Malayness

People who call themselves Malay are found in many countries in Southeast Asia, united by a notional shared identity but divided by political boundaries, divergent histories, variant dialects and peculiarities of local experience.

[10] The indigenous Animistic belief system, which employed the concept of semangat (spirit) in every natural objects, was predominant among the ancient Malayic tribes before the arrival of Dharmic religions around the beginning of first millennium CE.

[11] The Dharmic period was in turn superseded by the introduction of Islam and the expansion of Malay sultanates in different parts of the region from the 12th century onwards.

The term 'Melayu' (Malay) and its variants predates the Islamic era, in a sense which appears to apply as an old toponym to the Strait of Melaka region in general.

[26] Other instances can also be observed in North Sumatra and Borneo, where tribal communities, in particular the Batak and Dayak peoples, being systematically drawn into the Malay sultanates.

From the 17th–19th centuries, the colonial administrators—first the Dutch, followed by the British—redefined the meaning of 'Malay' and 'Malayness', setting boundaries legitimized by rules of law and policies, thus elevating it to a 'nation'.

With increased immigration of Chinese and Indian labour to Malaya in the early 1900s, a plural society was established, in which the concept of Malay as a nation became fixed and indelible.

[32] The leftists from Kesatuan Melayu Muda were among the earliest who appeared with an ideal of a Republic of Greater Indonesia for a Pan-Malay identity.

[34] Another attempt to redefine the Malayness was made by a coalition of left wing political parties, the AMCJA, that proposed the term 'Melayu' as a demonym or citizenship for an independent Malaya.

In modern times, the traditional Malay notion of fealty to a ruler, charged to protect Islam in his territory, is central in both Malaysia and Brunei.

In Brunei, this has been institutionalized under the state ideology of Malay Islamic Monarchy which proclaimed on the day of its independence on 1 January 1984.