Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles ́ Discourse on the Malay World

A Revisionist Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID6086596
AuthorsKhairudin Aljunied (0000-0003-0186-839X, corresponding author), Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied
Year2005
Volume20
Issue1
Pages1-22
Publication date2005-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0217-9520 • E-ISSN: 1793-2858
PublisherISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute (PUBLISHER • SG)
DOI10.1355/sj20-1a
OpenAlexW2028962752
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited20

This article attempts to provide a revisionist perspective of Southeast Asia's historical icon by examining in detail Sir Thomas Raffles' discursive strategies that sought to justify the study and preservation of Hinduism and Buddhism in the Malay World. Foremost within such strategies was by way of portraying Hinduism and Buddhism as practised by the Malays as a binary opposite of Islam, Secondly, sought to demonstrate the affinities of Hinduism and Buddhism with European Traditions. Last but not least, he argued that the legacies of Hinduism and Buddhism in the Malay World were suffering from a climate of decline, Most importantly, the article demonstrates ways In which Raffles' discourse is revealing of the Influence of dominant methodologies and ideologies amongst Europeans during his milieu. By any standard, SirThomas Stamford was a remarkable figure. Remembered as one ofthe most dedicated colonial administrator in the history ofSoutheast Asia, his fame has been memorialized through the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia. Academic chairs and professorships have been attributed to his name and, in Raffles is associated with all tilings prestigious, extravagant, and grand such as the Hotel, Country Club, Institution, City. Celebrated in our textbooks as the Founder of Modern Singapore, is a symbol ofSingapore's secular past, which was guided by the Enlightenment tenets of reason, capitalism, benevolent rule, and free trade. His influence is so pervasive that entire collections ofwritings have been devoted to him. In fact, he has recently been the subject of a comprehensive bibliography (Solomon 1997). Nevertheless, except for

Art · Linguistics · Malay · Perspective (graphical · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Gender Studies · History · Philosophy · Scottish History and National Identity · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

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