Malayness

Malayness (Malay: Kemelayuan Jawi: كملايوان) is a term used to describe the state of being Malay, or of embodying Malay characteristics, and is used to refer to that which binds and distinguishes the Malay people and forms the basis of their unity and identity. People who call themselves Malay are found in many countries in Southeast Asia, united by a notional shared identity but divided by political boundaries, divergent histories, variant dialects and peculiarities of local experience. While the term 'Malay' is widely used and readily understood in the region, it remains open to varying interpretations due to its varied and fluid characteristics. 'Malay' as an identity, or nationality, is considered as one of the most challenging and perplexing concepts in the multi-ethnic world of Southeast Asia.

Much of the ethos of Malay identity are thought to originate from the ascendancy of Melaka Sultanate in the 15th century. After the fall of Melaka in 1511, the notion of Malayness developed in two ways: to claim lines of kingship or acknowledge descent from Srivijaya and Melaka, and to refer to a pluralistic commercial diaspora around the peripheries of the Malay world that retained the Malay language, customs and trade practices of the Melaka emporium. By the mid 20th century, an anti-Western colonialism concept of a romanticised Malayness has been an integral component of Malay nationalism, succeeded in ending the British rule in Malaya.

Today, the most commonly accepted pillars of Malayness; the Malay Rulers, Malay language and culture, and Islam, are institutionalised in both Malay majority countries, Brunei and Malaysia. As a still fully functioning Malay sultanate, Brunei proclaimed Malay Islamic Monarchy as its national philosophy. In Malaysia, where the supremacy of individual Malay sultanates and the position of Islam are preserved, a Malay identity is defined in Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia.

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