A tricolour featuring green, yellow and red, is a combination of colours that commonly found in varying designs of symbols adopted by some major organisations to symbolise the Malay people.
A tricolour featuring green, yellow and red, is a combination of colours that commonly found in varying designs of symbols adopted by some major organisations to symbolise the Malay people.
The tricolour is derived from the three important values of Malayness; Islam, Malay rulers and Malay culture. [1] The green is the traditional colour of Islam, a faith that has been the integral part of Malay culture. The yellow is the royal colour commonly associated with Malay sultans, and used to allude the allegiance of Malay people to their Rulers. [2] The third colour, red, is the traditional colour in Malay culture, [3] used to denote the courage, bravery, heroism and loyalty. [4] The shade of red nicknamed kesumba red that is identical to scarlet and commonly associated with blood, is the existential colour of the Malays and is the most frequently cited colour in the literature. [5]
The oldest Malay state, Kedah, also adopted the red as its traditional colour. [6]
Despite having deep roots in Malay traditions, the green, yellow and red as a collective symbolism only surfaced in 1933, when the Royal Malay Regiment was founded. Both the regimental crest and flag bear the tricolour, [7] as soldiers of the regiment swore their allegiance to the Sultans of Malay states, then the protectorates of the British Empire. [8] In 1946, when Malay nationalist movement at its peak, the right wing United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) adopted the tricolour in its flag. The party, which would lead Malaya to its independence and govern the nation until 2018, included the additional white band to its flag to symbolise purity. [9] After UMNO, the tricolour also appears in the symbols of other right wing organisations like Pekida and Perkasa, and some major Silat associations in Malaysia, including Seni Gayong [10] and Seni Gayung Fatani.
The tricolour also gained popularity among those in the gang population. One of the notorious criminal gangs outlawed by the Malaysian government, the Tiga Line ('the three lines'), established its identity based on the tricolour. [11]
Across the Straits of Malacca in Riau and Riau Islands in Sumatra where the Indonesian Malays having a strong historical and cultural ties with the Malay Peninsula, the colours hold a philosophical symbol similar to its their kin in the Mainland Southeast Asia. The tricolours, locally named and shaded as Kuning Keemasan (Golden yellow), Hijau Lumut (Forest green) and Merah Darah Burung (Torch red) [12] is in extensive use for ceremonial and cultural purposes and can be seen donning throughout the cities and towns of the region, its also considered as a favourite colour for the traditional Malay weddings in the two provinces.
Silat Melayu, also known as Seni Persilatan Melayu or simply Silat, is a combative art of self-defence from the Malay world, that employs langkah ('steps') and jurus ('movements') to ward off or to strike assaults, either with or without weapons. Silat traced its origin to the early days of Malay civilisation, and has since developed into a fine tradition of physical and spiritual training that embodies aspects of traditional Malay attire, performing art and adat. The philosophical foundation of modern Malay Silat is largely based on the Islamic spirituality. Its moves and shapes are rooted from the basis of Silat movements called Bunga Silat, and Silat performances are normally accompanied with Malay drum assembles.
Malays are an Austronesian ethnoreligious group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations. These locations are today part of the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, the southern part of Thailand, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
The Malaysian Army is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Instead, the title is bestowed on selected army corps and regiments who have been accorded the honour by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who is the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
The Rejimen Artileri DiRaja is the artillery corps of the Malaysian Army. Rejimen Artileri DiRaja was formed in Kajang on 15 August 1957 when a single battery was formed, drawn from Malay personnel formerly serving with the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery. Today Rejimen Artileri DiRaja is a modern fighting arm providing direct fire support to Malaysian Army units using field artillery pieces and MLRS.
The Rejimen Semboyan Diraja is a combat support regiment of the Malaysian Army. It has the primary responsibility of establishing and maintaining secure military communications channels for the command and tactical elements of the Malaysian Army. It is also responsible for all electronic support, electronic warfare and early warning system for the Malaysian Army.
Yeop Mahidin bin Mohamed Shariff was the first Director of Rejimen Askar Wataniah, the reserves component of the Malaysian Army. He was widely regarded as the “Father of Wataniah” for his efforts in establishing the Rejimen Askar Wataniah as a credible force.
The songkok or peci or kopiah is a cap widely worn in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand, most commonly among Muslim males. It has the shape of a truncated cone, usually made of black or embroidered felt, cotton or velvet. It is also worn by males in formal occasions such as weddings and funerals or festive occasions such as the Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha holidays. In Indonesia, the peci is also associated with the nationalist movement.
Seni Gayung Fatani is a martial art, specifically a style of silat from Malaysia based on the art of war, the combination punch and kick striking, joint-locking and grappling techniques, and various type of melee weapon. In Malay, the word seni means art and gayung is a word for martial arts, synonymous with silat. Fatani means wise in Arabic and was chosen in 1976 by the councils of Guru Tua. The first grandmaster of the silat is Tuan Guru Hj Anuar Abd. Wahab (1976–2009). The second grandmaster was Tuan Guru Aminuddin Haji Anuar (2009–2023) and the current grandmaster of Seni Gayung Fatani Malaysia is Grandmaster Mohd Safwan Abu Hassan.
Tuan Haji Anuar bin Haji Abdul Wahab AMN was a grandmaster of Seni Gayung Fatani who, during his time, revolutionized the teaching and practice of silat in Malaysia.
Malaysian Malays are Malaysians of Malay ethnicity whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in the Malay world. According to the 2023 population estimate, with a total population of 17.6 million, Malaysian Malays form 57.9% of Malaysia's demographics, the largest ethnic group in the country. They can be broadly classified into two main categories; Anak Jati and Anak Dagang.
The regalia of Malaysia includes all the items which are deemed sacred and symbolic of the supremacy and authority of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Supreme King of Malaysia and his consort, the Raja Permaisuri Agong. The installation of the Supreme King is a very special ceremony. Only on this particular day are the masses able to see his regalia. Several of these are Malaysian National Treasures since 2009.
Seni Gayong is a style of silat from Malaysia. It was the first martial arts association to be registered in the country, and is now the biggest and most internationally known Malaysian silat discipline. Gayong is overseen by the Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia (PSSGM) or the Malaysian Silat Seni Gayong Organisation. This organisation is currently led by Dato' Ismail Jantan. While it is most popular in Malaysia and Singapore, there are also branches in Vietnam, Australia, France, Kuwait, Tunisia, Britain, and the United States.
The Malay Gamelan is a style of music originated from Indonesia, performed in ethnic Malay-populated regions of Indonesia and Malaysia as well.
Baju Kurung is a traditional attire of Malays and traditionally worn by women in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand. This type of traditional attire is the national dress of Brunei and Malaysia. In Indonesia, this dress is also worn as a regional attire, commonly observed on the island of Sumatra, particularly by the ethnic Malay and Minangkabau women.
Istiadat Pewaris Penjurit-Kepetangan Melayu or formerly known as Ilmu Persilatan Penjurit-Kepetangan Melayu, shortform IPPM is one of the oldest original known to date Malay martial art form or called 'Silat' in existence which has been heritage from one generation to another. Descended from the first ruler of the Malayapura Kingdom, King Adityawarman whom is also known as Seri Maharaja Diraja which to a later stage sparked the start of Minangkabau history in Pagaruyung Kingdom, Sumatra, Indonesia. These story has been greatly narrated in most of old Malay Literature including in of the most reliable sources to date called Sulalatus al-Salatin or better known as The Malay Annals (Malay: Sejarah Melayu). The manuscript begin with the stories of Wan Malini and Wan Empuk whom was presented with 3 adopted princes right after when their rice fields was magically expelling gold. These 3 princes was later mark as the kickstart for the next 3 big empires in Malay Archipelago. Those empires were the Kingdom of Majapahit, The Malacca Sultanate and the Pagaruyung Kingdom around the 12th century.
The Sang Saka Malaya, sometimes shortened from Sang Pusaka Malaya, is known as the flag of the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya. It is also known as Bendera Rakyat. The flag features twelve stars arranged in three rows of four columns. It was introduced in 1947 by the combination of two political parties, Pusat Tenaga Ra'ayat (PUTERA) and the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA), as a proposal to the flag of an independent Federation of Malaya. According to a report by The Straits Times in 1947, The twelve stars represent the 12 states of the Malay Peninsula. It follows the concept of the American flag with 50 stars representing the 50 states that make up the United States.
Kedah United FC is a Malaysian football team based in the city of Alor Setar representing the state of Kedah, Malaysia. Newly founded in 2012, the team were registered under the name of the Kedah Malays Football Association (KMFA).
The Indonesian Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Indonesian ancestry. Today, there are many Malaysian Malays who have lineage from the Indonesian archipelago and have played an important role in the history and contributed to the development of Malaysia, they have been assimilated with other Malay communities and are grouped as part of the foreign Malays or anak dagang in terms of race. The Malaysian census does not categorize ethnic groups from the Indonesian archipelago as a separate ethnic group, but rather as Malay or Bumiputera.
The 9th Battalion (Parachute), Royal Malay Regiment (Malay: Batalion ke-9, Rejimen Askar Melayu Diraja (Payung Terjun)), abbreviated 9 RAMD (Para) from its local name, is a battalion-sized airborne infantry unit of the Malaysian Army's Royal Malay Regiment. Since 10 October 1994, 9 RAMD has been a part of the 10th Parachute Brigade.
The 18th Battalion (Parachute), Royal Malay Regiment (Malay: Batalion ke-18, Rejimen Askar Melayu Diraja (Payung Terjun)), abbreviated 18 RAMD (Para) from its local name, is a battalion-sized airborne infantry unit of the Malaysian Army's Royal Malay Regiment. The 18 RAMD is the newest conventional infantry unit to be promoted to an airborne unit, and they have now officially been part of the Malaysian Army's elite 10 Parachute Brigade since 21 February 2018.