The existence of the Malay warrior cannot be proved but like Robin Hood he plays a crucial cultural role and can serve as a role model.
KUALA LUMPUR: The existence of Chinese princess Hang Li Po and legendary Malay hero Hang Tuah have yet to be proven through “empirical or historically factual means”, according to the Ministry of Information, Communication an Culture.
The ministry said this in a written reply to a question posed by Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng in Parliament asking the ministry to furnish credible evidence to proof the existence of the two famous historical characters as well as the four other Malay warrior friends of Hang Tuah.
“The authenticity of the existence of Puteri Hang Li Po and the Hang Tuah five ‘brothers’ have yet to be proven through empirical or historically factual means but is mentioned in the Hikayat Hang Tuah and Sejarah Melayu,” said the ministry.
The ministry added that the Karya agung Sulalat al-Salatin, also known as Sejarah Melayu, written by Tun Sri Lanang included two chapters that depicted Hang Tuah.
“The story of the Hang Tuah five is consistent with the Malay community and has become part of the intangible cultural heritage through oral tradition, poems, sayings and so on.
“These stories live a furtile life in the cultural community such as Robin Hood and King Arthur in the West,” said the ministry, adding that these unverified legends which were still historically unproven play a crucial cultural role and could be great role models in a society.
The five warriors were said to have served the Malacca ruler Sultan Mansur Shah in the 15th century. Meanwhile, Hang Li Po was said to have come from China and was the fifth wife of Sultan Mansur Shah.
In January, renowned historian Prof Khoo Kay Kim opened a can of worms when he told BFM radio station that Hang Li Po, the the five warrriors Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu never existed.
He had said that the Chinese Ming dynasty of the 16th century did not have records on them.
The KDU college chancellor had also said he had read the writings of two Western historians and another prominent historian Wang Gung Wu on the Ming records which did not mention the characters either.
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