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MALAY SKETCHES
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THE REAL MALAY
He was the mildest manner'd man
That ever scuttled ship or cut a throat
Byron, Don Juan
TO begin to understand the Malay you must live in his country, speak his language, respect his faith, be interested in his interests, humour his prejudices, sympathise with and help him in trouble, and share his pleasures and possibly his risks. Only thus can you hope to win his confidence. Only through that confidence can you hope to understand the inner man, and this knowledge can therefore only come to those who have the opportunity and use it.
So far the means of studying Malays in their own country (where alone they are seen in their true
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