Page 24 - Malaysia by John Russel Denyes

untrustworthiness, uneveness, treachery, and
other bad quahties attributed to them have been
much exaggerated, and the depth of feeling, honor
and moral and intellectual possibilities corre-
spondingly underestimated."
"The Malay is a cheery but irresolute man, ex-
ceedingly polite, with a certain reserve, and proud
silence. He will not suffer his dignity to be af-
fronted, and is quick to resent insult. He is quick
to acknowledge kindness, and is by no means the
worst man in the world. His worst characteristics
are a certain inexplicable moodiness and an indis-
position for laborious toil."
The Malays would be classified as semi-civilized.
They have had their written language, their lit-
erature, and their fixed forms of government for
many centuries. They have, however, shown little
desire for progress. They still live largely by
hunting and fishing and primitive agriculture.
Their homes are mostly built close to or over the
water, high up on piles, where the canoe can be
anchored under the house.
While the peoples of all the islands are of Ma-
layan stock, yet there are some four or five mil-
lions who are classified as Malay proper. These
live all through the Malay Peninsula, and in the
southern half of the eastern part of Sumatra, and
all about the coasts of all the other islands.

Battaksof The Battak stock includes a large
Sumatra part of the population of the interior
of Sumatra, though the Battaks
proper live on the high lands of the interior of
northern Sumatra. These people are somewhat
darker, taller, and stronger than the coast Malays.
They are a bright, cheery, fun-loving, singing
people, more ambitious, more eager for learning,
and quicker at catching an idea or of expressing
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