MALAYSIAN STUDIES

FN101
Chapter 1 : The Nations Early
History
(Part 1)

Ancient History
History has proven that Malaysian is not a
new country. Humans have been living in
several areas of the country since the Stone
Age. For years after that, trade zones existed
followed by famous kingdoms.
Early Inhabitants
Early civilization was found near Niah Caves
a skull belonged to a 15 year old boy buried
estimated to be 40,000 years ago.
The civilization at Kuala Tampan estimated
to be 74,000 years old.

PERIOD

YEAR

MAIN CHARATERISTICS OF
INHABITANTS

AREA

Paleolithic
(Early Stone Age)

35,000
years ago

1. Live in caves
2. Forest production & hunting

1. Tampan Estuary,
Perak
2. Niah Caves,
Sarawak
3. Tingkayu, Sabah

Mesolithic
(Middle Stone Age)

11,000
years ago

1. In caves & along rivers & lakes

2. Farming,refined stone tools,
earthenware

1.
2.
3.
4.

Neolithic
(New Stone Age)

5,000
years ago

- Sophisticated stone tools, started

communicaion with other communities
in other places,creating objects,using
accessories

1.
2.
3.
4.

Bronze
(Metal Age)

2500
years ago

-population grew, developed residential

areas in wide open land near rivers,
more oderly, practise social customs.

1. Lang rivers,
Selangor
2. Langar Rivers
Selangor
3. Muar Rivers, Johor
4. Tembeling, Pahang

Cha Cave,Kelantan
Kecil Cave,Pahang
Kepah Cave,Kedah
Jenderam
Hilir,Selangor

Cha Cave,Kelantan
Kecil Cave,Pahang
Kepah Cave,Kedah
Jenderam
Hilir,Selangor
5. Others: refer to
text book

Ancient
Ports

There are several places in

Malaysia especially those
along the seashores of
Peninsula Malaysia located
at the crossroad of
Chinese, Indian and
Arabian trade routes grew
to become very important
ports for local residents
and the rest of the world.
Rich natural resources such
as resin, cane and
minerals, which included
gold and tin ore.

Islands of The Malay Archipelago

This region known as the Malay World or The
Island of the Malay Archipelago.
Inhabitants that time move freely from one place
to another as there were no boundaries as a
nation with one Malay language and culture.
Elements of similarity language spoken by
Malays in Kampuchea, Patani and South of
Mindanao are similar with Malaysia and Indonesia.
Early Kingdoms in the Malay of Archipelago
Funan, Old Kedah, Langkasuka, Patani, Chih-Tu,
Kelantan, and others refer to text books page 6
on Table 16.

The Malay
Kingdom of
Melaka

Melaka was founded by

Parameswara in
1403.Parameswara named the
area Melaka after a Melaka
tree. Arabic word Malaqat
which meant place of
shelter,which symbolize what
the place was to Parameswara
and his followers.
Under the leadership of
Parameswara and his
descendents, Melaka
expanded and became one of
the most famous trading
centre's in the 15th century.

The Golden
Age of Melaka

Parameswara developed the

infrastructure in Melaka which
included the harbor that
enabled Melaka to become a
global trade centre.
Melaka was an empire with
advanced
civilization
and
well-known
centre
for
maritime
trade
and
the
spread of Islam, with a vast
territory and strong trade
relations with China and India.
The system of government,
the ruler was the head, the
Islamic religion and the army.

Ruling System of the Melaka Kingdom

The highest position was the King. Parameswara
converted and the members of Melaka Kingdom
converted in Islam, the ruler was called Sultan.
Sultan of Melaka and their period of reign
14001414
14141424
14241444
14441446
14461459
14591477
14771488
14881511
15111513

Iskandar Shah
Megat Iskandar Shah
Muhammad Shah
Abu Syahid Shah
Muzaffar Shah
Mansur Shah
Alauddin Riayat Shah
Mahmud Shah
Ahmad Shah

 The two main laws

Malacca Law
Malacca Law of the Sea
The administrative Melaka Sultanate
was based on types of regions under
its governance:

Kota Melaka
Vassal territories
Conquered territories
Colonized territories

 Sultan appointed the important court

officials that served as administrators,
executors of laws and regulations, judges,
officers for oversee the affairs of the port.
There are Fourfold System the four main
officials are the:
Bendahara (similar to our Prime Minister
today),
Penghulu Bendahari (treasurer of the
government/Finance Minister)
Temenggung (executor/ head of legal matters
state laws and security)
Laksamana (warrior at the sea/leader of all the
kingdoms warriors)

Factors contributed to the Golden

Age of Melaka
The heyday of Melaka as a great
empire was due to the 4 important
factors:
1) Geographical factors
-located midway along the trade routes
between India and China and
functioned as the link between the
main trade markets.
- two main monsoon winds beneficial
the seafaring boats besides, it is also

 Rich of natural resources includes

aromatic woods, resin, rotan, gold
(The Golden Penisula), and tin
mining.
Malay Peninsula is protected by the
Sumatran Islands which promotes
plankton growth. Cowrie shells,
cockles shells were used widely as
currency.

Factors contributed to the Golden

Age of Melaka
2) Economic factors
-Besides the advantage in location,
Malay Archipelago also had
abundance of luxury from other
nations and its richness of natural
resources.
-Strong ties with China had a positive
effects in economic development of
Melaka.

Factors contributed to the Golden

Age of Melaka
3)Political and administrative factors
-Close ties with China benefits Melaka
with Chinese protection. (save from
Siam)
-Melaka has a comprehensive military
structure (Malacca Law & Malacca
Law of the Sea)
-Organized treasury system.
-Bahasa Melayu as medium (lingua
franca).

The Fall of Melaka

The golden age of the Malay
Kingdom of Melaka ended in 16th
Century, during Sultan Mahmud
Shahs reign. There were several
internal and external factors
contributed to the fall of Melaka
empire.

Factors contributed to the fall of

Melaka
Internal Factors

External Factors

Conclusion
By understanding the rise and fall of
these Malay Kingdoms, one can
conclude that a great civilization
existed in the past.
Future generation can appreciate and
respect the nations history and
strengthen the identity of the
country.