One misconception about the Malays in South Africa concerns their ethnic nomenclature “Malay.” In fact they originate from Batavia, today called Indonesia, and not from Malaysia. Instead the word Malay was derived from the language that they spoke. The Malay language is spoken in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore where it holds official or national status. It is also spoken by communities in other countries, such as the Philippines, Southern Thailand, and East Timor.. Another erroneous notion is that Malay population only arrived after the British settlers. 

This chapter rebuts these fallacies.  It also reveals the important role the Malays played in the development of Port Elizabeth. 

Main picture: The Green or Pier Street Mosque

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