We Malaysians have lots of terms to describe people.We call them ‘anneh’, ‘abang’, ‘ah so’, ‘ang moh’ and many more. There is another term we use to describe the ‘white’ people which is Mat Salleh. Ever wonder why we call them that?
Some believe it is due to Dato Muhammad Salleh (Mat Salleh), a key player in the Sabahan Rebellion in the 1800s. Besides this story, there is another theory that suggested otherwise. Mat Salleh might be a misspelled version of the phrase “mad sailor.”
@wisedefiesWhy Do Malaysians Call White People Mat Salleh? #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #matsalleh #matsallehcelup #angmoh #malaysia #didyouknow #facts #history #truestory #huhwhat #huh #waitwhat #really? #damn #orangputih♬ original sound – Wise Defies
According to a TikTok user named Wise Defies, there are other variations of this tale online, but as far as we can determine, they all stem from a single newspaper article from 1992, in which a person called Ani Arope from Kuala Lumpur wrote to a newspaper to provide a probable origin of the phrase “Mat Salleh.” Ani deduced in his letter that the word originated in Penang, where the Malays had already been colonized by the British for some time. As a result, they had the impression that British people were flawless, but this would soon alter.
After being at sea for three months, a British cruiser docked in Butterworth to refuel. When the ship arrived in town, the sailors let free their rowdiness, and the native Malays were shaken by their behavior. They informed the British resident, who advised them not to worry about these individuals since they were a bunch of “mad sailors.” The phrase sounded much like “Mat Salleh” to the Malays, therefore they started using Mat Salleh to refer to all white people.
Sources: TikTok Wisedefies