1.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
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The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence from the United Kingdom, Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected monarch as head of state. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is one of the few elected monarchs in the world and his queen consort is called Raja Permaisuri Agong. The couple are styled in English as His Majesty and Her Majesty, in Malaysias constitutional monarchy, Yang di-Pertuan Agong has extensive powers within the constitution. The constitution specifies that the power of the Federal government is vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and is exercised by him on the advice of the federal Council of Ministers. The latter is headed by the Prime Minister, appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from among the members of Parliament. Among them, Yang di-Pertuan Agong has discretionary powers to choose who he wants as the Prime Minister and is not bound by the decision of the outgoing PM if no party has won a majority vote. It, however, does not afford him the right and authority to dismiss the PM and he also can dismiss or withhold consent to a request for the dissolution of Parliament. He may discontinue or dissolve Parliament but he can only dissolve Parliament at the request of the PM and he can reject any new laws or amendments to existing laws but if he still withholds permission, it will automatically become law after 30 days from the initial submission to him. The 15th and current Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan and his reign began on 13 December 2016, after his election on 14 October 2016 at the 243rd Conference of Rulers. The ceremonial installation of the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong will be held on 24 April 2017, common English terms used in the media and by the general public include King, Paramount Ruler, Head of State, Head of the Federation, and Head of State of the Federation. In Malaysian passports prior to the 2010 redesign, the title The Supreme Head of Malaysia was used in the English version of the passport note, since the issuance of ICAO compliant e-passports in 2010, the untranslated title His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia is used. In August 1957, having rejected the title of Yang di-Pertuan Besar in favour of Yang di-Pertuan Agong. By seniority, the 84-year-old major general Ibrahim of Johor, Sultan of Johor since 1895, was first in line, but he declined due to old age. The next in line, Abu Bakar of Pahang, Sultan of Pahang since 1932, was rejected five times by his fellow electors, abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan, having been elected to his state throne in 1933, was elected by eight votes to one. After a ruler had served as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, he may not stand for election until all rulers of the states have also stood for election. In the event of a vacancy of the office, the Conference of Rulers elects a new Yang di-Pertuan Agong as if the term had expired. The new Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected for a full five-year term, after his term expires, the Conference holds a new election, in which the incumbent would not be re-elected
2.
Geography of Malaysia
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The geography of Malaysia deals with the physical and human geography of Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country. There are two parts to this country, Peninsular Malaysia to the west and East Malaysia to the east. Located near the equator, Malaysias climate is categorised as equatorial, being hot, the average rainfall is 250 centimetres a year and the average temperature is 27 °C. The climates of the Peninsula and the East differ, as the climate on the peninsula is directly affected by wind from the mainland, Malaysia is exposed to the El Niño effect, which reduces rainfall in the dry season. Climate change is likely to have a significant effect on Malaysia, increasing sea levels and rainfall, increasing flooding risks, Malaysia faces two monsoon winds seasons, the Southwest Monsoon from late May to September, and the Northeast Monsoon from October to March. The Northeast Monsoon brings in more rainfall compared to the Southwest Monsoon, originating in China, the southwest monsoon originates from the deserts of Australia. March and October form transitions between the two monsoons, local climates are affected by the presence of mountain ranges throughout Malaysia, and climate can be divided into that of the highlands, the lowlands, and coastal regions. The coasts have a climate, with temperatures ranging between 23 and 32 °C, and rainfall ranging from 10 to 30 centimetres a month. The lowlands have a temperature, but follow a more distinctive rainfall pattern. The highlands are cooler and wetter, and display a greater temperature variation, a large amount of cloud cover is present over the highlands, which have humidity levels that do not fall below 75%. The highest temperature was recorded at Chuping, Perlis on 9 April 1998 at 40.1 °C, the lowest temperature was recorded at Cameron Highlands on 1 February 1978 at 7.8 °C. The unofficial lowest temperature is −4 °C in December recorded in Gunung Kinabalu, the highest rainfall recorded in a day was 608 mm in Kota Bharu, Kelantan on 6 January 1967. The highest rainfall recorded in a year was 5,687 mm at Sandakan, meanwhile, the lowest rainfall recorded in a year was 1,151 mm at Tawau, Sabah in 1997. The wettest place in Malaysia is Kuching, Sarawak with a rainfall of 4,159 mm with 279 days of rain a year. The driest place in Malaysia is in Sitiawan, Perak with average rainfall of only 1,787 mm a year, Malaysia is located on the Sunda shelf, and is tectonically inactive. The oldest rocks in the date from 540 million years ago. The most common form of rock is limestone, formed during the Paleozoic Era, limestone laid down in East Malaysia during the Tertiary period has since eroded, and such erosion forms basins of sedimentary rocks rich in oil and natural gas. The mountain ranges in Malaysia were formed through orogenesis beginning in the Mesozoic era, the total land area of Malaysia is 329,613 square kilometres, the 66th largest country in the world in terms of area
3.
Malaya and British Borneo dollar
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The currency was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo. Prior to 1952, the board was known as the Board of Commissioners of Currency, the Malaya and British Borneo dollar was used in Malaya after independence in 1957, and in Malaysia after its formation in 1963, as well as in Singapore after its independence in 1965. After 1967, the two countries and Brunei ended the common currency arrangement and began issuing their own currencies, however, the Malaya and British Borneo dollar continued to be legal tender until 16 January 1969. The currency was also being used in the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia prior to 1963. The Currency Ordinance No.44 of 1952 of the Crown Colony of Singapore, No.33 of 1951 of the Federation of Malaya, No.10 of 1951 of North Borneo and this agreement became effective on 1 January 1952. On 12 June 1967, the union came to an end and Malaysia, Singapore. The currencies of the three countries were interchangeable at par value under the Interchangeability Agreement until 8 May 1973 when the Malaysian government decided to terminate it, Brunei and Singapore continue with the Agreement until the present day. The Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya and British Borneo was officially wound up on 30 November 1979. Coins were issued in bronze 1 cent square shaped coins issued between 1953 and 1961, and circular coins of similar composition from 1962, and cupro-nickel 5,10,20, and 50 cents. These all shared a basic design depicting Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. However, the Queen was replaced with two daggers on the smaller round cent of 1962, the older coins also continued to circulate alongside these bearing the new title. All notes bear the date 21 March 1953, and signed by W. C, taylor, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioner of Currency. As a safeguard against forgery, a security thread and the watermark of a lions head were incorporated in the paper before printing. British North Borneo dollar Malayan dollar Sarawak dollar Straits dollar Coins of Malaya and British Borneo Global Financial Data currency histories table Tables of modern monetary history, Asia
4.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
5.
History of Malaysia
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Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country located on strategic sea-lane that exposes it to global trade and foreign culture. Although Muslims had passed through the Malay Peninsula as early as the 10th century, the adoption of Islam in the 14th century saw the rise of a number of sultanates, the most prominent of which was the Sultanate of Malacca. Islam had a influence on the Malay people, but has also been influenced by them. The Portuguese were the first European colonial powers to themselves on the Malay Peninsula and Southeast Asia, capturing Malacca in 1511. However, it was the British who, after initially establishing bases at Jesselton, Kuching, Penang and Singapore, the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 defined the boundaries between British Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies. A fourth phase of influence was immigration of Chinese and Indian workers to meet the needs of the colonial economy created by the British in the Malay Peninsula. Japanese invasion during World War II ended British domination in Malaysia, the subsequent occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak from 1942 to 1945 unleashed nationalism. In the Peninsula, the Malayan Communist Party took up arms against the British, a tough military response was needed to end the insurgency and bring about the establishment of an independent, multi-racial Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957. On 31 August 1963, the British territories in North Borneo and Singapore were granted independence, approximately two years later, the Malaysian parliament passed a bill without the consent of signatory of Malaysia Agreement 1963 to separate Singapore from the Federation. A confrontation with Indonesia occurred in the early-1960s, race riots in 1969 led to the imposition of emergency rule, and a curtailment of political life and civil liberties which has never been fully reversed. Since 1970 the National Front coalition headed by United Malays National Organisation has governed Malaysia, Economic growth dramatically increased living standards by the 1990s. This growing prosperity helped minimise political discontent, stone hand-axes from early hominoids, probably Homo erectus, have been unearthed in Lenggong. They date back 1.83 million years, the oldest evidence of habitation in Southeast Asia. The earliest evidence of human habitation in Malaysia is the 40, 000-year-old skull excavated from the Niah Caves in todays Sarawak. It was excavated from a trench uncovered by Barbara and Tom Harrisson in 1958. This is also the oldest modern human skull in Southeast Asia, the skull probably belongs to a 16-to 17-year-old adolescent girl. The first foragers visited the West Mouth of Niah Caves 40,000 years ago when Borneo was connected to the mainland of Southeast Asia, the landscape around the Niah Caves was drier and more exposed than it is now. Prehistorically, the Niah Caves were surrounded by a combination of closed forests with bush, parkland, swamps, the foragers were able to survive in the rainforest through hunting, fishing, and gathering molluscs and edible plants
6.
Srivijaya
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Srivijaya was a dominant thalassocratic city-state based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 8th to the 12th century, Srivijaya was the first unified kingdom to dominate much of Malay archipelago. In Sanskrit, śrī means fortunate, prosperous, or happy, the earliest reference to it dates from the 7th century. A Tang Chinese monk, Yijing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 CE for six months, the earliest known inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century in the Kedukan Bukit inscription found near Palembang, Sumatra, dated 16 June 682 CE. Between the late 7th and early 11th century, Srivijaya rose to become a hegemon in Southeast Asia and it was involved in close interactions, often rivalries, with the neighbouring Java, Kambuja and Champa. Srivijayas main foreign interest was nurturing lucrative trade agreements with China which lasted from the Tang to the Song dynasty, Srivijaya had religious, cultural and trade links with the Buddhist Pala of Bengal, as well as with the Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. The kingdom ceased to exist in the 13th century by various factors, including the expansion of the rival Javanese Singhasari, after Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten. It was not until 1918 that French historian George Cœdès, of École française dExtrême-Orient, little physical evidence of Srivijaya remains. There had been no continuous knowledge of the history of Srivijaya even in Indonesia, Cœdès noted that the Chinese references to Sanfoqi, previously read as Sribhoja, and the inscriptions in Old Malay refer to the same empire. The Buddhist pilgrim Yijings account is important on describing Srivijaya. The 7th-century siddhayatra inscriptions discovered in Palembang and Bangka island are also vital primary historical sources, also, regional accounts that some might be almost tales and legends, such as the Legend of the Maharaja of Javaka and the Khmer King also provides a glimpse of the kingdom. Besides, some Indian and Arabic accounts also describes vaguely about the riches, Srivijaya had become a symbol of early Sumatran importance as a great empire to balance Javas Majapahit in the east. Srivijaya, and by extension Sumatra, had been known by different names to different peoples, the Chinese called it Sanfoqi or Che-li-fo-che, and there was an even older kingdom of Kantoli, which could be considered the predecessor of Srivijaya. Sanskrit and Pali texts referred to it as Yavades and Javadeh, the Arabs called it Zabag or Sribuza and the Khmers called it Melayu. While the Javanese called them Suvarnabhumi, Suvarnadvipa or Malayu and this is another reason why the discovery of Srivijaya was so difficult. While some of names are strongly reminiscent of the name of Java. According to the Kedukan Bukit inscription, dated 605 Saka, Srivijaya was first established in the vicinity of todays Palembang and it mentions that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa came from Minanga Tamwan. The exact location of Minanga Tamwan is still a subject of discussion, the Palembang theory as the place where Srivijaya was first established was presented by Cœdes and supported by Pierre-Yves Manguin
7.
Majapahit
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The Majapahit Empire was a vast thalassocracy based on the island of Java from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk and his achievement is also credited to his prime minister, Gajah Mada. Its influence extended beyond the territory of Indonesia and has been the subject of many studies. The name Majapahit derives from local Javanese, meaning bitter maja, german orientalist Berthold Laufer suggested that maja came from the Javanese name of Aegle marmelos, an Indonesian tree. The name originally referred to the area in and around Trowulan, the cradle of Majapahit and it was said that the workers clearing the Tarik timberland encountered some bael trees and consumed its bitter-tasting fruit that subsequently become the villages name. In ancient Java it is common to refer the kingdom with its capitals name, Majapahit is also known by other names, Wilwatikta, although sometimes the natives refer to their kingdom as Bhumi Jawa or Mandala Jawa instead. Little physical evidence of Majapahit remains, and some details of the history are rather abstract, nevertheless, local Javanese people did not forget Majapahit completely, as Mojopait is mentioned vaguely in Babad Tanah Jawi, a Javanese chronicle composed in the 18th century. Majapahit did produce physical evidence, the ruins dating from the Majapahit period are clustered in the Trowulan area. The Trowulan archaeological site was discovered in the 19th century by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and he reported the existence of ruins of temples. Scattered about the country for miles, and referred to Trowulan as this pride of Java. By the early 20th century, Dutch colonial historians began to study old Javanese and Balinese literature to explore the past of their colony, two primary sources were available to them, the Pararaton manuscript was written in the Kawi language c. 1600, and Nagarakretagama was composed in Old Javanese in 1365, Pararaton focuses on Ken Arok, the founder of Singhasari, but includes a number of shorter narrative fragments about the formation of Majapahit. The Nagarakretagama is an old Javanese epic poem written during the Majapahit golden age under the reign of Hayam Wuruk, the Dutch acquired the manuscript in 1894 during their military expedition against the Cakranegara royal house of Lombok. There are also inscriptions in Old Javanese and Chinese. The Javanese sources incorporate some poetic mythological elements, and scholars such as C. C, berg, an Indonesia-born Dutch naturalist, have considered the entire historical record to be not a record of the past, but a supernatural means by which the future can be determined. Most scholars do not accept this view, as the record corresponds with Chinese materials that could not have had similar intention. The list of rulers and details of the structure show no sign of being invented. The Chinese historical sources on Majapahit, mainly owed to Zheng Hes account — a Ming Dynasty admiral reports during his visit to Majapahit, Zheng Hes translator Ma Huan wrote a detailed description of Majapahit and where the king of Java lived
8.
Malacca Sultanate
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The Malacca Sultanate was a Malay sultanate centred in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks c.1400 as the year of the sultanate by a renegade Malay Raja of Singapura, Parameswara who was also known as Iskandar Shah. As a bustling trading port, Malacca emerged as a centre for Islamic learning and dissemination. The legacy of the political and cultural legacy remains to this day. For centuries, Malacca has been held up as an exemplar of Malay-Muslim civilisation, the series of raids launched by the Chola Empire in the 11th century had weakened the once glorious empire of Srivijaya. By the end of the 13th century, the already fragmented Srivijaya caught the attention of the expansionist Javanese King, in 1275, he decreed the Pamalayu expedition to overrun Sumatra. By 1288, Singhasari naval expeditionary forces successfully sacked Jambi and Palembang, the complete destruction of Srivijaya caused the diaspora of the Srivijayan princes and nobles. Rebellions against the Javanese rule ensued and attempts were made by the fleeing Malay princes to revive the empire, the Orang Laut, famous for their loyal services to Srivijaya, eventually made him king of a new kingdom called Singapura. In the 14th century, Singapura developed concurrently with the Pax Mongolica era and its wealth and success however, alarmed two regional powers at that time, Ayuthaya from the north and Majapahit from the south. As a result, the fortified capital was attacked by at least two major foreign invasions before it was finally sacked by Majapahit in 1398. The fifth and last king, Parameswara fled to the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, Parameswara fled north to Muar, Ujong Tanah and Biawak Busuk before reaching a fishing village at the mouth of Bertam river. Legend has it that the king saw a mouse deer outwit his hunting dog into the water when he was resting under the Malacca tree. He thought this boded well, remarking, this place is excellent, even the mouse deer is formidable, tradition holds that he named the settlement after the tree he was leaning against while witnessing the portentous event. Today, the deer is part of modern Malaccas coat of arms. The name Malacca itself was derived from the fruit-bearing Melaka tree scientifically termed as Phyllanthus emblica, following establishment of his new city in Malacca, Parameswara initiated the development of the place and laid the foundation of a trade port. The indigenous inhabitants of the straits, the Orang Laut, were employed to patrol the adjacent sea areas, to repel other petty pirates, within years, news about Malacca becoming a centre of trade and commerce began to spread all over the eastern part of the world. In 1405, Yongle Emperor of Ming Dynasty sent his envoy headed by Yin Qing to Malacca in 1403, Yin Qings visit opened the way for the establishment of friendly relations between Malacca and China. Two years later, the legendary Admiral Zheng He made his first of six visits to Malacca, Chinese merchants began calling at the port and pioneering foreign trading bases in Malacca
9.
Sultanate of Sulu
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The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, parts of Mindanao, certain portions of Palawan and north-eastern Borneo. The sultanate was founded on 17 November 1405, by a Johore-born explorer and religious scholar Sharif ul-Hashim. Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim became his full regnal name, after the marriage of Abu Bakr and a local dayang-dayang Paramisuli, he founded the sultanate. The Sultanate gained its independence from the Bruneian Empire in 1578, at its peak, it stretched over the islands that bordered the western peninsula of Mindanao in the east to Palawan in the north. It also covers the area in northeastern side of Borneo, stretching from Marudu Bay, while another source stated the area stretching from Kimanis Bay which also overlaps with the boundaries of the Bruneian Sultanate. In 1962, Philippine Government under the leadership of President Diosdado Macapagal officially recognised the existence of the Sultanate of Sulu. On 24 May 1974, Sultan Mohammad Mahakuttah Kiram, was the last officially recognized Sulu Sultan in the Philippines, the present area of the Sultanate of Sulu was once under the influence of the Bruneian Empire before it gained its own independence in 1578. Later, the earliest known settlement in this soon to be occupied by the sultanate who was in Maimbung. During these times, Sulu was called Lupah Sug, the Principality of Maimbung, populated by Buranun people, was first ruled by a certain rajah who assumed the title Rajah Sipad the Older. According to Majul, the origins of the title rajah sipad originated from the Hindu sri pada, the Principality was instituted and governed using the system of rajahs. Sipad the Older was succeeded by Sipad the Younger, during the reign of Sipad the Younger, a mystic named Tuan Mashā′ikha arrived in Jolo in 1280 AD. Other reports, however, insisted that Tuan Mashā′ikha together with his parents, Jamiyun Kulisa, however, Saleeby dismisses this claim by concluding that Jamiyun Kulisa and Indra Suga were mythical names. According to tarsila, during the coming of Tuan Mashā′ikha, the people of Maimbung worshipped tombs, after he preached Islam in the area, he married Sipad the Youngers daughter, Idda Indira Suga and bore three children, Tuan Hakim, Tuan Pam and Aisha. Tuan Hakim, in turn, begot five children, from the genealogy of Tuan Mashā′ikha, another titular system of aristocracy called tuanship started in Sulu. Apart from the Idda Indira Suga, Tuan Mashā′ikha also married into another unidentified woman, Tuan Mashā′ikha died in 710 A. H. and was buried in Bud Dato near Jolo, with an inscription of Tuan Maqbālū. A descendant of Tuan Mashā′ikha named Tuan May also begot a son named Datu Tka, the descendants of Tuan May did not assume the title tuan, instead, they started to use datu. It is the first time datu was used as a political institution, during the coming of Tuan Mashā′ikha, the Tagimaha people coming from Basilan and several places in Mindanao, also arrived and settled in Buansa. After the Tagimaha came the Baklaya people, believed to be originated from Sulawesi, after these came the Bajau people from Johor
10.
Aceh Sultanate
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The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam, was a Sultanate centred in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries. Its capital was Kutaraja, the present-day Banda Aceh, in addition to its considerable military strength, the court of Aceh became a noted centre of Islamic scholarship and trade. Acehs early history is unclear, but in one version it was founded by the Cham people, the Acehnese language is one of the 10 languages of the Aceh-Chamic language group. The ruler of Aceh converted to Islam in the mid-15th century, the Sultanate was founded by Ali Mughayat Syah, who began campaigns to extend his control over northern Sumatra in 1520. His conquests included Deli, Pedir, and Pasai, and he attacked Aru, the Ottoman Empire sent a relief force of 15 Xebecs commanded by Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis. On 21 June 1599 a Dutch captain, Cornelius Houtman arrived at Acheen aboard the Lioness as the first of three planned voyages to the East Indies, the crew stayed for three months acquiring pepper and other spices. British crew member John Davis claims the party was attacked by the local warlord with the loss of 68 dead. After they arrived, they were permitted by the Sultan to purchase pepper The same year and he returned in 1602 bearing a letter from English Queen Elizabeth I. The Sultan from 1589 to 1604 was Alauddin Riayat Shah ibn Firman Shah, internal dissension in the Sultanate prevented another powerful Sultan from appearing until 1607, when Iskandar Muda came to the position. He extended the Sultanates control over most of Sumatra and he also conquered Pahang, a tin-producing region of the Malayan Peninsula, and was able to force the Sultans of Johor to recognise his overlordship, if temporarily. During his reign he created a code of laws known as Adat Meukuta Alam, Acehs forces were not destroyed, however, as Aceh was able to conquer Kedah within the same year and taking many of its citizens to Aceh. The Sultans son in law, Iskandar Thani, former prince of Pahang later became his successor, during his reign Aceh focused on internal consolidation and religious unity. After the reign of Sultan Iskandar Thani, Aceh was ruled by a series of female Sultana, Acehs previous policy of taking hostage from conquered kingdoms population made them eager to seek independence, the results were Acehs control weakened while regional rulers gained effective power. The Sultan ultimately became a symbolic title. Aceh saw itself as heir to Pasai, the first Islamic state in Southeast Asia and it was called the porch of Mecca, and became a centre of Islamic scholarship, where the Quran and other Islamic texts were translated into Malay. Its notable scholars included Hamzah Pansuri, Syamsuddin of Pasai, Abdurrauf of Singkil, Aceh gained wealth from its export of pepper, nutmeg, cloves, betel nuts, and, once it conquered Pahang in 1617, tin. Low interest rates and the use of gold currency strengthened its economy and it was always somewhat fragile economically, however, because of the difficulty in providing enough surplus food to support the military and commercial adventures of the state
11.
Pattani Kingdom
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Pattani or the Sultanate of Patani was a Malay sultanate in the historical Patani Region. It covered approximately the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, the 6–7th century Hindu state of Pan Pan may or may not have been related. The kingdom drew trade from Chinese, Indian, and local traders as a place for ships bound for, or just arrived from. Langkasuka reached its greatest economic success in the 6th and 7th centuries, political circumstances suggest that by the 11th century Chola invasion, Langkasuka was no longer a major port visited by merchants. However, much of the decline may be due to the silting up of its harbour, Patani became part of the Hindu-Buddhist Empire of Srivijaya, a maritime confederation based in Palembang. Srivijaya dominated trade in the South China Sea and exacted tolls on all traffic through the Straits of Malacca, Malay culture had substantial influence on the Khmer Empire, and the ancient city of Nakhon Pathom. However, some think it was the country known to the Chinese as Pan Pan. An alternative theory is that the Patani kingdom was founded in the 14th century, local stories tell of a fisherman named Pak Tani, who was sent by a king from the interior to survey the coast, to find a place for an appropriate settlement. After he established a fishing outpost, other people moved to join him. The town soon grew into a trading center that continued to bear his name. The authors of the 17th–18th century Hikayat Patani chronicle claim this story is untrue, in the 14th century CE, King Ram Khamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai, occupied Nakhon Si Thammarat and its vassal states – including Patani. The Thai Ayutthaya kingdom conquered the isthmus during the 14th century CE, bringing it into a unified state, with Ayutthaya as a capital. This consisted of a system in which the vassal states and tributary provinces owed allegiance to the king of Ayutthaya. All of the officials also agreed to convert. However, there is evidence that some local people had begun to convert to Islam prior to this. The existence of a diasporic Pasai community near Patani shows the locals had regular contact with Muslims, during much of the 15th century Ayutthayas energies were directed toward the Malay Peninsula, especially the trading port of Malacca, which fell under the rule of the Malacca Sultanate. Ayutthayas sovereignty extended over Malacca and the Malay states south of Tambralinga, Ayutthaya helped develop and stabilise the region, opening the way for lucrative trade on the isthmus. This attracted Chinese merchants seeking speciality goods for the Chinese market, the 16th century witnessed the rise of Burma, which under an aggressive dynasty had overrun Chiang Mai and Laos and made war on Ayutthaya
Malaysia
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