TOME PIRES :TANA MALAIO 1512

This is one of the most important pages in Tomé Pires - Suma Oriental (written 1512-1515 in Melaka and India).

What you posted, p.158 is:

"At the end of the land of Palembang is the land which is called Tana Malaio. It has the islands of Lucipara in front of it, and there are two channels formed with this island: one on the Palembang side, and another better one against the islands of Banka. And this land borders on the land of Sekampung. This land has a pate; it has a great deal of cotton; it has rattans, pitch; it has many foodstuffs in plenty; it has some gold. They say that Paramiçura, the founder of Malacca, came from this land, as has already been said.

1. What Pires means by Tana Malaio

For Pires, Tana Malaio is NOT the Malay Peninsula. It is a very precise place in southeast Sumatra today.

• Geography:"End of Palembang" + "borders Sekampung" + "in front of Lucipara islands" = the coast of what is now Lampung, southeast Sumatra.
• Lucipara = Pulau Lucipara in Bangka Strait, between Sumatra and Banka Island. He says there are two channels - one towards Palembang, one better one towards Banka. That is exactly the Bangka Strait navigation today.
• Sekampung = Sungai Sekampung, the big river that flows into the east coast of Lampung, near Bandar Lampung. Historians read this as Srivijaya's southernmost coastal settlements.
• Has a pate: Pate = adipati / ruler, a Javanese-Malay title for a chief under a larger king. So it's a vassal land, not an independent empire at that time.

So in early 16th century Portuguese usage, Tanah Melayu = a small, rich lowland area at the southeastern tip of Sumatra, producing cotton, rattan, dammar/pitch, foodstuffs and some gold.

And this is crucial for the Parameswara story. Pires records the oral tradition he heard in Melaka: Parameswara, the founder of Melaka, came from this Tana Malaio, not from Singapura alone. This supports the Palembang-Lampung origin theory, against later versions that make him purely a Palembang prince.

2. How this differs from other sources

The name "Melayu" moves location over 1300 years. Pires is only one snapshot.

A. 7th century - Chinese and inscriptions

• Chinese Tang records: Mo-lo-yu sends envoys in 644-645 AD. Yijing mentions Melayu was absorbed by Srivijaya in 685.
• Old Malay inscriptions: Kedukan Bukit (683) and Talang Tuwo (684) found in Palembang area - first evidence of written Old Malay language.
• Location: Centered in Jambi / Palembang, Sumatra.

B. Malay Annals / Sejarah Melayu (Sulalatus Salatin, 17th century)

• Associates the name "Melayu" with Sungai Melayu in Sumatra, and Bukit Seguntang as origin of Sang Sapurba, ancestor of Malay kings.
• Does NOT use the phrase Tanah Melayu to describe the peninsula. The peninsula is called Melaka, Johor, Pahang, etc.
• The phrase tanah Melayu meaning the peninsula only appears later, in texts like 'Hikayat Hang Tuah' and 'Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai', both first written down in 17th-century Johor when Johor was competing with Aceh in Sumatra for dominance of the Malay world. Scattered throughout that hikayat the phrase 'tanah Melayu' is frequently and consistently employed to refer to the peninsula, not Sumatra.

C. Colonial re-naming

Stamford Raffles re-titled the manuscript 'Peraturan Segala Raja-raja' as Sejarah Melayu / Malay Annals.

William Marsden in his 'History of Sumatra' (1811) called the land east of Sumatra "Malay Peninsula" because he thought Malays originated there. That English term was then translated into Malay as 'Tanah Melayu' - with far-reaching consequences.

So:

• 7th-15th century: Melayu = Sumatra (Jambi/Palembang/Lampung)
• Pires 1512-1515: Tanah Melayu = southeast Sumatra tip (Lampung/Sekampung)
• 17th century Johor literature onward: Tanah Melayu = Malay Peninsula
• 19th century British: Malay Peninsula officially = Tanah Melayu, until 1948 Federation of Tanah Melayu

That's why Pires is so valuable. Writing in the early fifteenth century, Tomé Pires identifies a very precise location of 'Tanah Melayu' at the southeastern end, long before the British moved the term to the peninsula.

If you are tracing Parameswara, Pires is basically saying: don't look for his homeland in the modern Tanah Melayu (peninsula) - look at the old Tanah Melayu in Lampung / South Sumatra, at the end of Palembang country.

References:

1. Leonard Y. Andaya : The Search for the 'Origin' of Melayu.
2. Wikipedia : Malays (ethnic group).

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

5/9/2026: 3.01 a.m

MARITIME LAW OF MALACCA

Undang-Undang Laut Melaka means "Maritime Laws of Melaka" — Jawi: اوندڠ٢ لاءوت ملاک.

It was one of two major legal codes of the Melaka Sultanate (1400–1511). The other was the Undang-Undang Melaka / Hukum Kanun Melaka, which was the land laws. This one dealt specifically with matters related to maritime laws and regulations, as well as nautical procedures concerning seafaring affairs of merchant vessels.

Where did it come from?

The exact date is unknown, but the manuscripts say it was compiled during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Shah (1424-1444). It wasn't written by the palace alone — it was composed by a group of Melakan shipowners, most of whom were Javanese in origin, led by Patih Harun and Patih Elias who assembled the nakhodas (sea captains) like Nakhoda Zainal, Dewa and Ishak to consult on sea customs.

When they presented it to the Bendahara, Sultan Muhammad Shah decreed:

"You are as rajas at sea, and I confer authority on you accordingly" — meaning the laws of the sea shall be carried out at sea, just as the laws of the land are carried out on land.

Enforcement at sea was placed under the Laksamana — the Admiral of the Fleet.

What did it cover?

It's surprisingly detailed. A legal code called the Maritime Laws of Malacca specified the authority of a trading ship's captain and the responsibilities of the crew, rules of profit-sharing, compensation for collision damage, penalties for cheating on port duties, and settling contractual obligations of debts incurred at sea.

The version catalogued by Stamford Raffles had 20 main clauses, grouped into 4 chapters:

1. People and hierarchy on board

A ship was treated like a floating kingdom. The code gives a full hierarchy:

1. Nakhoda (captain) = Raja
2. Juru mudi (helmsman) = Bendahara
3. Juru batu (leadsman) = Temenggung - also acts as judge
4. Malim (pilot/navigator) = Imam - decides when to sail based on winds, waves, reefs
5. Tukang kanan / kiri / agong = officers, 
6. awak-awak = rakyat (crew)

It covers guard duties (berkepang), weapons, food supplies, and even loans - the nakhoda was responsible for providing loans to those in need.

2. Trading system

The kiwi — travelling merchants who rented a petak (partition in the hold) under a commenda system. Rules for rent, how long they can keep it, and what happens if they delay sailing. When arriving at port, the nakhoda had the right to sell first — 4 days before the kiwi and 6 days before other sailors.

3. Safety at sea

Procedures for fire, storms, throwing cargo overboard, ships colliding, finding castaways and treasure (troves), and dealing with runaway slaves.

4. Crimes and punishments

Very strict. Four offences could carry the death penalty on board:

1. disloyalty / speaking offensively to the nakhoda
2. plotting to kill the nakhoda, kiwi, tukang or malim
3. carrying a kris when others don't
4. very bad, disrespectful behaviour

Plus detailed laws on adultery, quarrels, theft and mutiny.

Why is it important?

Melaka in the 15th century was the biggest entrepôt in Southeast Asia. This code was one of the earliest maritime laws in the world, and it shows how sophisticated Malay maritime culture was.

After Melaka fell in 1511, the code didn't disappear — it continued to be used by other Malay kingdoms around the Straits of Melaka, even as far as Pahang, Kedah, Pattani and Makassar, with local amendments.

The manuscript page looks like it is from one of the later copies — the red ink marks the start of new chapters/clauses, which was typical. If you found this in an archive like Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia, that's a very valuable copy.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

5/9/2026: 12.13 a.m

THE MALAY SAILORS: THEY RULED HALF THE WORLD BEFORE COLUMBUS

The World of The Malay Sailors - The First Masters of The Oceans

Perfect for your main pillar post. Use the map image as header.

How Malay Sailors Ruled Half The World Before Columbus

Before the Greeks and Romans dared to enter the Indian Ocean, Malay sailors had already created a commercial network stretching from the Philippines and New Guinea to the east coast of Africa.

As historian Richard L. Smith notes in "Premodern Trade in World History" (Routledge, 2009, Pg.112): 

"Out at sea the lanes were dominated from at least the first millennium BCE by the Malays, a term that may refer specifically to the inhabitants of the Malay peninsula but is often applied in a larger, more generic sense to various seafaring peoples who spoke Austronesian languages and lived in parts of Sumatra, Borneo, and other islands as well as on the peninsula. Malay sailors were the earliest long-distance traders in the modern countries of Malaysia and Indonesia, and their activities reached from the South China Sea to the eastern rim of the Indian Ocean. They were skilled mariners with their own advanced nautical technology who may have independently invented the sail. Long before Greek and Roman merchants stepped into Indian Ocean trade, the Malays created commercial networks extending from the Philippines and New Guinea to the east coast of Africa."

Who were they?

The map  - "THE WORLD OF THE MALAY SAILORS" - shows Maritime Southeast Asia in thick lines, but their world was far larger. From E. Africa and Madagascar in the west, to Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, S.E. Asia, the Philippines, and China in the east. This was not a coastal trade. This was blue-water navigation.

How did they navigate without compass?

This complex knowledge was passed orally from generation to generation (Keith Taylor, 1976: 30, 45-46). They navigated by:

• the winds and the stars
• the shape and color of the clouds
• the color of the water
• swell and wave patterns on the ocean's surface

"They navigated by the winds and the stars, by the shape and color of the clouds, by the color of the water, and by swell and wave patterns on the ocean's surface. They could locate an island when they were still something like 30 miles from its shores by analyzing the behavior of various birds, the animal and plant life in the water, and the patterns of swells and waves."

They could locate an island when they were still 30 miles from its shores by analyzing bird behavior, animal and plant life in the water, and swell patterns.

*P.39: Cited by Lynda N.Shaffer, 1994 ..4-5 as proof Malay sailors reached East Africa by first century BCE / earlier, and that Madagascar speaks Malayo-Polynesian. 

The Kunlun Connection:

By the third century B.C.E., the Chinese had taken notice of Malay sailors approaching their shores from the "Kunlun" Islands in the southern seas. The Chinese described them as "volcanic and invariably endowed with marvelous and potent powers" (Keith Taylor, 1976: 32-33). The Chinese knew these islanders as builders and crews of ocean-going vessels engaged in long-distance overseas trade. In fact, the Chinese appear to have learned much from these sailors.

In the Malay worldview, both the mountain heights and the depths of the sea were sites of powerful forces. The highest mountains were holy places, the home of ancestral souls, while the sea contained dangerous spirits that had to be propitiated and then enlisted in one's cause.

What Taylor actually argues on p.32-33:

1. Kunlun = Malay — Chinese records used the term Kunlun for the dark-skinned Austronesian sailors from the southern seas. They were not Chinese — they were Malay/Indonesian.
2. Volcanic islands = Malay Archipelago — Chinese thought their homeland was full of volcanoes with magical powers — which is accurate for Sumatra, Java, Bali.
3. Worldview link to navigation — Taylor connects this animist mountain/sea belief system to why Malay sailors could navigate so far: mountains and sea were both sacred, not barriers.

Keith Taylor (1976). "Madagascar in the Ancient Malayo-Polynesian Myths." In Hall & Whitmore (eds) Explorations in Early Southeast Asian History. Michigan. pp. 32-33: Chinese records of Kunlun sailors by 3rd century B.C.E.

How Malay Sailors Rode The Monsoon to Madagascar and The Cinnamon Trade to Rome

3,000 Miles Across Open Ocean: Bananas, Coconuts, and Cinnamon That Malay Sailors Took to Africa

Riding The Monsoon:

During winter, Central Asia's extreme cold causes its air mass to become dense and heavy, while the air over the ocean is warmer. This differential causes dry winds from Central Asia to blow out over the continent toward the oceans from December to March.

Malay sailors were the first to take advantage of this seasonal wind pattern. They departed with the wind at their back, sailing for thousands of miles to distant locations. There they waited until the winds changed direction, which allowed them to sail home with the wind still at their back.

They Reached Africa First:

There is little consensus when Malay sailors first reached the East African coast and Madagascar, more than 3,000 miles to their west, but some believe contact occurred relatively early in the first millennium B.C.E.

Proof is in the cargo. In sailing across thousands of miles of southern ocean, Malay sailors carried a number of plants from Asia to Africa, including bananas, coconuts, and the cocoyam. The East African term for cocoyam is derived from a Malay word (Andrew M. Watson, 1983: 68).

On p.68, Watson lists taro / cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) as one of the Asian food crops that reached East Africa via the Indian Ocean trade, and notes the linguistics: the Swahili/East African local name is a loanword from Malay/Indonesian, not from Arabic or Bantu. That is direct linguistic proof that Malay sailors brought it, not Arab traders later.

** "Watson, Andrew M. (1983). Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World: The Diffusion of Crops and Farming Techniques, 700-1100. Cambridge University Press. p.68 - East African term for cocoyam derived from Malay word."

Even music traveled: The tuning scales of the Malayo-Polynesian xylophone also appear to have ridden with the Malays to Africa. Precisely how this instrument got from East Africa to West Africa, where it can still be heard today, remains controversial (A.M. Jones, 1971: 115-119).

p.115-119 is the controversial part — The xylophone in its advanced form is absent from Madagascar (the obvious Malay colony), but is everywhere in West Africa (called Balonda in Senegambia, Marimba in Angola). So how did it get from East Africa where Malays landed, to West Africa where it lives today? Jones says Indonesians must have sailed around the Cape or crossed the continent, but admits he can't prove the route. That's the "remains controversial" part you quoted.

Did Malay Sailors Supply Rome With Cinnamon?

The Malay sailors may also have been riding the monsoons of the Indian Ocean to supply the Mediterranean market with cinnamon — a product of southern China — even before the development of an overland or overseas silk route.

The Greek word for cinnamon was derived from a Malayo-Polynesian word, through Phoenician and Hebrew. Even though cinnamon was never grown commercially in Africa, Egyptian and Hebrew texts dated to the first millennium B.C.E. speak of cinnamon coming from Africa.

This led several scholars to suggest that Malay sailors were responsible for bringing this cinnamon from the coasts of the South China Sea to East Africa. Pliny, writing in the first century C.E., describes an already well-developed trade in cinnamon. The men who brought the cinnamon "put out to sea... when the east winds are blowing their hardest; these winds drive them on a straight course."

"Sea of Malayu" - The Ocean That Was One Sea From India to Vietnam

Great for history / identity angle. Use Leonard Y Andaya quote.

Laut Melayu Itu Dimana? From Arabic Texts Year 1000 to Melaka 1613

The first reference to a "Sea of Malayu" is from an Arabic document dated c. 1000, which noted that travelers "reaching the Sea of Malayu, were approaching the area of China."

Eredia, writing in 1613 from Melaka, also uses the phrase "Sea of Malayu", but he identifies it with that "land-enclosed sea between the mainland of Ujontana [Malay Peninsula] and the Golden Chersonese." By privileging land over water, Eredia believed that the "Sea of Malayu" referred simply to the Straits of Melaka.[Sumatra]

For the Malayu who were shaped by their orientation to the sea and the riverine environment, stretches of land were viewed as barriers that fortunately could be breached through short land passages.

The people were named after a particular river or stretch of river, stream, or coast. In this maritime world rivers and seas formed unities, while land formed the link between bodies of water.

Based on this way of viewing waterways, the Malayu would have conceived of their sea as a far larger unity than proposed by Eredia. Although the Arabic document is not specific, the general reference to a Sea of Malayu approaching the area of China is an accurate description of the extensive network viewed as one sea stretching from India to Vietnam.

Source: Leonard Y Andaya - Professor of Southeast Asian History of Hawaii at Manoa. 

"Leornard Y Andaya (2008) : The Sea of Malayu concept - from Arabic document c.1000 to Eredia 1613. In Leaves of the Same Tree. p.22"

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

4/9/2026: 11.24 p.m

WRITING MALAYSIA: HISTORICAL BOOKS

How the West wrote about Malaya/Malaysia. From missionary handbook to academic classic to adventure pulp. 

1. 1919 - MALAYSIA by John Russell Denyes

Malaysia (1919) - The Methodist Missionary Handbook That Defined "Malaysia" Before Malaysia Existed.

Post:

• Book:MALAYSIA by John Russell Denyes
• Publisher:Board of Foreign Missions, Methodist Episcopal Church, New York - 1919
• Collection: From University of Illinois Library

This is one of the earliest books to use the word "MALAYSIA" on the cover as a region, not a country.

John Russell Denyes was not a colonial officer. He was a Methodist missionary secretary. His 1919 booklet was written to raise funds and explain to American churchgoers: "Where is Malaysia?"

His answer on page 1: 

"off the southeast corner of Asia, 1500 miles south of China and 1500 miles east of India. It includes the Malay Peninsula and the islands..."

Inside, he describes the Malaysia Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church - schools in Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, medical work, Chinese, Tamil and Malay congregations. It's part travelogue, part mission report.

Why this book is rare for Malaysian history bloggers:

Before 1963, "Malaysia" meant the whole Malay Archipelago. Denyes shows how American missionaries popularized the term long before Tunku's Federation. If you want to explain to readers where the name "Malaysia" came from, this is a primary source.

2. 1937 - MALAYSIA: A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule by Rupert Emerson

Blog Title The Most Important Colonial Textbook: Rupert Emerson's Malaysia (1937)

Post:

• Book: MALAYSIA - A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule by Rupert Emerson, Assistant Professor of Government, Harvard University
• Publisher: The Macmillan Company, New York, 1937 - 536 pages, 2 maps

If you only read one academic book from your collection, read this.

Rupert Emerson spent a year living in Malaya and the Netherlands Indies to write this. Published in 1937, it was reviewed as "A scholarly, thorough and well documented work on colonial rule in Malaya and Netherlands Indies".

What makes it special: Emerson was the first to compare British rule in Malaya (Indirect Rule in the Malay States, Direct Rule in the Straits Settlements) with Dutch rule in Indonesia. He was influenced by J.A. Hobson's theory of imperialism — that colonial governments and capitalist enterprises (rubber, tin) work together.

For Malaysian students, Chapter 1-5 on Federated Malay States, Unfederated States, and Straits Settlements politics is still the clearest explanation of how the British divided our administration.

Reprinted in 1964 by University of Malaya Press with a new introduction by John Bastin, it became the textbook for the first generation of UM history students.

3. 1945 - THE PEOPLES OF MALAYSIA by Fay-Cooper Cole

The Peoples of Malaysia (1945) - The American Anthropologist Who Saw Us as a World War II Resource

Post:

• Book: THE PEOPLES OF MALAYSIA by Fay-Cooper Cole
• Publisher: D. Van Nostrand Company, New York, 1945 - 354 pages + 37 plates

Fay-Cooper Cole (1881-1961) was Professor of Anthropology at University of Chicago from 1924. He first worked in the Philippines, then summarized his life's work in this wartime book.

Why 1945? The US Navy reviewed it in July 1945 - just before the war ended. The US needed to understand the peoples they were about to liberate from Japan.

Cole covers: Malays, Sea Dayaks (Iban), Land Dayaks (Bidayuh), Kayan, Kenyah, Melanau, Murut, Bajau, Chinese, Tamils, Semang, Senoi. His field studies were the basis for his more general book "The Peoples of Malaysia" (1945), which incorporated his accumulated knowledge.

Unlike missionary books, Cole tries to be scientific — language, house types, rice cultivation, adat law.

4. 1905 - IN THE HANDS OF THE MALAYS by G.A. Henty

In the Hands of the Malays (1905) - Victorian Adventure Pulp That Sold Malaya to British Schoolboys

Post:

• Book: IN THE HANDS OF THE MALAYS and Other Stories by G.A. Henty
• Publisher: Blackie & Son, London, 1905 - First Edition, illustrated by J. Jellicoe

G.A. Henty (1832-1902) was the J.K. Rowling of the British Empire — over 122 adventure novels for boys.

"In the Hands of the Malays" was one of his last, published posthumously in 1905. Full title in Gutenberg: "In the Hands of the Malays", and Other Stories — Contents: In the hands of the Malays -- On the track -- A frontier girl.

The story: a young Englishman gets caught in the Selangor civil war and piracy in the 1870s. It's fiction, but Henty based it on newspaper reports of Captain Syers and the fight against Raja Mahdi.

The cover you have — boy in wide-brim hat holding rifle — is classic Henty formula: empire, courage, "natives".

Now free on Project Gutenberg, so you can link readers to full text.

Blog Angle: "How British Kids Learned About Malaysia Through Comics Before TV". Compare Henty's exotic view vs reality. Very clickable for younger readers.

5. PIRACY AND POLITICS IN THE MALAY WORLD by Nicholas Tarling

Piracy and Politics in the Malay World - The Book That Rewrote Piracy History

Post:

• Book: Piracy and Politics in the Malay World by Nicholas Tarling
• Publisher: First published 1963, Melbourne

Nicholas Tarling became the foremost authority on piracy in colonial Southeast Asia.

His thesis: In the 18th century, European trade expansion "threatened the economic foundations of indigenous coastal states, weakening the sultanates and allowing for the development of piracy".

But he also warned: don't uncritically call all Asian maritime violence "piracy" — the term "carried from its..." European legal bias.

The ICJ (International Court of Justice) even cites this book as an annex for territorial disputes.

For your blog: Use this to explain the difference between Lanun, Iranun, Balangingi raiders and European definitions of piracy. Tarling uses CO (Colonial Office) files — e.g. Cochrane to Admiralty, 1845 — so it's heavily archival.

Blog Angle: "Lanun Bukan Sekadar Perompak: Apa Kata Profesor Tarling". Tie to modern piracy in Selat Melaka.

6. THE PIRATE WIND: Tales of the Sea-Robbers of Malaya by Owen Rutter

The Pirate Wind (1930) - The Real Pirates of the Caribbean, But in Malaya

Post:

• Book:THE PIRATE WIND - Tales of the Sea-Robbers of Malaya by Owen Rutter
• Publisher: Original 1930 Hutchinson & Co, London; Oxford in Asia Paperbacks reprint 1986

Owen Rutter (1889-1944) was a colonial officer, historian, and travel writer. His popular history offered readers *"a pacy and gripping account of 'piratical peoples' of Southeast Asia in the 19th century"*.

The book's blurb from Oxford: "This account of piracy in Malayan seas in the 18th and 19th centuries provides a detailed chronicle of pirate attacks and of victories and defeats in battle, mainly against British frigates".

The edition shows a Dayak warrior with shield and spear — the iconic image used by Oxford in Asia. It's not academic like Tarling; it's story-telling: how the Ilanun swept from Tempasuk to Kuala Selangor, how Brooke fought the "pirates" of Borneo.

Blog Angle: Serial post: "5 Kisah Lanun Paling Ganas dari The Pirate Wind". Each chapter is a standalone tale — perfect for Blogspot cliffhangers.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

4/9/2026: 10.31 p.m

BLOGSPOT SUDAH KETINGGALAN?

Blogspot (Blogger) kini dianggap sudah kurang relevan untuk standard penulisan moden, terutamanya bagi mereka yang ingin membina jenama profesional, perniagaan, atau mencari pendapatan secara serius. 

Walaupun platform milik Google ini masih aktif, 100% percuma, dan selamat, ia sudah jauh ketinggalan dari segi fungsi. Reka bentuknya yang kaku, pilihan templat yang terhad, sokongan SEO yang asas, serta ketiadaan ekosistem pemalam (plugins) membuatkan ramai penulis beralih ke platform lain yang lebih dinamik. 

Berikut adalah platform pengganti terbaik untuk Blogspot mengikut keperluan penulisan anda:

1. WordPress (Pilihan Paling Fleksibel & Profesional)

WordPress merupakan pengganti utama yang digunakan oleh majoriti laman web di dunia. Ia terbahagi kepada dua versi: 

• WordPress.org (Self-Hosted): Pilihan terbaik jika anda serius mahu berblogging. Anda perlu membeli domain dan hos sendiri (seperti di Exabytes atau Hostinger), tetapi anda mendapat kawalan penuh ke atas reka bentuk, kedai digital, dan fungsi SEO premium.
• WordPress.com: Versi percuma yang dihoskan oleh WordPress, seumpama Blogspot tetapi dengan antaramuka yang lebih moden. 

2. Substack (Pilihan Terbaik untuk Penulisan Berita & Monitisasi Direct)

Jika fokus utama anda adalah menulis artikel analitikal, pendapat, atau cerita fiksyen tanpa mahu pening memikirkan reka bentuk web, Substack adalah pengganti terbaik.

• Model Buletin (Newsletter): Setiap kali anda menerbitkan artikel, ia akan dihantar terus ke e-mel pembaca.
• Monitisasi Mudah: Anda boleh mengaktifkan fungsi langganan berbayar dengan mudah untuk pembaca setia anda.

3. Medium (Pilihan Terbaik untuk Capaian Audiens Segera)

Medium ialah platform penulisan sosial yang sangat popular global. 

• Trafik Sedia Ada: Anda tidak perlu bermula dari sifar untuk mencari pembaca kerana algoritma Medium akan mencadangkan artikel anda kepada pengguna yang berminat.
• Kemas & Minimalis: Fokus 100% kepada penulisan bersih tanpa gangguan iklan yang berserabut. 

4. Wix / Squarespace (Pilihan Terbaik untuk Reka Bentuk Visual & Mudah)

Bagi mereka yang mahukan blog yang cantik dengan sistem drag-and-drop (tarik dan lepas) tanpa perlu tahu kod pengaturcaraan. 

• Wix: Menyediakan pelan percuma dan sangat mudah diubah suai mengikut kreativiti anda.
• Squarespace: Terkenal dengan reka bentuk templat yang sangat estetik dan profesional, sesuai untuk blog gaya hidup atau portfolio. 

---

Perbandingan Ringkas Pengganti Blogspot

Platform	Kos	Kelebihan Utama	Sesuai Untuk
WordPress.org	Berbayar (Hos & Domain)	Kebebasan mutlak, ribuan plugins	Blog profesional & Bisnes
Substack	Percuma (Komisen daripada langganan)	Integrasi e-mel buletin yang kuat	Penulis artikel & Jurnalistik
Medium	Percuma	Dah ada audiens terbina dalam	Penulis kasual & Kongsi pendapat
Wix	Percuma / Berbayar	Mudah reka bentuk (drag-and-drop)	Blog visual & Portfolio

PLATFORM PERCUMA

Memandangkan tujuan anda adalah untuk hobi dan anda mahukan platform yang 100% percuma tanpa komitmen bajet bulanan, berikut adalah dua pilihan pengganti Blogspot yang paling santai, mudah digunakan, dan mesra-pesara:

1. Medium (Pilihan Terbaik & Paling Mudah)

Medium adalah seperti sebuah perpustakaan digital yang besar. Anda hanya perlu daftar akaun secara percuma, dan anda boleh terus mula menulis.

• Kelebihan: Tiada reka bentuk web yang pening untuk diuruskan. Paparannya sangat bersih, cantik, dan fokus kepada tulisan anda. Artikel anda juga berpotensi dibaca oleh komuniti Medium yang sedia ada.
• Kelemahan: Anda tidak boleh mengubah suai warna atau susun atur blog secara keterlaluan (semua blog nampak hampir sama standard).

2. WordPress.com (Pelan Percuma)

Jika anda masih mahukan "ruang peribadi" yang boleh dinamakan mengikut kehendak anda (contoh: wordpress.com), WordPress.com adalah pilihan yang sangat stabil.

• Kelebihan: Sangat selamat, tidak akan ditutup, dan mempunyai banyak pilihan templat (reka bentuk) percuma yang moden jauh berbeza dengan Blogspot.
• Kelemahan: Mempunyai fungsi yang terhad untuk pelan percuma, tetapi sudah lebih daripada cukup untuk sekadar menulis hobi.

Perbandingan untuk Penulis Hobi

Ciri-ciri	Medium	WordPress.com (Percuma)
Tahap Kesukaran	Sangat Mudah (Daftar & terus tulis)	Sederhana (Perlu pilih tema blog)
Rupa Blog	Minimalis, fokus pada teks	Boleh diubah suai mengikut kreativiti
Pengurusan Web	Diuruskan sepenuhnya oleh Medium	Diuruskan oleh WordPress
Iklan Gangguan	Tiada iklan pihak ketiga	Ada sedikit iklan kecil dari WordPress

Saranan Saya:

Jika anda mahukan sesuatu yang langsung tidak pening kepala dan mahu fokus menulis sahaja, cubalah Medium. Namun, jika anda suka meluangkan masa menghias dan menyusun atur rupa blog, WordPress.com adalah pengganti yang lebih menyeronokkan.

DAFTAR AKAUN MEDIUM

Berikut adalah panduan mudah untuk mendaftar akaun Medium serta cara automatik untuk memindahkan semua artikel lama anda dari Blogspot ke platform baharu tersebut.

Langkah 1: Cara Mendaftar Akaun Medium

Proses pendaftaran akaun Medium amat ringkas dan boleh diselesaikan dalam masa kurang daripada 2 minit:

• Layari Laman Web: Buka pelayar web (browser) anda dan pergi ke laman rasmi Medium.
• Mula Mendaftar: Klik butang "Get started" yang berwarna hitam di penjuru kanan atas atau di tengah halaman.
• Pilih Kaedah Log Masuk: Anda akan diberikan beberapa pilihan. Cara paling mudah adalah dengan memilih "Sign up with Google" (menggunakan akaun Gmail yang anda gunakan untuk Blogspot sebelum ini) atau "Sign up with Email".
• Isi Maklumat Asas: Masukkan nama penuh anda (atau nama pena) dan cipta nama pengguna (username) unik anda.
• Pilih Minat Anda: Medium akan meminta anda memilih beberapa topik yang anda suka baca (contohnya:Life, Hobbies, History). Ini membantu Medium mencadangkan artikel yang sesuai di halaman utama anda.
• Selesai! Anda kini sudah mempunyai akaun Medium dan sedia untuk menulis.

Langkah 2: Cara Memindahkan Artikel dari Blogspot ke Medium

Berita baik untuk anda, Medium mempunyai fungsi "Import" automatik yang sangat hebat. Anda tidak perlu menyalin (copy-paste) artikel anda satu demi satu. Medium akan mengekalkan struktur tulisan serta gambar-gambar lama anda.

Ikuti langkah penstriman artikel ini:

1. Log Masuk ke Medium: Pastikan anda sudah mendaftar masuk ke akaun Medium baharu anda.
2. Buka Menu Profil: Klik pada gambar profil anda di penjuru kanan atas skrin.
3. Pilih Stories: Dari menu lungsur (drop-down), klik pada pilihan "Stories".
4. Klik Import a Story: Di penjuru kanan atas halaman Stories, anda akan nampak butang "Import a story". Klik butang tersebut.
5. Masukkan Pautan Blogspot: Buka tab baharu, pergi ke blog Blogspot lama anda, dan salin (copy) alamat URL/pautan artikel yang ingin dipindahkan (contoh: https://blogspot.com).
6. Tampal & Import: Tampal (paste) pautan tersebut ke dalam kotak yang disediakan di Medium, kemudian klik butang "Import".
7. Semak Tulisan: Medium akan memproses artikel tersebut dan memaparkannya dalam bentuk draf. Klik "See your story" untuk menyemak sama ada susunan teks dan gambar sudah kemas.
8. Terbitkan: Jika semuanya kelihatan memuaskan, klik butang "Publish" di bahagian atas untuk menerbitkannya di Medium.

Nota Tambahan: Medium secara automatik akan meletakkan nota kaki digital (canonical tag) pada artikel tersebut. Ini bagi memberitahu enjin carian Google bahawa artikel asal adalah dari Blogspot anda, jadi reputasi penulisan anda di Google tidak akan terjejas akibat isu tulisan bertindih (duplicate content).

AKAUN WORDPRESS.COM

Berikut adalah langkah mudah untuk mendaftar akaun WordPress.com menggunakan pelan percuma, yang sangat sesuai untuk penulis hobi:

Langkah Mendaftar Akaun WordPress.com

• Layari Laman Web: Buka pelayar web (browser) anda dan pergi ke laman rasmi WordPress.com.
• Mula Mendaftar: Klik butang "Get Started" di penjuru kanan atas halaman.
• Cipta Akaun: Anda boleh mendaftar menggunakan alamat e-mel, atau cara paling cepat adalah dengan klik "Continue with Google" (menggunakan akaun Gmail sedia ada anda).
• Pilih Nama Domain (Alamat Blog):
• Masukkan nama blog yang anda inginkan (contoh: kisahpersaraananda).
• WordPress akan memberikan beberapa pilihan. Penting: Cari pilihan yang mempunyai perkataan "Free" di hujungnya (contoh: kisahpersaraananda.wordpress.com), lalu klik "Select". Abaikan pilihan berbayar (seperti .com atau .net).
• Pilih Pelan Percuma: Anda akan dibawa ke halaman yang menunjukkan pelbagai pelan berbayar. Jangan panik. Lihat di bahagian paling atas halaman tersebut, cari teks kecil yang berbunyi "start with a free site" dan klik pautan tersebut.
• Pilih Matlamat Blog: Pilih "Write & publish" (Menulis & menerbitkan), kemudian klik "Continue".
• Isi Tajuk Blog: Masukkan nama blog anda (contoh: Blog Hobi Saya) dan slogan ringkas jika ada. Klik "Continue".
• Selesai! Anda akan dibawa ke halaman papan pemuka (Dashboard). Blog percuma anda kini sudah aktif dan anda boleh mula menulis artikel pertama dengan klik butang "Write" di penjuru kanan atas.

Tips Penting untuk Pelan Percuma WordPress

Sepanjang proses pendaftaran, WordPress akan kerap menawarkan anda untuk upgrade (naik taraf) ke pelan berbayar atau membeli domain tersendiri. Anda hanya perlu cari dan klik butang "Skip" (Langkau) atau pilih pilihan "Free" untuk memastikan anda tidak dikenakan sebarang bayaran bulanan.

LANGKAH MENULIS DAN MENERBITKAN ARTIKEL

Berikut adalah langkah demi langkah untuk menulis dan menerbitkan artikel (post) pertama anda di WordPress.com:

Langkah 1: Buka Ruang Penulisan

1. Log masuk ke akaun WordPress.com anda.
2. Lihat di penjuru kanan sebelah atas skrin, klik pada butang "Write" (mempunyai ikon pen/pensel).
3. Anda akan dibawa ke halaman kosong untuk mula menulis.

Langkah 2: Masukkan Tajuk dan Kandungan

1. Tambah Tajuk: Klik pada ruangan paling atas yang tertera perkataan "Add title" atau "Title". Taip tajuk artikel anda di situ (contoh: Kisah Hari Pertama Persaraan Saya).
2. Mula Menulis: Klik pada ruangan kosong di bawah tajuk (tertera perkataan "Start writing..."). Anda boleh terus menaip cerita atau artikel anda di sini.

Langkah 3: Tambah Gambar (Jika Ada)

Untuk menjadikan artikel anda lebih menarik, anda boleh memasukkan gambar dengan cara:

1. Tekan butang Enter pada papan kekunci untuk membuka baris baharu.
2. Klik ikon "+" (Add block) yang muncul di sebelah kanan atau kiri baris tersebut.
3. Pilih "Image", kemudian klik "Upload" untuk memilih gambar daripada komputer atau telefon pintar anda.

Langkah 4: Terbitkan Artikel

1. Setelah selesai menulis dan menyemak ejaan, lihat di penjuru kanan sebelah atas halaman.
2. Klik butang "Publish...".
3. WordPress akan menunjukkan satu panel kecil untuk pengesahan akhir. Klik butang "Publish" sekali lagi untuk mengesahkan.
4. Selesai! Artikel anda kini sudah rasmi berada di internet dan boleh dibaca oleh sesiapa sahaja. Anda boleh klik "View Post" untuk melihat rupa artikel tersebut di blog anda.

Tahniah atas persediaan artikel pertama anda! 

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

4/9/2026: 8.35 p.m

1968 - The Kroh Communist Ambush: The Spark That Started Malaysia's Second Emergency

1968 - The Kroh Communist Ambush: The Spark That Started Malaysia's Second Emergency

Background

After the First Malayan Emergency officially ended in 1960, the remnants of the Communist Party of Malaya (MCP) and its armed wing, the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), retreated to the Malaysia-Thailand border. There, deep in the jungles of Betong in southern Thailand, they regrouped, retrained, and reorganized for a new offensive.

On 1 June 1968, the MCP Central Command issued a new directive titled “Hold High the Great Red Banner of Armed Struggle and Valiantly March Forward!” - a clear signal they were ready to restart the war.

The Ambush - 17 June 1968

To mark the 20th anniversary of their armed struggle against the Malaysian Government, the MCP launched its first major attack.

The location was the Kroh-Betong Road, between the town of Pengkalan Hulu (then known as Kroh) and the Malaysia-Thailand border in northern Perak, now Federal Route 77.

A convoy of the Police Field Force (Pasukan Polis Hutan - PPH) was ambushed in a well-planned attack from the jungle. Official records state the ambush killed **17 members of the security forces. PDRM Special Branch records list 16 PPH personnel killed in that specific convoy.

This single incident is recognized by historians as the official start of the Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989), also known as the Second Malayan Emergency.

The photos you have are the aftermath: a Bedford army lorry riddled with bullet holes, windscreen shattered by automatic fire, abandoned on the laterite road surrounded by thick jungle.

Aftermath

After Kroh, communist operatives began to infiltrate the states of Peninsular Malaysia from South Thailand. The new insurgency coincided with renewed domestic tensions between ethnic Malays and Chinese and regional military tensions due to the Vietnam War.

MCP leader Chin Peng believed they could copy their Vietnamese counterparts to take over the government of Malaysia. The conflict dragged on for 21 years until the Hat Yai Peace Accord on 2 December 1989.

The Fallen Heroes

The memorial plaque in Pengkalan Hulu lists the names of those who died in Kroh. Al-Fatihah, May Their Souls Rest in Peace.*

- PMG/KPL. 14892 NIZAM BIN MOHD. ADAM

- PMG/KPL. 19839 ABDUL GHANI BIN MOHAMED

- PMG/KPL. 24008 MUSTAFA BIN HUSSEIN

- KONST. 1479 ABDULLAH BIN AHMAD

- KONST. 1509 LOH AH CHU

- KONST. 8365 JALIL BIN BACHIK

- KONST. 11401 ISMAIL BIN MAT SIDI

- KONST. 20239 ABDUL HAMID BIN ABU BAKAR

- KONST. 23086 CHAN ENG TECK

- KONST. 24827 MOHAMAD BIN OTHMAN

- KONST. 25200 HASHIM BIN ISMAIL

- KONST. 25700 ABDULLAH BIN ISMAIL

- KONST. 30449 ONG LOCK SAY

- KONST. 30758 MOHD. SALLEH BIN ABIDIN

- KONST. 30833 ISMAIL BIN AMIR

- KONST. 40281 ABDUL GHANI BIN DAUD

Inscription: *“Al Fatihah, Semoga Roh Mereka Dicucuri Rahmat Oleh Allah S.W.T. Bagi Mendiang, Bersemadilah Dengan Aman.”*

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

4 September 2026: 9.28 a.m

THE SARAWAK BORDER SCOUT - The Eyes and Ears on the Kalimantan Frontier

That photo is iconic - 1966, deep in Konfrontasi. Three young Dayak men in jungle hats, FN rifles, "BORDER SCOUTS" patch on the arm. This is what the unit was at its peak.

History of the Sarawak Border Scouts

1. Origin - from the Brunei Revolt

The Scouts didn't start as a formal army. When the Brunei Revolt broke out in December 1962, a civilian, Tom Harrison, mobilized Kelabits from the highlands around Bario to hunt the retreating rebels.

When Major General Walter Walker arrived as Commander British Forces Borneo, he built directly on that:

"Walker raised the Border Scouts, building on Harrison's force of Kelabits, who had mobilised to help intercept the fleeing TNKU forces from the Brunei Revolt."

2. Official Formation - 1963

With Indonesia under Sukarno opposing the formation of Malaysia (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore on Sept 16, 1963), cross-border infiltrations from Kalimantan began.

The Malaysian government recruited some 1,500 men from the indigenous tribes of Sabah and Sarawak as Border Scouts under the command of Richard Noone and other officers from the Senoi Praaq to counter the infiltrations.

Walker used Royal Marines and the experience of the Sarawak Rangers from the Malayan Emergency, and selected Lt Col John Cross, a Gurkha officer, to organize them. This was approved by the Sarawak government in May as "auxiliary police".

A recent academic study from Universiti Sains Malaysia defines them clearly:

"The Sarawak Border Scouts, a special security force established at the Sarawak border in 1963, played a crucial role as the "eyes and ears" of the police in countering Indonesian guerrillas infiltrating Sarawak."

3. Who they were

They were not regular soldiers. The Sarawak Tribune described them well:

"All the Border Scouts were mainly ordinary, unassuming and simple village folks and farmers who volunteered and enlisted to fight alongside the Commonwealth forces to protect the Sarawak-Kalimantan borders."

Recruited specifically for jungle knowledge, the squad was formed by various indigenous groups including the Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, and Kelabit, who possessed extensive knowledge of the local forests

4. What they did in Konfrontasi (1963-1966)

The 1966 photo is from the most intense period. Their jobs were:

• Tracking and intelligence - When an incursion was detected, troops, sometimes relying on the Border Scouts' local knowledge of tracks and terrain, were deployed by helicopter to track, block and ambush it. Their tracking skills were highly valued.
• Stay-behind and early warning - They lived in border longhouses, listening for movement.
• Operation Claret - They assisted in the military operation launched by the Commonwealth forces codenamed "Claret", undertaken by the British, New Zealand and Australian armies, their SAS regiments and the Gurkhas along the porous mountain and jungle borders where they were cross border track-and-ambush raids.
• Hearts and minds - Because they were local, they kept villages from siding with Indonesian infiltrators.

They were mostly trained by 22 SAS, armed with WWII surplus.303s then later FN FALs/SLRS like in your photo, and worked attached to Gurkha, British, Australian and New Zealand patrols.

5. After Konfrontasi

After the Bangkok peace treaty ended Konfrontasi in 1966, the threat didn't end. The Scouts shifted to fighting communist insurgents - the Clandestine Communist Organisation (CCO) and later PARAKU along the same border until the 1970s.

In Sabah and Sarawak, their intelligence role continued - marking enemy locations and opening up helicopter landing sites deep in the border rainforest. The Sabah-based unit was disbanded in 1986.

In Sarawak, many Border Scouts were absorbed into the Sarawak Rangers, then into the Royal Ranger Regiment (Rejimen Renjer Diraja), and today their legacy is continued by the Border Regiment - Rejimen Sempadan.

They are still called the "unsung heroes" today - there are active calls in Sarawak to give them formal recognition and pensions for the 1963-66 service.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

4 September 2026: 9.04 a.m

CONFRONTATION : SINGAPORE INFANTRY REGIMENT

The photos are spot on — 2nd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (2 SIR) at Kota Tinggi, Johor, April 1965. That was one of the hottest moments of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.

Here is what happened:

1. What was Konfrontasi?

From 1963-1966 President Sukarno of Indonesia waged an armed campaign to oppose the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. It included Indonesian infiltrations by sea, air-drops of paratroopers over Johor, jungle fighting in Borneo, and bombings in Singapore itself.

2. What was the Singapore Infantry then?

At that time Singapore had only two regular army units: 1 SIR and 2 SIR.

• 1st Battalion (1 SIR) was formed in 1957.
• 2nd Battalion (2 SIR) was formed in 1962.

When Singapore merged with Malaysia (16 Sept 1963 - 9 Aug 1965), the regiment was renamed the Malaysian Infantry Regiment. Both battalions were called to serve during Confrontation.

Deployment was split:

• 1 SIR -> Sebatik Island, Sabah — guarding the Borneo border
• 2 SIR -> Labis and Kota Tinggi area, Johor — hunting Indonesian infiltrators who had landed by parachute and boat

The second photo is captioned exactly for that: soldiers in slit trenches at Kota Tinggi, Johor, April 1965, armed with FN FAL rifles and wearing bush hats. The first photo you shared — group photo in barracks — is the same battalion in 1965, credited to Beh Huat Soon.

The fighting was real. The official history notes: "In Kota Tinggi, soldiers from 2 SIR were injured and killed in combat." 

While they were in Johor, back home in Singapore there were at least 42 bombing attempts by Indonesian saboteurs — 37 bombs exploded, killing 7 and injuring at least 50, including the MacDonald House bombing on 10 March 1965.

There is also archival record of this exact action — the National Archives of Singapore has a photo titled: AN OFFICER OF 2ND SINGAPORE INFANTRY REGIMENT BRIEFING PRESS ON THE BATTALION'S BATTLE WITH AND SUCCESS IN KILLING ARMED INDONESIANS AT ITS TACTICAL HEADQUARTER IN ASAHI RUBBER ESTATE AT KOTA TINGGI — that's the Asahi Rubber Estate operation the photos are from.

3. What happened after Separation?

When Singapore separated from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, many of the men, particularly those from 2 SIR, were still deployed in Malaysia, including Sabah. Singapore only gained complete control of its battalions in January 1966 when 2 SIR returned from its tour of duty in Sabah.

That return was difficult. One military history notes that 2 SIR found themselves displaced after returning, the "heroes of Kota Tinggi and Pontian" were "neglected and shabbily treated" because the British barracks were still occupied.

From there, in February 1966 the Singapore Infantry Brigade was established to command 1 and 2 SIR, and in late 1965 Singapore passed the Singapore Army Bill — starting the Singapore Army we know today.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

4 September 2026: 8.38 a.m