What Used To Belong To Me

 Designs on various, current and former parts of the Malaysian Federation seem to not let up.

When the Malaysian Federation was formed in 1963, the Republic of Indonesia under Suharto threatened the formatoom of the Federation, triggering a Confrontation crisis across the Malacca Straits.

Thailand used to have sovereignty over Trenggganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis.
The colonial British authorities referred to them as part of the Unfederated Malay States ( Johore State being the other member).

Penang State's formation was based on some agreement between colonial British Captain Francis Light and the then Kedah Sultan in 1786.  The Pearl of the Orient was part of the Sultanate of Kedah when it was relatively undeveloped on the arrival of the British sailing ships ( I am still curious as to why the Portuguese and Dutch did not venture much into Penang Island with impact).

The Kedah Sultanate paid homage to Bangkok royalty then as expressed in the sending of the iconic Bunga Mas to Thai King Rama I.  The tradititional vibes of Thai culture and practices can be observed especially in Kedah, which has a Bujang Valley full of important Buddhist archeological troves from before the arrival of Islam.   South east Asia was basically under significant religious, language, political and traditional influence from India.

Eastward across the South China Sea from from the peninsular,  the decision for Sabah and Sarawak to join the Federation of Malaysia was made by an inner circle of individuals chosen by the departing British  - no public referendum was held.

Large portions of Sabah and Sarawak were ruled by the Brunei Sultanate, which had conflicts with the Sulu Sultanate.  People from Mindanao historically have ties with Sabah.  The significance of the influence of both the Sulu and Brunei Sultanates has often been undermentioned in the annals of the island of Borneo, now shared territorially amongst Indonesia, Malaysia and the compact but oil rich state of Brunei.

The Phllippines today is a nation with a Malay cultural basis, transformed by 400 years of Spanish Catholicism, a hundred years or so of American colonialism and still having millions of Muslims residing in its southern islands.   Sulu is part of this flank of the Filipino identity.

Back on the Malay Peninsular, Malacca was a city state founded by a Hindu prince and who had converted to Islam by the time the colonial Portuguese arrived.   The port city has historically welcomed trade, migrants, religions, finance and diversity.  Its significant role in south east Asia was overtaken by the burgeoning ports of Penang and Singapore.  Together the colonial British grouped them up as the British Straits Settlements ( together with the much forgotten district of Dindings in southerm Perak).

Sir Stamford Raffles managed in 1819 to get the Johor Sultanate to part with Singapore after the former realised the strategic potential of the island's location at the nexus between the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.  Contemporary Republic of Singapore governments are very emphatic in maintaining and developing strong relationships with the Johor Sultanate.

Singapore broke away from the Malaysian Federation after only two years.  Its high economic stature in standard of living, growth, financial prowess, governance reputation and technological investment surpasses many other nations larger in land size than her.  The Singapore government is ever conscious of her critical role in geopolitics and dependence on imports.   Will Johor want to reclaim Singapore?  

Will Sulu want to have Sabah back?
Will Penang revert as Kedah territory?
Will the northern Malay States want to rejoin the southern Thai Malay states?

Politics is an ever changing game.   Boundaries can be as fluid and pliable as what those in power want them to be.
Nations control parts which can be home to cultures and religions different from their controlling political centre.

The historical basis of which present countries have been formed can be flagged to the side in the game of acquiring resources, opportunities and power.  

#yongkevthoughts

Return to Malacca

Malacca offers a kaleidoscope of colours, tastes and images.  Sitting on one of the world's most important trade and travel routes, this city state has much to reveal below its current status. Its rather small physical configuration belies the vast amount of riches and political power that it once held sway over. You can catch glimpses of traditional houses built on stilts in the

Malacca Malay style,  the Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier and the Melaka tree. You feel the past grandeur of China Hill and suggestions of connections to China's Ming Dynasty.  Control of Malacca meant great influence in South-east Asia.  The Eurasian iconic dish Devil's Curry came from Malacca.  The Cheng Hoon Teng and St Paul's Church attest to racial and social harmony long before its modern transformations.  Above, my favourite Malaysian desert of cendol and below, the otak-otak, a fish-based savoury mousse often seen wrapped in banana leaves before being steamed.

We  had a most interesting encounter with durians (above), sitting on a pavement table, savouring the freshly opened delights, in this case, bitter-tinged creamy custard fruit surrounding small seeds.

I could not resist capturing an image of the ice shaving machine (above) along one of the narrow side streets in Malacca. The petite bowls are used to serve the ice kacang, a concoction of a dessert incorporating various bite sized ingredients heaped with syrup on an ice cone.  There are many delightful discoveries for the eye and palate as you take the time to explore hidden and open alleys and streets - and these include the fast depleting supply of furniture and porcelain antiques, the fast emerging display of modern plastic junk and the variety of food and drinks in between.

The highlight of our day was sampling the cendol, a sweet based dessert using a palm sugar that bears the name of the city itself - Gula Melaka. I was very pleased that we had chosen the version served at A Formosa along Jonkers Street. Cendol refers to the slippery green coloured bits of mung bean included in the refreshing summer time dessert which comes served with ice shavings, syrup and jelly bits. (image above)

You can take home small sachets of the organic sugar (picture below), which is utilised extensively in Straits Chinese, Malay and Indonesian cooking, especially for cakes, snacks and drinks. In the foreground of the picture below are bottles of dark soy sauce, important as condiments to accompany Hainan chicken rice.  Malacca's historic quarter is great for walking tours, where, once you are hungry, you can encounter good versions of curry mee, Taiwan sweets, Straits Chinese or Nyonya cakes (like ondeh-ondeh), southern Chinese baked biscuits  (usually with almonds and bean paste as ingredients) , oyster egg omelettes, satay celup and tamarind-infused savoury dishes.  We had a local coffee brew before we left Malacca - there was even another shop offering the best coffee mixes from each of the 13 states in Malaysia.  I did not get to the Portuguese Village to sample influences from Goa, Portugal and Malaysia.

Capitol Satay reputedly offers consistently tasty satay celup, which is a form of steamboat satay (satay here being meat skewers grilled over charcoal).  Ondeh ondeh is a Malay term for bite-sized green coloured balls coated with coconut shavings - the sweetness inside melts in your mouth due to its essential ingredients of Gula Melaka and pandanus flavours.

We spotted an Indian lady literally feeding pigeons in a Malaccasque version of the "Feed The Birds" scene straight out of the musical Mary Poppins. (image above)   This was in the city centre, within walking distance from Christchurch and Stadhuys complex, the Dutch built town square with all surrounding buildings now painted in deep red. I noticed that the maroon shades had faded since my last visit to Malacca. I understand that it was not the Dutch administration that offered this red colouring, but as life is more strange than fiction, the colours were decided from a misplaced perception of a British officer who truly believed that all Dutch buildings had to be traditionally in this colour. Did this well meaning chap visit Holland before, that I am not aware.

A Formosa provided the venue for lunch.  We had the chicken rice balls accompanied by roast chicken cuts, pickled vegetables, the otak-otak and cendol dessert. I was amazed that the chicken rice balls were no bigger in size than typical fish balls in Hong Kong.  Those served at the coffee shop near Sim Lim Square in Singapore were more small bowl sized.  There was a roaring stream of lunchers at this corner shop - I was not sure if the school holidays had anything to do with the crowd, or perhaps there was not much competition along Jonkers Street for this type of food.  A Formosa of course is the Portuguese name for the landmark fort deemed "beautiful", built during the time of Vasco Da Gama's voyages around the world in the first spurts of European adventurism, international trading and colonialism.

Would I return? Malacca has always captured my historical, architectural and cultural passion, being one of the fusion city states taking advantage of strategy and location and with traditions that have inspired many generations of travellers, wayfarers and adventurers. Today the city looks insipid, many shades below its past glory but you never know of its future. Located only around 148 km from the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, on the highway back, I mused as to why it was not chosen as the political and social capital of the emerging nation of Malaysia, after the British colonials left.   Despite UNESCO recognition and related funding, its heritage area, in the worst criticism, remains a maze of narrow alleys with unsophisticated retail, unrenovated facades and continued decay. There has to be more in store for Malacca after several hundred years of capturing the imagination and drive of men and women from Amsterdam to Fujian.  To make an impact on the heart of visitors and residents, it has to offer more than stereo-equipped trishaws, plastic river rides and bazaar offerings.   I saw the harbour on the calm straits - and thought of those individuals from the past who came from far and near to build the legend and reality of Malacca.