Rice Bowl of Malaysia

Muzium Negara Gallery C

Rice is the staple for all classes in South East Asia. In Malaysia, the earliest evidence of domesticated rice in the Malay Archipelago was the discovery of some rice husk temper and whole carbonized grains in Gua Sireh, Sarawak (4,500 years ago).

Carbonized rice was also found in Gua Cha, Kelantan (11th century) and Kuala Selinsing, Perak (2,200 years ago). They have been identified as Oryza sativa or the Asian rice.

It is believed that rice was brought here by the migrating Austronesians from mainland Asia through established overland trade links between the inhabitants of the Malay Peninsula with Central and Southern Thailand and China.

The Paddy grown by the Malays then was mainly Hill Paddy or Padi Huma. It was only with the introduction of massive irrigation schemes that wet padi cultivation began and rice was harvested once every season. In 1943, the planting of paddy twice a season was introduced by the Japanese through trial planting of paddy in Taiwan.

Rice cultivation in Malaysia has alway been closely associated with the rural population and traditional farmers. However in the last 30 years, rice has transformed to become a commercial crop. The once subsistence farming is now highly regulated and subsidized by the government in the form of irrigation canals and free fertilizers.

Today, vast stretches of rice fields dominate Sungai Muda, Sungai Mas and Pengkalan Bujang in Kedah which was once sites of important early Kingdoms. Kedah and Perlis have been traditionally known as the Rice Bowl of Malaysia.

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