A Story Lost In The Mist Of Time

Malaysia's history has always been a fascination to me. By that I don't mean 15th Century Malacca Sultanate Empire but a time dating back to pre-history.

It is interesting to note that Peninsula Malaysia was once part of a large landmass called Sundaland that included Borneo, Indonesia, Thailand and parts of Vietnam and Myanmar. This landmass was made possible as sea levels at around 18,000BCE when sea levels were between 80meters and 120meters lower than present day level owing to water locked in during the last Ice Age.

There was abundance of life here as the landmass was sparred the ravages of the Ice Age. However, this began to change when the ice thawed between 12,000BCE causing sea levels to rise rapidly by up to 5meters above present day levels before stabilizing 7,000BCE.

There have been scientific evidence that humans have inhabited the Malaysian Peninsula as far back as 30,000BCE during the neolithic period following the discovery of the Perak Man. There is also evidence of iron-age settlement dating back more than 2,000 years based on recent discoveries in Kedah.

However, it is unfortunate that our country's rich past isn't being appreciated or studied closer. It seems that we only choose to see our history going back 500 years to 800 years, whether for political reasons or otherwise.

There are some artifacts that are undeniably older than their assumed age or origins. One such are the only known standing stones found in the Peninsula at Pengakalan Kempas in Negeri Sembilan after the Linggi River that bear strange carvings.

There are wave or flowery patterns, animal motifs including what seems to be a solar disc carved on two of the stones, suggesting pre-Islamic origins. Islam prohibits representations of animals in art work including fashioning stones as objects of veneration such as indicated by the Penkalan Kempas stones.

The controversy centres around the Islamic 'kalimah Allah'or name of Allah found carved on one of these stones. It is therefore assumed that the stones are the work of people who had converted into Islam and later Islamized the stones.

No consideration had been given to the possibility that the stones may have been the work of ancient seafarers or much earlier settlers whose date and origin are unknown. It was only the last few hundred years when migrating Muslim Indonesians from Sumatra and Java arrived here and subsequently 'added' on the 'kalimah Allah'.

Such is the case where ancient standing stones in Europe where Christianized with symbols of crosses at a later point in time. Incidentally, Muslim graves are usually located near these stones as they were initially assumed to be graves. However, archaeological excavations have proven that the these were not used as grave markers. This mistaken assumption can also be found in megaliths sites in Europe where christian graves are located nearby.

So my question is...who the heck were the people responsible for the Pengkalan Kempas decorated megaliths and the several hundred other plain standing stones found scattered between the Malacca and Negeri Sembilan borders? When were they erected and what were their purpose?

I strongly believe that the stones were erected eons ago by a people lost in the mist of time.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love