| Malaysia | 20 April 2017 | Asia Samachar |
I refer to Star TV’s recent video entitled “Sikhs of Malaya: Gone but not forgotten”. It is a welcomed step in the right direction to portray that our beloved nation today is the result of the blood, sweat and tears of various ethnic groups. However, it has numerous factual errors which must be rectified to ensure accurate documentation of the history of Malaysian Sikhs.
First, the Sikhs started immigrating to Malaya in the 1870s (and not 1900s as stated in the video) mainly to serve in the police and paramilitary forces. The pioneer Sikh police recruits (besides Pathans and Punjabi Muslims totalling 95 men) were enlisted by Captain Tristram Speedy at Lahore, Punjab in 1873 to help Ngah Ibrahim (territorial chief of Larut, Perak) restore law and order in Larut, Perak. Trade and tin mining in Larut was disrupted by frequent fighting between two warring Chinese clans (Ghee Hin and Hai San). By 1 July 1878, there were 247 Sikhs in the Perak police force.
SEE ALSO: Sikhs of Malaya: Gone but not forgotten
Subsequently, 40 Sikhs joined the Selangor police force in 1884 and by 1889 the Sikh Contingent in Selangor totalled 128 men. By 1890, the “First Battalion Perak Sikhs” had 713 Sikhs; the police force of Sungai Ujong had 75 Sikhs; and the Sikh Contingent in Pahang totalled 154 men.
It is important to note that, before the enlistment of police recruits by Captain Speedy, there were in 1857 about 60-70 Sikh convicts in Singapore. Another little known fact is that there was a garrison of 100 Sikh mercenary soldiers (recruited from the Straits Settlements) stationed at Kuala Selangor in 1871 to assist Tengku Kudin who was involved in a civil war against Raja Mahdi. Many of these mercenary Sikh soldiers were subsequently killed in the Selangor Civil War (1867-1873).
Second, the Sikhs involved in the Battle of Kampar were defending Malaya against Japanese invasion and not fighting “to seek independence for Malaya” as erroneously stated in the video.
Third, in 1931 there were already about 20,000 Sikhs in Malaya. Perak had the largest number of Sikhs, followed by Selangor and Singapore. Before the Second World War, Sikhs were found in most parts of Malaya with concentrations in or around the large towns. Hence, to imply in the video that the Sikhs started immigrating to Malaya in large numbers after the Battle of Kampar (30 December 1941-2 January 1942) is incorrect.
Fourth and finally, the title of the video itself is rather misleading. There are still thousands of Malayan Sikhs (including me) who are still “alive and kicking” and not “gone”.
Dr. Ranjit Singh Malhi, Kuala Lumpur
———
(This letter appeared in The Star newspaper on 9 May 2017)
History is not always what the British or West say
I REFER to the letter “Early Sikhs were police, convicts and mercenary soldiers” by Dr Ranjit Singh Malhi (The Star, May 8).
I have not seen the video he referred to and as such I have no comments on it. His article seems very factual but sad to say it has one statement that is grossly misleading and perhaps even slanderous: “… there were in 1857 about 60–70 Sikh convicts in Singapore”.
These “convicts” were mainly the followers/soldiers of Bhai Maharaj Singh who refused to lay down arms and accept British rule in Punjab. They waged continuous war against the British to free Punjab. In 1849, Bhai Maharaj Singh was captured by the British and in July 1850 he was, along with his men, deported to Singapore. These men were not convicts but political prisoners. They could be called nationalists, freedom fighters or even martyrs but certainly not convicts. So fearful were the British of Bhai Maharaj Singh that they imprisoned him in a windowless cell measuring 15ft by 14ft (4.6m by 4.3m) at the Outram Road prison. Living in total darkness and inhuman conditions in this cell, he died on July 5, 1856. He was cremated outside the prison. On that ground was the “samadh” – a memorial – that is located today at the Silat Road Gurdwara in Singapore.
The mistake many historians make is to swallow hook, line and sinker the views of British/Western authors. I was convinced during my school days when reading the history of the British Empire that Maharaja Lela was a rogue and a criminal since that was what the text books stated. But now I know that’s not the case.
It is really unfortunate that a man of Dr Malhi’s stature had to label these noble Sikhs as convicts simply by relying on the works of history as seen through the British prism.
DR AMARJEET SINGH SIDHU
Seremban
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