I BELONG TO A VANISHING COMMUNITY called Sri Lankan Malay!

Somewhere in the 17th century, Indonesia was invaded by the Dutch, vast areas captured and many regions remained with the indigenous population, some of them fought back. Some chieftains of such regions were captured and banished to far-away 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 now known as Sri Lanka, 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 Dutch and then British occupation, while also serving as soldiers, fire-fighters, plantation supervisors, accountants, teachers and musicians. They were great sportsmen often represented even national teams in fields such as soccer, cricket and rugby. Even during the three decades of separatist war, my community sacrificed no less than forty gallant soldiers in officer ranks with their lives for freedom of this country.

Dr. T.B. Jayah (1890-1960) A Malay educationalist, politician, diplomat and Muslim community leader. He started his career as a school teacher and retired after serving 27 years as the principal of Zahira College, Colombo. He emerged as a leader of the Muslim community of the country. He entered the politics and became a prominent figure in pre-independence politics of Sri Lanka. His thinking was that Muslims were an integral part of Sri Lankan nation and his first and original concern was the education of Muslims.

In 1944 he spoke for three hours on the Soulbury Report and White Paper of the UK government to pave way for full independence. It was his historic speech that accelerated attainment of independence to the country and become a UNITARY STATE.

Justice M.T. Akbar - Another prominent Malay personality of Sri Lanka!

One of the street names I have always found intriguing in the heart of Colombo is Justice Akbar Mawatha, due to the reason it is located in Slave Island, believed to be one of the first Malay settlements in Sri Lanka. I found this name “Akbar” appearing in yet another place while passing through Peradeniya University area, which houses a couple of majestic buildings named Akbar Hall and New Akbar Hall. Digging through the name, I found it pointed to one of the greatest personalities in Sri Lanka’s pre-Independence history, named Maas Thajoon Akbar.

Akbar a Malay, was the first Muslim to adorn the Supreme Court Bench. He was also the first Ceylon Muslim to be raised to the status of King's Counsel. At the time of his retirement he was the senior-most Puisne Justice. Akbar made outstanding contributions towards the development of Muslim Law in Sri Lanka. He played a leading role in framing new law on the subject of the Muslim Law of Inheritance and Law of Wakf. He was also responsible for enabling Muslim Public Officers who had hitherto been debarred to come within the provisions of the Widows and Orphans Pension Fund. Akbar, realizing the educational backwardness of the Muslims served as the founder Secretary of the Ceylon Moslem Educational Society Ltd for a number of years and succeeded in establishing the Hussainiya Boys' School and the Fathima Girls' School which fulfilled and essential service in a populous Muslim area of Colombo. He was also instrumental in building the Jawatte Mosque within the Jawatte Burial Grounds.

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 hold prominent offices in the higher rungs of 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 centers where our language and culture could be discussed and revived. Our children attend national schools mostly studying Sinhala, the language which gradually replaced my own mother-tongue Malay at homes. We forgot our culture, language and history. Due to poverty and lack of opportunity a large number of our children dropped out 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 organizations 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. The organization Conference of Sri Lankan Malays (COSLAM) conducts Malay language classes to try and revive my language which is being forgotten in most Malay households. Their efforts meet with limited success due to lack of interest among my community or due to other reasons like Malays’ day to day struggle for survival.

JAVA LANE a historical Malay neighborhood in the heart of Colombo has been removed completely from the map when the lands in the area were taken over by the earlier government for a hotel project and no Malay was able to raise any protest.
(Java Lane Soccer team was one of the best in Colombo)

Will other names such as Malay Street, T.B. Jayah Mawatha, , Justice Akbar Mawatha, 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 & economic development and prosperity my tiny community in Sri Lanka is in the brink of virtual extinction. According to 2001 census we numbered more than 50,000 and how come it dropped to 44,000 ten years later? I am not sure if the sharp drop is due to census lapses, Malays dwindling in number due to marriages outside the community, migration or some other reason which successive governments since Independence are not bothered about. Who or what is going to stop my great community from completely vanishing is the million dollar question!