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 

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.13) berkaitan berkaitan hutang Tengku Raden Muhamad (Ahad, 7 Zulkaedah)

Al-Mustahaqqah

Surat tulus Ikhlas berkasih kasihan muafakat yang tiada berkesudahan daripada beta sampai kepada sahabat beta Gurnador Pulau Pinang yang akil bijaksana telah termasyhur ke mana2 

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.12) berkaitan hasil 6,000 rial setiap tahun pada hari Sabtu, 17 Syaaban 1207 (30 Mac 1793)

Al-Mustahaqqah

Surat tulus Ikhlas berkasih kasihan muafakat yang tiada berkesudahan daripada beta sampai kepada sahabat beta Gurnador Pulau Pinang yang akil bijaksana pada perintah bersahabat sangat sempurna

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.11) berkaitan penerimaan 10 peti opium dan pembelian opium (Selasa, 7 Syawal)

Al-Mustahaqqah

Surat tulus ikhlas berkasih kasihan muafakat yang tiada berkesudahan daripada beta mari sampai kepada sahabat beta Gurnador Pulau Pinang yang akil bijaksana pada perintah bersahabat telah masyhur sampai ke mana mana 

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.10) berkaitan penerimaan bayaran 30,000 pada hari Khamis, 2 Syawal 1206 Tahun Alif (24 Mei 1792)

Al-Mustahaqqah

Surat tulus ikhlas berkasih kasihan muafakat yang tiada berkesudahan selagi ada perkitaran cakerawala matahari dan bulan daripada beta sampai kepada sahabat beta Gurnador Pulau Pinang yang akil bijaksana pada perintah bersahabat telah masyhur sampai ke mana2 

Surat Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah kepada Francis Light (BL Add. 45271, f.9) berkaitan penjualan timah dan pembelian beras (Khamis, 26 Zulhijjah)

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

Royal Malay Edicts from Kedah: A Diplomatic Study of Istimi

Royal Malay Edicts from Kedah: A Diplomatic Study of Istimi

Author: Annabel Teh Gallop

Annabel Teh Gallop. 2024. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 97, Part 2, No. 327, December 2024, pp. 43-86.

(Reference from Light Letters Collection: MS 40320/7, f.191)

Abstract: 

From at least the 17th century through to the early 20th century, the term istimi was used in Kedah to refer to royal edicts or letters of appointment. This study of Kedah istimi is presented through the lens of diplomatics, by analysing the formal structure and formulaic components of this genre of Malay court documents, and draws on both original manuscript royal edicts and copies of istimi contained in secondary sources. Two original istimi are presented, one of which is probably the oldest known Malay document from Kedah, a royal edict issued by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Syah appointing Raja Mangku Putera as governor of Kota Kuala (the fort at Kuala Kedah) in 1757. These original istimi are then compared with copies of istimi reproduced in Malay manuscript compilations of Kedah laws (Undang-undang Kedah). This study reveals the unique structure of document headings (kepala surat) on istimi in Kedah, and suggests that legal texts were probably used as source books for the composition of new istimi. It also highlights the significance of istimi as primary sources for the study of the traditional governance of Kedah.

Ya 'Aziz al-Karim

Ya 'Aziz al-Karim (MS40320/7, f.15)

 

The Library of an Eighteenth-Century Malay Bibliophile: Tengku Sayid Jafar, Panglima Besar of Selangor

The Library of an Eighteenth-Century Malay Bibliophile: Tengku Sayid Jafar, Panglima Besar of Selangor

Author: Annabel Teh Gallop

Annabel Teh Gallop, ‘The library of an 18th-century Malay bibliophile: Tengku Sayid Jafar, Panglima Besar of Selangor’. In: Social codicology: the multiple lives of texts in Muslim societies, ed. Olly Akkerman; pp.199-258.  Leiden: Brill, 2025. (Leiden Studies in Islam and Society; 21).

(References from the Light Letters collection, specifically the letters from Tengku Sayid Ja'far: MS 40320/3 f.38; MS 40320/4, f.44).

"...Despite the diverse nature of the Selangor library, the contents demonstrate certain preoccupations, with a particular emphasis on jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, and devotional poetry, alongside, as in all parts of the Malay world, a strong interest in divination and supplications for particular purposes. Some volumes certainly came from considerable distances, while others are more evidently local products. Interestingly, the only manuscript in the collection that we can firmly assign to production within Selangor itself is the great, unfinished Qurʾan, conceived on what was perhaps a more grandiose bibliographical scale than had previously been seen in the region...."

PENANG, THE HAJJ, AND THE ROLE OF HAJJ SYEIKHS, 1786–1977

PENANG, THE HAJJ, AND THE ROLE OF  HAJJ SYEIKHS, 1786–1977

Authors: Mahani Musa & Aiza Maslan @ Baharudin 

Musa, M. and Baharudin, A. M. 2024. Penang, the Hajj, and the role of hajj syeikhs, 1786–1977. International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies 20 (2): 87–116.

https://doi.org/10.21315/ijaps2024.20.2.4

(References from the Light Letters collection pertaining to Hajj: MS 40320/1 f.4; MS 40320/1 f.14; MS 40320/3, f.72; MS 40320/4, f.48; MS 40320/7, f.100; MS 40320/7, f.209; MS 40320/10, f.13)

Abstract: 

The history of Penang is often highlighted from the perspective of its development and contribution as a port or centre for trading that involves international trading networks, specifically with India and China. However, these discussions have overlooked the island’s role and contribution as the embarkation port for pilgrims from Malaya and the Malay Archipelago when sea travel was the primary mode of transportation to Makkah. Penang’s role as the embarkation point for hajj pilgrims could have taken place before Francis Light became the Superintendent of the Prince of Wales Island in 1786, while the existence of the Light Letters proved that besides trade, hajj activities had become an important aspect that linked Penang with people from other regions. Light’s good relations with the Malay rulers were a fundamental factor in sending prospective pilgrims to Makkah by sea on British trading ships. Hajj activities became more organised in the nineteenth century with the presence of more viable modes of transport and the management of hajj pilgrims under the supervision of representatives appointed by specific shipping companies. The emergence of pilgrim brokers, popularly known as hajj syeikhs among local residents in the twentieth century, further established Penang as the departure point for hajj pilgrims. This study focuses on the management of hajj pilgrims and the roles of hajj syeikhs in relation to the services they offered. Also raised are issues arising from the provision of services to pilgrims throughout the period when Penang became the point for departure and pilgrims embarking on their journey to Makkah.