Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Mat Salleh" in English language version.
Another commonly used term is mat saléh (female: minah saléh), which refers to Caucasians. Folk etymology has it that this word is derived from the English phrase 'mad sailor'. More likely, to my mind, it is a reference to the name Mat Salleh, an aristocrat from Perak who was one of the first Malay rulers to embrace and work for the British regime during the late 19th century (cf. Gullick 1987: 77-8).
Another commonly used term is mat saléh (female: minah saléh), which refers to Caucasians. Folk etymology has it that this word is derived from the English phrase 'mad sailor'. More likely, to my mind, it is a reference to the name Mat Salleh, an aristocrat from Perak who was one of the first Malay rulers to embrace and work for the British regime during the late 19th century (cf. Gullick 1987: 77-8).
