{"id":9052,"date":"2021-04-10T16:36:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-10T08:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=9052"},"modified":"2021-04-10T16:36:12","modified_gmt":"2021-04-10T08:36:12","slug":"sikh-community-numerically-small-but-vital-component-of-msian-society-sultan-nazrin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=9052","title":{"rendered":"Sikh community numerically small but vital component of M&#8217;sian society &#8211; Sultan Nazrin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 &#8212; The Sikh community has contributed to the development of Malaysia, from the modest beginnings of their forebears in the security forces to&nbsp;many other fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Sultan of Perak\u00a0Sultan Nazrin Shah said although the Sikh community\u00a0has\u00a0only ever been a tiny proportion of the population &#8211;\u00a0accounting for around two and a half percent today &#8211;\u00a0they\u00a0have always stood out and made their presence known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said the Sikh\u00a0reputation for courage, loyalty, and discipline\u00a0led to their dominance of the early police and paramilitary forces that\u00a0were established in Perak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Sultan Nazrin, the very first Perak Armed Police, set up in 1874, was even renamed the 1st Battalion Perak Sikhs, in the 1880s as these early Guards helped to ensure safety on the treacherous mountain passes between the tin mining areas and the coastal settlements, which were previously plagued by highway bandits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-1024x567.jpg\" alt=\"sikh community\" class=\"wp-image-7270\" width=\"528\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-1024x567.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-180x100.jpg 180w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-350x194.jpg 350w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-800x443.jpg 800w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f.jpg 1072w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile Sikhs were also predominant in the police forces set up in other states, they continued to play a special role in Perak, as the mounted Royal Bodyguard for my great great grandfather, Sultan Idris Murshidal Azzam Shah. The establishment of this bodyguard reflects the remarkable level of trust that the Sikhs inspired, due to their unfaltering devotion to duty,\u201d the Ruler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sultan Nazrin said this in his address at the launching of&nbsp;a book titled \u2018Sikhs in Malaysia: A Comprehensive History\u2019 written&nbsp;&nbsp;by&nbsp;Ranjit Singh Malhi here, today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said&nbsp;Sikhs&nbsp;had&nbsp;long moved beyond the security sector, in which they originally excelled, bringing their talents and skills to many other fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ruler said Sikhs could&nbsp;be found at the top of their game in all the professions, such as lawyers, judges, accountants, academics&nbsp;as well as in the fields of sports, culture and the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sultan Nazrin also mentioned&nbsp;several outstanding individuals, including&nbsp;Chief Justice of Malaya&nbsp;in the 1970s, Tan Sri Swaran Singh Gill;&nbsp;Dr&nbsp;Harban Kaur Virik, the country&#8217;s first female paediatrician;&nbsp;Datuk Santok Singh (footballer);&nbsp;Harjit Singh Hullon (broadcaster); and&nbsp;DJ Dave (singer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said&nbsp;five characteristics &#8211;&nbsp;adaptability;&nbsp;patriotism;&nbsp;commitment to education;&nbsp;hard work and thriftiness; and respect for tradition &#8211; had&nbsp;together empowered the Sikhs to conquer the highest heights in modern Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrom the modest beginnings of their forebears in the security forces of the nascent British colony, they have become highly-valued citizens of Malaysia, a numerically small but vitally important component of our rich multi-cultural society,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bernama.com\/en\/news.php?id=1950851\">BERNAMA<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 &#8212; The Sikh community has contributed to the development of Malaysia,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[524],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nation"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f.jpg",1072,594,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-300x166.jpg",300,166,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-768x426.jpg",640,355,true],"large":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f-1024x567.jpg",640,354,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f.jpg",1072,594,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f.jpg",1072,594,false],"newsium-slider-full":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f.jpg",1072,594,false],"newsium-featured":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f.jpg",1024,567,false],"newsium-medium":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/c1c3a31f2fbe05926a1048b0b14410595fd1c1955143f.jpg",720,399,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?cat=524\" rel=\"category\">Nation<\/a>","tag_info":"Nation","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9052"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9053,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052\/revisions\/9053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}