Sri Lankan Malays, a fast vanishing community
Somewhere in the 17th century Indonesia was invaded by the Dutch, vast areas were captured but many regions remained with the indigenous population who fought back. Some chieftains of such regions were captured and banished to faraway countries like Ceylon, South Africa and Surinam. Many Indonesian Malays also joined Dutch forces as soldiers or workers who were sent to these countries. Exactly why or how my own forefathers came to this country called Ceylon at that time, unfortunately, is not traceable.
Soon my community integrated with the rest of the population with ease, became part of the majority Sinhala and Tamil communities, took part in their struggles for independence from the Dutch and then British occupation, while also serving as soldiers, fire-fighters, plantation supervisors, accountants, teach- ers and musicians. They were great sportsmen who often represented even national teams in soccer and rugby. Even during the three decades of separatist war, my community sacrificed the lives of no less than 40 gallant soldiers in officer ranks for the freedom of this country.
Despite all positive contributions to Sri Lanka, today my community has not been recognized politically, so much so that we don’t have even a single representative in the country’s Parliament, not even in any local government body in any part of Sri Lanka or anyone holding prominent offices in the higher rungs in the corridors of power, even though there are many well qualified and able people in my community
We don’t have even a single Malay school or institution for higher learning, no teachers, no books or even community centres where our language and culture could be dis- cussed and revived. Our children attend national schools mostly studying Sinhala, the language which gradually replaced my own mothertongue Malay at home. We have forgotten our culture, language and history. Due to poverty and lack of opportunity a large number of our children dropped out from school unable to pursue higher education. Many educated young men migrated, leaving others without a strong leadership or guidance to the less fortunate.
A few individuals and organisations struggled to keep us afloat. One of them B.D.K. Saldin wrote books dedicated to my language and culture and even published a Malay Dictionary. An organization called the Conference of Sri Lankan Malays (COSLAM) conducts Malay language classes to try and revive our language. Their efforts meet with limited success due to lack of interest among my community or due to other reasons like their day to day struggle for survival.
Java Lane, a historical Malay neighbourhood in the heart of Colombo has been removed completely from the map when the lands in the area were taken over by the government for a hotel project and no Malay was able to raise any protests. (The Java Lane Soccer team was one of the best in Colombo)
Will other names such as Malay Street, T.B. Jayah Street, Justice Akbar Street, Jawatte, Jaela and other historical names too vanish in time to come?
While my ancestors in Indonesia and Malaysia are making giant strides in social and economic development and prosperity, my tiny community in Sri Lanka is on the brink of virtual extinction.
Anver Kamiss Colombo 5