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Revisiting the Keris: How We Betrayed Our Ancestors

Announcement

www.othermalaysia.org Lecture Series

Kicking off what we hope will be a semi-regular (well, sort of) series of public lectures, the team at www.othermalaysia.org invites you to a free public lecture by Dr. Farish A. Noor on the theme:

Revisiting the Keris: How We Betrayed Our Ancestors

To be held at 3.00 pm on 1st March (Saturday) at the Annexe, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur.

Deconstructing the Keris in the Context of Malaysia’s Essentialist Racialised Politics:

The keris today has been redefined as an exclusive (and sometimes violent) marker of ethnic – and specifically Malay – identity. Yet this simplification of the keris as a political symbol overlooks the fact that the keris emerged at a time when Asia was already globalised, and that the keris was in fact a product of cross-cultural borrowing and overlap. This lecture will attempt to relocate the keris in its proper cultural-historical context, calling for the de-racialisation of the keris and the reminder of our shared cultural heritage.

The talk is free and open to all.

23 Replies to “Revisiting the Keris: How We Betrayed Our Ancestors”

  1. I remember the significance of the kerises (5 of them) on the Malaysian coat of arms as signifying 5 royal malay states. Thus the keris today should be taken as a symbol of royalty and not for the use of these “half-past-six” youth leaders to demonstrate “ketuanan Melayu” at UMNO assemblies.

  4. Vote for BN to be humiliated at every UMNO assembly by HISAHAMUDDIN WAVING HIS KERIS!!!!

    If you still have pride in you all, DON’t VOTE BN!!!

    VOTE PAS, DAP oR KEADILAN!!! ANY ONE OF THESE IS GOOD FOR US TO REDUCE BN THE MAJORITY!!!

  5. Since Hishamuddin waved his keris as reminder to his listeners that the Malays would not stand for an assault on their special rights and privileges as provided for under the Federal Constitution 1957, there has been no dearth of attempts i.e. articles and thesis by academics to delve into the origin, historical significance of this Malay weapon of choice in times long gone, some in an attempt to provide perspective to the symbol it represents to the Malays as if seeking an apology. It is time for right thinking peace loving Malaysians to view the keris waving incident as the way it was meant to be i.e. a reminder to all, that leaders in UMNO would not take challenges to their power lying down even if that includes the use of violence and the loss of lives.

  8. Dr. Noor attempt at accuracy is noble but may be futile. The issue as I see it is May 13, 1969 and the truth that UMNO started the violence itself. The violence was small but the symbolic threat was real, just as the keris itself represents – small and on itself not really harmfull but it can be followed by something larger.

    When the keris is invoked, non-Malays remember the lies of May 13, 1969 and all the lies that followed and continue to be so evident recently in Lingam Tape, PKFZ, squating incident etc.

    Its not just so simple anymore. Its a racial issue and Kerismuddin was stupid which he nows regrets. But events have overtaken Kerismuddin. Just as the keris is an exagerated symbol with poetry that lyrically talks about it and what it can represents, the issues that is now attached to the keris is now too late to reverse.

  10. What was all the other BN component party leaders doing when UMNO LED BN leaders was waving the kriss, THEIR TAILS WAS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS.

    Now come election they say they will look after the interest of their people.MIC MCA PPP GERAKAN PLEASE LAHH..YOU GUYS ARE A PUNCH OF BALL CARRIERS

  13. K1980,
    BN is trying very hard to buy over candidates as the regime really feels threatened. Would you support a regime which uses corruption and threats to govern? Ask yourself truthfully before crossing the dacing on election day. Unless of course you are one of their many small potato door watching puppies hoping for the masters of umnoputra to drop you some scraps of bones……

    VOTE DAP! VOTE PKR! VOTE PAS! RESPECT!

  14. Kerismuddin and SIL Kerisry J and their gang of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ Umnoputras are now acting around the nation – pretending to be friendly to non-Malays, peluk here, peluk there.

    After the GE, they will revert to their innate devilish color – using non-Malays as the punching bag and bogeymen, and raising unsheathed keris to threathen to smear it with the blood of non-Malays, in order to protect the interest of Umnoputras under the disguise of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’!

    Beware, beware, beware!

  15. Time to vote for Jeff Ooi and the Opposition. Exercise your right now!!

    TAK NAK TO PETROL INFLATION
    TAK NAK TO UNBEARABLE EVERYTHING INFLATION
    TAK NAK TO HIGH CRIME
    TAK NAK TO LINGAM SCANDAL
    TAK NAK TO CHUA SOI LEK SCANDAL
    TAK NAK TO CORRUPTION
    TAK NAK TO NEPOTISM
    TAK NAK TO ………….

    http://www.geocities.com/matterofchoice2008/My_page.html

    We need the check and balance for good governance.
    Please do your part. Please call upon all friends and relatives to vote for the Opposition.
    We need to send the right candidates to parliment to voice up for us.
    Penang and Jelutong voters, we need more supports to reject BN parasites going into the Parliment.

  18. Only cowards show arrogance! Pulling out the kris during UMNO assembly only goes to show how coward these people are. If at all the government believed in what they have legislated, this would provide an opportunity for MCA to pull out a Chinese sword at its general assembly, in line with the provisions of the Rukunegara which states that “……membina masyarakat yang ADIL….”. So in order to be ADIL, what the Malays can do under the law, the Chinese can follow suit?

  19. I wonder if these keris-kissing UMNO guys know the origins of the keris.

    According to this article, “The modern keris has existed since at least the mid 14th Century. It developed in East Java from an earlier form known in Java as the keris buda. The keris buda was preceded by and, coexisted with, a Javanese dagger with a leaf shaped blade which resembled the leaf shaped blades of Indian swords”. http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/maisey/index.html

    Virtually all depictions of early keris’ have some sort of association with Hindu deities http://www.nikhef.nl/~tonvr/keris/keris1/keris.html

    So, when Hishamuddin kisses the keris, is he really going back to ancient Hindu heritage?

  22. Only 1 question, why does Hishamuddin ‘wave’ his keris only when Abdullah the PM and not during Tun Mahathir’s time? The answer is very simple, Abdullah is weak, not powerful, fear his own subordinates and totally hv no idea how to run our country.

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