The pseudo-theory on origins of the Malay race Lilianne Fan

D EC EMBE R 25, 2013

Anthropological theory is rarely the subject o ne!s hea"lines# $n Malaysia, ho!e%er, o%er the past se%eral &onths, a ne! 'theory( o the racial origins o 'bangsa Melayu( )Malay race* has caught the attention o the &e"ia an" generate" reactions ro& the public# +o&e ha%e e&brace" these theories uncritically as brea,throughs in anthropological an" scienti ic research !hile others ha%e con"e&ne" the& as being "o!nright racist# -hese reactions, largely e.presse" through social &e"ia, ha%e yet, ho!e%er, to lea" to a critical scholarly an" public "ebate# +uch a "ebate shoul" interrogate not just the content o the theory itsel , but also the %ery persistence o the concept o 'race( in Malaysian public li e# /hy "oes 'race(, an out"ate" category in so &any parts o the !orl", still &atter so &uch in Malaysia0 An" !hat "oes the rise in research on racial origins an" authenticity actually re%eal0 Southbound invasions and civilisational envy -he 'theory( sur ace" publically on +epte&ber 21, !hen 2ahara +ulai&an, a so3calle" historian a iliate" !ith the MalaysianArchaeological Association, ca&e un"er the &e"ia spotlight or her no!3in a&ous 4a& -ien lecture# $n her presentation, 2ahara in%enti%ely e.ten"e" the concept o 54a& -ien5, a ter& long3 use" to re er to the &igration ro& the Re" Ri%er Delta to the Me,ong Delta that occurre" bet!een the 11th an" 11th century, to present an argu&ent that the Malay race )a category in !hich she inclu"e" Mons, 6h&ers an" Cha&s* has or thousan"s o years been the target o a "eliberate southboun" in%asion ro& the 4orthern peoples )na&ely, the Chinese* !ho ha%e been allege"ly jealous o the superiority o Malay ci%ilisation an" inno%ation# 2ahara(s 'research in"ings( ca&e ro& a research project that see,s to trace the origins o the Malay race# Datu, +eri Moh" Ali Rusta&, or&er Chie Minister o Malacca an" presi"ent o the state3lin,e" organisation Dunia Melayu Dunia $sla&

)Malay3$sla&ic /orl"* announce" that the project, !hich also in%ol%es pro essors ro& 7ni%ersiti 6ebangsaan Malaysia an" the 7ni%ersity o Malaya, apparently a ter so&e 20 years o 'scienti ic( research, has generate" 'groun"3brea,ing( ne! in"ings that trace the origins o the Malay race all the !ay to the Mi""le East#

Neither scientific nor anthropological research seem to have been taken seriously in the development of Malaysias latest racial origin theory. While this pseudo-theory was presented as an important contribution to scholarship, it bears, alas, little trace of academic rigour.
$n late 4o%e&ber, a %i"eo sho!ing 2ahara e.poun"ing the in"ings o the ne! research at a se&inar began circulating on 8ou-ube# $n her intro"uction, she states that the Malay race 9is the &ost3en%ie" race9, en%ie", in"ee", 9by the entire !orl"9# +he then goes on to "escribe the prehistoric nature an" !i"e3sprea" e.istence o the 5Malay race5, a label con%eniently applie" to all Austronesian linguistic populations, ro& Ma"agascar to the :aci ic# -he story beco&es &ore co&ple., ho!e%er, as a category o 5pure Malays5 )'Melayu -ulen(* e&erges ro& the !i"er Malay stoc, !ith the &igration o the lineage o Cyrus the ;reat )2ul,arnain yang Agung* !hose ancestry can apparently be trace" "irectly to :rophet Abraha&# /hile this pseu"o3theory !as presente" as an i&portant contribution to 'scholarship(, it bears, alas, little trace o aca"e&ic rigour# Contra"ictory theories are clu&sily lu&pe" together as 'e%i"ence( to support three principal clai&s<that the 'Malay race( is ancient, populous an" superior= that the Abraha&ic religions )na&ely, $sla&* are not e.ternal in luences but an originary structure o 'Malayness(= an" that the greatness o the 'Malay race( has resulte" in jealousy ro& oreigners, Chinese in%asions, colonialis&, an" on3 going plots to !ea,en an" "estroy Malay ci%ilisation# $n"ee", the theory blatantly ignore "eca"es o soun" scienti ic an" anthropological research on hu&an %ariation an" "i%ersity that in"icate that the !hole category o 'race( as a classi ier o hu&an "i erence is ulti&ately a pro"uct o philosophical, political an" colonial history, not, as it is still assu&e" in so&e circles, o real biological %ariation#

Race, nativism, and origin myths -he i"ea o a Malay race !as irst propose" by the ;er&an anato&ist an" anthropologist, >ohann ?rie"rich Blu&enbach, !ho inclu"e" 'Malay( in the 1@A5 ta.ono&y o the 5 &ajor races in his highly3in luential but long3"enounce" syste& o racial classi ication# -he concept !as rein orce" an" elaborate" by British colonial a"&inistrators o the li,es o +ir -ho&as +ta& or" Ra les an" +ir ?ran, +!ettenha&, through their highly in luential !ritings, an" !as inscribe" as a legal category !hen the 11A1 +traits +ettle&ents census replace" the B1 ethnicities registere" in the pre%ious census into si. &ajor racial categoriesC Europeans, A&ericans, Malays an" Dther 4ati%es o the Archipelago, Chinese, -a&ils an" other $n"ians, an" Dther Races# -o"ay, ho!e%er, the typology o 'race( is regar"e" as out3o 3"ate in &ost parts o the !orl"# -his is not only because it has co&e to be consi"ere" increasingly politically3 incorrect in a post3colonial !orl", but also because it is no! recognise" that there is, in act, no scienti ic e%i"ence that race base" on una&biguous groupings !ith %isible physical traits )s,in3colour, hair te.ture, bone structure, etc#* is a natural category at all# Dn the contrary, recent genetic research, inclu"ing that con"ucte" by the Eu&an ;eno&e :roject, has sho!n that the concept o 'race( as a biological reality conceals the act that hu&an beings are AA#AF genetically i"entical, an" that ABF o physical %ariation actually ta,es place !ithin so3calle" racial groups# $n the social sciences, the "iscipline o anthropology has co&e a long !ay ro& its o!n colonial roots an" the stu"y o 'nati%e tribes( an" is no! at the ore ront o critiGuing race an" situating it in its historic conte.t as a socially3constructe" an" politically3salient concept# $n 1AA1 the A&erican Anthropological Association issue" a '+tate&ent on Race(, !hich "eclare"C HRace### e%ol%e" as a !orl"%ie!, a bo"y o preju"g&ents that "istorts our i"eas about hu&an "i erences an" group beha%ior# Racial belie s constitute &yths about the "i%ersity in the hu&an species an" about the abilities an" beha%ior o people ho&ogeniIe" into 'racial( categories# -he &yths use" beha%ior an" physical eatures together in the public &in", i&pe"ing our co&prehension o both biological %ariations an" cultural beha%ior, i&plying that both are genetically "eter&ine"J +cientists to"ay

in" that reliance on such ol, belie s about hu&an "i erences in research has le" to countless errors#K But neither scienti ic nor anthropological research see& to ha%e been ta,en seriously in the "e%elop&ent o Malaysia(s latest racial origin theory# $n place o cre"ible e%i"ence an" rigorous aca"e&ic analysis, !hat the so3calle" theory "oes possess are the !or,ings o an origin &yth, !ith its &eta3narrati%es o the genealogical purity o a people !ho share a single traceable point o origin, both biologically an" culturally# -he subte.t o the narrati%e is a teleological &essage o a pre3"estine" return to the original state o glory, but one that !ill only be possible !ith a conscious stri%ing to protect the 'nati%e race( ro& e.ternal threats# The rise of folk-scholarship and decline of academic integrity $n 1A11, reno!ne" Ear%ar" e%olutionary biologist +tephen >ay ;oul" publishe" his no!3 classic boo, -he Mis&easure o Man, critiGuing scienti ic racis& an" the !ays in !hich aca"e&ics &anipulate" research to con or& to particular i"eological agen"as, both consciously an" unconsciously# -hese are lessons !orth learning in Malaysia# $ anything, !hat the ne! 'Malay race( theory re%eale" is the rise o a ne! class o ol,3scholars !ho are rea"y to "eploy racialise" historiographies in the ser%ice o a political hege&ony that "epen"s upon the rein orce&ent o racial "i erence an" pri%ileges# $n"ee", it re%eals the "egree to !hich aca"e&ic institutions are &oti%ate" by particular political i"eologies an" the rea"iness to put research so thoroughly at the ser%ice o politics# Dne nee" only e.a&ine the institutional conte.ts !ithin !hich the theories !ere generate" to un"erstan" that they !ere both &ore political than aca"e&ic# '4a& -ien( !as presente" at a sy&posiu& entitle" 'Malay Lea"ership CrisisC ?acing the ?oreign Agen"a(, "iscussing ,ey 'threats( to Malays )i"enti ie" as the Chinese in%asion, +hia teachings, ree tra"e agree&ents, A&ericanisation an" Christianisation*# $n a""ition, the close political lin,s o &any o the uni%ersity institutions in%ol%e" in raceMci%ilisational research to 7M4D co&pro&ise their aca"e&ic cre"ibility# -he issue is not one that is li&ite" to the ruling coalition, as the e.act sa&e concerns !oul" apply to the opposition an" any lin,s they &ay ha%e !ith aca"e&ia# -he issue here is the subsu&ing o aca"e&ic ree"o& an" integrity to political agen"as, !hich is

the biggest threat to the %ery principles o objecti%ity, neutrality an" in"epen"ence on !hich aca"e&ia is oun"e"# -his in itsel shoul" be o concern to the Malaysian public, !ho, regar"less o political %ie!s or a iliation, are entitle" to e.pect that scholarship an" aca"e&ic institutions are i&partial, cre"ible an" in"epen"ent ro& political in luence# $n a country as "i%erse an" co&ple. as Malaysia !e nee" to in" !ays o &o%ing beyon" the proble&atic "iscourse o race that re"uces people to one3"i&ensional racialise" caricatures an" orecloses the e&ergence o a ci%ic sensibility an" nationalis& that is base" on eGuality, respect or "i%ersity o all ,in"s33 cultural, socio3econo&ic, intellectual an" e%en political# :erhaps !hat is nee"e" is a &uch &ore syste&atic public critiGue o race3thin,ing, its intellectual genealogy, its political bene iciaries, an" the institutions that pro"uce the po!erM,no!le"ge that &aintain the hege&ony o racial "iscourse# Anthropology, precisely because o its rec,oning !ith its o!n colonial an" racialise" history, has a lot to o er in the !ay o contributing to that critiGue, an", possibly, in in"ing !ays o &o%ing beyon" it# 3 Dece&ber 25, 2013# * Lilianne Fan is an anthropologist and independent researcher on religion, race, nativism and political violence in Southeast Asia.