UBD Lecturer Joins 30 Experts In Scrutinising Old Manuscripts In UK
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - A local senior lecturer, Ampuan Dr Hj Brahim Ampuan Hi Tengah, the Dear of Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), joined literary experts from 30 universities in discussing the validity of old manuscripts found worldwide in England recently.

Held at theUniversity of Oxford, manuscripts such as Syair Rajang (Brunei), Surat Diponegoro (Indonesia), Hikayat Darma Ta'siah and Shara Svair Ikan Tongkol carhe under scrutiny by the experts during the 23rd Conference of Southeast Asia United Kingdom Studies (ASEASUK Conference).

The convenor of A SEASUK Conference, DrAnnabel Gallop, who is also the Head of South and Southeast Asia at the British Library, said the informal gathering featured experts who were conducting researches on certain topics - towards publishing dissertations or thesis.

"Discussions and exchanges of materials are beneficial for experts in traditional manuscripts," she said. Dr Gallop, who spent her student days in Brunei as her father was working for the Education Department.

ASEASUK is an organisation of researchers specialising in Southeast Asia, UK and Europe. Its members comprised experts from more than 30 universities in the aforementioned areas of specialisation.

The organisation also accepts members who are postgraduate students and business and diplomatic communities. In her paperwork, Dr Gallop questioned the validity of some the Malay manuscripts especially those that originated from Java and Patani.

"A manuscript must be handwritten so in theory any handwritten product is considered a bona fide manuscript.

"I am questioning the validity of recentlydiscovered handwritten manuscripts in Malay and Arab which I identified as products of Java and Patani," she said.

Ampuan Dr Hj Brahim of UBD, Brunei delivered a paperwork describing the uniqueness of Syair Rajang, a well-known Malay traditional text in the Sultanate.

In his paperwork Ampuan Dr Hj Brahim explained why the manuscript was so popular for traditional Brunei community.

Lie said there are about 13 manuscripts of Syair Rajang kept by various institutions in Brunei Darussalam.

Willem van de Molen of University of Leiden, Holland did his research on a letter written by Diponegoro during the last few weeks of a war in Java (1825-1830).

The letter was addressed to Holland where Diponegoro agreed to listen to an offer in exchange for peace.

According to de Molen, researchers were attracted to the way the letter was written in which power could be transferred to the Dutch without Diponegoro losing face over it.

Syetlana T khor from Institute of Oriental Studies in Russia conducted a research on Malacca Laws and Laws of the Sea as a source of history for the old Malay world.

Dr Vladimir Braginsky from the School of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of London presented a working paper based on his research on Hamzah Fanshuri, a religious figure and writer of the old Malay world. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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