I read with great interest the malaysiakini interview with the learned Ikim director-general Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas but was less than impressed by some of his assertions.

Assertion 1: 'The Malays are Malays because of Islam, and therefore they are Muslims first. They are not Malays without Islam.'

If this assertion is true then Parameswara was not a Malay before he converted to Islam. If so, what was Parameswara when he was a Hindu? Surely, he was still a Malay prince. Likewise, my Batak Christian friend would be deeply insulted if I considered him a non-Batak or non-pribumi Indonesian just because of his religion. I won't even mention my Balinese Hindu cousin. Or my Muslim Indian in-laws from India. Don't get me wrong - I am not denying the importance of Islam in the religious identity of most Malays. But surely it is not the only defining marker.

Assertion 2: 'The Malay language is derived from the Arabic language, the language of identity for the Malays, in other words. The Malay language which gives the Malays identity comes from the Quran'.

Our Malay language is derived from more than just the Arabic language - if not it would not have existed before the arrival of Islam in Southeast Asia in the 14th century through Arab and Indian traders. If the Malay language was solely derived from the Arabic language, what were the Malays speaking before Islam arrived on our shores?

The Malay language pre-dated the arrival of Islam in Malaysia and has incorporated elements from Urdu (e.g. "Bahasa", "Asyik"), Persian, Jewish Aramaic ("Abah"), Sanskrit ("Puja" - "Pooja", "Garfu"), Portugese ("Mentega", "Pesta" - "Fiesta"), Hindi anda Tamil ("Roti", "Raja", "Almari"), not to mention English and its Latin and Anglo-Saxon precursors ("Pos", "Radio", "Televisyen").

Surely we cannot deny the richness of the Malay language in incorporating these diverse elements. More importantly, it clearly demonstrates the openness of us Malays and our culture of progress brought about by trade and the interaction of cultures. Only a self-assured and confident race can take on new elements and make them their own without their self-identity feeling threatened.

Hence the Golden Age of the Malacca Sultanate. Think about it, had Malay culture closed up in the 14th century, would Islam have had a chance to take root in this blessed land at all?

Which comes to my main point - why is there a vociferous reactionary group among us Malays who prefer denigrating our non-Islamic heritage? Why the blind rush to 'Arabise' and 'Islamise' all non-Arabic and non-Islamic elements of Malay culture (even to a point of banning some elements like the Mak Yong and Wayang Kulit) which has evolved over thousands of years?

It is said that those who do not know where they come from, cannot know where they are going to. Is this the beginning of the closing of the Malay mind?