Klang, the emerald factory
. . . bullshit is not the same thing as a lie. To lie, you need to have some respect for the truth. When you lie, you are trying to cover something up. Liars know they might be found out. They know that there is a truth, and that they are on the wrong side of it. Bullshit is another matter altogether. . . .
André Spicer (2017) Business bullshit.
In what follows, we have a fresh example demonstrated for us by Pascal Bornet, when he was apprently unable to separate biophysical fakta from AI-generated mitos: I just watched Xiaomi’s demo in New York — robotic jump shoes that let a person drop from extreme heights and land safely. It was incredible. But also . . . unsettling. Sensors, AI balance, and adaptive hydraulics all working together — turning gravity into a controllable variable. A few years ago, that would’ve been science fiction. It made me think: We’re no longer just building technology to assist humans — we’re building it to extend what it means to be human. The line between protection and enhancement is getting thinner every day. What do you think — are we still mastering technology, or starting to merge with it?
I just watched Xiaomi’s demo in New York — robotic jump shoes that let a person drop from extreme heights and land safely. 🤖
— Pascal Bornet (@pascal_bornet) February 8, 2026
It was incredible. But also… unsettling.
Sensors, AI balance, and adaptive hydraulics all working together — turning gravity into a controllable… pic.twitter.com/8ZamwAA8aF
. . . [KJ] Gangga Nagara ni apa benda ni, adakah ia juga satu apa kerajaan kecil? [ZR] Pada pandangan saya, Gangga Nagara ni sebuah kerajaan yang ada kaitan dengan Kedah Tua juga sebenarnya, sebab dalam konteks agamanya, dia ada Buddha ada juga elemen-elemen Hindu yang masuk, Gangga Nagara ni, kerajaannya berpusat di Dinding dan keberadaan kawasan tersebut dari segi struktur binaan macam Lembah Bujang tu tidak jumpa, tapi banyak kita associatekan dengan arca-arca berunsur agama Buddha, contohnya Avalokitesvara, arca guru, yang jumpa kat Ipoh rasanya. Itu adalah objek-objek ataupun artifak-artifak yang terkait dengan kerajaan Gangga Nagara tu tadi. Tapi dari segi arkeologi, Gangga Nagara ni memang kita kena korek lagi. Dia punya sumbernya amat terhad, sumber bertulis pun saya rasa Saudara Khoo terhad juga kan? [EK] Hmm. Terhad. [KJ] Timeline dia bila? Gangga Nagara ni, lebih kurang sama dengan Kedah Tua? [ZR] Timelinenya adalah semasa serangan Chola, abad ke-11. Lepas abad ke-11 dia sudah mundurlah, daripada Gangga Nagara, muncullah kerajaan Beruas yang Islam . . .
Zuliskandar Bin Ramli to Khairi Jamaluddin and Eddin Khoo Bu Eng (October 18, 2025)
After the the king of Gangganagara was decapitated1 by Raja Sholan, the Sejarah Melayu2 contains a passage that reads:
ستله نݢري ݢڠݢ نݢار سد اله مک راج شولان فون برجالنله در شان ستله براف لماڽ د جالن داتڠله هڠک سرحد نکري لڠکىوي دهول کال نکري ايت نکري بسر کوتاڽ بات هيتم لدا داتڠ سکارڠ لاک اد کوت ايت ادفون اصل نماڽ کلڠکوي ارتيڽ فربندهرن فرمات کارن کيت تياد تاه مڽبتدي منجدي لڠکوي ادفون نام راجاڽ راج چولن اکن بکند ايت راج بسر سکل راجراجا يڠد باوه اڠن ايت سکلينڽ دالم حکمڽ
The city visited by Raja Sholan after the Gangga expedition was likely named after an actual Tamil city (Lanka? Kalambur?), though the sequence of events was probably reworked by Malay storytellers to match the taste of local audience.
This account was related by Ibrahim Kandu to John Leyden during the Malay scribe’s visit to Calcutta in 1810. Leyden’s translation, later published posthumously by Raffles in 1821, reads as follows:
. . . from Gangganagara, Raja Suran advanced to the country of Glang Kiu, which in former times was a great country, possessing a fort of black stone up the river Johor. In the Siamese language, this word signifies the place of the emerald (Khlang Khiaw) but by persons ignorant of this language, it is usually termed Glang Kiu. The naem of the raja of this country, was Raja Chulan, who was superior to all the rajas of the coutnries lying under the wind . . .
In some manuscripts, the scribes admitted that the city’s name had become corrupted, attributing the error to their difficulty in accurately representing Siamese sounds.
| Author | لڠکوي | کلڠکوي |
|---|---|---|
| J. Leyden (1821) | GLANG KIU | KHLANG KHIAW |
| W. G. Shellabear (1975) | GANGGAYU | KLANG KIO |
| A. Samad Ahmad (1979) | LANGGIU | |
| A. Rahman Ismail (1998) | LENGGUI | GELANGGUI |
| A. Adam (2016) | GANGGIYU | LENGGIYU |
| M. Hj. Salleh (2020) | LANGKAWI | KELANGKUI |
If we take the explanatory notes in the manuscript at face value, then the solutions proposed by Leyden/Ibrahim Kandu (1810/1821), Shellabear (1975), and Ahmat Adam (2016) for لڠکوي must be incorrect. According to the notes, the original name must begin with a kaf ک, and the only Thai word that fits both phonetically and semantically is คลัง เขียว (klaŋ kiao). On the other hand, if we take Muhammad Haji Salleh’s recent solution seriously, then the Malay scribes’s
- Aditya Karikalan, the brother of Rajaraja, famously defeated and decapitated the Pandya king, Veerapandyan, at the Battle of Chevur. Inscriptions refer to him as Solan Thalai-konda Vira Pandyan சோழன் தலைகொண்ட வீர பாண்டியன், meaning he who took the head of Vira Pandya. This brutal act, often described as a public display of the head, is considered the primary motive for his assassination by Pandya loyalists.
The leaping tiger flag of Chola kingdom was used by Kedah Tua and Kelantan. Kedah Tua was the india-facing side of Srivijaya and Patani-Kelantan was the Chinese-facing side of Srivijaya.
- Royal Asiatic Society Library, Raffles Malay 18, p. 9. It is clear from the opening chapter of Sejarah Melayu, the story is geographically locked to 11th century India: . . . maka tersebutlah perkataan ada sebuah negeri di benua Keling, Nagapattinam ناݢ فطم namanya, Raja Sholan شولان nama rajanya . . . What is also clear is that the scribes were having difficulties approximating the Indic phonems (ச் /t͡ʃ, s/, ழ் /ɻ/) in the name of the king, in Krusenstern manuscript for instance, the Chola king is bifurcated into Raja Solan صولان and Raja Soran صورن. When the name of Gangganagara was first mentioned in Raffles Malay 18, first kaf was spelt incorrectly as the letter is missing the final 30° stroke.
- . . . setelah negeri Gangga Nagara sudah alah, maka Raja Syulan pun berjalanlah dari sana. Setelah berapa lamanya di jalan, datanglah hingga sarhad negeri Lenggui. Dahulu kala negeri itu negeri besar, kotanya batu hitam lada, datang sekarang lagi ada kota itu. Adapun asal namanya Gelanggui, artinya perbendaharaan permata. Karena kita tiada tahu menyebut dia, menjadi . Adapun nama rajanya Raja Chulan, akan baginda itu raja besar, segala raja-raja yang di bawah angin itu sekaliannya dalam hukumnya . . . (Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail)
- . . . setelah negeri Gangga negara sudah alah, maka Raja Suran pun berjalanlah dari sana. Hatta berapa lamanya berjalan itu datanglah ke negeri Langgiu. Dahulu negeri itu negeri besar, kotanya daripada batu hitam, sekarang lagi ada kota itu di hulu Sungai Johor. Adapun nama asal Langgiu itu dengan bahasa Siam ertinya perbendaharaan permata, maka adalah nama rajanya Chulan, akan baginda itu raja besar, segala raja-raja yang di bawah angin dalam hukumannya . . . (A. Samad Ahmad)
- . . . setelah negeri Gangga Nagara sudah alah, maka Raja Suran pun berjalanlah dari sana. Setelah berapa lamanya di jalan, datanglah kepada negeri Ganggayu. Syahadan, dahulu kalanya negeri itu negeri besar, kotanya daripada batu hitam, datang sekarang lagi ada kotanya itu di hulu Sungai Johor. Adapun asal namanya Klang Kio, iaitu bahasa Siam, ertinya perbendaharaan permata; oleh kita tiada tahu menyebut dia, jadi Ganggayu. Adapun nama rajanya Raja Culan; adalah akan baginda itu raja besar, segala raja-raja di bawah angin dalam hukumnya . . . (W. G. Shellabear)
- . . . setelah negeri Gangga Nagara sudah alah maka Syulan pun berjalanlah dari syana. Setelah beberapa lamanya di jalan datanglah hingga sarhad negeri Langkawi. Dahulu kala negeri itu negeri besar, kotanya batu hitam; ada datang sekarang lagi ada kota itu. Adapun asal namanya Kelangkui, ertinya perbendaharaan permata, karena kita tiada tahu menyebut dia menjadi Langkawi. Adapun nama rajanya Raja Culin. Akan baginda itu raja besar, segala raja-raja yang di bawah angin itu sekaliannya dalam hukumnya . . . (Muhammad Haji Salleh)
- . . . setelah negeri Gangga Nagara sudah alah maka Raja Suran pun berjalanlah dari sana. Setelah berapa lamanya di jalan datanglah hingga sarhad negeri Ganggiyu. Dahulu kala negeri itu negeri besar; kotanya daripada batu hitam; datang sekarang lagi ada kota itu di hulu Sungai Johor. Adapun asal namanya Lenggiyu iaitu dengan bahasa Siam ertinya perbendaharaan permata. Oleh kita tiada tahu menyebut dia menjadi Ganggiyu. Adapun nama rajanya Raja Chulan, akan baginda itu raja besar, segala raja-raja di bawah angin sekalian hukumnya . . . (Ahmat Adam)
- The Khmer word ឃ្លាំង (khlaŋ) is likely the source word for คลัง. The Thai word the Khmer word are both inspired by the Indic word களம் (kalam).
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