Analysis of R.O. Winstedt’s View on The Influence of Hinduism in the Malay Culture

R.O. Winstedt is an orientalist who had been serving in Malaya as a British administrator. His form of thinking was based on the philosophy of logical empirical positivism, which is an understanding that emphasizes on making full use of the intellect as the main approach to obtain facts based on systematic and thorough research methods. This philosophy rejects revelation as proof and source of facts because religious proofs are considered as irrelevant in the field of history. This article focuses on the analysis of Winstedt’s view on the influence of Hinduism in the life of the Malay community, especially in Malaya through his four works. The authors have used historiography, comparisons and content analysis to analyse the views. The study found that Winstedt’s thinking approach, in assessing the impact of Hinduism in the Malay community life, especially in culture, legal and myth, was dubious and biased. He believed that the community had been influenced by the culture and the lifestyle of the Hindus, including the ability to expand a civilization; denying the contribution of Islam. This understanding, which was based on the European-centered thinking known as Euro-centrism, emerged due to the failure of the orientalists in understanding the content of Islam. The Eurocentrism has propagated the European nation as a great and civilized nation compared to other nations and should be regarded as the "ambassador of civilization"; the saviour of tobe-civilised people.