Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Looks like we are up there with Fiji as well. After Malaysiakini revealed that “it is widely believed that Mahathir’s father, a school teacher, had migrated to Malaysia from the southern Indian state of Kerala and subsequently married a Malay woman”, many cans of worms have literally exploded!
With the caveat that the above “widely believed” story is true:
– how can the son of a migrant end up as prime minister? Hmm, no wonder son of indonesian migrant also can become menteri besar.
– how can a half-indian become a member of UMNO and rise up to be the president of a malay party? Are UMNO people hypocrites, blind or just plain confused about themselves?
If the above is true, then we can be happy and proud that an Indian (half actually) Malayalee was a prime minister for nearly half of the country’s existence! Wait a minute, could “Malayalee” have anything to do with the word “Malay”? Maybe some historians should follow up on this. 🙂
I also wonder if Mahathir’s father was originally a muslim or converted after marriage? A website lists his father’s name as Mohamed bin Iskandar. No mention if the father converted. A search on the Internet reveals a name “Mohamed Iskandar Kutty” – supposedly the name of Mahathir’s father, and that Mahathir bin Mohamad was actually Mahathir s/o Mohamad Iskandar Kutty. This implies his father was a Muslim Malayalee.
Obviously, “bin” is not used in India. So, how can the father end up with “bin”? This can possibly help many of the Indian Muslims who want to join UMNO, so I’m sure they will be interested.
This is not intended to insult or humiliate his family, but I think the history of our prime ministers should be well documented, with the truth.
Mahathir a/l Mohamed anyone?
History is nothing the laws of physics. History in Malaysia has been rewritten to suit the political ideology of the country.
Mahathir s/o Mohamed Kutty is known to everyone who had cared to find out his roots. I have always wondered how he got away as a Malay when he is only half Malay and the other half being half Indian which is the case with most mamaks in Malaysia.
Mamaks in Malaysia are not allowed bumiputra status even though they profess the Islamic religion and many have even embraced the Malay culture in attire and traditions.
They are not admitted into UMNO even though our second finance minister and many of the ex-ministers were half Malays. The mamaks in KIMMA languish as non-bumiputras while a selected few are accorded Malay and bumiputra status.
Only Mamakthir can unfold these mysteries.
yup… it’s the true background of Dr.M where many of us knew . As far as i heard , his father was converted . But unsure the source to confirm .
If you happen to go down to his home in Kedah (rumah mahathir) , you will see the roots of his wife stated there clearly but Dr.M’s roots not stated anywhere.
Half truths perpectuated by the net.
Dr M’s dad was not Indian. He was a Kedahan born of a Malay Mom and an Indian Muslim father.
This arrangement was very common in the old days as well as today.
The early merchants did not bring their women folks. So they marry local women and let their wives bring up the child according to the wife’s cultural customs.
Thus Lee Kuan Yew’s ancestors were peranakan Jawa-Cina for several generations (inculding his father born in Semarang Indonesia) nobody calls him a Javanese.
Please leave race out of the equation.
Thanks for the insight and info.
I think need to clarify when using the word Indian – are you refering to nationality or ethnicity? A person can be both Kedahan and Indian at the same time.
Anyhow, its mentioned in Wikipedia that Mahathir’s father was half Indian, half Malay since Mahathir’s father’s father was a Malayalee Muslim from Kerala, South India and the mother a Malay from Kedah. Since Mahathir’s mother was a Malay, thus Mahathir qualifies as a quarter-Indian (as in ethnicity, not nationality), if ever there’s such a thing, and not half-Indian.
From what you mention, Kuan Yew would be a half-Javanese-Chinese (technically, still chinese ethnicity). Kuan Yew himself mentioned that he is 4th generation Chinese Singaporean but that’s just his view. His mother was Hokkien Nyonya, says Wikipedia, which is still Chinese ethnically. Thus, can we say Kuan Yew is half Javanese Chinese and half Peranakan Chinese, meaning he is Chinese?
Whether one is or not of certain ethnicity depends on the person and the group he want to be identified with that is whether the targetted ethnic group has srtict membership requirements or loose membership.
You may be born to parents of ethnic A, raise as ethnic B, live as a member of Ethnic C and die as ethnic D as held by the House of Lord. Or you can be all of it at once.
That’s because “race” is not in the DNA but in the mind.
Mahathir’s father was an Indian migrant. His Name was Iskandar Kutty a Indian citizen professing the Islamic religion. Iskandar Kutty migrated to Malaya and married a local malay woman. He did not change his name and it remained Iskandar Kutty till his death in 1962.
It was only change after his death by Mahathir, who changed his own name to Mahathir bin Mohammed and named his father Mohamad Bin Iskandar, dropping the Kutty so he will be recognised as a malay.
Mahathir’s race was registered as Indian at the Singapore Univerisity where Mahathir studied (King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore).
The place of birth of Mohamad Bin Iskandar was reclassfied to Kedah in 1880. Thats why the Primary School next to Sultan Abdul
Hamid College was named Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Iskandar (Instead of Mohamad) after his father.