Legitimacy of the Malays as the Sons of the Soil

Abstract

This paper presents evidence to defend the Malay as legitimate sons of the soil. The arguments are supported by linguistic, archeological, paleoanthropological, prehistorian, botanical, genetic and forensic evidence. The bulk of the sources on indigenous concept of the sons of the soil are the Malay classical texts. Based those sources, it is argued that the Malays are entitled to be regarded as legitimate sons of the soil, firstly, their ancestors were not migrants, instead originated from the Nusantara region; secondly, their ancestors were the first who constituted the political establishment or effective administration in Nusantara in general and in Malaysia in particular; thirdly, the status of the Malay masses as the sons of the soil had been legitimized by the Malay Sultanates, a single supreme authority over all matter on the Malay sovereignty of all time till today; and, fourthly, the Malay themselves constituted the concept of sons of the soil and also the geo-political entity called Tanah Melayu (the Malay Land) long before the coming of foreign influences.