The Sejarah Melayu Revisited: A Collection of Six Essays

Author: Ahmat Adam

Publisher: Gerak Budaya

ISBN: 9789672165903

Pages: pp

Weight: kg

Year: 2020

Price: RM 30

“In a period where no native scholars of equal repute existed, where no one possessed similar levels of extensiveness and depth in terms of understanding Malay culture and literature, it must be admitted that the Orientalist stand taken by scholars like Winstedt was unavoidable. As a matter of fact, even today one can still find Malay scholars echoing his and other European Orientalists’ opinions...”

Ahmat Adam

The Sejarah Melayu has been known by many names, and its text has changed too. Interpolations, recensions and revisions over the centuries have resulted in dozens of variants, which brings up many questions. Was Tun Seri Lanang the author of the text? Can the manuscript be regarded as an authoritative historical source? How entrenched are Orientalist views in contemporary scholarship of the Sejarah Melayu? The answers, as well as digressions into mystic letters and Portuguese loan words, can be found in this new collection of essays.

Datuk Dr Ahmat Adam, born in Melaka in 1941, is a Professor Emeritus in the field of history. His research focuses on the intellectual history of Indonesian and Malaysian societies. An alumnus of the School of Oriental and African Studies, he has worked in academia for approximately fifty years and has produced various works, including Sejarah dan Bibliografi Akhbar dan Majalah Melayu Abad Kesembilan Belas (Penerbit UKM, 1992), Sejarah Awal Pers dan Kebangkitan Kesadaran Keindonesiaan (Hasta Mitra & Perwakilan KITLV, Jakarta, 2003), Letters of Sincerity: The Raffles Collection of Malay Letters (1780 – 1824) (MBRAS, Kuala Lumpur, 2009, Suara Minangkabau (Penerbit Universiti Malaya, 2012), a new recension of the Krusenstern’s manuscript of the Sulalat u’s-Salatin (Yayasan Karyawan, 2016), The New & Correct Date of the Terengganu Inscription (SIRD, 2017), Hikayat Hang Tuha (atau Hikayat Hang Tua) (SIRD, 2018) and Hikayat Raja Pasai (SIRD, 2019).