National Library Needs Experts To Help Analyse Old Jawi Manuscript

By Nur Aimidiyana Zuher KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- The National Library needs experts who are well-versed in old Jawi scripts to help it analyse old manuscripts in its safekeeping, its director-general Raslin Abu Bakar said. He said the National Library has 4,600 old manuscripts but not all can be analysed because they are written in old Jawi. "Most of the manuscripts are from the within country as well as from the Malay archipelago," he told Bernama. He added that although there were studies carried by local universities on these manuscripts, there were few in number. "I believe that the studies on these Malay manuscripts should be expanded because each of them contains priceless knowledge and a chronicle of our precious heritage," he said. "We therefore need more specialists and researchers who are well-versed in manuscript writing," he said. Raslin also called on members of the public who are expert in old Jawi to come forward and offer assistance so that the contents of those manuscripts can be unravelled for the benefit of all. "Until now, not much is known about what is written in these manuscripts due to the lack of exposure and knowledge," he said. It was for this reason, he said, that the National Library was organising numerous campaigns, among them on Jawi writing to promote awareness on the script and the existence of the Malay manuscripts. One such programme is a discourse on Malay manuscript on Thursday with panellists include experts on Malay culture such as Siti Mariani S.M Omar and Dr Harun Mat Piah. -- BERNAMA