Osman Bakar, Ahmad Murad Merican and Wan Ali Wan Mamat (Eds.). Colonialism in The Malay Archipelago: Civilisational Encounters. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC & Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia, 2020. 360 pp. ISBN 9789839379709.

Abstract

Colonialism, in all its grand riches and assumed bravado, has shaped and continues to mould the thoughts and actions of many across the globe. The impact of coercion and pillaging, and of blatant disregard to those who have been labelled ‘the other’, is very much the sine qua non of the colonial enterprise. Physical subjugation might be a template used in the past, but the current imbroglio is one that relates to economic and intellectual suppression. The residue of colonial policies has taken the form of an all-encompassing dictum to which modern nation-states are compelled to follow. This, in turn, has had, and continues to have, an adverse effect on the lives of millions of people the world over. These decisions are often made under duress; a necessary caving in by governments to be ‘relevant’ and ‘competitive’ in the modern world. Closer to home, there is a pressing need to (re)consider our past and to learn from the relationships between civilisations. The intention here is to build a future where honest communication – and perhaps reconciliation – can take place between subjugator and subjugated, as well as communities with diverse lived realities and worldviews.

Colonialism in the Malay Archipelago: Civilisational Encounters is a collection of thirteen essays on the topic of colonialism and its impact on the Nusantara region, often referred to as the ‘lands below the wind’. Published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC-IIUM) Publications 2020, these riveting papers were submitted by scholars from across the region, and initially presented at an international conference jointly organised by ISTAC-IIUM and the Malaysian Historical Society on Sept 2-3, 2019. The conference was held on the occasion of the International Council for Historical-Cultural Cooperation in Southeast Asia (ICHCC-SEA) Sixth International Conference on History and Culture.