THAILAND NEVER BEEN COLONISED?

Direct male descendent of Khalifah Syarif Abu Bakar Syah titled Boromoraja Ekathat V, formerly Mahadamayaza of Burma (when still young) is Tuanku Nai Long Kassim Nai Long Ahmad. he knows their history which was passed doen to him by the tip of his finger. He speaks fluent Siamese, not thai.

Know your History.

They said that Thailand was the only country in SEA that was never colonized. I wonder who are these ‘they’ today? If Thailand has such a strong history one wonder why it was not named Siam land instead of Thailand?

Did they ever give a thought why thai becomes Thailand and Malays becomes Malaysia?

Have they been eating too much 'Tom Yam' soup in the mid noon heat?

Is the ‘Le majeste’ laws holding them back, from revealing the truth? I think so.

Ever wondered why the Malaysian King is rotated among the Malay Sultan state in Malaysia every 5 years? Its the same formula used in Ayutthaya. No wonder of the 33 kings (actually deputy kings) who ruled Ayutthaya only 3 are buried there. What happen to the rest? Well it is simply because they return to their state after reigning, died and buried in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

What about their title? well they are also known as Syah Alam Yang Maha Mulia as stated in the Kedah Laws, same title used by the moslems Monggol Kings of India.

Have their researchers studied the Malay manuscript, The Laws of Kedah, confiscated by the British colonist in 1876 and finally returned to Malaysia in the year 2003?

The manuscript was then published by the Malaysian Government printing agency, Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka in 2005. Only then was it made available to the Malaysian public.

We think it is about time history should be studied regionally, not nation by nation.




This is not just a map of Siam in the year 1686 from French records. This is the map of BENUA SIAM as stated in the Kedah Laws. Since when did the tais concquered jawa and Acheh in Sumater? They never did. They existed and ruled in Siam from 1767 onwards and Rama I Buddha Yotfa Chulalok was the first Buddhist King. The country is still known as Siam BUT with a different king and religion, until today. This map was from the time Muslims Siamese Kings, known to all of us today as the Malays were ruling the empire from Ayutthaya. This map is clear evidence that escaped the eye of the conspirators of history. Click the map for a larger image.

'Benua Siam' or Siamese Continent as stated in the laws, the previous name for Thailand is a Muslim Kingdom. It was attacked by the Sukhothai from Burma and Lancang in 1767.

Taksin or Mokhtar Hussain (an apostate and traitor to the last Muslims king, Boromoraja Ekataat V, Syarif Abu Bakar Syah) the army general ruled for awhile before he was finally murdered for ridiculous reasons.

Syarif Abu Bakar Syah titled Boromoraja Ekataat V was never killed during the attacked as recorded by Thailand’s history. In fact he returned to Nakhon Si Thammarat and ruled there as Raja Nambang. In fact his name was mentioned in the Hikayat Patani as Raja Bakar. In the Laws of Kedah, his name was also mentioned as Syarif (pg 43)

It was here that he appointed his grandson Syed Alang Alauddin as the ruler of Singgora. Ban Nai Lang close to Songkhala today refers to him, meaning Village of Syed Alang

Rama I is the first Buddhist ruler of Siam, earlier an army general after Thaksin (now the ex general) becomes king through self appointment.

Before the attacked, Siam was a Muslim Kingdom from 1350 until 1767. This further justified why tributary was sent by the Malay sultans to the kingdom and why Patani was a Muslim Kingdom until today.

In the malay 'Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa' it is clearly stated that siam was opened by Sayyidina Jamalul Alam Badrul Munir the prince of Raja Merong Mahawangsa. Earlier Raja Merong Mahawangsa was titled as Sultan Muzaffar Syah I.

The said war with the Burmese in the south after 1767 is actually the war with the former Siamese king armies and soldiers defending their southern territories. No wonder Patani is a muslim state till today.

Watching a recently released movie of Siam, it is surprising to see the warriors wielding the ‘kris’, the malay traditional weapon of self defense, known as 'Kris Siam'.

Before shooting the movie, researched conducted by the producers in the Thailand Kings historical vault in Bangkok were surprised to see old manuscript written in jawi, the old Malay text.

These text depicting the history of muslims Siamese kingdom were confiscated during the attacked on Ayutthaya in 1767 by the Sukkothai of Burma (Myanmar). Not all documents were burned by the invading Burmese.

In 1821. Boromoraja Ekataat V Syarif Abu Bakar Syah was murdered by the thai armies in an ambush at his palace 'Kota Meang Kuang' (large country) under directives from Rama II. The Tai King from the Chakri dynasty finally had their revenge.

Siam history was then set to be rewritten by his predecessor Rama V Chulalongkorn. Same goes with Sultan Abdul Hamid of Kedah(who married Chulalongkorn relatives) then commissioned Pak Wan Hassan a palace official to rewrote Kedah's History in "Al Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah" with no references. Same ambition, same strategy.

Today, the Thai kings are themselves the colonist of Siam. As colonizers they are hiding behind the truth, changing historical records according to their whim and fancies. The King of Siam and the King of Thai is not the same entity. No wonder there's so much chaos in Bangkok today, the people knows.

Futher proof can be obtained by reading the Malay manuscript, ‘The Laws of Kedah’.

ASAL USUL BAHASA MELAYU

Untuk mengetahui asal usul Bahasa Melayu kita perlu mengetahui asal-usul penutur aslinya terlebih dahulu, iaitu orang Melayu. Asal-usul bangsa Melayu sehingga kini masih kabur. Akan tetapi beberapa sarjana Eropah seperti Hendrik Kern (Belanda) dan Robert von Heine Geldern (Austria) telah melakukan penyelidikan secara kasar latar belakang dan pergerakan masyarakat Melayu kuno.

Teori mereka menyatakan bahawa bangsa Melayu berasal daripada kelompok Austronesia, iaitu kelompok manusia yang berasal dari daerah Yunan di China yang kemudiannya berhijrah dalam bentuk beberapa gelombang pergerakan manusia dan akhirnya menduduki wilayah Asia Tenggara.

Gelombang pertama dikenali sebagai Melayu-Proto dan berlaku kira-kira 2500 tahun Sebelum Masehi

Kira-kira dalam tahun 1500 tahun Sebelum Masehi, datang pula gelombang kedua yang dikenali sebagai Melayu-Deutro. Mereka mendiami daerah-daerah yang subur di pinggir pantai dan tanah lembah Asia Tenggara. Kehadiran mereka ini menyebabkan orang-orang Melayu-Proto seperti orang-orang Jakun, Mahmeri, Jahut, Temuan, Biduanda dan beberapa kelompok kecil yang lain berpindah ke kawasan pedalaman. Justeru itu, Melayu-Deutro ini merupakan masyarakat Melayu yang ada pada masa kini.

Bahasa Melayu berasal daripada rumpun bahasa Austronesia, manakala bahasa-bahasa Austronesia ini berasal daripada keluarga bahasa Austris. Selain daripada rumpun bahasa Austronesia, rumpun bahasa Austro-Asia dan rumpun bahasa Tibet-Cina.

Rumpun bahasa Austronesia ini pula terbahagi kepada empat kelompok yang lebih kecil :
1. Bahasa-bahasa Kepulauan Melayu atau Bahasa Nusantara.
Contoh : bahasa Melayu, Aceh, Jawa, Sunda, Dayak, Tagalog, Solo, Roto, Sika dan lain-lain.

2. Bahasa-bahasa Polinesia
Contoh : bahasa Hawaii, Tonga, Maori, Haiti

3. Bahasa-bahasa Melanesia
Contoh : bahasa-bahasa di Kepulauan Fiji, Irian and Kepulaun Caledonia

4. Bahasa-bahasa Mikronesia
Contoh : bahasa-bahasa di Kepulauan Marianna, Marshall, Carolina dan Gilbert.

Bahasa Melayu tergolong dalam cabang Bahasa-bahasa Nusantara yang mempunyai bahasa yang paling banyak, iaitu kira-kira 200 hingga 300 bahasa.

Bentuk Bahasa Melayu yang dituturkan di Kepulauan Melayu pada zaman dahulu dikenali sebagai Bahasa Melayu Kuno dan jauh berbeza dengan Bahasa Melayu yang moden. Bentuk Bahasa Melayu Kuno hanya dapat dilihat melalui kesan tinggalan sejarah seperti batu-batu bersurat. Batu-batu bersurat yang menggunakan Bahasa Melayu dipercayai ditulis bermula pada akhir abad ke-7. Sebanyak empat batu bersurat telah dijumpai yang mempunyai tarikh tersebut :

1. Batu Bersurat Kedukan Bukit (683 M) - Palembang
2. Batu Bersurat Talang Tuwo (684 M) – Palembang
3. Batu Bersurat Kota Kapor (686 M) – Pulau Bangka, Palembang
4. Batu Bersurat Karang Brahi (686 M) – Palembang

Berpandukan isinya, penulisan di batu bersurat tersebut dibuat atas arahan raja Srivijaya, sebuah kerajaan yang mempunyai empayar meliputi Sumatera, Jawa, Semenanjung Tanah Melayu, Segenting Kra dan Sri Lanka. Oleh itu, ini menunjukkan bahawa Bahasa Melayu telah digunakan sebagai bahasa rasmi dan bahasa pentadbiran kerajaan Srivijaya, sekaligus meluaskan penyebaran Bahasa Melayu ke tanah jajahan takluknya . Walaupun bahasa pada batu bersurat itu masih berbahasa Sanskrit, akan tetapi masih terdapat pengaruh Bahasa Melayu Kuno di dalamnya.


Istilah “Melayu” timbul buat pertama kali dalam tulisan Cina pada tahun 644 dan 645 Masehi. Tulisan ini menyebut mengenai orang “Mo-Lo-Yue” yang mengirimkan utusan ke Negeri China untuk mempersembahkan hasil-hasil bumi keada Raja China. Letaknya kerajaan “Mo-Lo-Yue” ini tidak dapat dipastikan dengan tegas. Ada yang mencatatkan di Semenanjung Tanah Melayu dan di Jambi, Sumatera.

Selain daripada empat batu bersurat yang disebutkan tadi, terdapat juga bahan-bahan lain yang dihasilkan dalam zaman kerajaan Srivijaya pada abad ke-7 hingga ke-13 Masehi. :

1. Batu Bersurat Gandasuli (832 M) – Gandasuli, Jawa Tengah
2. Sebuah batu bersurat yang dijumpai di Bangkahulu bertarikh 1000 Masehi.
3. Sebuah patung gangsa yang dijumpai di Padang Lawas, Tapanuli bertarikh 1029 M dengan tulisan pada kaki alasnya
4. Sebuah patung di Padang Rocore, Batanghari bertarikh 1286 M dengan catatan perkataan “Malaya” atau “Melayu” pada bahagian belakangnya.


Bahasa Melayu (Abad ke-13 hingga 18 Masehi)

Pada zaman ini tiga buah batu bersurat yang menunjukkan perkembangan Bahasa Melayu telah dijumpai :

1. Batu Bersurat Pagar Ruyong, Minangkabau (1356 M) – ditulis dalam tulisan India dan memperlihatkan pengaruh Bahasa Sanskrit.
2. Batu Nisan di Minye Tujuh, Acheh (1380 M) – juga ditulis dalam tulisan India dengan beberapa perkataan Arab
3. Batu Bersurat Terengganu – dijumpai di Sungai Teresat, Kuala Berang Terengganu. Tarikh sebenar tidak dapat dipastikan, tetapi ia dipercayai ditulis antara tahun 1303 M hingga 1387 M. Ia ditulis dalam tulisan Jawi.

Abad ke –13 adalah waktu bermulanya zaman peralihan di Kepulauan Melayu dengan berkembangnya agama Islam ke rantau ini. Ini telah mempengaruhi bangsa dan bahasa di sini, terutamanya bangsa dan bahasa Melayu. Pengaruh India sedikit demi sedikit mula digantikan dengan pengaruh Islam dan Arab.

Zaman penting bagi Bahasa Melayu ialah pada zaman Kerajaan Melayu Melaka. Kerajaan Melayu Melaka yang telah menerima Islam dan berjaya membina empayar yang luas telah dapat meningkatkan kemajuan dan perkembangan Bahasa Melayu di rantau ini. Bahasa Melayu telah digunakan dalam pentadbiran dan aktiviti perdagangan serta menjadi “lingua franca” para pedagang. Bahasa Melayu juga telah menjadi alat penyebaran agama Islam ke seluruh Kepulauan Melayu. Bahasa Melayu telah mendapat bentuk tulisan baru iaitu tulisan Jawi. Perbendaharaan kata juga telah bertambah dengan wujudnya keperluan untuk mengungkapkan idea-idea yang dibawa oleh peradaban Islam. Keagungan Kesultanan Melaka jelas tergambar di dalam “Sejarah Melayu” oleh Tun Seri Lanang, sebuah karya dalam Bahasa Melayu yang sangat tinggi nilainya.

Kedatangan orang-orang Eropah dan kejatuhan Kesultanan Melaka ke tangan Portugis pada tahun1511 masehi tidak menamatkan pengaruh Bahasa Melayu. Ramai di antara mereka yang menjalankan penyelidikan dan menyimpan catatan mengenai bahasa dan kesusasteraan Melayu. Beberapa contoh usaha mereka ialah :

1. Pigafetta, seorang ketua kelasi berbangsa Itali dalam pelayarannya bersama Magellan, telah menyusun kamus Melayu-Itali semasa singgah di Pulau Tidore pada tahun 1521. Ia merupakan daftar kata daripada bahasa yang dituturkan oleh orang-orang di pelabuhan itu dengan lebih 400 patah perkataan dan adalah daftar kata Melayu-Eropah yang tertua. Kedudukan Pulau Tidore yang terletak jauh daripada tempat asal Bahasa Melayu menggambarkan betapa luasnya Bahasa Melayu tersebar.

2. Jan Hugen Van Linschotten, seorang bangsa Belanda pernah tinggal di Indonesia antara tahun 1586 hingga 1592 dan berkhidmat sebagai pegawai kepada pemerintah Portugis. Beliau ada mencatatkan dalam bukunya bahawa Bahasa Melayu dianggap sebagai bahasa yang paling dihormati antara bahasa-bahasa negeri timur.

3. Pada awal abad ke-18, Francios Valentijn, seorang pendeta dan ahli sejarah bangsa Belanda yang banyak menulis menganai wilayah Kepulauan Melayu, telah menggambarkan kepentingan Bahasa Melayu seperti berikut :
“Bahasa mereka, Bahasa Melayu, bukan sahaja dituturkan di daerah pinggir laut, tetapi juga digunakan di seluruh Kepulauan Melayu dan di segala negeri-negeri Timur, sebagai suatu bahasa yang difahami di mana-mana sahaja oleh setiap orang.”


Satu bukti tentang tingginya martabat Bahasa Melayu dan luas penggunaanya di wilayah ini adalah pada surat-menyurat antara pentadbir dan raja-rja di Kepulauan Melayu. Antaranya ialah :

1. Surat Sultan Acheh kepada Kapitan Inggeris, James Lancester (1601)
2. Surat Sultan Alauddin Shah dari Acheh kepada Harry Middleton (1602)
3. Surat Sultan Acheh kepada raja Inggeris, King James (1612)

Ketiga-tiga surat ini tersimpan di perpustakaan Bodelein, London

Dalam abad ke-17, terdapat banyak usaha oleh sarjana-sarjana Eropah untuk menyusun kamus dan daftar kata, yang kemudiannya diteruskan kepada bidang morfologi, sintaksis dan fonologi.

Tokoh-tokoh tempatan juga tidak ketinggalan memberikan sumbangan. Kebanyakan usaha mereka berkisar tentang agama dan sastera. Palembang dan Acheh telah menggantikan telah menggantikan Melaka sebagai pust keintelektualan Melayu. Antara tokoh-tokoh di Acheh ialah :

1. Sheikh Nuruddin Al-Raniri (“Bustanul Salatin”)
2. Shamsuddin Al-Sumaterani (“Mirat Al-Mukmin”)
3. Abdul Rauf Singkel (“Mirat Al-Tullab”)
4. Hamzah Fansuri (“Syair Perahu”)

Di Palembang pula terdapat Abdul Samad Al-Falambani dengan kitab “Hikayat Al-Salakin”.

Selain daripada Acheh dan Palembang, beberapa tokoh juga timbul di tempat-tempat lain. Di Brunei, Pengiran Syahbandar Muhammad Salleh (Pengiran Indera Muda) telah menghasilkan “Syair Rakis”, manakala di Banjarmasin pula terkenal dengan Arshad Al-Banjari dengan kitab “Sabil Al-Muhtadin”. Sheikh Mohd Ismail Daud Al-Fatani di Pattani pula menghasilkan “Matla’al Badrain” dan “Furu’ Al-Masail”.




Bahasa Melayu (Abad ke-19 dan 20 Masehi)

Kemuncak kegiatan alam persuratan Melayu melalui Bahasa Melayu dan tulisan Jawi adalah di Penyengat, sebuah pulau di Kepulauan Riau yang menjadi sebahagian daripada Kerajaan Johor-Riau. Di sinilah dari abad ke 19 hingga awal abad ke 20, tertumpunya kegiatan keintelektualan Melayu-Islam dan perkembangan Bahasa Melayu selanjutnya.

Banyak karya serta kitab diterbitkan di pulau ini, seperti kitab “Al-Hakim” oleh Tajuddin Abdul Fadzil Ahmad ibn Abdul Karim (1863 M) dan “Sabil Al-Hidayat” oleh Sayyed Aluwi Ba’aluwi (1899 M)

Tetapi hasil penulisan yang terkenal dan terpenting dalam dunia persuratan Melayu ialah karya Raja Ali Haji, iaitu “Bustan Al-Katibin” (1857 M), “Pengetahuan Bahasa” (1859 M), “Salasilah Melayu dan Bugis” (1865 M) dan “Tuhfat Al-Nafis” (1865 M). Pada masa itu juga di Johor terdapat beberapa hasil penulisan seperti “Hikayat Negeri Johor” dan “Kitab Pemimpin Johor”.

Kerajaan Melayu Johor-Riau terus menjadi pusat pengembangan Bahasa Melayu sehingga ia menjadi bahasa persatuan di seluruh Nusantara.

Sebelum Inggeris bertapak di Semenanjung Tanah Melayu, Bahasa Melayu menjadi satu-satunya bahasa perantaraan bagi penduduk negara ini. Ia digunakan sebagai bahasa pentadbiran di semua pusat pemerintahan dan menjadi bahasa pengantar di institusi pendidikan yang ada pada ketika itu seperti pusat pengajian Islam dan kelas agama. Perhubungan antara rakyat juga menggunakan Bahasa Melayu, termasuk di pusat-pusat perniagaan seperti Melaka, Pulau Pinang dan Singapura yang sebahagian besar penduduknya terdiri daripada orang Melayu (begitu juga hari ini).

Pada zaman penjajahan Inggeris di Tanah Melayu, khususnya ketika sebelum berlaku Perang Dunia Kedua, Bahasa Melayu terus digunakan untuk tujuan urusan rasmi di Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu dan Negeri-Negeri Melayu Tidak Bersekutu. Pegawai-pegawai Inggeris yang bertugas di Negeri-Negeri Melayu sebelum Perang Dunia Kedua dikehendaki mempelajari Bahasa Melayu dan mesti lulus dalam peperiksaan Bahasa Melayu sebelum disahkan dalam jawatan.

Sebahagian daripada pegawai-pegawai itu terus menaruh minat yang tinggi terhadap Bahasa Melayu, sehingga dikenali sebagai sarjana Bahasa Melayu. Antaranya ialah R.O. Winstedt, J.R. Wilkinson, C.C. Brown, W.E. Maxwell, W. Marsden, W.G. Shellabear dan J. Crawford.

Hanya selepas Perang Dunia Kedua kedudukan serta peranan Bahasa Melayu mula terancam. Pegawai-pegawai Inggeris baru yang jahil terhadap Bahasa Melayu membawa tekanan kepada kehidupan rakyat di negara ini, menerusi nilai-nilai baru yang diperkenalkan. Orang-orang Inggeris menjadi “tuan” dan segala yang bersangkutan dengan cara hidup mereka diberi nilaian yang tinggi termasuk bahasa mereka.

Ini diperkukuhkan dengan dasar menggunakan bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa pengantar dalam sistem persekolahan. Dalam keadaan Bahasa Melayu menerima tekanan, kesusasteraan Melayu terus dihasilkan, bukan oleh cendiakawan berpendidikan barat tetapi cerdik pandai lulusan sekolah Melayu atau Arab.

Kemerosotan Bahasa Melayu tidak berterusan. Pada awal abad ke-20, semangat kebangsaan bergema dan orang-orang Melayu mula mengorak langkah untuk memperjuangkan bahasa ibunda mereka. Wartawan, sasterawan, budayawan, guru-guru Melayu dan ahli-ahli politik berganding bahu memperjuangkan cita-cita ini. Akhbar dan majalah menjadi saluran utama untuk menyuarakan hasrat ini. Perjuangan Bahasa Melayu digerakkan serentak dengan perjuangan politik membebaskan tanah air daripada penjajahan.

Akhirnya kejayaan tercapai dengan termaktubnya Artikel 152 dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, yang menyebut bahawa “Bahasa Kebangsaan negara ini adalah Bahasa Melayu dan hendaklah ditulis dalam apa-apa tulisan sebagaimana yang diperuntukan dengan undang-undang Parlimen”. Dengan perakuan ini, maka bermulalah era baru bagi Bahasa Melayu, satu bahasa yang pernah menjadi lingua franca bagi seluruh Kepulauan Melayu.


dipetik dari,
http://faculty.unitarklj1.edu.my/ALD0063/week/ASAL%20USUL%20BAHASA%20MELAYU.doc

The Perils of Assimilationist Politics

by Farish A Noor

A quick look at the troubles in the predominantly Muslim-Malay provinces of Southern Thailand – which has been a troubled spot for the past four years at least – would point to a fundamental flaw in the line of thinking of the powers-that-be in Bangkok. Having disregarded the historical factors that make the four provinces of Patani, Jala, Satun and Narathiwat unique compared to the rest of the country, successive governments in Thailand have tried to make the Malay-Muslims of the south think of themselves as Thais, who are an ethnically different people with a language, culture, religion and history of their own.

Since the late 19th century following the conquest of Patani, Jala, Satun and Narathiwat by the Thais, and compounded by the Anglo-Siamese treaty of 1909, the four provinces have experienced what can only be described as a policy of cultural assimilation. During the 1930s and 40s Thai leaders like Phibun Songkram have tried to force Thai culture and cultural norms on the Malays by any means possible: From forcing them to speak Thai to adapting Thai dress and manners as their own.

Needless to say, this has alienated the Malay-Muslims even further, and has only helped to fuel the resentment they feel against the Thai political elite. Over the past four years this resentment has boiled over to the point of violence, leading to the needless and senseless slaughter of innocent Malays and Thais all over the south.

But looking further to the other countries of Southeast Asia we see a similar pattern at work too. The government of Indonesia tried, in the 1950s and 1960s, to force the Chinese minority of the country to adapt and adopt Indonesian cultural norms as well. The Chinese language was cast as a foreign language, Chinese culture was deemed alien and the Chinese were forced to assimilate by taking on Indonesian names and thereby losing their identity. This was done for the sake of national unity and integration, but it was well known that the driving factors behind this were really the conservative and racist elements of the ethno-nationalist right who wished to eliminate all traces of difference in the country. Sukarno was not able or not willing to defend the cultural identity of the Chinese minority, and the net result was the denial of the fact that the Chinese (like the Arabs, Indians and other migrant communities) had settled in the Indonesian archipelago for at least five hundred years.

In Malaysia the elites of the country have likewise been hard at work promoting the ideology of Malay dominance following the racial clashes of 1969. Time and again successive Malaysian politicians have harped on and on about the racial violence in May 1969 and used that as the leitmotif for a cultural assimilationist policy that has only alienated the other communities and which has denied them the right to make their cultural mark on the country.

But while successive generations of right-wing Malay-Muslim politicians in Malaysia have talked at length about the race riots of May 1969, they conveniently overlook that Malaysia has always been a nation of migrants and itinerant communities, and that the so-called ‘foreign’ Indians and Chinese have likewise settled in the land for at least five hundred years. So how long does a migrant have to stay in any country before she or he is accepted as local?

The simmering ethno-cultural and ethno-religious tensions that threaten to rip apart the countries of Southeast Asia thus all have the same factor in common: The desire on the part of the dominant group to impose their cultural-ethnic-religious stamp on all other minorities. Hence the dominance of Burmese culture in Burma, where the Burmese are in fact one of many communities; and the dominance of the Thais in Thailand where there are other communities too. Likewise in Malaysia and Indonesia the nation-building process has been overtaken by the exclusive agendas of the dominant communities despite the fact that these are really multiracial and multi-religious polities that are plural and diverse.

How do we get past this impasse of our own making then? Perhaps the biggest failure of the postcolonial states of Southeast Asia is the fact that most of them took off on an integrationist, assimilationist footing and were foregrounding a national agenda that was sectarian and divisive from the outset. In Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Burma, the concept of universal citizenship remains a distant abstract notion when in fact it ought to have been the foundational pillar to the nation-building process itself.

But nations are all works in progress and thankfully it is never too late to change tack and take on a new trajectory. Part of the solution to the woes of Southern Thailand would be to recognize that the four provinces of the south have a history of their own that demands and requires respect and recognition. The plight of the Malay-Muslims in Southern Thailand is no different from the appeal of non-Malay and non-Muslim minorities in Malaysia and Indonesia: ‘Listen to us, respect us, recognize our culture, language and identity. And then we will be citizens like any other.’

But can the political elite of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia listen to the appeals of the marginal and the minorities? Or will the same cycle of denial, assimilation, forced integration and ultimately violence and rebellion continue to repeat itself, and become the defining feature of the failed nation-building process in all these countries.

From Uncle Lim's blog, do drop by,
http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2008/08/

Warrior king remains a very modern mystery

Four centuries after King Naresuan the Great died, scholars are still sparring over where exactly the warrior king passed away.

It's not an easy quarrel to settle. King Naresuan spent more time on the battlefield than in a palace. But as the scholars continue their dispute they are searching deeper for insights into his thinking as well as making bolder conjectures on just how far his outward-looking foreign policy stretched.

Besides the debate on where his remains lie, historians are also debating how much of his outlook was shaped in Burma, where he was held captive during his youth, and how much of his perspective he owed to the influences of the ancient capital Thai capital.

It was in Ayutthaya last week, at the commemoration of the 401st anniversary of King Naresuan's death, that Thai historians discussed a novel view about his way of thinking.

The way he led his troops into battle was, well, quite Burmese, some said.

"Unlike other Thai kings (Siam kings la, bukan thai king), Phra Naresuan's way of thinking was like that of the Burmese kings," Sunait Chutin-taranond, a Chulalongkorn University historian, said at the seminar "Where did King Naresuan die, in Thailand, Burma or Mon?"

Scholars pondered arcane topics like the degree of King Naresuan's fluency in Burmese and his penchant for betel nut, as they discussed his demise in 1605 somewhere en route to Ava, where he was leading his troops to attack the then Burmese capital in what turned out to be his final campaign.

Some historians raised doubts about just how fluent the king's Burmese had actually been. Others suggested he had picked up a taste for betel nut and tea in Ayutthaya, which, historian Thamrongsak Petchlert-anan was swift to point out, were popular in the Thai capital during the king's reign from 1590 to 1605.

Naresuan learned military strategy and political science during his nine years as a captive at the Burmese court at Pegu, according to "A History of Burma" by Maung Htin Aung.

According to Thai and Burmese accounts, Prince Naresuan was sent to live in Pegu in order to ensure his father Somdet Phra Maha Thammarachathirat remained loyal to Burmese King Bayinnaung

(Bayyinaung tu perempuan, bukannya lelaki. Nama penuhnya Tunku Nur Aisyah dan berkahwin dengan Zahiruddin bahadur Syah yang bergelar Maha Tammaraja. Dengan itu Winstedt dalam bukunya,"A History of South East Asia" mencatatkan istana baginda dikenali sebagai the Queens Palace, bukannya the Kings palace).

Prince Naresuan returned to Siam when he was 16 and immediately committed his life to non-stop warfare. Nineteen years later he became king and embarked on continuous military campaigns, dying at the age of 50.

A study of King Naresuan's battles indicates that the warrior king looked at politics far beyond the Chao Phya River basin, Sunait said.

"He didn't just defend Ayutthaya: he actively attacked Burma. The king carried war into the Irrawaddy basin in order to maintain the stability of Ayutthaya," the historian said.

King Naresuan launched an attack on Ava to prevent Burma's new king from becoming stronger than the preceding one, he added.

King Naresuan may have believed that a stable Ayutthaya required a weakened Ava and launched his campaign to prevent his western rival from extending its power over the Irrawaddy and Chao Phya basins, Sunait said.

Historians agree that King Naresuan died before he arrived at the Burmese capital, but they disagree on the location.

The "father of Thai history" has King Naresuan dying in Siam, in tambon Thung Kaew, then known as Muang Hang. This is the established view set out in "The Biography of King Naresuan the Great" written in 1950 by Prince Damrongrajanubhap.

(Puak raja thai tulis sejarah, patutlah jadi celaru. Sebelum pada itu dizaman Culalongkorn dan Mongkut sejarah Siam sudah pun diedit oleh mereka. Jika ini dijadikan rujukkan, semakin tak betullah jadinya sejarah Siam di Thailand)

According to Prince Damrong, King Naresuan and his younger brother Somdet Phra Ekathotsarot led their troops from Ayutthaya to Muang Chiang Mai, where they collected another 200,000 soldiers. The king then divided the troops into two armies, assigning his brother to lead one to Muang Fang while he headed to Muang Hang.

But while Thai historians say King Naresuan died at Muang Hang, the Shan people beg to differ. According to their popular history, King Naresuan died at the Shan town of Mongton while on his way to help Chao Kham Kai Noi, the Prince of Hsenwi, resist the Burmese.

Naresuan is still remembered by the Shan as the Thai king who helped them win independence for the Shan State in 1600 with his ally the Prince of Hsenwi.

In the Shan version, their independence hinges on a deep friendship. The two Siamese princes and the Prince of Hsenwi forged a close bond while they were fellow hostages at the Burmese court, and King Naresuan died while rushing to the aid of a friend of his youth, they say.

The Thai chronicles are less appealing. They have the warrior king dying of a sudden illness, a toxic disease characterised by skin pustules.

According to the Shan, however, the Thai king and the Shan prince died side by side on the battlefield.

Many Shan believe King Naresuan was cremated and his ashes interred in a stupa in Mongton, in the southern part of the Shan State. Shan soldiers still revere the Thai king as a hero who helped liberate them. Many wear King Naresuan amulets to protect them in their ongoing war with the Burmese junta.

Recent Thai scholarship, however, identifies the town where King Naresuan died as Wieng Haeng in Chiang Mai.

Villagers there even claim the "Royal Ceremonial Felt Hat" believed to have been worn by the king into battle was found in Wieng Haeng and has been kept there as historical evidence.

While some scholars continue to spar about the location of the warrior king's death, others are shifting the debate onto new planes and extending their research beyond his deathbed and his countless battles.

One new story even has the king expanding his foreign policy beyond Southeast Asia. In October 1592 King Naresuan sent a mission to China, offering to send the Siamese navy to help Korea, then a tributary of China, repel the Japanese, this story says. The Chinese, however, turned down the king's offer in February 1593.

The proposal, however, demonstrated King Naresuan's comprehension of international relations and his policy of showing respect for China's dominance in Asia at the time, according to the view of some contemporary historians.

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation

Ps: Its about time we reveal the truth. Come take a look in Tanjong Inggeris, Langgar Kedah. The tomb is just underneath a mangoosteen tree, uncared for centuries.


The meaning of Narasuan in Malay: Na-datuk, ra-ditempat, su-kamu, an- yang pertama. Umumnya ia bermaksud Duli Yang Di Pertuan.

Muslim’s around Pattaya celebrate the Day of Aashura.

Its just like in Malaysia


http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_19_01_51_2.html

Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya along with Khun Itipon, Senior Adviser to the Mayor attended the Sheikh Mohammed Ali Mosque in Soi Siam Country Club on Saturday Morning to take part in Muslim ceremonies relating to the Day of Aashura which occurs on the 10th of Muharram in the Islamic Calendar and is a very important day for Muslims. As part of the day’s activities, it is customary to offer food and drink to everyone, regardless of their religion and as such, the Mayor and his Senior Adviser were invited to a special lunch provided by the Mosque as part of the Day of Aashura.

Mosques in China-Slideshow

You shouldnt miss these beautiful pics of various mosques designs in Cina. Be warned that the achitectural design take up the local Chinese culture and taste which might be alien to our eyes. Thats the beauty of it. Enjoy...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/frogdeck/sets/72057594078463273/show/

With many thanks to Frogdeck on flickr.

Thai ancient Muslim sites falling into poor condition

By: Khadija Chinese

AYUTTHAYA, Thailand: The Thai government has been called on by a Muslim cultural expert to pay more attention to historic sites of ancient Muslim communities in Ayutthaya that are falling into disrepair.

Ayutthaya, to the north of Bangkok, was the first capital of the Kingdom of Thailand from the early-14th century, until its destruction by Burmese invaders in 1767.

Director of Thon Buri Historical Information Center Mr Teeranand Chuangpinit was referring to Chao Kun Takia Cemetery and Chao Kun Ku Cham Cemetery, the final resting place of noble Muslims of the Ayutthaya era, including a nephew of the powerful Sheikh Ahmad Qomi, the first lineage of the Bunnag family and the country's first Chularatchamontri who lived in the reign of King Narai.

Traditional buildings on the premises of Chao Kun Takia Mosque, more than 300 years old, are in disrepair. People can modify the buildings at will. Old and new architectural styles become confused.

Mr Teeranand said sites with great historic importance deserve better care from the Fine Arts Department.

"Just a few kilometres from a designated World Heritage site, these two historic places have never received money or expertise from the state conservation agency," he said.

The Takia Mosque community is an early settlement of Muslim migrants who came from Persia during the reign of King Songtham of Ayutthaya. Some believe the Chao Kun Takia Cemetery was the burial ground of a respected Muslim Indian believed to have possessed supernatural power.

The Takia Mosque has become a popular destination for local and foreign Muslims. Buddhist Thais also visit the mosque to make a wish and, if the wish is granted, make merit such as releasing goats and chickens.

Chao Kun Ku Cham Cemetery is also in poor condition.

The burial ground of the fifth Chularatchamontri, the state counsellor on treasury and international trade, is set in an unadorned concrete house. "This looks much better compared to the past," said Mr Teeranand.

The burial ground was covered by a tin roof when he visited the area a decade ago.
Mr Teeranand said local history would soon disappear unless historians and the Fine Arts Department came to the rescue.

Member of Aliyinnuroy Mosque in Ayutthaya province Pradit Kanjan said local people wanted to preserve the sites but lacked expertise and money.


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"Knowledge is better than wealth because it protects you while you have to guard wealth. it decreases if you keep on spending it but the more you make use of knowledge ,the more it increases . what you get through wealth disappears as soon as wealth disappears but what you achieve through knowledge will remain even after you."MORE ..

Selected from,
http://jafariyanews.com/2k6_news/jan/17thai_muslimheritage.htm

see researched materials and pics of the mosque interior here,
History of Islam in Thailand
einaudi.cornell.edu/SoutheastAsia/.../resources/MuslimThailand.pdf

The History of Datuk Panglima Bukit Gantang

The History of Perak occasionally mention the above name as a symbolic warrior and honorary title in fighting the colonial masters in the cause and pursuit of defending Islam as the religion of the Malays.

The initiative of the Perak state government in preserving this name through naming schools, streets and buildings further helps to maintain its historical heritage. However, civil society today does not really know the origin of this historical name in Perak.

Paduka Seri Sultan Syed Alang Alauddin or Nai Lang, the Raja Siam of Songkhala is the first holder to this title. He is also the Bendahara, next in line to the Raja of Ligor throne. Ban Nai Lang in Thailand today is named after him.

His grandfather, the Raja of Ligor was formerly the King of Ayhthia, Boromoraja Ekataat V, who moved his entire followers to Ligor upon the attacked of Ayuthia by the Burmese armies from 1767-1782. This, the history of Thailand fail to record.

In 1782, Boromoraja Ekataat the V shifted to the new Kota Meang Kuang palace, close to Jitra Kedah . He was murdered by invading Rama II forces in Kedah in the year 1821. Earlier, in the 1758 his son, Po Chan Koya Long return from Cambodia with his followers and as the Raja of ligor in waiting, assume the post of the Raja of Kuala Kangsar in Perak. His eldest son is non other than Nai Lang or Syed Alang Alauddin, Panglima Bukit Gantang.

During the attacked on Kedah by invading Rama II forces in 1821, Nai Lang was the Raja of Bukit Gantang. He tentatively blocked the invading thai armies with his armies of elephants and well armed men at Durian Burong.

They then set up their camp at Padang Sanai waiting for the 36000 Chinese armies sent by his father in law the Chinese Manchu Emperor Chia Ching. Part of the Chinese Manchu armies soon arrived and landed at Tak Bai. Flags and banners were soon hoisted to fight the invading Rama II forces.

They soon marched to a rice field near Na Thawi to meet up with Nai Lang representatives. The reception ceremony for the Chinese armies was conducted by Nai Lang at Padang Sanai, today in the district of Padang Terap.

The Chinese Manchu armies who were led by General Baba met with Nai Lang in order to pass on further strategic information from his father in law, the Manchu Emperor. In order to have good fighting man, together they agreed to plant padi as a source of food for the soldiers at a new location known today as Kampong Cheba or Ban Che Ba.


Po Chan @ Koya Long, Raja of Cambodia Champakasaree (Cempakasari)

Upon returning from Cambodia (formerly part of Siam), Po Chans father, Boromoraja Ekataat V, former King of Ayuthia appointed his son as the Raja of Kuala Kangsar and carries the title of Sultan Mud Zaffar Syah III. In Perak history such a name exist without knowing or showing his true identity. Even Boromaraja Ekataat identity is also hidden in thai history.

His real name is Syarif Abu Bakar, married to Tengku Marin (Suriyamarin) a princess of Langkat. He is also known Mahadammaiyaza (Arabic for king of different bloodline) while reigning in Burma before returning to Ayuthia after Burma was attacked by Alaungphaya forces in 1758. In Ayuthia he is known as Boromoraja Ekataat V reigning from 1758 untill 1767.

Some of Po Chan followers moved to Kelantan and Trengganu. Some even went to Penang and set up a mosque there known today as Koya’s Mosque. The bulk of it stays in Pe-du, meaning eldest brother in referring to Koya Long.

In Kuala Nerang, near Pedu there are many ancestors of Syed’s, originating from the village of Syed Pew and Syed Sofoun in Cambodia. Nerang is Siamese for remote or quiet. Other historic places that still exist today is Bendang Raja (raja’s padi field) in referring to Po Chan padi field within the said area.

In the malay manuscript, Undang-Undang Kedah, page 43 it is stated, “….dititah Bendahara suruh salin..”, actually refers to Po Chan as the Bendahara who is also the next Raja of Ligor in waiting.

The are 3 steps taken by the Chinese Emperors armies,

First, gather their armies in Chiengmai in order to attack Ayuthia.
Second, sailing and berthing in Tak Bai in Songkhla
Third, sailing through rivers in Burma and occupied Langkawi Island.

In Langkawi Island they ocuupied a highland known to them as “ma-chin-cheng” meaning, arriving till dawn due to their large numbers. A warrior prince by the name of Tunku Mohammad Chan, was nominated as their leader. He was given the title Mat Sirat.

Locally he is also known as Keramat Tok Tekai due to his religious Muslims characteristics. During the attacked by sea of Kuala Kedah by thai Rama II forces in the year 1821, the Raja of Langkat was drown at sea.

His body was returned to Kuala Kedah to be buried there and is now known as Makam Tok Pasai. Tok Pasai is the grandson of Narai @ Iskandar Mahkota Alam of Acheh. Apart from that, he is also the father in law of Boromoraja Ekataat V, Syarif Abu Bakar Syah. Tengku Marin or Suriyamarin is Tok Pasai’s daughter.

The Chinese Emperors armies from Langkawi led by Tunku Mohammad Chan attacked the invading thai Rama II armies by landing at four places in Kedah

1. at Teluk Bagan, now known as Tanah Raja Telok bagan.
2. at Kuala Kangkong led by Tok Kai.
3. at Kuala Sala and camping at Kota Sarang Semut, once the palace of Sayyidina Ali wa Maulana Jamalul Alam Badrul Munir, grandson of Raja Merong Mahawangsa.
4. at Kuala Sedaka marching by the thousand to camp at Padang Lumat.

Tunku Mohammad Chan is also the son in law of the Chinese Mancu Emperor since he is married to the younger sister of the older sister who is married to Nai Lang @ Syed Alang Alauddin. Meanwhile, Sultan Muhammad I of Kelantan is Tunku Mohammad Chan’s eldest son while Long Jaafar the Raja of Larut is Nai Langs eldest son. Both of them are cousins and also grandsons of the Chinese Manchu Emperor, Chia-Ching.

When the war is almost over, Nai Lang soon discover that his grandfather Boromoraja Ekataat V has been murdered in Kota Meang Kuang palace. His body was soon officially buried at the Siamese Muslims kings cemetery in kampong Tualang.

The location of Boromoraja Palace was leak to the thai armies by non other than Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Syah, Tunku Laksemana Laut of Kedah (he is not the Sultan of Kedah) as commonly believe.

Nai Lang prepares his armies to capture Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Syah. With British help Ahmad Tajuddin soon escaped to Penang and then to Malacca until 1843. For more than 20 years in Malacca he did nothing but wrote history in a Malay perspectives (ketuanan Melayu) with budget supported by the British colonial masters. Unfortunately, his imaginative writings became the source of historical reference in Malaysia today.

Po Chan Koya Long soon replaced his father as the new king and coroneted at Brahman Indera in 1821. in the Kedah Historical Convention Book published ini 1981, it is clearly stated that the Prince of Raja Siam Ligor Nambang resides at Alor Ganu Palace, Anak Bukit between the year 1821-1839. His son Nai Lang became the Bendahara and resides at Istana Kuning palace. Istana Kuning palace was build by their great great grandfather, Boromokot Sultan Muhiyuddin Mansor Syah who resides in Langkawi Island.

Tunku Mohammad Chan became the new Prime Minister and Raja of Kota Setar and reside at Istana Kota Burha. His son Nik Diah @ Ngah Muhammadiah was coronated as the new Sultan of Kelantan bearing the title Sultan Muhammad I residing at Istana Kota Raja Legeh Kok Lanas in Jeli, Kelantan.

Four of Sultan Mudzaffar Syah III @ Po Chan grandchildren, Nai Long Jaafar became the Raja of Larut while his younger brother Nai Long Abu Toha became the raja of Selama. Syed Mohammad Hatta Jamlulail, Raja Kayang (Perlis) who was killed in 1821 was replaced by his son Syed Harun Jamalulail.

His younger brother Sultan Ismail became the Raja of Kinta. The name Jamalulail originates from Jamalul Alam Badrul Munir, the son of Raja Merong Mahawangsa the first descendent of Bani Hashim.

Please view the Malay Laguage versions with pictures and other links here,

http://sejarahnagarakedah.blogspot.com/2008/03/sejarah-datok-panglima-bukit-gantang.html

Utusan Malaysia : 13 Februari 2008

Selatan Thai diberi autonomi? -- Kerajaan mahu tamatkan krisis - Contohi wilayah autonomi China

BANGKOK 12 Feb. – Kerajaan baru Thailand sedia menimbang kemungkinan untuk memberi hak autonomi kepada wilayah-wilayah majoriti Islam di selatan bagi menamatkan konflik berdarah di sana.

Menteri Dalam Negeri, Chalerm Yubamrung berkata, pemberian autonomi merupakan antara agenda yang difikirkan oleh pentadbiran Samak Sundaravej bagi memenangi hati penduduk selatan.

“Saya ingin menegaskan bahawa pemberian autonomi bukan sesuatu yang mustahil tetapi kita perlu membincangkan apakah jenis autonomi itu,’’ kata Chalerm kepada pemberita, hari ini.

Katanya, Thailand mungkin akan menjadikan Xinjiang yang merupakan wilayah autonomi Islam di barat China sebagai model untuk menimbangkan pemberian autonomi kepada Yala, Narathiwat dan Pattani.

“Kita tidak lagi boleh membenarkan lebih ramai penduduk maut akibat keganasan di selatan dan kerana itu kita perlu mencari jalan untuk membaiki keadaan itu dan bukan hanya menunggu untuk dibunuh,’’ tegasnya.

Keganasan di tiga buah wilayah Islam di selatan Thailand sejak 4 Januari 2004 sehingga kini meragut lebih 2,900 nyawa. Ketiga-tiga wilayah itu dikuasai oleh kesultanan Melayu Islam sehingga ia menjadi wilayah kekuasaan Thailand pada 1902.

Sementara itu menurutnya, pihak perisikan percaya pejuang pemisah di selatan kini berusaha melebarkan aktiviti mereka dan kemungkinan besar akan melancarkan serangan bom di Hatyai atau Bangkok sendiri.

Kata Chalerm, kelab-kelab malam di selatan berada dalam bahaya kerana pihak pemisah melihatnya sebagai satu perkara yang bertentangan daripada ajaran Islam.

Sehubungan itu katanya, beliau akan meminta pihak berkuasa tempatan untuk menimbangkan peraturan baru berhubung “aktiviti malam di selatan.”

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Tehran's Ambassador to Bangkok Mohsen Pakaein said the roots of Iran-Thailand cultural ties date back 400 years to the time when Sheikh Ahmad Qomi, an Iranian scholar, traveled to Ayutthaya and later was appointed to a very high position in the Thais (bukan thai, Siam) Court.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with FNA to mark the commemoration day of Sheikh Ahmad Qomi who, the envoy said, had played a very important role in the strengthening of ties between Iran and Thailand, Pakaein said the most renowned reign of Ayutthaya (previous capital of Thailand) was that of King Prasartthong, who introduced great changes in the Thai society.

"Sheikh Ahmad Qomi came in this period, which saw several Muslims holding important posts in the Thais Court, the army, navy and civil service," he said, adding, "As a result, Ayutthaya became a place where mosques were located near Buddhist temples and many Muslims married Buddhists. These persons became the ancestors of many respected Thai families , for example, the Bunnag, Singhaseni, Siphen, Chularat and Bunyaratklalin families."

The diplomat further underlined the crucial role of cultural interactions in creating mutual understanding and friendship between two peoples.

"The Persian influence over Ayutthaya also cover architecture, arts, food and sweets," he said.

"The arches in the old buildings in present-day Ayutthaya are Islamic pointed arches. Bricks are laid so that the weight is transferred down to the walls on both sides. This type of arch can be seen in the front gate of King Narai's Palace in Lop Buri, and at Wat Worachettharam temple in Ayutthaya. The pagoda at Wat Yai Chaimongkol temple in Ayutthaya was also built in the style of the Persian dome," he added.

According to the Iranian ambassador to Bangkok, Persian influence is also discernible in the Thai vocabulary.

"Modern Thai does contain several words of Persian origin which are in current use, such as the Thai words for kulaap ('rose', from Persian golaab), or kalam plii ('cabbage', from Persian kalam(," he concluded.

Sources: http://www.farsnews.com/English/printable.php?nn=8603060408

Luang Phrabhang

Bangsa Tai telah membuka kerajaan Buddha di Luang Phrabhang di Utara Siam berhampiran Laos sebelum mereka menawan kerajaan Islam Toung Oo, Burma. Sejarah ada mengatakan bahawa orang-orang Burma yang menyerang Ayuthia dalam tahun 1767, pada hal kejadian sebenarnya tidak berlaku sebegitu. Strategi mereka untuk menyerang Toung Oo terdahulu dalam tahun 1758, dengan itu telah menyebabkan ‘…Burma takes the blame for the invasion of Ayuthhaya in 1767’. Penyerang yang datang dari satu tempat, tidak semestinya berasal dari situ.

Tidak syak lagi sekiranya kita meneliti maklumat dibawah, bahawa bangsa Tai adalah penjajah negeri Siam Islam apabila mereka menyerang dan menawan Ayuthia dalam tahun 1767. Tidak hairanlah sebahagian besar wilayah selatan Thailand hari ini, termasuk Patani, terdapat penduduknya yang menganuti agama Islam. Mereka ini adalah rakyat yang DULUNYA berada dibawah Kerajaan Islam Ayuthia. Kita ikuti lapuran usaha-usaha pengkaji sejarah memulihkan semula senibina di Luang Phrabang, tempat asal usul bangsa Tai ini.

THE FUTURE OF ASIA’S PAST, “Preservation of the Architectural Heritage of Asia”, Summary of an International Conference Held in Chiang Mai, Thailand January 11 – 14, 1995

BACKGROUND

The migration of the T’ai people into the northern regions of Laos eventually led to the development of settlements and commercial centers. Luang Prabhang ’s growth was linked to its location on the Silk Road between India and China. The ancient city of Luang Prabang was located at an ideal site, on a peninsula protected on three sides by the juncture of the Nham Khah and Mekong rivers and on the fourth side by a hill. Sacred monuments were constructed on heights. Civil buildings were built at lower levels and on the river.

The architectural heritage at Luang Prabhang is more important for its modest but well- preserved styles than for its monumental architecture. The T’ai people used wood and lime-based mortar exclusively. Brick was introduced by the French and was reserved by the Laotians for sacred architecture. The French colonists used brick extensively and constructed colonial-style buildings outside the ancient city. Vietnamese workers brought to Laos by the French built their own commercial district composed of Chinese – style modular houses. Laotian style included using mortar over clay over bamboo.

PRESERVATION PLAN
As Laos has opened its doors to the outsideworld, it has focused on the need to protect its architectural heritage. It has done so on different fronts. UNESCO has worked on conservation at Luang Prabang since 1993. Nationally, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Lao Institute of Urbanism, and Les Ateliers de la Peninsule are working together to develop a cultural heritage conservation program. St rategies have been developed to conduct an inventory of the architectural heritage throughout the country,develop preservation law’s, and organize educational programs.

A government study to develop protective zones was completed in October 1994. It identified 144 buildings in Luang Prabang for preservation . The structures selected reflect a balance of the different architectural styles from the city ’s history : t raditional Laotian, colonial Laotian, Vietnamese, and French colonial.


PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES AT THE SITE
Land prices are climbing and foreign investors are entering Luang Prabang to develop the area. Whether the Laotian government will have the political will to preserve the architectural heritageof Luang Prabang properly when confronted with lucrative development projects remains to be seen.


REMEDIES
At present, despite difficulties, the Laotian government is increasingly paying attention to thep rotection and conservation of its cultural heritage.An ef fort is being made to protect a largepart of the entire city of Luang Phrabang.Until 1996 Luang Phrabang will not be connected by road to the Laotian capital of Vientiane, so there is a short window of opportunity to preserve Luang Prabang’s heritage while the city is still relatively isolated.

Speaker : François Greck , architect , Les Ateliers de la Peninsule, Laos.Site Management Session 14 Luang Prabang, Laos Site Management Session 1, THE FUTURE OF ASIA’S PAST, Preservation of the Architectural Heritage of Asia Summary of an International Conference Held in Chiang Mai, Thailand January 11 – 14, 1995.

Persian Architecture in Ayutthaya

Certain quarters is trying to change the history of Thailand by calling the muslims Ayutthayan Empire as the Thai Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Such name calling is ridiculous simply because the tai nation did not exist then. The Tai Buddhist Kingdom only exist in thr reign of Rama I after Ayutthaya was attacked by the Burmese in 1767 by Alaungphaya.

Earlier the Toung Oo kingdom was part of the Ayutthaya Kingdom which is also a Muslim Kingdom. No wonder there exist 21 mosque within the island city wall of Ayutthaya. Alaungphaya attacked and concquered Toung Oo in 1758 and then only was it known as Burma. King Rama I, Yotfa Chulalok proclaimed himself King after a coup and murder of Thaksin, a former General of the last ruler Boromoraja Ekataat. In Siamese (not thai), Chulalok simply mean son of a minister.The last Ayutthaya King moved to Nakhon Si Tammarat where he is known as the King of Ligor, ruling from 1767 - 1821.

Our highest compliments to HangPC2 for his own researched.

SAFINE-YE SOLAYMANI

SAFINE-YE SOLAYMANI,

("Ship of Solayman," henceforth SS), a Persian travel account of an embassy sent by the Safavid ruler Shah Solayman (r. 1666-94) to Siam in the year 1685. The SS was written by the embassy's secretary Moháammad Rabib. Moháammad Ebrahim (commonly referred to as Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim) and translated for the first time into English by John O'Kane, based on a British Museum manuscript. O'Kane's translation from the 1970s has been reprinted once (see Bibliography), with an introduction by the present author. According to Jean Aubin (Jean Aubin, "Les Persans au Siam sous le regne de Narai (1656-1688)" Mare Luso-Indicum 4 (1980), p. 97, n. 12), a second manuscript copy of the SS is said to be extant in Iran. In 1977, Abbas Faruqi published his edition of the Persian text, which was reprinted in 1999.


The SS consists of four main parts, referred to as 'gifts', toháfe in the Persian text, but translated as 'jewels' by O'Kane. The entire account contains Qur'anic quotations and lines of Persian poetry, some apparently by Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim. It starts with the usual doxology of God, the Prophet and Ali b. Abi Táaleb. After this, the author states his own name and profession, "Ebn Mohammad Ebrahim, Mohammad Rabi" [i.e. Moháammad Rabi Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim], "scribe to the contingent of the royal musketeers", which refers apparently to the tofangi [or musketeer-corps]. This is followed by ornate praise of Shah Solayman. The name of Siam's king Narai (r. 1656-88) does not appear throughout the account, although he is referred to indirectly as a tolerant monarch. Moreover, the introduction refers to the purpose of the Iranian embassy: a response to a Siamese embassy to Iran in 1682 which was led by an Iranian, as we shall see later. Our author mentions furthermore his appointment as official scribe for the delegation.


The First Gift

(and in fact the whole account) is written in a highly embellished style and reports on the first part of the travel aboard an English vessel, which started on 25 Rajab 1096/27 June 1685, from the Persian Gulf port Bandar-e Abbas via Muscat in Oman, for Madras in India.

With regard to Muscat, he mentions that it was previously under the Portuguese. After a turbulent journey the ship arrives at Chinapatam, i.e. Madras, in Southeast India, then under the control of the British. There follows a detailed description of the fort and the respectful reception given to the delegation by the British.

He reports, that the nearby city of Maylapur, too, had been previously under the "Franks" (i.e. the Portuguese), but that it was reconquered by the Qotbahis, to whom he refers interestingly merely as valis, 'governors'. He also mentions that news of the death of England's King Charles II (which had occurred on 6 February 1685) reached Madras during his time of stay there.


The Second Gift

elaborates on the travel from India to the then Siamese port of Tanasuri, i.e. Tenasserim in present-day Burma, by crossing the Gulf of Bengal, and from Tenasserim via land first to Ayutthaya and then to Lopburi, at that time the residence of the Siamese king Narai. The ship left Madras on 17 ˆawwal 1096/16 September 1685. This time they almost suffered shipwreck near the coast of the Burmese kingdom of Paigu, i.e. Pegu, to which Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim refers strangely as a part of Kheta' (Kedah), 'Cathay', i.e. China, however, with a "separate king".

Finally, the embassy arrives at the Siamese port of Mergui, where the Iranian Haji Salim, a representative of the Siamese king and former ambassador to the court to Iran, welcomes them. Haji Salim introduces them also to some aspects of Siamese customs and protocol. The reception on the part of Siamese officials present at that port is described as particularly respectful.

Interestingly, our author mentions another Iranian by name of Moháammad Sadeq as governor (Raja daerah) of Siamese Mergui and the entire adjoining province, who functions as their host during their stay in that city. After some days of rest, the embassy continues its way by boat to Tenasserim. Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim refers sometimes to the entire country of Siam as ˆahr-e Nav (Shahrulnuri), but at other occasions he applies that expression only to its capital, Ayutthaya. With regard to Tenasserim, he states that it was inhabited by Siamese, Indian Sunnites, Hindus and 'Franks'.

Interestingly, the Persian word for "Frank", which refers to a "Westerner", entered as a loan word in the Thai language, where it is still used today. From Tenasserim the embassy continues its way to Ayutthaya. En route it is received by one Sayyed Mazandarani, another Iranian governor in Siamese service. They proceed to a city to which our author refers to as 'Suhan', by the "river to ˆahr-e Nav", situated in one day distance by boat-travel from the capital. The present writer is not certain about its exact location, but the river seems to be the Chao Phraya.

The governor, raje, in charge of that town was another Muslim, referred to by our author as 'Ùelebi'. According to Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim, he was "from Rum", i.e. an Anatolian Turk, who had recently "converted" to Shi'ism. Anthony Reid identifies the area administered by 'Ùelebi' with that of today's Bangkok (Anthony Reid, Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450-1680. Volume Two: Expansion and Crisis, p. 191).

At that place, the delegation is also greeted by members of the local Iranian community. Soon later, they proceed upstream, thus on the Chao Phraya River, to the royal capital Ayutthaya. There, they are informed of the fact that the king had left for Lubu, i.e. Lopburi. The author describes it as a strong fortress and mentions a certain K¨úaje (Koya) Háasan Ali K¨orasani, supposedly a descendant of K¨úaje Abd-al-Latif, a former Safavid vizier of Khorasan, as the head of the Iranian community residing in Siam and the successor in that position to AÚqa Moháammad, who had died earlier.

Interestingly, the lodgings for the Iranian guests in Lopburi are described by the author as "Iranian" in style, furnished with baths (hammams), carpets, etc. Very important is also his account on the background of the Iranian community's loss of influence and favor with the king, which the author attributes to the "machinations" of a new favorite of the king, the Greek Constantine Phaulkon, to whom he does not refer by this name, but rather by the contemptuous expression "the evil Frank". Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim even claims that it was this person who persuaded the king not to meet the Iranian embassy en route and then also postpone the audience.

Finally, a first audience does take place, whose formalities are described by the author, focusing in particular on the manner in which the letter of the Safavid Shah was presented to the Siamese monarch. About the actual contents of the letter, however, the reader is left in the dark. There follows a description of several hunting expeditions and dinner invitations at which the Iranian delegation had been participating. Subsequently, the king moves to his capital Ayutthaya and the Iranian delegation has to follow him. Again, they are lodged in 'Iranian' houses, with Siamese and Iranian attendants.

Soon later, the members of the Iranian embassy decide to embark on their return journey, this time directly by sea. The author inserts here the important information of the Iranian community in Siam's custom of performing tazia or mourning ceremonies and performances in memory of the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson Hosayn b.Ali at Karbala, which were financially supported by the Siamese monarch, who also provided special buildings and other facilities for the purpose. The French traveler Guy Tachard, who was about the same time at the Siamese capital, has left us an impressive account of such a performance of particularly Shi'ite religiosity.


The Third Gift

amounts to what can be called a 'report on the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Siam'. The author begins by referring to the terms Ùin and Main as they appear in Muslim geographical literature of earlier times, but, more interestingly, he gives an explanation for the expression ˆahr-e Nav for the country of Siam and, more specifically, for its then capital Ayutthaya. He refers in some length to the conflict of Siam with neighboring Pegu. Of particular interest is his statement that Iranians had been highly respected in the kingdom and that they are even said to have brought King Narai to the throne.

Iranians, he claims, used also to exercise a strong influence over the private habits of the king, such as his choice of dishes and drinks as well as his clothes. Moreover, King Narai, he says, used to surround himself with bodyguards from India, most probably Iranians, or at least Shi'ite Indian Muslims from the southern part of the subcontinent. He refers at some length to the conflict between Phaulkon with his 'pro-French leanings' and the Iranian community. The third part contains also 'comments' on Siamese religious practices, legal system, as well as holidays and festivals, marriage and funeral rites, official titles, criminal investigations and varieties of punishments, but all this from a somewhat haughty perspective of assumed cultural superiority.

After reporting on the suppression of a revolt started by the resident community of Macassar Sunnite Muslims, he closes with a lengthy reference to the daily routine, income, and expenses of the Siamese monarch, and adds to this some remarks on the economy and the major trade goods, as well as the lifestyle and food of the common people. The importance of the 'Third Gift' lies in the fact that it highlights the role played by various members of the local Iranian community as supporters of the Siamese ruler, who is portrayed as an extreme Iranophile. This portion is also very valuable with regard to the earliest history of the still influential Bunnag family which traces its roots back to Iranian ancestry, and which exerted some impact at the Siamese court during the following centuries.


The Fourth Gift

concerns itself in a rather general fashion with an account of some of Siam's neighbors, such as the Philippines, the Dutch possessions in what is now Indonesia, and even China and Japan, mostly based on hearsay, since he did not visit these countries himself. He starts with a 'geographical section', which contains 'observations' on Siam's flora and fauna, and what he perceived to be the 'effects' of the tides, which is generally rather bizarre and fantastic than informative. He refers also to Ceylon, Acheh, the Nicobars and Andamans. This is followed by remarks on countries, which he certainly did not visit, such as the Philippines. He identifies the "Castilians" (Spaniards) as its rulers and gives a detailed (and rather admiring) account of the installment of its governors and the presence of Chinese settlers.

To this he adds what he had heard about Japan, beside the fantastic stories, in particular of the activities of the Dutch and Portuguese in that country, and that only the Dutch were able to retain some favor there. In a similar style he refers to Siam's then neighbors Pegu and China. With regard to his return travel, he states that he passed Pattani, the rebellious Siamese vassal and one of the petty Malay principalities. Interesting is his accurate account of the Malay custom of sending a "golden flower" (Malay: bunga mas) to the kings of Siam as a sign of loyalty. He refers also to the then Dutch port of Malaqe, i.e. Malacca, but states that he did not land there.

Passing on to India, he makes reference to Ku±i, i.e. Cochin, then also under the Dutch suzerainty, and the Malabar coast. He states that the Dutch had recently taken over the port from the Portuguese. The returning Iranian delegation had to stay six full months at Cochin, since they missed the season for sailing directly to the Persian Gulf. Instead, they embarked on a ship bound to Surat. While trying to enter the port of Surat, they found it under a blockade of a British fleet, due to a conflict with the Mughals. The British forced the ship to sail to Mumbai (Bombay), which was under their control, and the party stayed three and a half months there, even if they were apparently treated with consideration by the British. The author here mentions that the city was given by Portugal as dowry to the English king Charles II. Finally, the embassy leaves Mumbai on 5 Jumada II 1099 / 8 April 1688 on a ship bound for the Persian Gulf. They arrive back at Bandar-e Abbas on 24 Rajab 1099/14 May 1688.


The Fourth Gift is followed by a detailed 'Appendix' on the Mughal conquest of Hyderabad on the Deccan - the capital of the Golconda kingdom, ruled by the Shi'ite Qotbæahs - which happened actually on 21 September 1687. News of this significant event had apparently also reached the returning Iranian mission which was passing close by. The earlier fall of the kingdom of Bijapur on 12 September 1686 is also noticed by the author. Remarkably, he refers to the rulers of both kingdoms merely as 'governors'.

The SS closes with the mentioning of the escape of the Mughal prince Akbar (not to be confused with his namesake, the famous Mughal emperor) to the court of Persia, which took place in 1682. Substantial are also Ebn Moháammad Ebrahim's observations on the activities of Western powers in the Indian Ocean region, in particular the Dutch, the British and the waning fortunes of the Portuguese. From the perspective of Persian as well as Southeast Asian and Thai studies, the account is particularly rich in information on Siam's late seventeenth century Persian community, providing a kind of "Who's Who" for it.

However, it has no answer to the burning question of who were actually the first Iranian visitors to the country and what were the circumstances of their settlement there. Moreover, it does not contribute to our knowledge of "Shaikh Ahmad of Qumm" (whose name does not even appear in the book), the ancestor of the powerful Bunnag family and Siam's first Shaikh al-Islam, but it does refer to his early successors. The SS is furthermore contemptuous of Siamese customs and beliefs, evincing its author's complete lack of understanding of and sympathy for the country and its hospitable people. He refers constantly to a supposed cultural superiority of Persia and its religion. There are, however, no traces of "ethnic bias" in the text. Finally, Thai expressions, if he bothers to refer to them at all, appear mostly in a corrupted and at times unintelligible form in his account.

Nonetheless, the SS is an outstanding document for the historical and cultural presence of Persia in the eastern Indian Ocean region. It constitutes the only extant Persian source for the extensive Safavid contacts with the region and is also of relevance for the history of the Indian subcontinent, southern India in particular, during the 17th century.


Bibliography. (a) Safine-ye Solaymani (Persian text and translations): Ibn Muhammad Ibrahim, The Ship of Sulayman, transl. John O'Kane, New York, 1972 (Reprint with an introduction by M. Ismail Marcinkowski, Bangkok, 2003). Mohammad Rabi' b. Mohammad Ebrahim, Safine-ye Solaymani: Safarname-ye safir-e Iran be Siyam, 1094-1098, neveshte-ye Mohammad Rabi' b. Mohammad Ebrahim, ed., Abbas Faruqi, Tehran, 1977. Idem, Safine-ye Solaymani, British Museum manuscript BM Or. 6942.


(b) Other works: Aasen, Clarance, Architecture of Siam: A Cultural History Interpretation, Kuala Lumpur, 1998. Aubin, Jean, "The Ship of Sulaiman, translated from the Persian by John O'Kane (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972)" [review article], Studia Iranica 2, no. 2, 1973, p. 286. Idem, "Les Persans au Siam sous le regne de Narai (1656-1688)," Mare Luso-Indicum 4, 1980, pp. 95-126. Breazeale and Kennon, eds., From Japan to Arabia: Ayutthaya's Maritime Relations with Asia, Bangkok, 1999. Charnvit Kasetsiri, The Rise of Ayutthaya: A History of Siam in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, Kuala Lumpur, 1976. Cultural Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran [Bangkok] ed., Sheikh Ahmad Qomi and the History of Siam, Bangkok, 1995. Hiromu Nagashima, "Persian Muslim Merchants in Thailand and their Activities in the 17th Century: Especially on their Visits to Japan," Nagasaki Prefectural University Review 30, no. 3, January 30, 1997, pp. 387-99. Kaempfer, Engelbert, A Description of the Kingdom of Siam 1690, Bangkok, 1998. Khalidi, Omar, "The Shi'is of the Deccan: A Historical Outline," Al-Tawhid 9, no. 2, Nov. 1991-Jan. 1992, pp. 163-75. Kukrit Pramoj, Khwampenma khong Itsalam nai prathet Thai [The Origin of Islam in Thailand], Bangkok, B.E. 2514, [in Thai]. Marcinkowski, M. Ismail, "Persian Religious and Cultural Influences in Siam/Thailand and Maritime Southeast Asia in Historical Perspective: A Plea for a Concerted Interdisciplinary Approach," Journal of the Siam Society 88, pt. 1-2, 2000, pp. 186-94. Idem, "Perspectives and Problems for Research on Iranian-Siamese (Thai) Relations during the Safavid Period," (forthcoming in Iranian Studies 35, nos. 1-2, Winter-Spring 2002). Idem, From Isfahan to Ayutthaya: Contacts Between Iran and Siam in the 17th Century, Singapore, 2003. Idem, "Iranians, Shaykh al-Islams and Chularajmontris: Genesis and Development of an Institution and its Introduction to Siam," Journal of Asian History, 2003, (in press). Idem, "The Safavid Presence in the Indian Ocean: A Reappraisal of the Ship of Solayman, a 17th-Century Travel Account to Siam," (forthcoming 2003, London, I.B. Tauris) [paper presented at the International Conference on Iran and the World in the Safavid Age, 6-8 September 2002, London, SOAS]. Idem, "Research on the Safavid-Siamese Relations: A Reappraisal of the Current State of Affairs" (forthcoming 2003). Idem, From Isfahan to Ayutthaya: Buddhism and the Thai People in Ebn Mohammad Ebrahim's 17th-Century Travel Account Safine-ye Solaymani (forthcoming 2003). Meredith-Owens, G. M., Handlist of Persian Manuscripts, 1895-1966, London, 1968. Reid, Anthony, Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450-1680, Volume Two: Expansion and Crisis, New Haven and London, 1993. Sherwani, H. K., History of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty (New Delhi, 1974). Subrahmanyam, Sanjay, "Iranians Abroad: Intra-Asian Elite Migration and Early Modern State Formation," The Journal of Asian Studies 51, no. 2, 1992, pp. 340-63. Tachard, Guy, A Relation of the Voyage to Siam, Performed by six Jesuits, sent by the French King, to the Indies and China, in the Year, 1685, Bangkok, 1999. Wyatt, David K., Studies in Thai History: Collected Articles , Chiang Mai, 1999. Idem, Thailand: A Short History, Chiang Mai, 1999, reprint.

(M. Ismail Marcinkowski)

http://www.iranica.com/articles/sup/Safine_ye_Solaymani.html

Kehidupan rukun beragama di wilayah Nakhon Si Thammarat, Selatan Thai

Julai 7, 2005

Terkenal sebagai wilayah yang menyimpan banyak sejarah peradaban agama Buddha, Nakhon Si Thammarat di Selatan Thailand turut didiami penduduk Islam. Imej menyingkap kehidupan masyarakat Islam di sana.

Walaupun jumlah penduduk Islam tidak sebesar di wilayah lain seperti Pattani, Yala dan Naratthiwat, Nakhon Si Thammarat, juga dikenali dengan namanya Ligor tetap mekar dengan pengamalan dan budaya Islam. Kedatangan Islam di wilayah Nakhon, yang bermaksud kota untuk raja ini, dikatakan berlaku sekitar pertengahan abad ke-19 namun ada juga pendapat mengatakan Islam bertapak lebih awal daripada itu, apabila pedagang Arab singgah ke wilayah itu kerana kedudukannya di Teluk Siam. Encik Abdul Razak Panaemalae, seorang pensyarah di Universiti Walailak di Nakhon Si Thammarat memberi gambaran penghidupan masyarakat Islam di sana.

Di Nakhon Si Thammarat ini penduduknya purata di wilayah hampir satu juta kemudian penduduk Muslimnya sekitar 100 ribu orang sahaja atau pun 7%. Apa yang saya lihat cara hidup mereka tidak jauh beza dengan orang Melayu di Pattani. Seperti orang-orang tua masih berkain sarong, berkopiah, berbaju Melayu… Kalau saya keluar dari kampus ini, di kedai kopi, seperti biasa, ada nasi dagang, nasi berlauk, kopi–o, teh-o, tapi mereka bercakap dalam bahasa Thai sahaja. Dan sebahagiannya pelaut, nelayan, balik ke rumah, pergi ke pasar menjual ikan. Itu keunikan orang Melayu di sini, dalam konteks negara Thai.

Sekilas penghidupan masyarakat Islam di wilayah Nakhon Si Thammarat. Selain mengekalkan budaya Melayu yang memang sinonim dengan penghidupan Islam di Selatan Thai, penyebaran agama di masjid dan institusi pendidikan tradisional seperti pondok menjadi ciri tetap di wilayah Nakhon.

Mempunyai masjid yang berdaftar 75 buah berdaftar dengan kerajaan di Bangkok. Tetapi yang tidak berdaftar, yang kecil-kecil masih banyak lagi. Dan di sini juga mempunyai beberapa buah pondok yang mengajar sistem pengajian Islam secara tradisional ada. Di antaranya pondok Bantan di mana bekas Tuan Guru Hj Ismail Kassim ialah ayah kepada Dr Surin Pitsuwan, mantan Menteri Luar Thai di Bantan(Dr Surin beragama Islam). Kemudian ada beberapa pondok lagi yang masih berfungsi dengan memberi pendidikan kepada penduduk-penduduk Melayu Islam di sekitar, antaranya paling menonjol, sebuah pondok, sekolah agama yang dulunya pondok tetapi sekarang telah berubah menjadi madrasah iaitu pondok Muniti Santitham Islam di lembah Cina, di tengah-tengah bandar Ligor, Nakhon.

Terdapat juga sebuah badan di peringkat wilayah yang antara peranannya, mendapat pandangan penduduk Muslim berkaitan isu-isu yang menjejas kehidupan beragama mereka. Encik Abdul Razak menjelaskan,

Ada badan dikenali dengan nama majlis agama Islam Nakhon Si Thammarat. Ini juga berfungsi untuk mengendalikan, menyelenggarakan hal ehwal tentang orang-orang Islam. Mereka inilah di antara memain peranan penting dalam menyebarkan agama Islam- Majlis agama Islam, sekolah agama – sekolah pondok tradisional dan sekolah moden. Dan ketiga adalah masjid. Ini antaranya fungsi yang memainkan peranan penting dalam hal ini.

Tidak banyak yang membezakan penghidupan Islam di Nakhon berbanding wilayah-wilayah majoriti Islam di selatan Thai. Dengan pergolakan yang sering mendapat perhatian dunia di kawasan itu beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, apakah kesan yang sama turut dirasakan di Nakhon? Apakah berlaku ketegangan agama di antara penganut Islam dan Buddha? Encik Abdul Razak dengan pemerhatiannya.

Di Nakhon tidak timbul masalah tidak suka menyukai atau benci membenci tidak timbul... tapi apa yang saya ingin katakan apa yang disiarkan di media mengenai kejadian di Pattani, Naratthiwat sebagai satu titik saja dalam sebahagiaannya. Kalau kita membacara akhbar memang kita rasa dah berlaku ketegangan antara puak ataupun perkauman Melayu dan agama asing. Memang ada, potong kepala, tembak menembak tetapi itu sebahagian kecil sahaja. Tidak semuanya orang-orang Melayu di sana suka dengan perbuatan atau kejadian itu. Memang di sini Nakhon, orang Melayu walaupun beragama Islam tapi mereka adalah warga Thai yang mempunyai satu dasar kerajaan telah menetapkan bahawa orang Melayu – kerajaan tidak mempunyai policy untuk mengkhianati orang Melayu malah mereka menganggap itu adalah warga negara Thai keseluruhannya. Jadi tidak timbul perkara benci-membenci atau bias-membias. Faktor kedua kerana dalam agama orang Melayu dikenali sebagai berbudi-bahasa, dan agama Islam menekan bahawa kita sepatutnya kenal antara satu bangsa, rumpun, suku kaum – telah diajar dalam agama, ditanam sikap walaupun mereka tidak beragama Islam tetap juga rakan manusia di dunia ini yang patut kita beri penghormatan. Dua faktor penting yang menyebabkan orang Melayu di sini tidak terasa seperti mahu benci kepada saudara di satu wilayah.

Encik Abdul Razak Panaemalae, pensyarah di Universiti Walailak di wilayah Nakhon Si Thammarat, Selatan Thailand.

Nakhon Si Thammarat, wilayah lama di selatan Thailand yang kaya dengan kesan sejarah dan mercu tanda peradaban agama Buddha. Menariknya di sini juga berdiri masjid-masjid, pondok dan madrasah yang menjadi nadi penghidupan masyarakat Islam minoriti. Pada luarannya mungkin ini dilihat sebagai simbolik namun turut mencerminkan persefahaman antara agama yang telah lama wujud sejak berabad lama. Inilah yang mungkin harus diberi perhatian dalam kita mengawasi pergolakan yang berlaku di Selatan Thailand.

Untuk Imej kali ini. Saya Emillia Amin dari Radio Singapura Internasional untuk Ehwal Semasa Radio Mediacorp. Salam hormat.

Sejarah Perlis

BRIEF HISTORY

The State of Perlis (Negeri Perlis Indera Kayangan) has its origins during the period of Thai rule over the northern Malay states. The Thais followed a classic "divide and rule policy", no doubt in full conformity with the traditional Asian values of which we have heard so much. They divided the states into smaller units under, frequently headed by rival members of the ruling houses. Perlis, a region within Kedah, became a separate polity under the former Sultan Zia ud-din Mukarram Shah II, after he abdicated in 1803.

Sultan Zia's daughter married a Syed of Arabic descent, named Abu Bakar Harun Jamal' ul-Lail. The latter had been Penghulu, or subordinate chief, of Arau since 1797. His son and successor, Syed Husain received promotion to Raja of Perlis Indera Kayangan in 1843, after helping the Thais to suppress a revolt by the Raja of Ligor, one of the micro states into which Patani had been divided. Syed Husain's successors ruled peacefully for the rest of the century, sending the occasional tributes of gold or silver flowers to the Siamese overlord in Bangkok.

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Ini menunjukkan bahawa Raja Ligor adalah entiti yang berbeza (separate entiti) dengan Raja Thai. Raja Ligor beragama Islam sementara Raja Thai beragama Buddha. Tetapi bila tahunnya digantikan dengan bukan Islam?

http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Malaysia/perlis.htm

Phaya Thaksin @ Putera MokhTAR HusSAIN yang murtad

Following an internal political conflict in 1782 King Taksin allegedly became insane and started to regard himself as the second coming of Buddha. Whether true or not, he was deposed by his ministers, who then executed him in the custom reserved for royalty -- by shackling his hands and feet with gold restraints, sewing him into a velvet sack so that no royal blood touched the ground, then beating him to death with a Sandalwood club. (Dah pukul kepala hingga mati, hari ni buat tugu peringatan untuk dia pulak !!)



During the Ayutthaya period a surprising number of Thai kings are reported to have become insane and were eliminated. As in previous cases, many heirs to the king were also executed(biasalah , bunuh keturunan). General Chakri a close and trusted aide of the former King Taksin succeeded him to the throne. King Taksin's achievements have caused prosperity to bestow on him the epithet "the Great".

Siam was under the control of the Burmese since the sacking of Ayutthaya, but had to withdraw the bulk of its army from Siam to ward of the Chinese invasions, leaving behind only a small contingent. General Taksin taking advantage of the situation, organized his force and revolted.

General Taksin; At first was a guerrilla leader with only five hundred followers but within fifteen years his dominion was to embrace all of Siam. During the revolt Taksin managed to escape to Rayong on the East coast of Siam. Here with the help of Phraya Pichai, now his Commander-in-Chief, raised an army and declared all out war on Burma. The action was to eventually regain freedom for the Siamese people.

http://www.usmta.com/history-heros-1.htm

Siapa Sultan Kedah tahun 1832?

SOME 19th CENTURY VISITORS TO CAVES IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA
LIZ PRICE

The earliest record I have found, which actually predates the period covered in this paper, is by Dr. J.G. KOENIG, who went to Quedar (Kedah) on 15-30 December 1779. On 25 Decemberhe saw the Gerai Mountains, and on the 26th the Elephant Mountain.

Dr. Jean Gerard Koenig(1728-1785) was born in Livland, and was a pupil of Linnaeus. He became a noted botanist. In 1768 he travelled to India. His original manuscripts are in the Natural History Museum, London.

Various other people later wrote about Elephant Mountain or Gunung Giriyan (now called Keriang). T. WARD was probably the first person to describe it. He was an assistant surgeon inthe Madras Establishment. In November 1832 he visited Quedah and examined Gunong Giriyan (Keriang).

He went to the rock on an elephant loaned by the Rajah of Ligore. Guides showed him the caves; he visited four which he explored and recorded. He also knocked off specimens to study. He noted how the hill was surrounded by sea not too long ago. Today Gunung Keriang rises majestically above rice paddies, near the town of Alor Setar.

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Dalam tahun 1832 Raja Ligor yang dimaksudkan ialah Syed Alang Alauddin Panglima Bukit Gantang dan baginda sememangnya menetap di Alor Setar Kedah. Raja Ligor adalah gelaran kepada Sultan Kedah yang pernah menetap di Ligor dulu iaitu Syarif Yang Di Pertuan (datuk kepada Syed Alang Alauddin)selepas baginda berundur dari Ayuthia yang diserang oleh puak Tai. Gelaran itu kekal dibawa oleh cucunya juga.
Semakin lama semakin banyak bukti yang timbul semula

FOR MONKS ONLY

Papantanda pada sebuah tempat menunggu di Thailand.

O gitu rupanya ye. Gelaran Monk ni bukan untuk Sami Buddha sahaja tapi termasuk ulamak agama lain seperti Islam juga. Kalau gitu banyak orang yang baca sejarah Siam sudah tersasul lah.

>>Mee Kari di Chiengmai?<<

Kat Kedah pun ada jual Mee Kari Chieng Mai....korang tak tahu ke?

Ada rupa-rupanya kat sane ye....tapi bila pulak orang Pahang pandai buat Mee Kari kena hantar pegi ke Chieng Mai????...Pandai lah buat cerita puak ni. Baca disini,

http://www.lastappetite.com/khao-soi/