After reading the malaysiakini interview with Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) director-general Dr Syed Ali Taufix Al-Attas, I cannot but disagree with certain of his views which appear myopic and bigoted. He says the Malays are Malays because of Islam and therefore they are Muslims first and that they are not Malays without Islam. Let me digress here to trace back a little bit of our Malaysian history.

It is a fact that Islam came to the Malay-land through India, introduced by the same people who brought Hinduism at the beginning of the Christian era and that Islam is synonymous with Indian trade, just like its predecessor Hindu religion and culture.

Hinduism had already blended with indigenous traditions well before the time of the Prophet and the Malays were largely Hindus before they were converted to Islam, more so around the 15th century.

Could Dr Syed please explain just what were these indigenous people then? Does he mean to say they were not Malays when they were Hindus? Wouldn't it be reasonable to say that this present definition of a Malay is only a 'constitutional' definition or a 'political' one (whatever that may mean).

The Malay remains the same then or now. Even when he was a Hindu, he was a Malay and now as a Muslim, he also remains a Malay. Period.

Dr Syed continues by saying that the Malay language is derived from the Arabic language. Dr Syed, 'dunia' and 'akhirat' are not yardsticks for you to say that the Malay language is derived from the Arabic language. It's true that the Malays owe their identity to the Malay language but Indian cultural traditions and the use of Sanskrit as a common language had already existed in Sri Vijaya times in the 12th century.

This was later supplanted by Dravidian culture, religion and literary traditions. As far as Tamil and Malay are concerned, it is worthwhile to recognise that nearly all influences are uni-directional, that is, Tamil to Malay and not vice-versa. Since the conversion of Malays to Islam, Malay and Tamil language influence could have declined but it is sheer nonsense by any measure to say that the Malay language is derived from Arabic.

Hindu and Tamil cultural influences are there for all to see among the Malays. These rituals in marriage ceremonies and ceremonies of the state are intricately woven into the Malay world and rituals which may not be in tandem with Islam are still observed and conspicuously seen especially in the rural areas.

By and large, the beauty and richness of the Malay culture, tradition and literary intellect are without doubt due to Aryan, Dravidian Tamil and Hindu presence and influence.