Autobiography & Biography in Malay Historical Studies 9789814380126

Table of contents :
PREFACE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY & BIOGRAPHY IN MALAY HISTORICAL STUDIES
NOTES

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AUTOBIOGRJJ'HY & BIOGR.'.PHY IN HI STOR I C /~

Lt'.L·~y

STUDIES

Will iam R. Roff

Occo .sionc.l P o.pcr No . 13

Inst itute of Sout heas t Asi an Stud i es Sing apor e Pric e :

1 2. 00

PREFACE

An interesting trend has developed in the last few years in the field of Malay historical writingo Scholars, both local and foreign, using Malay as a major tool in their research, have turned away from the colonialrecord to indigenous sources in order to write a more authentic history of the Malay peoples and institutions. Among the leaders, has been Professor William R. Roff, Department of History, Columbia University and at present, a Visiting Fellow of the Institute. He did pioneering work a few years ago with his study of the origins of Malay Nationalism. Since then, he has continued to search and study local sources in his effort to add to the growing body of literature on the Malays.

When Professor Roff arrived in Singapore to take up his Visiting Fellowship, the Institute invited him to prepare a paper and give a seminar on a topic of his choice. On March 24, 1972, he complied with that request. His recarks found an interested and lively response from the invited participants. Because of the freshness of the topic and the hope that others will be stimulated to look and use biography and autobiography in their research and writings, the Institute takes pleasure in publishing this paper. Professor Roff wishes to apologize for the fact that, absent from his notes and library, he has been unable to verify all the citations.

Professor Josef Silverstein Director May 12, 1972

AUTOBIOGRAPHY & BIOGRAPHY IN MALAY HidTORIC.AL STUDIES by William R. Roff It is notorio us that there is a relativ e (some would say a serious ) absence of life histori es -- autobio graphic al or biograp hical -- in mcny Southea st Asian societi es. While I do not propose to discuss any presume d theore tical reasons for this -- a realm of specula tion fosdnat ing and no doubt rewardi ng but for my present pragma tic purpose s unprof itable one might remark that the great outpour ing of self-re velatio n, self-ex culpati on, and ego-ori ented social commen tary that charac terizes sevente enth century diarist s or eightee nth century politic ians in England , contemp orary philo so phes in France, or present -day public figures in America , perhaps rests in part upon a strong sense of individ uation that doubtle ss has cultura l roots, is cultura lly formed in contrad istinct ion to the literar y genres of other societi es in which, for one reason or another , the importa nce of the individ ual is subsume d within that of the commun ity, or in which the individ ual must of necess ityt it can be argued, be held to embody the virtues (or vices) of the society as a whole. For the present-d~ histori an, howeve r, (and indeed the sociolo gist, for much sociolo gy, explici tly or not, is built upon life history ) there is a certain frustra tion in the absence of candid autobio graphic al materia l concern ing not merely the great and the powerfu l but the ordinar y members of society . To be trite, life histori es are keyhole s through which we may be privile ged, without moral stigma, to observe a whole range of phenome na -artless ly or artfull y present ed -- to which otherw ise we have littl e but inf erentia l access . I am not so much concern ed h ~ re with the real difficu lties pos0d by, for example , J.S. Bnstin, in his essay on "Probl ems of Personali~y in the Reint erpreta tion of Modern Malay~ History ", in which he lamente d that while it was possibl e to l earn a good de al about the real or declare d motives of the servant s of the East Indi a Company, it was less easy -indeed extreme ly difficu lt -- to know directl y the politic al motives of the Su ltan of Kedah and other Malay l eaders of the time . That there is a problem here is beyond quest ion -not, of course , a compl etely intract able one, for there are many ways of ki~ling a cat -- but it is undenia bl e that the Malay rul ers of the l ate eightee nth and early ninetee nth centuri es did not leave autobio graphi es or private papers, or that if they did they have not survi\e d.

2

It is not necessary, however, from my point of view, to confine discussion of the general question to matters arising solely or largely out of political history. Increasingly historians have come to interest themselves much more widely in all facets of social life , ~nd to seek new ways of gaining admittance to underst~ding of the p ~ st. Some of the impetus for this search has derived from the social sciences -- social anthropology has been particularly formative in th is respect -- and indeed from the personality 11 sciences 11 ; though I am one of those uneasy at linking "personality " and "science " in this rather largely assumed fashion. Still, it is undeniable that writers such as the psychoanalyst, Erik Erikson have been and currently ar e ex t r eme ly influ ential in attempting to relate what one might C3ll historical personality to inner personality, as witne ss his studie s of Luther and Ghandi . These are , hmvever , r nt h ~r r arif ied matters, and though I want to r eturn to th em -- and to the other new science of prosopography -- befor e I fin i sh , let me for th e moment attempt , from n more or l ess bibliographical point of view initially, to discuss as s~stemntic n;t·ly as I can the au to biographical and b1ographic al materials knovm to be av ai l able to students of Malay society in Malaysia and Singapore. First of all I want to dispose, if that is not too cavalier a word, of the literature known as classical, which presents special featur ~ s that might wel l form the subject of another discussion, and indeed frequ ently do so. It is beyond question now , and I would be the l ast to deny it, that classical Malay l iterature contain~ much biographical and personal information of uae and interest, when properly handled . The portraits, and discussi ons of the well-springs of behaviour , contained in the Sejarah Me l ayu and Misa MelQyu, for exampl e , (especially, perhaps, the l ~tter, where the ne~r­ contemporary r eign of Sultan Iskandar Shah of Pernk, 1756-70, is de scribed at consider able l ength ), are of r e al value to th e histori an , as are those in Raja Ali Haji b. Raja Ahmad's Silsilah Me l nyu dan Bugis dan Sakalian Ra,ja-Ra,i a- nya and th e longer Tuhfat ~ 1-N~ fis. 2 With the possibl e excepti on of the lot ur sectlons of the latter, however , much of this writing is in the genre frequently described as "heroic", concern~ d i n large part (not unlike much co l onial historiography) to el evate and defend the conduct of its chi ef prot ngonists . Even here it has histor iographical v alue of a specinl kind, as illustrating the sorts of beh aviour and personal relationships socially and culturally approved . It is perhaps no accident that the paramount work of this kind

3 is untrammelled by any need at all to observe historical veracity -- the lengthy and brilliant study of Hang Tuah, from which, historical fiction though it is, one muy learn a gr eat deal about the Malay society, l ess of fifteenth century Mal ncca than that of the somewhat later period at which it was written . 3 It should also be mentioned, at least in passing, that in addition to th e major works of the classic al period -- by which is usually meant pre- 1850 or so -- there are quite a number of minor on e s, often existing only in single oonuscript copi es .4 I an thinking here , especially , of certain eighteenth century Riau works some narrative , some in po etic form -- which, from their titles at le a st, deal with everyday epin od ~ s in the lives of the people described: a wedding, a trader's activities , and so on. Most of this materi al bas yet to be us ed, much of it yet to be examined eve~ by historians . In dealing thus sUDmarily with the "classical" period (a term itself not Rl together s at isfa ctory, but for the moment conveni ent), l et me make it quite cl e~r in the light of the controversy -- often the r ather r epetitive controversy -- of recent years, that I am not in any way derogating th e "uses" of Malay lit er ature of earli er times, but merely saying, which is self- evident, that it requires to be trented in speci al histori ogr aphical wqy& Moving on , then , I want to r efer to two asso ciated genres i .n Malay r e cord-making, of which I shall cite specific exampl es in due course . Both are of gr eat importance, not nearly enough have been found and stored or copi ed, and I see it, at any rate as an outsider , as being one of the paramount duties of historians of Mal ay society to se ek to discover these materials and preserve them f or post erity. It is sometines unwisely alleged that "the Mal ays" -- or perhaps more often " the Malays of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuri es " -- had, or have , no int erest in the pa st . Nonsens e . And to prove that it is nonsense we have the two historiograph ical genres that I r ef er to, the "Sal a silah" and the "Buku Peringatan". Strictly spe0.king, if indeed we c an spenk strictly on a subj ect thnt hns r eceived so littl e discussion, "Sal asilah" consist mainly, oft en entirel y , of geneal ogies -- usually s ingl e descent- group genealogies but sometimes, as in the special cases best described by s~yyid Naguib r:tl-Att o. s,5 in th e "genen.logies " as s o ci ~ted with particul ar Sufi t o.r eknt , or mor e accur ~te ly with the pedagogic line of de sc ent from p nrticul ~r Sufi teachers. Both sorts of Sal nsil nh can form extremely v aluable and enl ightening historical mnterinl . Perh a ps they are most useful when they contain, a s they often do, additional information nbout membe rs of the genealogy ,

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the most sustained effort went into the dissemination of a knowledge of the Japanese language, starting with a simple vocabulary "lesson" published in the second issue of the Syonan Times. 8 Nippon - Go was to be popularized "in order to promote a common understanding in the CoProsperity Sphere",9 and the local press enthusiastically sought to persuade the populace , theSy onan Times argued that Nipponese was the logical lingua franca for Malaya: One of the first considerations in the construction of mutual well-being and prosperity in Asia is that of introducing a common language . The suggestion therefore that the language of Nippon become the lingua franca of Malaya while startling at first becomes an obvious necessity with the inclusion of this country in the New Order of Asia for the Asians There are many reasons • • . /for/ the suggestion . .. Chief of these is the similarity in grammar and vocal sounds of the lan guages of most Asian races obviating the excuse that learning a new language is a big obstacle . Then there is the .question of suiting the majority, in the case of Malaya the Chinese, who comprise more than 50 percent of the population. It is in this connection that simllarity of language is greatest for the Ni ppon language characters came from China thousands of years ago. . . The substitution of Nipponese for English as the lingua franca ••• is but the natural recognition of a nation which . •. is now in the process of saving Asians from continuing to be the victims of the English • •. • 10 For those of the population of Singapore who felt they had had enough of British rule, the slogan "same race, same culture" appearing in Chinese newspapers wou l d no doubt have provoked an assent, no matter how qualified or unwillin~ at least during the early months of the occupation . 1 In addition to insisting upon the essent l al

8 S.T. , February 21, 2602 . 9

Fundamental Poli cy Concerning Eduoation •• . , General Principle No. 3.

10 S.T. , February 28, 2602 . 11 See N.I. Lew and H. M. Cheng, This Singapore (Singapore: ~gai Semg Press, c. 1946), p. 153; Joyce C. Lebra, Jungle AUianoe (Singapore: Dcnald Mx>re, 1971) , pp. xii and 37.

5 Hikayat by some years, was written nt the instance of an Aoerican missionary, Mr . North, who suggested to Abdullah that what he had seen , and his reflections thereon , would be of interest to others besides himself . Abdullah later began , but because of his death in Jeddah in 185~ never completed~ an account of the first part of a pilgriuage to Mekkah , r and also wrote a couple of verse descriptions of two great fires in Kampong Gl ao , eye- witness accounts i n tho true style of personal journ€tl isn . Abdull ah had no i~medinte successors , so far as is known , though his son Munshi Ibrnhin wrote a description of his own visit , as interpreter to the British , to the west coast states of the peninsula in 1872 . This is perhaps less nutobiogr aphy proper thon detached reportage , but it conveys enough of the author to warrant the description . Though it may have been lithographed fairly close to conposition , first known publication is much later , and it did not become generally available until reprinted by the Government Printer in Johore in 1956 . A transl~tion into English of the Kisah Pelayarnn Muhanmnd Ibrahio Munshi is at present being prepared , under the auspices of a conmittee of which I happen to be n member \ Right at the end of the nineteenth century , there occurs one of the oost interesting extended Malay diaries of which I have knowledge , kept by Tengku Zainnl Abidin b . Tengku Kundor , Raj a Muda of Kelontan , fron about 1 89~ until 1912 , and fil l ing some nine foolscnp volumes . This is indeed a fascinating docUJ:lent , though scnewhat difficult of access , written as it is in Jawi nanuscript and h~ving suffered considerably fron the depr~dations of time . Discovered only relatively recently , it is now in the Arkib Negara ~nd is being worked upon by an The diary, which I w~ s able histori~n in Kuala Lumpur . to ex~ine to some extent lnst year, is incredibly full of det~il of all kinds, r~nging from palace gossip to reportage on major political events in the Kel~tan of the tine . It is cle~rly destined to be a m~jor source of Kelontan history at the turn of the century, o period crucial to the st~te . In addition , of course , it says much , dirGctly and indirectly , about the author personally and as a meJ11ber of the Malay ruling class in e:J.rly twentieth century KelantRn , and ~bout palace life in general . .Altogether a valuable document which I hope will eventually be properly edited and published .

-

6

unpubl ished wor k , VGry much sh ort er, of s o~ewh a t t h e snnc vint age , is n buku per ingntan kept by a Menangkab au t r ~ d er i n Kual n Lumpur in , ~s I recol l ect , the firs t years of t hi s century . Without oy notes , det .:Ji l s e sc ape ne , but the di nry l in n smnll exercis e book, wns l ent t o me by t h ~ author s gr3ndson, th e l ate Hnji Othman Abdull ah , nnd subse quently given by him to the Arkib Ncgar a i n Ku nl n Lumpur . Mohd . Anin Hns san , then of th e Uni v ersi ty of Mnl nyn histor y dep,rt~ent and later of the l~kib Negar a and Univ8rsiti Kebcng s nan , beg'1n to trnnscribe t h e di ar y f or pub l ic~ti o n, but hns not y et , so f~r a s I an awar e , conpl e t e d it . In addition to the usu 31 f e!"'ltures of buku peringntGn , in th e f orn of f aoi li nl inforo~tion , th e di~y r eco rd s a bri ef period i n the lif ~ of the author, a sh op-keGper i n M ~l ny Stree t , nnd in pnrtic l ar , I r e c a.ll, n str iking dr ean th:1t h e had \vhil e r esidi ng t here , nnd th e ci r cuMst~nc e s surrounding this . 1~o the r

The be s t known of Scl 'lngo r n.'1tv ri~ls froo thi s period, t hough publ ish ed a. gt.h1d d t.Jql l ~tor, is th~ K en~-Kena~ an Sel an5 or , b~s od on th e di~ri~s of Wnn Mob~l'.min' o.· !Aoh.i. Sc.iJ, p,~ ~;hu lu :.:. l ogic ol nodGl of hunan devc l opnent . Do such nodels , it h Gs been aske d , po sse ss universal and cro ss- cul tur .-:tl vnl i di ty? Con one , in shor t , appl y Eriks oni un insights .:md psychohi story t o other pl aces nnd tines them th()SG dealt Hi th? Well, it is ~)e rb~1ps worth trying, or e nc our ~g ing ot he rs fron c ogn ~ t e disci plines t o try . ..:\go.in , Erikson h '\ S ch•:) s cn to study .1.nd wr ite about t wo figur e s whoJo he de scribe s a s " r ·-~ l i ticor e ligi ous geniuses " -- Luther and Gh nndi . Does the pr oc e ss work v1i th n or o or di nory !:lort~ ls? Sone thi ng s , a t l e ~:st , :tr e c ert ain -- nnd e qu etlly unqu esti onnbly h :tve be1:3n gi von i n suffici..:mt .'lttenti~m by hi st0ri011s c oncer ilcd r.Jith this p:trt of th e world . F::tnily r e l :~ tL:mshi tJ S md childhood u pbringing, th o web of kinsh i p genarQlly, ~ r e by corJrJon :;.cc ept .".nce of prine iop::)r t ~ne e i n the kinc entric S{.1 Cietie s ::;f S:)Utho::st ..'. . sifl , rlS dete r n inant s of person al ity , ch ~r a ct er , nnd a cti 0n . It is tine that ~e tri ed to l ook nt sone of this systo:.12-tically , flS historians , if only t o t nk e into a ccount the possibl e inport nnce of the notion of "nodal person ::llity" in historic a l oxpl o.no.tion , and of tho r ol 0 of dyadic networ ks or p.J.t r on- cl i ont r e l ati onships in po liticnl analysis currently of inter e st t o sone po litical scient i st . I hnve nlre ndy , h owev er, becond too pre scri ptive f or conf ort -- n i ne or y ours -- so l ot ne sioply end by s :-J.ying th3t in oy view Mnl o.y nutobi ogr [.lphy tmd biogr~phy , thin an t he ~ round or not , h 3s a l ot of lifo in it yet .

18

NOTES

1.

In John Bastin & R. Ro~lvink (ods . ) , Mal ny nn ~nd Indonesian Studi e s : Essays presented to Sir Richnrd Winstedt on his eight - fifth birthda. (Oxford , Cl arendon Pros s, 1964 , 141 - 155 .

2.

For a l isting of th ese and cortrtin other wc rks of oni nly general historicnl ch~r3ctcr , including , h owever , the npp:.:trently nore directly biogr'l.phico.l S,j 'lir Soel tan Mahnoed di - Linggn , se c J . C. :Bctt oos , "Mnlo.y Sou r c e s", in K. G. Trcgonning (ed . ) , Mnlaysio.n Histcricc:tl Source s (Sing8pi)rc , M~laysio. Public uti ~·n s Ltd . , f or DepD.rtnent of History , University of Si ngn p~ re , 2nd . ed . 1965), esp . pp . 43- 45 and 52- 54. On the Hik'ly o.t Hang Tunh , n nn.j ·-:> r new edition of which (by K'lssin ~lli~~d) hns r e cently b~cn published by the De~nn B~hns3 dnn Pustaka (Kunln Lunpur , 1964) , see the introuucti.m to that e li tion and t o Knssio :Junad ' s Per\·mtnkan lal::trJ Hikayat H:mg Tunh . (Ku:-tln Lu:1pur , De•.vo.n Bnhns"l ·'tan Pustnka , 1964) , ~n English version of which , Characterization in the Hikqynt Hnng: Tuo.h