From Star Trek to Marvel, Malaysians have always been happy to see the nation we call home – or elements of it – immortalized in the longstanding canon of franchises that we all know and love.
Having said that, is it true that the creators of the science fiction franchise BattleTech named an entire planet after the town of Semenyih in Selangor?
VERDICT:
TRUE
Yes, the developers of the tabletop wargame BattleTech and its spin-off MechWarrior video games have named a planet Semenyih.
Semenyih first appears in a chart in the 2005 publication “Handbook: House Marik” in which it is said to be under the control of the Free Worlds League, one of the major interstellar empires in BattleTech, which is set in the 31st and 32nd Century.
It is last seen in the 2019 video game MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries; in the game it is described as being in a conflict zone between the Free Worlds League and another power, the Capellan Confederation.
Interestingly, it is not the only mention of Malaysia in BattleTech as a planet called “Kandersteg” was included in Issue 5 of their official magazine Shrapnel, in which they state was colonised by Malaysians and Indonesians.
In the article published on June 15, 2021, this is given as the reason why continents on Kandersteg have names like "Gurun Besar" "Toba Baru" or "Malacca".
Interestingly – and perhaps amusingly – this “Malacca” is described as being “almost too riven with earthquakes to be habitable”.
Additionally, the article in Shrapnel – one written in a partial in-universe style – states that “Kandersteg Malay” is one of the planet's unique traits and describes it as “based on Star League Standard English with a hefty helping of Malay grammar and words.”
So yes, count BattleTech and MechWarrior as yet another universe in which Malaysia endures.
Sources:
Classic BattleTech: Handbook: House Marik, by Catalyst Game Labs
Shrapnel, Issue 5, accessed at https://zoboko.com/text/y530q1xp/battletech-shrapnel-issue-5-battletech-magazine-5/17
