seorang lagi saudara saya yang menjawat jawatan tinggi dalam Polis Diraja Malaysia dan menjadi Ketua Pegawai Polis (CPO) untuk beberapa buah negeri yang kini telah bersara dari Bukit Aman (ibupejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia di KL) pada 2004 adalah Timbalan Suruhanjaya Polis (DCP) Dato’ Arthur Edmonds. Seorang perunding pakar bedah terkenal yang juga merupakan ketua jabatan di Hospital Besar Seremban yang baru sahaja bersara, Dr Davaraj Balasingh K.M.N juga berketurunan Nadaar. Manakala di dalam bidang muzik nama-nama seperti Edwin Rajamoney, Dennis Jesudason dan Gerald Samuel menjadi sebutan dalam era 1950-an dan 1960-an. Saya juga mungkin boleh disenaraikan sebagai salah seorang etnik Nadaar Malaysia yang terlibat dalam bidang muzik bermula pada tahun 1970-an.

Orang-orang Nadaar ini pada asalnya beragama Hindu sebelum ada di antara mereka menganut Kristian. Pada tahun 1680, jemaah Nadaar yang pertama dimulakan di Vaddakankulam dan sebuah gereja telah dibina pada tahun 1685. Pada tahun 1701 sebuah misi tetap telah ditubuhkan di sana. Sesetengah orang Nadaar memeluk agama Kristian secara sukarela tetapi ada yang melakukannya kerana tidak sukakan kepercayaan-kepercayaan tempatan. Hampir kesemua orang Tamil yang menganut agama Kristian Anglikan adalah orang-orang Nadaar dan kira-kira 40% keturunan Nadaar di Tamil Nadu adalah beragama Kristian. Kawasan uskop Tirunelvelli bermula dengan hanya 40 orang anggota di Palayamkottai. Kini ia dianggap sebagai kawasan uskop Anglikan terbesar di Asia. Tirunelvelli dinaik taraf sebagai sebuah Kawasan uskop pada tahun 1896. Di daerah Tirunelvelli sahaja terdapat banyak gereja besar Anglikan dan ia juga mempunyai sebuah bandar yang dinamakan Nazareth, di mana terletaknya The Church of South India Diocese. Abang ipar saya, David berasal dari Nazareth ini.

Ada satu penjelasan yang boleh dipercayai berkaitan perkara ini. Menurut mendiang abang ipar saya David Koilpillay, mubaligh-mubaligh Anglikan ketika zaman kolonial India beria-ria mahu mencari sebuah tempat atau komuniti yang masih tidak terkesan dengan usaha para mubaligh Katholik Belanda dan Portugis. Apabila para pentadbir berbangsa Inggeris di sana mengatakan yang keturunan Nadaar beragama Hindu merupakan pertaruhan yang baik, para mubaligh ini segera menuju ke situ dengan penuh bersemangat dan mereka berjaya di sana. Oleh yang demikian, pada hari ini, tulang belakang uskop Anglikan di Malaysia juga berasal daripada komuniti Nadaar yang sama.

Salah silah Keluarga

Ibu bapa saya beragama Kristian Anglikan yang berasal daripada komuniti Nadaar Selatan India ini. Nama ibu sebelum berkahwin ialah Lily Kamalabai Vincent dan nama bapa, Samuel Chelliah Nadaar. Atas sebab-sebab yang hanya beliau sahaja yang tahu, nama bapa di dalam pasport ialah Samuel Chelliah, tanpa nama Nadaar. Mungkin beliau mahu memendekkan nama dengan tidak menyertakan Nadaar atau mungkin beliau mahu dikenali sebagai orang Tamil Jaffna ketika tahun-tahun awal di Tanah Melayu memandangkan Chelliah merupakan satu nama keluarga yang biasa dalam kalangan orang-orang Tamil Jaffna. Namun kemungkinan besar beliau hanya mahu memendekkan namanya kerana sepanjang hidupnya beliau bekerja di estet yang mana menjadi seorang Tamil Jaffna tidak mempunya apa-apa erti. Orang-orang Tamil Jaffna di Tanah Melayu berpendidikan Inggeris namun mereka lebih memonopoli jawatan-jawatan pengurus kecil dalam perkhidmatan awam Tanah Melayu, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, di pelabuhan-pelabuhan dan lembaga elektrik. Mereka kurang berminat bekerja di estet-estet getah. Izinkan saya menulis satu pemerhatian analitikal bersifat peribadi berikut, namun pemerhatian ini boleh jadi terlalu ringkas.

Orang British pada zaman kolonial terkenal di seluruh dunia dengan kelicikan mereka dan telah memulakan satu strategi “pecah dan perintah” di hampir kesemua koloni mereka. Di Tanah Melayu British hanya mahu menyempurnakan tugas memerintah dalam cara yang paling berkesan tanpa ada sentimen perkauman dan tanpa mementingkan mana-mana kaum. Orang-orang British mendapati bahawa Tanah Melayu mempunyai potensi yang baik untuk tanaman getah, satu tumbuhan semulajadi di Amazon. Mereka juga mendapati yang orang-orang Melayu tidak berapa berminat untuk melakukan kerja-kerja berat membersihkan hutan dan menanam semula dengan pokok-pokok getah. Disebabkan hal ini, Melayu senang-senang sahaja dilabel sebagai pemalas oleh pihak British. Harry Miller dalam bukunya The Communist Menace in Malaya, menulis mengenai bangsa Melayu,

“The Malays are open, smiling, easygoing people, who are peace-loving. Despite the changing scene and the problems and dangers around him the Malay outside the towns still lives from day to day. If he has enough money and rice to feed himself and his family for the next day he is content, and he relaxes in the pleasant company
of his fellow-men under the fruit-trees in the tranquil kampongs.”

Oleh yang demikian, British sewenang-wenangnya membawa masuk pekerja-pekerja yang “lebih rela”, iaitu buruh-buruh kontrak dari India. Orang-orang Tamil ini kebanyakannya ialah pekerja-pekerja kasar yang bekerja di estet-estet getah, pelabuhan, lembaga utiliti awam dan keretapi. Golongan seperti bapa saya terkecuali hanya disebabkan beliau berpendidikan Inggeris seperti orang-orang Malayelee dari Kerala dan Tamil Ceylon dari Sri Lanka yang mengisi jawatan-jawatan penyeliaan dan pengurus-pengurus kecil. Mereka menjadi jambatan kepada jurang komunikasi di antara para buruh dan pengurus berbangsa British memandangkan mereka fasih berbahasa Inggeris dan juga Tamil. Orang Sikh dari India Utara dan Pakistan serta orang Melayu menjadi anggota polis yang mengawasi orang-orang India di Tanah Melayu manakala orang-orang Gurkha dari Nepal pula menjadi askar yang setia dalam pasukan Tentera British, yang mengawasi semua orang. Polisi “pecah dan perintah” pihak British secara jelasnya menggunakan perbezaan etnik Dravidia sehinggalah ke Indo Aryan dan bangsa-bangsa lain seperti orang-orang Himalaya dari Nepal bagi memenuhi sasaran mereka untuk membangunkan negeri-negeri Melayu untuk kepentingan ekonomi dan mereka anggap ia merupakan satu usaha yang pragmatik.
Bangsa India memang amat terkenal sebagai kaum yang tidak bersatu padu dan bersifat perkauman dalam kalangan mereka dalam segala-galanya – bahasa, dialek, kasta, agama sehinggalah kepada kampung asal mereka. Oleh yang demikian mengkhususkan pekerjaan yang berbeza-beza kepada jenis-jenis etnik India yang berlainan di Tanah Melayu semasa zaman British sangat berkesan untuk para pentadbir British ini, seperti yang ditunjukkan di dalam jadual di atas. Seorang pengembara berbangsa British yang telah mengembara di seluruh benua kecil India mengatakan dalam memoirnya yang dia belum pernah bertemu dengan seorang pun “orang India” dalam semua pengembaraannya. Ini disebabkan setiap orang India akan sentiasa menganggap diri mereka adalah orang Pattan, Gujerati, Bengali, Tamil, Telegu dan banyak lagi etnik lain daripada beratus-ratus etnik yang ada di India. Seorang pelawak kontemporari dari Kanada, Russel Peters, dalam salah satu pertunjukkan komedi beliau, mengatakan bahawa kebanyakan kaum lain berperang dengan kaum yang lain, orang-orang India pula berperang sesama sendiri.

Latarbelakang Ibu Bapa

Keluarga bapa berasal dari Athangkarai, sebuah perkampungan kecil di Tirunelveli. Athangkarai secara harfiah bermaksud ‘tebing sungai’. Kampung kecil ini terletak di tebing Sungai Tamiraparani yang merupakan satu simbol penting untuk kebudayaan Tamil. Ia merupakan sungai utama daerah Tirunelvelli dan mengalir dari Gat Barat yang juga dikenali sebagai Pergunungan Sahyadri yang merupakan sebuah banjaran gunung di bahagian barat semenanjung India dan mengalir melalui beberapa buah negeri sebelum menuju ke Laut India berhampiran bahagian paling selatan di India. Dalam kesusasteraan awal Tamil dan Sanskrit ia dikenali sebagai Porunai Nathi.

Saya tidak tahu nama sebenar datuk dan nenek sebelah bapa kerana tiada siapa pun yang menyimpan maklumat ini. Apa yang saya tahu mereka beragama Kristian kerana saya pernah melawat kubur mereka di Athangkarai semasa melawat India bersama-sama ibu dan bapa pada Disember 1955. Saya juga dapat bertemu dengan dua orang abang kepada bapa. Ketika itu saya berusia 11 tahun. Abang yang tua bernama Anamuthu Naadar tetapi digelar sebagai Mookan Nadaar disebabkan perwatakannya yang kemas terutama sekali hidungnya yang mancung persis orang Eropah - “mooku” bermaksud “hidung” dalam bahasa Tamil. Beliau telah tinggal di Athangkarai sepanjang hidupnya. Beliau memiliki nama Kristian, tetap saya sudah lupa. Menjadi kebiasaan kepada orang-orang Nadaar Anglikan untuk memiliki nama-nama yang ada dalam kitab Injil seperti Joshua, Paul, Peter, John, Joseph, Esau, Jacob, Samuel, Rachel, Mary, Esther, Rebecca dan banyak lagi. Bapa saudara saya itu mempunyai kulit yang cerah tidak seperti orang-orang India Selatan yang lain dengan rambutnyta yang putih disanggul kemas ( kudumi) lengkap dengan anting-anting yang mungkin menjadi satu fesyen semasa zamannya. Bibirnya kemerah-merahan semulajadi tetapi juga disebabkan oleh tabiatnya lamanya yang suka mengunyah daun sirih. Pada ketika itu umurnya mungkin hampir mencecah kepada tujuh puluh tahun. Walaupun begitu, dia masih kelihatan segak dan kehadirannya amat dirasai. Seorang lagi dalam keluarga saya yang mempunyai kulit cerah dan wajah yang serupa adalah bapa saudara sebelah ibu bernama C.B. Vincent yang panggilan manjanya Chellah Mama.

Seorang lagi abang kepada bapa telah berpindah ke sebuah perkampungan lain yang bernama Thonithurai tidak berapa jauh dari kampung asal mereka. Perpindahan ini berlaku mungkin disebabkan perkahwinannya. Saya tidak ingat nama bapa saudara sebelah bapa saya ini memandangkan kami merujuknya hanya sebagai Thonithurai Periappa (pakcik). Apa yang saya ingat ialah dia berkulit sangat gelap dan mempunyai sebuah keluarga yang besar. Kulit bapa saya, seperti juga kulit saya, berada di antara kedua-dua abangnya di Athangkarai. Secara jujurnya, saya tidak tahu berapa ramai adik beradik bapa saya selain daripada dua orang bapa saudara saya ini.

Ibu bapa saya mengatakan yang Anamuthu Nadaar menjalani cara hidup mewah seorang nattan atau pemilik tanah yang kaya di kampung tersebut persis pemilik-pemilik tanah India yang terkenal (zamindars). Dikatakan beliau berjaya bersaing dengan zamindar-zamindar lain yang sezaman dengannya dalam hampir semua perkara termasuklah disenangi oleh gadis paling cantik dalam kalangan gadis cantik di sana. Semasa perjumpaan kami, saya tidak nampak pun kesan kehidupan mewah itu. Beliau dikatakan telah membelanjakan semua kekayaan keluarga itu, yang diperolehi daripada perladangan Palymra yang membekalkan todi kelapa sawit yang tidak pernah putus dan pelbagai produk sampingan yang lain. Walaupun beliau tidak lagi semewah dahulu, beliau melayan kami dengan baik yang mana kami ditempatkan di sebuah rumah yang baik di Athangkarai selama kami tinggal di sana dan beliau mampu menjamu kami dengan sempurna. Kehidupannya juga agak baik ketika itu.

Saya ingat dengan jelas pertemuan dengan kedua-dua orang anaknya. Anak beliau yang sulung bernama Selvam dan bekerja di sebuah kilang sabun di Madurai, Lingam’s Soap Company. Anak yang kedua ialah anak perempuan bernama Nesmani. Dia sangat cantik dan lima tahun lebih tua daripada saya. Saya akan selalu teringatkan sepupu saya yang cantik dan berkulit cerah ini setiap kali menonton wayang Tamil yang mempunyai jalan cerita kedesaan yang mana watak utama wanitanya yang berkulit cerah dan cantik jelas menenggelamkan pelakon-pelakon lain yang berlakon sebagai teman-temannya. Sepupu ketiga yang saya temui ialah Ratnam anak lelaki pakcik Thonithurai saya. Dia dilahirkan tempang. Saya difahamkan yang dia telah berpindah ke Madras selepas itu dan menjalankan satu perniagaan yang berjaya di sana. Ibu sering berhubung dengan saudara mara kami di India sehinggalah kematian beliau pada tahun 1980. Selepas itu, seperti yang dijangkakan, kami terputus hubungan dengan kebanyakan saudara mara rapat kami di India. Adik perempuan saya Rani dan kakak ipar saya Sarojini masih berhubung dengan beberapa orang saudara di sana, cuma sedihnya, tiada seorang pun daripada sebelah bapa saya.


Berbalik semula ke Athangkarai, saya ingat dengan jelas tentang tempat itu kerana kami menghabiskan kira-kira dua ke tiga minggu di sana pada bulan Januari 1956. Peringkat terakhir perjalanan kami ke Athangkarai dari Palayankottai adalah di dalam sebuah Land Rover dan akhir sekali dengan satu konvoi kecil kereta lembu dari jalan utama. Saya berharap sangat dapat melawat semula Athangkarai dan berenang sekali lagi di dalam air sungai nenek moyang saya yang jernih bak cermin. Saya tidak pasti bagaimana untuk pergi ke Athangkarai sekarang tetapi boleh mencarinya jika saya benar-benar mahu. Mungkin saya patut pergi. Semasa musim kering, sungai tersebut hanyalah sebuah aliran kecil dengan dasar sungai yang berpasir kering yang luas di kedua-dua belah yang mana orang ramai akan menggali telaga-telaga kecil untuk mendapatkan air minuman yang secara semulajadinya telah bertapis. Tetapi semasa musim hujan, aliran itu membuak-buak menjadi sebuah sungai dengan aliran air yang deras sesuai dengan namanya. Air sungai ini melimpah dua kali setahun memandangkan Tirunelvelli dipengaruhi oleh dua musim tengkujuh. Disebabkan latar belakang Athangkarai & Tirunelvelli inilah saya menonton cerita-cerita Tamil terutamanya yang mempunyai jalan cerita kedesaan. Melalui cara ini saya dapat menggambarkan kehidupan yang dilalui oleh nenek moyang saya.

Jadi, sebenarnya latar belakang bapa saya sangat ringkas. Nenek moyangnya sangat akrab dengan tanah…sama ada mengerjakannya atau menjadi pemilik kepada harta di tanah tersebut. Nampak gayanya, bapa saya satu-satunya yang tidak mengikut tradisi ini. Saya diberitahu yang semasa kecilnya bapa mengagumi kehadiran mana-mana pegawai kolonial British yang segak yang melawat kampungnya dengan menunggang kuda dan mungkin beliau berasa bertambah kagum dengan penghormatan yang sangat tinggi yang diberikan kepada orang Inggeris oleh seluruh orang kampung. Beliau bertekad untuk mempelajari bahasa pertuturan pegawai Inggeris tersebut. Perlu diingat pada ketika itu, Britain berada di kemuncak kuasa global dan kegemilangan sama seperti yang sedang dinikmati oleh Amerika Syarikat pada masa ini.

Disebabkan itu, Samuel, budak yang mudah terpengaruh itu mendesak orang tuanya untuk menghantarnya belajar di sebuah sekolah Inggeris, bukannya sekolah Tamil. Beliau kemudiannya belajar di sebuah sekolah berasrama di Palyamkottai. Beliau tamat persekolahan dengan kelulusan Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) yang mungkin merupakan kelayakan paling tinggi yang boleh diperolehi pada zaman kolonial India untuk seorang anak tempatan pada awal kurun ke-20. Beliau dilahirkan pada 1899. Beliau juga memenangi Pingat King George yang berprestij (untuk satu acara seperti dekathlon). Ini bermakna beliau merupakan seorang juara olahragawan yang dikenali di Tirunelvelli pada zaman itu. Beliau merupakan pelari pecut dalam cara 100 meter dengan masa 9.8 saat. Semasa masih bersekolah, bapa ada memberitahu saya tentang perkara ini. Pada masa itu, saya ragukan kebenaran cerita tersebut kerana pelari pecut terbaik di Malaysia masih bergelut dengan masa 10.5 saat. Tetapi mendiang abang ipar saya David Koilpillay mengesahkan pencapaian bapa ini beberapa tahun selepas itu kerana dia juga pernah belajar di sekolah yang sama selepas bapa saya meninggalkan alam persekolahan. Menyimpan arkib biasanya tidak dianggap penting oleh kebanyakan orang dan orang India tidak terkecuali di dalam hal ini. Saya agak bertuah dalam aspek ini memandangkan saya masih memiliki gambar-gambar awal keluarga saya daripada sebelah ibu mungkin disebabkan mereka semuanya berpendidkan Inggeris dan lebih ‘ke hadapan’ berbanding orang lain pada ketika itu. Namun saya tidak mempunyai apa-apa gambar daripada sebelah bapa saya memandangkan mereka hanyalah orang kampung biasa.

Ibu saya Lily Kamalabai Vincent, sebaliknya pula, dilahirkan dalam sebuah keluarga Nadaar yang berpendidikan Inggeris pada tahun 1910. Ibu bapa dan kesemua adik beradik beliau mempunyai pendidikan Inggeris dan bertutur dalam bahasa itu di rumah dengan selesa, namun begitu bahasa Tamil ada juga digunakan. Mereka berasal dari Panaiyadipatti yang juga berada dalam daerah Tirunelvelli. Gambar-gambar keluarga yang awal jelas menunjukkan cara dan orientasi British mereka, terutamanya dalam cara pemakaian kaum lelakinya. Seperti biasa, sedikit sangat yang diturunkan kepada kami berkenaan dengan keluarga ibu saya kecuali melalui mulut ke mulut dan juga melalui gambar-gambar.



Datuk sebelah ibu ialah S.J Vincent yang bermula dari bawah sehingga dia bersara sebagai ketua stesen di Keretapi India Selatan. Tidak seperti orang India Selatan yang lain beliau berkulit sangat cerah seperti yang dapat dilihat di dalam gambar keluarga di atas. Beliau mengahwini isteri yang pertama dan mempunyai tiga orang anak daripada perkahwinan ini – dua lelaki (J.G Vincent dan J.JVincent) dan seorang perempuan bernama Naomani. Isteri pertama beliau meninggal dunia semasa anak-anak mereka masih kecil disebabkan penyakit. Beliau kemudiannya mengahwini nenek di sebelah ibu saya, Louisa. Louisa ketika itu menjalankan perniagaan perubatan Ayurvedic yang berjaya. Melalui perkahwinan ini, S.J.Vincent memperoleh tiga orang anak lelaki bernama A.M. Vincent, Jaya Vincent, C.B Vincent dan seorang anak perempuan bernama Lily Kamalabai, ibu saya. Apa yang menarik, adik kepada ibu saya dinamakan Christmas Bells kerana beliau dilahirkan pada Hari Krismas yang kemudian dipendekkan menjadi C.B. Vincent. Abang yang kedua, Jaya Vincent meninggal dunia disebabkan sakit ketika masih remaja.


Ada satu cerita yang menarik mengenai datuk saya. Beliau terkenal dengan sikap panas barannya yang saya rasa ada kena mengena dengan genetik kami sebagai keturunan Nadaar. Saya juga bersikap seperti ini sama seperti dua daripada anak-anak saya, dengan rasa betul dan salah yang terlalu diperbesar-besarkan. Kisahnya, beliau menjadi meradang dan marah terhadap beberapa orang budak lelaki di sekolah anak-anaknya. Beliau mendapat tahu yang anak (atau anak-anak) beliau telah dipukul di dalam satu pergaduhan di sekolah. Anak-anak lelaki Vincent yang nakal ini mungkin telah dibelasah oleh budak-budak lelaki yang lebih besar atau oleh satu geng disebabkan kenakalan mereka yang memang sedia dimaklumi oleh orang ramai. Beliau mengambil tongkat dan bergegas ke sekolah. Bertindak seolah-olah seorang hakim, beliau memukul setiap seorang budak yang terlibat dalam pergaduhan dengan anak (atau anak-anaknya). Akibatnya, beliau didakwa di mahkamah. Beliau hadir di mahkamah lengkap berpakaian seragam keretapinya yang semua putih, kelihatan segak, lengkap dengan topinya sekali. Majistret British yang bersidang melepaskan beliau hanya dengan amaran, secara berjenaka mengatakan beliau tidak sampai hati untuk menjatuhkan hukuman memandangkan datuk saya menyerupai King Geore V dengan pakaian lengkap berwarna putih, pakaian seragam keretapinya, lengkap dengan misai melintang persis orang British. Datuk saya juga berkulit cerah.

Sebagai tambahan, sedikit maklumat mengenai pakcik-pakcik sebelah ibu saya disenaraikan di bawah. Kesemua mereka kecuali seorang berhijrah ke sini dan sangat rapat dengan keluarga saya di Tanah Melayu.


1.J.G. Vincent (Dorai Mama – yang bekerja di Basra, Persia- bujang sehingga berusia 60 tahun, kemudian beliau mengahwini makcik Freda dan mempunyai dua orang anak – sepupu-sepupu saya Toni dan Lizzie yang tinggal di KL. Beliau meninggal semasa berusia 65 tahun di Kuantan pada pertengahan 1950-an.

2.J.S. Vincent (bapa saudara yang merupakan seorang pengurus di Uralikal Estate di India dan bapa kepada kakak ipar saya Sarojini yang mengahwini abang saya Monraj. Beliau tidak pernah meninggalkan India.)

3.A.M. Vincent (Raja Mama – bapa saudara yang paling garang dan terkenal dengan sikap panas baran dan perangai yang tidak dijangka – berkahwin dan berpisah tanpa anak daripada isterinya Grace yang berada di Ceylon. Grace tidak mahu mengikutnya ke Tanah Melayu. Beliau bekerja sebagai kerani awam di Jabatan Perang British di Port Dickson pada tahun 1950-an. Beliau mengambil anak angkat bernama Annie)

4.Jaya Vincent – Beliau merupakan bapa saudara yang meninggal dunia semasa usia remajanya, mungkin disebabkan barah.

5.C.B. Vincent (Chellah Mama) – bapa saudara saya yang berkulit cerah dan paling kacak – bekerja di estet-estet getah sebagai konduktor – juga bapa saudara yang berbakat dalam bidang muzik. Beliau boleh bermain 42 alat muzik dan dianugerahkan gelaran professor/doktor kehormat di India semasa usia tuanya. Beliau belajar taktik silap mata dan bermain alat muzik sendiri. Ibu, termasuklah adik beradik saya, sering mengatakan yang saya mengingatkan mereka kepada beliau.


Kedatangan ke Malaya

Bapa menamatkan persekolahan dengan kelulusan Secondary Leaving Certificate (SSLC) dan bekerja sebagai kerani di Basra, Persia (kini Iraq). Bapa saudara sulung saya, J.G Vincent, sudah lama bekerja di sana. Beliau bersikap seperti orang British dan bergaul mesra dengan pegawai-pegawai awam British pada masa itu di Basra, bermain biliard dan tenis dengan mereka dan juga sering menghadiri aktiviti-aktiviti sosial di sana. Di Tanah Melayu pun, orang-orang India yang berpendidikan Inggeris berlagak lebih “British’ daripada orang British sendiri. Tidaklah diketahui sama ada bapa dan bapa saudara saya pernah bertemu di Basra. Ketika bapa pulang untuk cuti pendek, beliau bertemu dengan ibu di Madras semasa melawat datuk dan nenek saya. Menurut ceritanya, nenek saya sangat kagum dengan kesederhanaan dan kealiman pemuda bernama Chelliah ini dan mahu mengahwinkan ibu saya dengannya. Bapa bersetuju dan mereka berkahwin pada tahun 1926. Ibu berusia 16 tahun dan bapa ketika itu berusia 26 tahun. Pakcik saya yang berada di Basra, J.G Vincent tidak diberitahu tentang perkahwinan ibu menyebabkan beliau berasa marah. Beliau berasa kurang senang tentang perkara ini dan mungkin beliau berhak memandangkan beliau anak lelaki sulung di dalam keluarga Vincent.

Bapa menganggur untuk beberapa lama semasa pra zaman Kemelesetan Dunia tetapi beliau tetap bahagia bersama keluarganya di Athangkarai. Ibu tidak biasa dengan kehidupan kampung di sana yang tidak mempunyai kemudahan rumah moden seperti yang biasa dinikmati. Apa-apapun, makanan tetap banyak dan keadaan keluarga Anamuthu Nadaar sangat baik dengan pendapatan keluarga tersebut daripada sumber-sumber pertanian dan mereka tidak sedar akan keadaan ekonomi global pada masa itu. Kakak sulung Mabel Chandra dan abang saya Samuel Monraj dilahirkan sekitar waktu ini iaitu pada 1928 dan 1930. Ibu tidak dapat membiasakan diri dengan kehidupann di Athangkarai dan akhirnya pulang semula untuk tinggal dengan ibu bapanya di Valipuram di mana datuk dan nenek saya tinggal selepas datuk bersara daripada bekerja di stesen keretapi.

Bapa berhijrah ke Tanah Melayu pada masa yang tidak sesuai sekitar 1926. Pada ketika itu keadaan ekonomi di seluruh dunia mengalami kemelesetan. Jangka masa ini dikenali sebagai zaman kemelesetan memandangkan harga getah, sumber utama pendapatan Tanah Melayu pada masa itu, jatuh merudum. Beliau bekerja di Port Swettenham (kini Pelabuhan Klang) untuk sementara waktu kemudian mendapat pekerjaan sebagai seorang kerani di sebuah estet di Kepong. Tidak lama kemudian, ibu mengikutnya ke Tanah Melayu kemudian mengandungkan kakak kedua saya Mary Rani di Tanah Melayu. Ibu kembali ke India dan melahirkan Mary Rani di sana pada tahun 1937. Kemudian, ibu membawa kesemua anaknya ke Tanah Melayu pada tahun yang sama ketika Rani hanya berusia enam bulan menaiki S.S. Rajula yang merupakan kapal stim yang berulang-alik di Teluk Bengal ke Tanah Melayu. Saya pernah menaiki kapal tersebut pada tahun 1956.

Kakak saya Chandra dan abang saya Monraj tinggal bersama-sama datuk dan nenek dan pakcik-pakcik sebelah ibu di India untuk beberapa waktu sejak mereka sampai di Athangkarai. Datuk dan nenek serta dua orang bapa saudara saya – yang sulung bernama J.J Vincent (pakcik yang bekerja di Basra) dan yang paling muda dan kacak Christmas Bells Vincent, juga datang ke Tanah Melayu selepas itu. Pada tahun 1941, seorang lagi bapa saudara bernama A.M. Vincent yang saya panggil Rajah Mama datang untuk melawat sahaja tetapi belaiu tidak boleh pulang kerana berlakunya Perang Pasifik dan Tanah Melayu dijajah oleh Jepun. Sekitar waktu ini, bapa mendapat pekerjaan sebagai Ketua Kerani di Estet Nordanal di Panchor, Muar, Johor.

Satu fakta menarik, peladang-peladang awal British memberikan nama-nama yang menarik untuk ladang-ladang getah (estet) di Tanah Melayu. Kadang kala nama-nama estet tersebut merupakan nama-nama bandar tempatan di situ seperti Estet Bukit Dinding, Estet Pagoh atau Estet Lenga. Kerap kali juga estet-estet tersebut dinamakan mengikut nama-nama tempat asal mereka di United Kingdom. Begitulah kisahnya dengan sebuah estet berdekatan dengan Estet Nordanal yang dinamakan Estet Lanadron (sehingga kini), yang dinamakan bersempena nama sebuah pekan kecil di England. Lanadron apabila dieja terbalik ialah Estet Nordanal. Begitulah kepelikan pada masa itu. Estet Nordanal di mana saya membesar dimiliki oleh Boustead & Co. yang juga memiliki Estet Lanadron yang terletak di seberang sungai.

Tahun-tahun Penjajahan Jepun

Apabila British berundur ke Singapura dan tentera-tentera Jepun mara dari Kota Bahru, tempat mereka berlabuh, pengurus berbangsa British Estet Nordanal telah menyerahkan kesemua kunci dan barang-barang penting kepada bapa sebelum dia melarikan diri ke Singapura. Bapa perlu memegang kunci-kunci tersebut dan menjaga pengurusan estet sehingga dia kembali. Pada ketika itu tiada seorang pun percaya yang orang Jepun akan berada lama di Tanah Melayu selepas mengalahkan British. Orang ramai percaya yang tentera British yang perkasa itu hanya perlu mengumpul kekuatan mereka semula dan mengusir Jepun dari Tanah Melayu. Bapa saya juga mempunyai kepercayaan yang sama.

Namun begitu, tidak semua orang mempunyai pendapat yang sama. Salah seorang daripadanya adalah pemandu berbangsa Melayu kepada pengurus estet tersebut yang meminta kunci kereta Austin yang mahu digunakan sendiri daripada bapa saya. Dia mungkin menganggap yang bapa mengarut apabila beliau enggan memberikan kunci kereta itu kepadanya. Bapa memberitahu lelaki tersebut tentang kepercayaan yang diberikan kepadanya yang tidak akan dikhianati. Pemandu tersebut bersedia untuk menyelesaikan perkara tersebut jika bapa mahu menggunakan kereta itu sendiri. Namun, selepas menyedari perkara sebaliknya, pemandu tersebut terus berdegil sehingga sanggup mengeluarkan sebuah senapang patah untuk menembak bapa namun dia diheret dari situ oleh beberapa orang buruh Tamil atau kuli. Walaubagaimanapun, lelaki itu telah melepaskan tembakan mengenai jari manis tangan sebelah kiri bapa. Pemandu itu dibelasah dan dibawa dari situ oleh buruh-buruh yang sedang marah terutamanya mereka yang berasal daripada satu kasta Tamil yang sangat garang dan sangat tahan lasak yang dipanggil Koravan yang datang bersenjatakan lastik.

Pada masa yang sama, harapan bahawa British akan kembali semakin tipis dan kes kecurian mula berlaku. Orang ramai mula melarikan barang-barang daripada banglo-banglo pengurus British dan stor-stor yang menyimpan beras dan barang-barang lain disimpan telah dipecah masuk. Keadaan kucar-kacir ini berlarutan sehinggalah orang-orang Jepun tiba dan undang-undang dikuatkuasakan serta merta oleh seorang pengurus Jepun di Estet Nordanal. Nama beliau adalah Encik Asohan dan bapa menyerahkan semua kunci kepadanya.

Ada satu lagi cerita menarik mengenai Rajah Mama semasa pendudukan Jepun. Bapa saudara saya yang begitu memuja Inggeris ini mencacah lengannya dengan Union Jack (bendera Britain) dan lambang British. Beliau bekerja sebagai kerani d sebuah estet di Tanjung Malim. Beliau dibuli apabila orang-orang Jepun mengetahui tentang tatu di kedua-dua lengannya. Tatu-tatu tersebut dilihat sebagai kesetiaan yang mengikat (dan membutakan) kepada British. Beliau nyaris mati dibelasah. Campurtangan Chellah Mama yang menyelamatkan beliau. Chellah Mama seorang yang suka berkawan dan mudah mesra dan mempunyai beberapa orang kawan dan orang hubungan dalam kalangan pegawai Jepun dan juga polis.

The Malayan People’s Anti Japanese Army (MPAJA) (Tentera Anti Jepun Penduduk Tanah Melayu) telah ditubuhkan dan kebanyakannya disertai oleh orang Cina dan kebanyakan mereka berada di ladang/estet getah yang meminggiri hutan-hutan di seluruh Tanah Melayu. Jumlah mereka banyak di hutan-hutan berdekatan Panchor, Bukit Kepong, Pagoh dan Lenga. Orang Jepun dan Cina membenci antara satu sama lain dan berdendam sesama mereka akibat perang-perang yang meletus di antara kedua-dua bangsa ini di Tanah besar China. MPAJA beroperasi dari bukit-bukau dan gunung-ganang untuk mengacau orang-orang Jepun. Mereka menyusup masuk ke dalam estet-estet untuk mencari makanan dan keperluan-keperluan lain tetapi umumnya tidak menganggu orang-orang di situ kecuali sekali sekala apabila ada yang mereka syaki bersekongkol dengan Jepun. Orang-orang ini akan mereka cari dan bunuh. Ada sekali, ibu dan bapa pergi ke Estet Serom dan mereka tidak dapat pulang akibat perintah berkurung yang dikuatkuasakan secara tiba-tiba. Ini menyebabkan saya dan adik beradik yang lain “terkandas” di Estet Nordanal. Anggota-anggota MPAJA yang melawat estet kami meninggalkan sedikit beras dan catuan makanan untuk anak-anak Chelliah apabila mengetahui keadaan kami. Begitulah pengaruh rasa hormat yang diberikan kepada bapa saya yang dikenali sebagai seorang yang mudah, jujur dan berterus-terang. Pengurus berbangsa Jepun itu menghantar bapa untuk menjadi Ketua Kerani di Estet Serom berhampiran Tangkak untuk sementara waktu. Semasa tahun-tahun penuh kebimbangan inilah saya dilahirkan paa 28 Januari 1944 di Estet Serom di Tangkak.

Kemudian bapa kembali semula ke Estet Nordanal. Apabila British kembali mereka dialu-alukan sebagai penyelamat oleh para penduduk yang telah melalui pelbagai penderitaan fizikal, mental dan psikologi selama empat tahun yang boleh dianggap sebagai “masa-masa paling buruk” seperti yang dikatakan oleh Dickens untuk menggambarkan zaman Revolusi Perancis. Dengan pantas keamanan awam dipulihkan kembali oleh Pentadbiran Tentera British atau BMA yang melegakan semua pihak. Orang ramai sangat gembira melihat tentera British dan tentera-tentera ini mencampakkan makanan dalam tin, rokok dan coklat Inggeris daripada trak-trak mereka kepada orang-orang yang miskin ini. British dialu-alukan semula sebagai penyelamat bertamadun untuk orang-orang Tanah Melayu.

British juga memberikan layanan yang adil dan berperikemanusiaan kepada orang Jepun sebagai tawanan perang mereka selaras dengan Persidangan Geneva 1929. Kesopanan dan kemuliaan yang ditunjukkan oleh pegawai-pegawai Kolonial British ini sangat menarik hati orang-orang Tanah Melayu termasuklah ibu bapa saya. Mereka telah menyaksikan bagaimana teruknya Jepun melayan orang-orang awam British, apa lagi tentera-tentera mereka. Pada hari-hari terakhir hidup beliau pada tahun 1980-an, ibu berpendapat yang British telah memberikan “bunga kepada kera” sebagai merujuk kepada kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu. Itulah tanda kasih sayang yang tiada bandingannya kepada British oleh orang-orang Tanah Melayu yang telah melalui masa-masa yang sukar. Ramai yang sudah tiada. Begitulah intipati latarbelakang keluarga saya semasa saya dilahirkan.