Malay sultans’ loyalty was to their British lord and not the rakyats. With those, the British effectively controlled those kampong potentates and successfully colonized Malaysia. Oh yes, there were also the meager royal allowances and the occasional Roll Royces. Just to be sure, the British also gave those sultans impressive royal titles and the perfunctory visit to Buckingham Palace, full of pomp and ceremony of course. The British bought Malay sultans by giving them the impression that they were on par with His Majesty. This can lead to the downfall of society. The problem with bought loyalty is that others can offer a much better price. Some can be had with mere wealth, others by fancy titles or simple flattery. We can buy those loyalties each of us has our price.

Personal loyalties are also notably fickle. Sultans, like fashion, change with the seasons, but the enduring values of our society remain true, to guide and save us. Those who deviate from our values do not deserve our loyalty.

Leaders come and go, but our values remain firm. We now can clearly differentiate between loyalties to principles versus personalities.Īs a free, civilized and law-abiding society, we remain true to our values and principles. Kassim’s brilliant insight makes Malays alter fundamentally our views of our sultans and society. Not many academic or other writings can claim to have such an impact!

Kassim Ahmad ended up shaking the very foundation of Malay society. It was an honor’s thesis in partial fulfillment for the Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Malay Studies at the University of Malaya, Singapore. Kassim Ahmad’s Characterisation in Hikayat Hang Tuah began as an academic exercise. I will be doing so in installments of that are easily readable on one surfing of the webpage. It is symbolic that on this anniversary of Malaysia’s merdeka that I should be posting on the Internet the thesis that shook the thinking of Malays and liberated their minds.

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