Sailing into Malacca

CEBU, Philippines - Upon the (yearly!) invitation of Tourism Malaysia – by its current Director for the Philippines Mdm. Fazdila Mansor – I attended the launch of the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival 2013 last June 28.   This year however the Philippine guests (Luis Espiritu Jr of Philippine Star, this writer for The Freeman Cebu, Kaye Araw-araw of Travelite Travel & Tours Cebu and Jasna Caluag of Rakso Air Travel & Tours Manila) took Cebu Pacific Air to Singapore with plenty of time to board Super Star Virgo of Star Cruises. We visited historic Malacca before the official launch in Kuala Lumpur.

What is now Malaysia sprung from this southern part of the Malay Peninsula that embraces the Straits of Malacca – and known in ancient days as Melaka. It started as a bustling fishing village of local Malays. Prince Parameswara was the last Rajah of Singapura who escaped after a Majapahit attack in 1377. By 1400, he was in the southern part of the peninsula and found the area to have a good port navigable all year round. Legend has it that one day, while Prince Parameswara was resting under a melaka tree, he saw one of his ferocious dogs fall into the water after having been pushed by a tiny mouse deer it was trying to subdue. The vanquished prince took what he witnessed as an omen of “the weak winning over the strong.”

He struck his claim on that spot and called the place Melaka, after the local tree where he took shelter.  Gaining his power by winning the loyalty of the sea dwellers called “orang laut,” as well as buying the “expertise” of the Straits privateers,  his kingdom was established when Parameswara collected levy on all ships that called on his port, likewise providing safe warehousing and vigorous international trading.

One who came with a fleet was Admiral Cheng Ho of China’s Ming Dynasty. Through his counsel, the Emperor sent one of his daughters Hang Li Po with  a retinue of 500 attendants to become the bride of the Melaka Sultan Mansor Shah (1455 – 1477).  The Chinese attendants intermarried with the local Malays and settled in Bukit China (now a Chinese cemetery).  Their descendants became the Peranakans, meaning “locally born” meztisos of Chinese and Malay origins. These descendants prospered and were called ”baba” or sir and “nyonya” or madam. (The Baba-Nyonya sub-culture is known for its ostentatious use of jewelry in fabulous designs, its bespoke intricately hand-sewn clothing styles and the astounding luxury of its lifestyle.) They speak Malay mixed with Chinese words, understood in their unique way. The Peranakans are also called Straits Chinese, with marked presence in the straits settlements of Singapore and Penang.

In April 1511, Portuguese General Alfonso de Albuquerque attacked Melaka from Goa (India) with 1,200 soldiers in 18 ships.  By August 24, Melaka was conquered.  He abolished the sultanate, spared the Hindus, Burmese and Chinese but slaughtered almost all the Muslims or sold them off as slaves. A Yang di-Pertua Negeri (governor) has replaced the sultan to this day. Albuquerque built and named the fortress A Famosa;  a gate, Porta de Santiago, is extant to this day. (A UNESCO World Heritage Site)

By 1641, the Dutch became the colonizers until 1824, but they focused on Java (Indonesia) as their center.  The locals hated them yet they left their mark in the Stradthuys, the red building in Dutch architecture that in 1650 became the residence of the Dutch Governor and his deputies. The building has an underground tunnel that ends at the port for an easy escape of the Governor in case of an enemy attack. It is now the Historic & Ethnography Museums.

The British became the last colonizer in 1824 until the State of Malacca gained its independence in 1957. Sir Stamford Raffles, the Straits Governor, prevented the Dutch from totally destroying A Famosa in 1808 and saved the Porta de Santiago.

So, like the trading ships of yore, the Super Star Virgo sailed into the Straits of Malacca from Singapore, and dropped anchor off the Parameswara Jetty where we were ferried ashore by motorboats…to get to know another Straits Settlement, like Penang and Singapore.  This one has almost 790,000 population of Malays (57%), Chinese (32%) including the Peranakans, Indians, Kristangs (of Portuguese ancestry) and Dutch Eurasians.

This third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang, can really claim to be the womb of Malaysia and truly “The Historic State” — Malacca! (FREEMAN)