YOURSAY ‘There is no one living today who can conclusively prove they are even remotely related by blood to Hang Tuah.'

your say Yvette Charlene: Evidence proves that something exists. Fossils prove that dinosaurs existed. But absence of evidence does not prove that something did not exist. It only proves that evidence has not been, or cannot be, found.

It is correct to say "No evidence exists to prove Hang Tuah is real", but saying "there is no evidence, so that proves Hang Tuah does not exist" is not so correct.

At any point in history, evidence did not exist for many things we now know to be true. That's because the evidence had not been found at that point, but was subsequently found. So, it's best to keep an open mind.

Ksn: AB Sulaiman, in other words we need to establish the truth by whatever means modern knowledge provides, right?

I totally agree because nobody should be afraid of the truth. Why should we or anybody be afraid of the truth? Truth is constant.

Malaysianstudent: But we are talking about Umno-BN here. They can produce evidence of something not being there.

For example, they can produce evidence that tear gas and chemical-laced water weren't shot into Tung Shin Hospital. They can also say they have evidence Hang Tuah didn't exist.

So, since they are our country's rulers, we listen to them. What else can we do? Oh yes, I forgot, please vote them out. That's our last resort.

James Khor: AB Sulaiman's observation is most curious. How can DNA testing prove that the remains from the tomb in Tanjung Kling are those of Hang Tuah?

To determine the origin you need another verifiable sample as cross reference. Is there such a sample? Can such a sample be found?

There is no one living today who can conclusively prove they are even remotely related by blood to Hang Tuah.

So without such persons to collect a sample from, how can you prove that the remains in the grave are those of Hang Tuah's? Do please enlighten?

HangTuah: What are you going to do with the DNA sample from the grave? Compare it with a sample from Hang Guan Seng of Prangin Road Market, Penang?

According to one Andrew something, a Singaporean who ran a hotel in Malacca, Hang Tuah existed.

He (Hang Tuah) was one of a number of eunuchs sent to Malacca to look after a harem of Chinese maidens and they were housed in a small complex atop Bukit China.

He claimed this could be verified through careful study of Chinese maritime records.

Multi Racial: It is getting even more confusing. Prof Khoo Kay Kim's argument is based on the assumption that Hang Tuah and the other Hangs were Chinese warriors accompanying Chinese Princess Hang Li Po to Malacca to marry the sultan.

According to him, since there is no record in China on Hang Li Po, Hang Tuah and the other Hangs, then the Hangs were merely myths.

Prof Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman's argument is based on the assumption that Hang Tuah is a Malay warrior and his tomb has been found. Therefore he existed.

In the case of Prof Nik's argument, even if we manage to exhume the remains of the so-called Hang Tuah grave. How are we going to prove it is Hang Tuah?

Before we even jump to conclusions to exhume the remains from Hang Tuah's grave, let's backtrack a bit. We need to know whether Hang Tuah was a Malay warrior or a Chinese warrior. Can anyone confirm that?

Restless_Native: You can trace the way how a person thinks and reasons to his education and exposure.

The Malaysian education system has been sliding down the slippery slope of reason to the point of non-education but one of indoctrination, rather like the communist/Marxist sort of ‘education' of the 60s and 70s.

BN sprinkles everything with a dash of racism and then packages it as the ‘official history' for our poor kids to consume. Listening to how the BN leaders, people in positions of power (police chief, armed forces generals, etc) reason (if it be called that) on various subjects, it is clear they use their heart rather than their minds to think.

This one fundamental weakness - the inability to reason and judge freely and also engage in genuine intellectual discourse - is what prevents Malaysians from reasoning intelligently.

Blind Freddo: Excuse me, Malaysia, but I suspect there is a major global economic crisis looming. Both the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank are warning that the global economy is in the danger zone.

So would you please pull your heads out of the sand, or the boutiques of Sydney, or some irrelevant historical detail and start thinking about the future - our immediate future?

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .