2,000 Malay Manuscripts Digitalised

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- The National Library of Malaysia has digitalised 2,000 Malay manuscripts written in Jawi so that they can be accessed quickly and with ease. Its director-general, Raslin Abu Bakar said this was part of the library's effort to foster interest for the hundreds years old classical writing among youths. "We have about 4,600 copies of Malay manuscripts from 1985 until now and part of them are still being converted into digital form. "At the same time, we still keep the original as they are part of national heritage," he told a news conference after attending the Malay Manuscript Discourse at the library, here Thursday. The discourse involved discussions and the presentation of a working paper on 'Aset Ilmu Rumpun Melayu' (Knowledge Asset of the Malay Archipelago) by Siti Mariani S.M Omar and 'Kitab Tib' (Malay Medical Knowledge) by Dr Harun Mat Piah. Raslin said the Malay manuscripts could currently be accessed through the library's portal. Its digital form is more friendly for the sophisticated communication devices used by the younger generation such as BlackBerry smartphones, iPhone, computers and more to obtain information on the move, he said. He added that the library would also work with local and private universities as well as schools to promote the manuscripts and Jawi writing programmes. "The National Library recently organised the Malay Manuscript Discourse programme with Universiti Malaya's Academy of Malay Studies as an avenue to promote manuscript writing to the public, especially students and academic staff," said Raslin. Meanwhile, Traditional Malay Literature and Culture expert Dr Harun Mat Piah when met after the discourse said the claim by Malaysian history expert Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Khoo Kay Kim that Hang Tuah and Hang Li Po and the history surrounding them did not exist, was unacceptable. He dismissed Dr Khoo's claim as a personal opinion. "He (Khoo Kay Kim) wanted solid evidence but the traditional Malay chronicles which we regard as history, are not necessarily based on hard facts alone. Malaysia does have her myths and legends," he pointed out. He said Hang Tuah was a notable personality in the glory days of the Melaka sultanate and had been entrenched as a reference material in history textbooks at the secondary school level. "So, to say Hang Tuah did not exist would be tantamount to rejecting our history," he stressed. Khoo in an interview by business radio station, BFM, recently claimed there was no evidence or record pointing to the existence of Hang Tuah or Princess Hang Li Po from China who was said to have married the Sultan of Melaka in the 15th century. -- BERNAMA