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MALAYSIAN DIPLOMATS: OUR STORIES

Interestingly, although our countries are separated by the Pacif c Ocean,
many Chileans know Malaysia by the novel written by Emilio Salgari in
1895 titled Sandokan: Tiger of Malaysia. Sandokan is about a friendly pirate
who roams the South China Sea and f ghts the “bad guys” in a f ctitious
country called Malaysia when the name or country Malaysia did not even
exist then. It is a school textbook in Chile.

Movies and television series have been made of Sandokan. T e Return of
Sandokan was made, with not a Malaysian but an Indian actor Kabir Bedi
reprising the role of Sandokan. T e Italian series Sandokan, which f ctionally
took place in Sabah, Malaysia was f lmed on Kapas Island, a small tropical
island with white sandy beaches and dense jungle across the town of Marang,
Terengganu.

T e “f rst” Malaysian to visit Chile was back in the 16th century known as
Panglima Awang. But to the Spanish he is Enrique de Malaca or Henry the
Black. He acted as a translator to Magellan. He was a Malay member of the
Magellan-Elcano expedition that completed the f rst circumnavigation of
the globe in 1519-1522.

Panglima Awang is said to be the f rst person to circumnavigate the globe.
Although the Cape of Magellan of the southern tip of Chile was named after
Magellan, he never completed the circumnavigation as he was killed in the
Philippines. President Michelle Bachelet acknowledged this historical fact
in her luncheon speech honouring the Yang di-Pertuan Agong during His
Majesty’s Royal Visit.

I arrived in Santiago, Chile a few months earlier before the installation of
President elect Veronica Michelle Bachelet Jeria as the f rst woman president
of Chile. I was eager to present my credentials to Bachelet but alas, it was
not to be as I presented mine to President Ricardo Lagos instead. Ironically,
Bachelet was a General’s daughter killed by the Pinochet junta who became
President.

Santiago is a beautiful and historic city which is more than 480 years old. Just
like the city of Sana’a, Santiago ref ects in a unique way the history, culture
and tradition of this great nation. Surrounded by the Andes, Santiago is

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