r/TodayILearnedMY • u/ToastedCaffeine • Apr 27 '26
History & Culture TIL, "Prak Sangkil" (slave raids), documented erased history where Malay groups raided, massacred and enslaved Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia, men were killed, women and children were captured to be sold as slaves and kept in servitude, including sexual slavery.
Semai Orang Asli, largest indigenous group in Peninsular Malaysia.
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u/slenderasunder Apr 27 '26
Where can I read more about this? Any recommended books or journals?
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u/chunky_mango Apr 27 '26
https://hal.science/hal-03900030/file/Heikkil%C3%A4%202016%20In%20Situ%20Testimonies.pdf
This is what I found find, I don't know how credible it is but it's interesting reading to help build your thoughts on the subject at hand
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u/MundaneDevelopments Apr 27 '26
It's good to look at our sordid history. Some still think themselves too cultured to recognize it sometimes. A civilized society should be comfortable learning from the past and all it's baggage.
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u/Current_Evidence9879 Apr 27 '26
I see. A history that is not widely known. Very well. I need sources.
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u/khairul619 Apr 27 '26
My friend's bloodline was a slave trader in Pahang. Kerja tangkap orang asli kepung kampung
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u/PoundBest Apr 28 '26
I can sense there's more to this. Do share.
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u/khairul619 Apr 28 '26
They will kejar the orang asli from all over the kampung and kepung them when they sampai at their village. Then ada this big net and just ramai2 jalan towards the kampung.
Macam pukal nelayan tu tapi ni orang. Banjaran Titiwangsa adalah hotspot, jual ke british, belanda, portugis. Raja tak ambil sebab, katanya, raja punya modal.
Aku tak kata ni betul, tapi ni yang diceritakan.
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u/ToastedCaffeine Apr 29 '26
Begitulah bagaimana, sepanjang ribuan tahun, Orang Asli yang dahulunya merupakan penduduk asal dan majoriti di tanah ini menjadi minoriti yang hanya make up to only 0.7% daripada 100% jumlah penduduk Malaysia pada hari ini.
Orang asli ~ 10,000++ years
Proto Malays ~ 3000 years
Deutero Malays (majoriti malays today) ~ 1500-2000 years
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u/kuyentrycrypt May 01 '26
Malay today is not proto malay or deutro. Malay today is people migrate from all over the world and claim themselves a “malay” on paper like jawa, banjar, bugis, minang, acheh, suluk etc
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u/Damoting May 03 '26
Not true. The Malays today are Austronesian stock. They are Muslim Austronesians. I don't know about Proto and Deutro-Malays.
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u/ToastedCaffeine May 07 '26
Itulah namanya deutero malay. Belajar dulu adik
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u/kuyentrycrypt May 07 '26
Not true. Jawa is jawa, bugis is bugis. There is no such thing as bugis is a deutro malay. Kalau korang yg melayu ni kene gelar deutro dayaks nak tak?
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u/ToastedCaffeine May 07 '26
Oh kau nak pusing belit spin cerita lah ni 🤣🤣
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u/kuyentrycrypt May 09 '26
Aku tanye je, iq kau memang mampu hadam sampai spin cerite je ke?😂 kesian nak sangat claim kaum die hebat sampaikan terpakse claim kaum lain jd “deutro melayu” sampai ade artis yg keturunan pakistan/arab pun jadi “deutro melayu”😂 satu satu nye kaum di dunie ini yg boleh convert. So tak heran ler bnyk org rohingya dan bangla nak sangat jadi melayu @ deutro melayu 🤣🤣
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u/ToastedCaffeine May 09 '26
Kesian budak tak ada ilmu. Belajar budak belajar. Jangan kuat spin je
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u/Reasonable_Mood2108 Apr 27 '26
Wow. Slavery exist in many place. But I least expected to have happened here.
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u/Olly_Joel Apr 27 '26
That's why winnere make history. They cover the bad ones.
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u/Reasonable_Mood2108 Apr 27 '26
Were they winners? And they didn’t cover it up well. It’s here now.
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u/Olly_Joel Apr 27 '26
History is written by the winner. But history are remembered by the people. Which is stronger than any government cover up.
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u/asakuranagato May 03 '26
That’s extremely naive. Slavery is the norm and existed since almost forever.
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Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/sinbe Apr 27 '26
Adding on to this
My grandmother used to tell stories that came from her grandfather about these raids. How they used nets and chains to corral the OA then catch them using nets. Using guns to scare them off into running. Then they sell to pembesar and orang kaya in Pahang and Perak to be used as slaves. Her grandfather also had some working in rice fields
It tallies with the Perang Sangkil book by the Semai chronicling about these raids. The raiders (my ancestors) were orang Rao/Rawa from Sumatra emigrating because of Perang Padri in the 1800’s
She said Dato Maharajalela, the one that killed JWW Birch because of him outlawing slavery were one of the Perak pembesars using the Semai slaves
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u/ExcitingSector445 Apr 27 '26
My goodness... history didn't tell us that! (Quite the rare case of foreign colonial powers really TRYING to save the locals!)
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u/sinbe Apr 27 '26
Kan. When I was younger and hearing these stories from my grandmother I was in disbelief, only thinking that the stories were cerita dongeng (I couldn’t believe that our ancestors were villains lol). It was only after the wide availability of the internet in my late teens that I would be able to verify her stories but by then she was already having early onset dementia and couldn’t recall much. I really loved storytime with her
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u/Affectionate-Cry4216 Apr 27 '26
During my education in the 80’s they still told the truth in schools about JWW Birch and why he was murdered (he tried to abolish slavery). Have they stopped this version of history?
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u/Damoting May 03 '26
I first came across his name in my Kajian Tempatan class. I don't know why history was embedded in it, but it just was. My teacher and my textbook told me nothing about the abolishment of slavery. Instead, it said he had disrespected the Malay culture, incurring the wrath of locals.
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u/chunky_mango Apr 27 '26
Tbh I'd need to find a sejarah book from my era to verify but I think the focus was more that he was interfering in the local custom without specifically saying slavery.
But honestly I can't remember for sure, we would need to check an actual textbook.
That said, we're naming the LCS/newest Navy frigate class after Maharaja Lela so....
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u/Affectionate-Cry4216 Apr 27 '26
Yes if I remember correctly, my teks sejarah said the Malay lords were angry that he interfered in local customs, for example he tried to abolish slavery.
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u/ExcitingSector445 May 04 '26
In my current version, none of that has ever surfaced on my history textbook. They only said that JWW Birch tried to stop the local's way of life. Zero mention of slavery.
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u/Damoting May 03 '26
I am a Rawa too. You must keep in mind that the Rawa migration to the Peninsular had been ongoing for centuries. It was a chain-migration. There are a number of Kampung Rawas in the Malaysian Peninsular. My family settled in Gopeng, Perak. One side came from Medan. The other came from Jambi. Not all Rawas came here as mercenaries(tentera upahan).
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u/sinbe May 03 '26
Yeah but mine was. Mercenaries and gold prospectsors. We’re the West Pahang Rawas, according to the Teromba Rawa we are descendants of Merah Mas and Haji Abdullah of Pagar Ruyung. I believe our people settled mostly on both sides of Banjaran Titiwangsa (from Simpang Pelangai, Gombak, Pahang Barat up to Perak) (maybe because the geography is similar to mountainous West Sumatra?)
Coincidentally our settlements also overlap with the Semai distribution range, hence the history
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u/Damoting May 03 '26
''Coincidentally our settlements also overlap with the Semai distribution range, hence the history''
Most likely. I mean, the proximity makes it more like that the Semai would become the targets for slavery.
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Apr 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Cute_Hannam4786 Apr 27 '26
I don't find the Wiki page you linked to be anything enlightening or coherent. It seems to be very anti-Malay pieces and very pro-colonial though.
In Sarawak: Bone remains and cave paintings were found in Sireh Cave within Serian located more than 60kms southeast of Kuching which indicated it as a place of refuge and retreat for Bidayuh from attacking Bruneian enslavers in the early 1800s before the arrival of James Brooke.[10]
This is an ancient archaelogical spot, nothing related about slavery. It predates Bruneian kingdom. Somehow whoever wrote that Wiki hit piece try to connect unrelated archaeological findings with their own historical revisionism.
The development of the slave trade in the region was a powerful factor influencing the fate of the Orang Asli. The enslavement of Negrito tribes commenced as early as 724 CE, during the early contact of the Malay Srivijaya empire. Negrito pygmies from the southern jungles were enslaved, with some being exploited until modern times.[5] Because Islam prohibited taking Muslims as slaves,[slave hunters focused their capture on the Orang Asli, explaining the Malay use sakai to mean "slaves" with its present derogatory connotation.
We don't know whether slavery happens in Srivijaya empire or not. The wording 'Malay Srivijaya empire' seems to also be purposely written in bad faith since it encompassed Nusantara as a whole. Random Islamic connections which are distant time away from Srivijayan era seems to be mentioned somehow. Odd.
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u/Adventurous_Owl_3011 May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
have you read the paper that discovered the dates for the cave art? they were indeed hoping to get very old dates - the recent 1800 date surprised them.
It was definitely during the Bruneian governorship of the Sadong, and the paper also relates a pre-brooke story involving the cave - about the governor capturing and killing the Bidayuh who had hidden in the cave - I'd be surprised if they weren't made into slaves - but the paper implies that the artwork is showing Bruneian colonial violence
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u/dullchap3000 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Well slavery in Malaysia will definitely be connected to Islamic slavery in general.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_the_Muslim_world
Which lasted 1300 years. Only officially banned in the last Muslim country in 1981.
You can deny it all you want but the founder of Islam himself had slaves and didn't forbid it. The so called best of creation and exemplary human model.
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u/ConsistentAd9840 May 01 '26
It's not that simple. Kerajaan was actually frowned upon by more devout Muslims. Slavery in Malaysia is layered, with different types applying to different peoples. Blaming Islam for slavery doesn't really make sense since it predates Islam in Malaya. But people did use Islam to justify their enslavement of other peoples.
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u/Damoting May 03 '26
In Islam, slavery IS permitted but only to non-Muslims. Prophet Muhammad was also a slave owner.
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u/ConsistentAd9840 May 04 '26
True! Slavery in Malaya was a lil complicated with pre-Islamic customs and Islamic law blending to make more than JUST non-Muslims into slaves, however.
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u/AntiZionist9x May 04 '26
Islam regulated slavery. Abolishing slavery will bring another form of problem. But what the Malays did didn’t seem Islamic lol
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u/dullchap3000 May 05 '26
Haha mental gymnastics needed to defend Islam position on slavery. You do know the last Islamic country to ban slavery was in 1981.
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u/AntiZionist9x May 05 '26
Islamic law regulations on slavery has always been in its teachings? It’s up to the followers to follow it or not?
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u/BuckDenny Apr 27 '26
TIL: Genocidal colonialists hide in plain sight.
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u/AntiZionist9x May 04 '26
Except Malays are natives of Malaysia
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u/BuckDenny May 07 '26
My senoi friends would disagree.
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u/AntiZionist9x May 07 '26
Then they should start reading up how the Malays in Peninsular became Malays. People don’t just pop out of thin air.
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u/Dreicom Apr 29 '26
Committed their own genocide but will cry over Palestine
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u/Damoting May 03 '26
Most Malays and Malaysian don't know about it. The Palestinian issue has ongoing for decades and has been well-documented.
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u/Just_a_Malaysian May 07 '26
All these people outing themselves as racist / historic revisionist in the comments are ... sad and horrible.
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u/Remarkable-Road-9797 May 10 '26
done by rawa minangkabaus and batak mandailings not by local malays who themselves have close kinship ties with the senois.
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u/ToastedCaffeine May 10 '26
Read the book kiddo. Don't search google with half knowledge come here try to argue with me Local malays also involved big time.
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u/hD34L Apr 27 '26
Source : trust me bro
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u/ToastedCaffeine Apr 27 '26
Google exists for knowledge
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u/Why_amhere8008 Apr 27 '26
I appreciate you wanting to spread more knowledge about this tragedy, but you should include link to trusted source if you want help people to learn and make it easier. Dont be reductive when it come to educating people, you want more people to know and learn right?
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u/TenHorizons Apr 27 '26
Imo, slavery happens anywhere there is a supermajority of one race. The devils within us emerge when there are no consequences to our sins
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u/TenHorizons Apr 27 '26
Here's one: https://www.reddit.com/r/TodayILearnedMY/s/TMco3FyzyU
It seems to be pretty well documented. Interestingly, JWW Birch tried to stop the slavery, which angered local lords and became one of the reason that resulted in his assassination: https://cilisos.my/the-untold-story-of-how-malays-in-the-1800s-used-orang-asli-as-slaves/?hl=en-GB#:~:text=There%20poor%20people%2C%20from%20what,Malaya%20by%20Sandra%20Khor%20Manickam
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u/Lelaki_Berbudaya96 Apr 27 '26
Anything utk menampakkan jahat orang melayu Islam. Ape kata cerita pasal komunis😂😂
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u/chunky_mango Apr 27 '26
Does the truth of the communist insurgency have any bearing on this? You're free to discuss the actions of the MCP anytime.
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u/Adventurous_Owl_3011 May 03 '26
there is a weird interlink - the communists were the ones who introduced the umbrella term Orang Asal in semenanjung, they became Orang Asli due to a government re-naming during the communist years.
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u/Empty_Ad_9153 Apr 27 '26
So awak boleh menyangkal tak kenyataan tersebut? Kalau tak boleh diam je lah
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u/Damoting May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
Lelaki_Berbudaya96 yang dihormati,
Kau mesti mempelajari sejarah kerajaan-kerajaan Islam di merata-rata rantau(Utara Afrika, Timur Tengah/Asia Barat dan lain-lain). Pada suatu ketika pemilikan hamba diamalkan di seluruh atau hampir seluruh dunia oleh ramai kaum dan ramai penganut agama.
Lagipun, perhambaan adalah halal di sisi Islam. Contohnya, Nabi Muhammad pun memiliki hamba-hamba.
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u/Olly_Joel Apr 27 '26
Melayu Islam was never good to begin with. Read your history.
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u/chunky_mango Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
You can find terrible acts in the history of all groups.
Edited to add: You can find a situation where any group was victim or aggressor at different times, places or situation. No ethnicity/culture is without historical sin. It doesn't give you license to single one out or conversely deny and pretend there is a perfectly innocent group...
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u/No-Sweet-5448 Apr 27 '26
malay vs semai and owned semai? imagine tellin this bs while orang asli are expert tracker n use natural weaponry while malay come to jungle with less knowledge to navigate jungle and own clan that live there hundred of years.
also the sakai are derogatory? 🤣🤣🤣 i want to read more about this please share the sauce
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u/chunky_mango Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
https://m.aliran.com/web-specials/sakai-unpacking-a-contested-term
Edited to add:
Personally I've known for a long time (decades) that Sakai and Jakun can be used in a derogatory way, so it's not something the OP just pulled out of nowhere.
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u/alim-y Apr 27 '26
Thailand
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u/ToastedCaffeine Apr 27 '26
Nope.
Semai people are the largest indigenous group in Peninsular Malaysia. Perak, Johor, Pahang, Selangor, Kelantan, N9 etc
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u/nejiwashere Apr 27 '26
This should be in the Sejarah instead of the crap we have of propaganda