Some Notes on Indian Influence on Malay Customary Law

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is a modest one. It is intended to indicate that some rethinking in regard to the early period of Malaysian legal history is necessary. With all due respect to R. J. Wilkinson, who has done excellent work on Malay language, it is proposed that adat perpateh ¹ was influenced by Indian customs as much or more than adat temenggong.² It is generally assumed that adat temenggong was gleaned from Indian fields. I would suggest that Malay adat in general, irrespective of whether it is adat perpateh or adat temenggong, owed a great deal, probably its very soul, to Indian influences.