Index of Seals for Light Letters

This searchable and sortable index enables users to easily explore the transliteration of each seal in the Light Letters collection. The number in the “Remark” column corresponds to the seal’s catalogue number in Annabel Teh Gallop’s Malay Seals from the Islamic World of Southeast Asia (2019).

Main Reference:

Annabel Teh Gallop (2019) Malay Seals from the Islamic World of Southeast Asia, Singapore: NUS Press.

Smart Index: Search & Sort

Index of Light Letters – SOAS MS40320 

Welcome to the interactive index of the SOAS MS 40320 Light Letters collection.

This index includes all letters in the collection and is organized according to volume and folio. The searchable and sortable table allows you to easily explore the documents based on the name of the person and their place of origin.

You can use the search box to quickly locate specific entries, or click on the column headers to sort the data. This feature makes it easier to navigate the materials and find exactly what you're looking for.

The Earliest Malay Letters from Brunei

The Earliest Malay Letters from Brunei

Author: Annabel Teh Gallop

Annabel Teh Gallop. 2025. The Earliest Malay Letters from Brunei. pp. 5-31.

In: Gin, O.K., & Mohd Daud, K. (Eds.). (2025). The Literature of Brunei: History, Culture, and Challenges (1st ed.). Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032616667

Reference from Light Letters Collection: Surat Yang Dipertuan Muda Sultan Muhammad Tajuddin Brunei kepada Francis Light (MS 40320/11, f.114)

Abstract: 

This essay showcases five Malay letters penned from Brunei before the arrival of James Brooke in neighbouring Sarawak in 1839. The featured missives include the well-known 1599 letter from the Sultan of Brunei to the Spanish Governor of Manila; a mid-seventeenth-century letter from the Pengiran Bendahara Seri Permaisuara to the English East India Company factory in Jambi; a 1793 letter from Sultan Muhammad Tajuddin to Francis Light in Penang; and two letters, one of 1812, and another, 1823 of Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam. Taken together with other letters of Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam, and of his son Pengiran Muda Muhammad Alam published by Gallop in 1995, the said letters constitute all hitherto known surviving Malay letters from Brunei prior to the establishment of White Rajah rule of Sarawak (1841–1946). The letters were written in the Jawi script, and the overall content appear to focus on trading relations and commercial transactions. Besides economic issues, even more importantly, diplomatic priorities seemed to be a major preoccupation.

Indeks BL Add. 45271

 Indeks BL Add. 45271

Letter	Folio	From	To	Date
‎1	Folio 6	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	Jumaat, 18 Zulkaedah 1204 (30 Julai 1790)
‎2	Folio 7	Francis Light	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	5 Jamadil Awal
3	Folio 8	Muhamad Mia dan Sheikh Mia	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	29 Jamadil Akhir 1205 (5 Mac 1791)
4	Folio 9	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	26 Zuhijah, Khamis
5	Folio 10	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	Khamis, 2 Syawal 1206 Tahun Alif (24 Mei 1792)
‎6	Folio 11	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	Selasa, 7 Syawal
‎7	Folio 12	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	Sabtu, 17 Syaaban 1207 (30 Mac 1793)
‎8	Folio 13	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	7 Zulkaedah, Ahad
‎9	Folio 15	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	22 Safar 1209 Tahun Zai (18 September 1794)
‎10	Folio 16	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	23 Muharam
‎11	Folio 17	Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah	Francis Light	2 Zulhijah
‎

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.17) berkaitan permintaan membeli senapang dan pakaian (2 Zulhijah)

Surat tulus ikhlas berkasih kasihan daripada beta sampai kepada sahabat beta Gurnador Pulau Pinang yang akil bijaksana telah masyhur ke mana2 

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.16) berkaitan permintaan Sultan Abdullah untuk bertemu Kapten Scott (23 Muharam)

Surat tulus ikhlas kasih sayang yang tiada berkesudahan daripada beta sampai kepada sahabat beta Gurnador Pulau Pinang yang akil bijaksana telah masyhur sampai ke mana2 

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.15) berkaitan hutang Sheikh Mia pada 22 Safar 1209 Tahun Zai (18 September 1794)

Surat tulus Ikhlas serta berkasih kasihan daripada beta yang tiada berkesudahan adanya sampai kepada sahabat beta Gurnador Pulau Pinang yang beroleh kebesaran bertambah2 adanya