Swettenham’s Work Malay Sketches and the Myth of Lazy Malays Issues: Re-Evaluation in Welcoming Industrial Revolution 4.0

Abstract

The industrial revolution that took place in Europe in the early stages caused
 colonialism in Southeast Asia countries, particularly Britain in Malaya (Tanah Melayu).
 The English colonization opened up space in literature as some of the colonial
 officials wrote their autobiographical works or travelogues bearing their experiences
 witnessed the societies and cultures of the colonies. At the same time there were
 some English officials from the British East India sentenced to work in Malaya who
 took the opportunity to record their travel experiences living here with Malay peoples.
 Swettenham is one of them. But what is not quite good to know is that they recorded
 negative things about Malays. The statements are not exactly accurate. This is because
 it is merely a personal view from the colonial perspectives. This paper intends to
 address the issue of Laziness Malay myth by citing Swettenham’s statements in his
 travelogue entitled Malay Sketches. Frank Swettenham, (born March 28, 1850,Belper,
 Derbyshire, Eng.—died June 11, 1946, London), British colonial official in Malaya who
 was highly influential in shaping British policy and the structure of British administration
 in the Malay Peninsula. He learned the Malay language and played a major role
 as British-Malay intermediary in the events surrounding British intervention in the
 peninsular Malay states in the 1870s. He successfully promoted the development
 of coffee and tobacco estates in the Malay state and helped boost tin earnings by
 constructing a railway from Kuala Lumpur. His services help to energize the industrial
 revolution in England. This conference is a literary privilege that gives scholars the
 opportunity to give a feed back to this Englishman’s allegations to the Malays.