27-04-2025
'Hang mai mana': Myanmar's little known Malay community
MYANMAR:There are Malays in southeast Myanmar who speak in the Kedah dialect, write in the Jawi script and practise Malay traditions.
They mostly live in the Tanintharyi region, particularly in the district of Bokepyin, which is on the western side of the Kra Isthmus.
Not many people know about this Malay community, and some even think that they are Rohingya or Champa Malays.
Volunteers from Muslim Care Malaysia and the Maybank Muslim Staff Association recently visited these communities to offer support and learn more about the history of their settlement in Myanmar.
Travelling from here to Bokepyin is a challenging five- to six-hour journey of over 300km, involving passing through at least three police and military checkpoints.
While visiting pondok schools in Tanintharyi, the writer was surprised to be greeted in the Kedah dialect by Arwan Isa, 55.
"Hang mai mana? Dok sini berapa hari? (Where are you from? How long are you staying?)"
Hearing this familiar northern Malay dialect in Myanmar was a surprising yet heartwarming experience, it felt almost as though the writer had been transported back to Kedah.
When asked about the dialect he used, he replied:
"Memang kita orang Melayu sini (Myanmar) guna bahasa utara, keluarga kita ramai dari sana (Kedah), dulu ada yang dok (tinggal) di sini tapi ramai keluarga masih di Kedah tu.
"Ramai orang kita (Melayu) dok ada di sini, ramai orang tak tahu, depa (mereka) ingat kita macam Rohingya semua tu, kita Melayu betul, ada yang dah pindah ke Siam (Thailand) dekat Pattani tu, Nara (Narathiwat)," katanya.
"We Malays here (in Myanmar) use the northern dialect because many of our families originally came from there (Kedah). Some settled here long ago, but many still have relatives in Kedah.
"There are many (Malays) here, not many people know and people often think of us for Rohingya. We are Malays. Some of our people have also migrated to Siam, to places like Pattani and Narathiwat," he said.
Most Malays living in this part of Myanmar pursue religious education in pondok schools that continue to use Jawi.
Some even further their studies in Pattani, Thailand.
