ResearchProposal by MEGATISKANDARBINMEGATZAHARUDDIN

ThePerakLegendaryManuscript:AnAlternativeSourceofHistory
BACKGROUND&LITERATUREREVIEW TheNewlyAcquiredLegendaryPerakManuscript OtherRelatedManuscripts Relatedpublications/writings OBJECTIVE TodecipherthehistoricalcontentsoftheManuscript To understand the historical background of Perak from different perspectives highlighted in the Manuscript Tosuggeststrongerevidenceand/ornewenlightenmenttoPerakhistory METHODOLOGY ReadingtheManuscript LibraryVisits ArchivalResearches TheInternet Interview Discussion WORKSCHEDULE FortnightlyMeetingwithSupervisor RomanisationoftheManuscriptwithCommentaries[1month] HighlightsoftheContents[1month] AnalysisoftheHighlights[2months] Comparisonwithothersources[2months] Conclusion[1month]

BACKGROUND&LITERATUREREVIEW TheNewlyAcquiredLegendaryPerakManuscript Way back in the early 2000, I have acquired one manuscript entitled A Malay Legendary History. This manuscript isa30pagetextwritteninMalayusingJawiscript.Onthe firstpageof the manuscript, there is a commentary, believed to be written by the late Richard Winstedt, sayingthatthemanuscriptwaswritteninKualaKangsarintheyear1314Hijri. On the last two pages of the manuscript, the author has reproduced thewordingsoftheCiria secretspellusedbytheSeriNaraDirajaduringtheinstallationritualofPerakSultans.ThisCiriis written on the manuscript in Sanskrit using Jawi text. However, there is a combination of Sanskrit,MalayandArabicversestowardstheendoftheCiri. Preliminary examination on the content of the manuscript suggests that the text is about the Malay Legendary History of Perak from the days of Raja Suran. This is shown by the manuscripts early passages are relating to the legendary Bukit Siguntang rajas. Then, the manuscripttellsaboutthehistoryofMelakaandlaterondescribesaboutthehistoryofPerak. At the end ofthe text(before the Ciri mentioned earlier),themanuscriptshowsthatthetextwas narrated from the Perak royal household and the genealogy of the narrator was highlighted thoroughly atthe end of the text. It is believed that the manuscript is the Perak History from the version told by the innercircleofMarhumSayongoneRajaBendaharaMahmudIbniRajaKecil MudaIbrahimIbniSultanMahmudShahofPerak.

OtherRelatedManuscripts In order to have a thorough research and a comprehensive understanding of the subject, we need to consult other related manuscripts on Perak history. Therefore manuscripts from the Maxwell collection at the Royal Asiatic Society would be the first to be consulted. Under the Maxwell collection, there are several manuscripts that can be consulted namely the MS 24 and MS 25 which narrates the history of the Perak Sultantate and its genealogies. Also, under the same collection of manuscripts, there is one MS 103 which is believed to beoneof the earlier knownmanuscriptofMisaMelayu. Apart from the Maxwell collection, the Birch papers at Rhodes House would be the next manuscripts to be compared. Both JamesandErnestBirchspapersarekeptatRhodesHouse and the personal papers of these two British Residents are needed to be used as crossreference to the manuscript we intend to decipher. Elements aswho are theindividuals especially Malays, involved in the course of collecting Malay manuscripts under the direction of these two individuals. James was the first British Resident of Perak and prior to his death, he had conducted interviews and acquired quite a number of Malay papersthat might enlighten us

in the understanding of the subject we are trying to research. Surprisingly, the manuscript in questionwaswrittenduringErneststenureatPerakasBritishResident. Of course, the Misa Melayu text atUniversiti Malaya would be another manuscript tobeusedto compare not only theauthenticityofthecontentbutalsothesimilarityandperhapsdeciphernew findings between the contents of these manuscripts. Although we have suggested these 3 manuscripts as the main crossreference point, we may in the course of the research consult otherrelatedmanuscriptwhichmaycomeinhandytofacilitatetheresearch.

Relatedpublications/writings Apart from crossreferencing using manuscripts, one must also refer to works of earlier researchers on the subject. There are several works that came into my mind in relation to researching Perak history namely History of Perak by Winstedt and Papers on Malay Subjects byWilkinson.ThesetwoworksarethekeyreferencesonPerakhistory. Another work that shouldbeconsultedisBarbara WatsonAndayasPerak:TheAbodeofGrace. This is the only historical research on Perak which was basedon theauthorsresearchon18th Century Dutch papersrelating to Perak. However, some historians argue thatonemustnotrely solely on works doneby Westerners. Hence, one needstoconsultlocalworksastogetamore broaderperspectiveonthesubject. For local works, BuyongAdilsSejarahPerakwouldbea goodchoiceastheauthorwrotebased on different sources including both Winstedts and Wilkinsons works. Buyong Adils Sejarah Perak is one ofthekeyhistoricalreferenceswrittenbylocalsandthis workisbasedonthorough researchdonebytheauthorbasedonvarioussourcesofhistory. Three morelocalwritingsonPerakhistorythatshouldnotbeneglectedaretheSejarahPerakby Abdullah Musa Lubis. Sejarah Perak Dahulu dan SekarangbyAbdulHalimNasirandHuluPerak dalam Sejarah by Raja Razman Raja Abdul Hamid & Meor Shamsuddin Meor Yahya. These threeworksarepublishedadecadeearlierfromBuyongAdilswork.Themostcomprehensiveis AbdullahMusaLubisworkasittouchestheoverallaspectsofPerakhistory. Although Abdul Halim Nasirs work touches on almost every historical aspect of Perak, it lacks several parts such as the genealogies of Royal and Aristocratic families of Perak. As for Raja Razmanswork,itfocusesmoreontheUpperPeraksignificanceinthehistoryofthestate. The most recent work on Perakhistory that one should never miss is the Cempaka SaribyMA Fawzi Basri. This is the most comprehensive work that has been produced to date in terms of the historical development of Perak. It covers almost every aspect of Perak history including a complete list of Title Holders at the time of printing. It also shows the progress of the Sultanate fromtheolddays,throughtheColonialperiodandfinallythemoderndayrolesofthemonarchy.

OBJECTIVE

One of the main objectives of this research is to decipher the historical contents of the Manuscript. By just glancing through the pages of the manuscript, it begins by describing the conquest of Raja Suran to the Malay Archipelago. This is similar to the opening chapters of Sejarah Melayu by Tun Seri Lanang. The manuscript later describes the development of the MalaykingdomofMelakaandlaterontheestablishmentofthePerakSultanate. Earlier researches has givenusaroughideaofthewholestorypertainingtothehistoryofPerak but based on this manuscript, we might discover a different fact or an elaborate or clearer pictureof thesituationorperhapsacompletelynewfact whichwasnotcoveredbyearlierworks. This may be true as we know that the manuscript is a version written by Marhum Sayong a controversial figure in Perak History who played an important role in theinterdynastic struggle between the ruling house of Perak. Marhum Sayong belongedto the old ruling house of Perak and the then, new ruling dynasty ousted almost all keyfigures connected to Marhum Sayong in thelineofsuccession. It would be interesting if this manuscript can allow us to unearth new evidenceonPerakhistory and may give a different perspective to the subject in question.The otherside of the story may have been written in this manuscript for us to understand what actually happen throughout the historicaldevelopmentofthePerakSultanate. Next, with different perspectives highlighted in the manuscript, it will open more avenues for future researchers to explore deeper into the subject of Perak history. These potential newlyacquired knowledgewill enable people of today and thefuturetounderstand betteronthe history of Perak. With these new facts, we might establish a new hypothesis on the actual historicaleventsandthesefactsmaybethecontributingfactortoamorelargerissueorevents. Finally, with the new facts deciphered from the manuscript plus a better understanding on the issues surrounding the historical events in Perak, this research will then be a focal point of reference in relation to the study of history of the state of Perak. As an academic source of reference, this research is expected to be thoroughly explored so that the contents will be of valuableuseintheyearstocome.

METHODOLOGY ReadingtheManuscript One of the obvious steps in doing the research is to read the manuscript thoroughly. Reading alone is not enough.Reading with complete understanding and comprehensiononthecontents of the manuscript isessential to ensure the success of this research. The approach I intend to use is by first romanising the whole manuscript so that it is easier to be understood especially forthosewhoareJawiilliterate. As a valueadded element to the romanisation work, I intend to insert commentaries on every significant phrase in the manuscript. With elaborate commentaries, one could follow the research in a structured manner and is expected to easily understand the contents of the manuscript. With the aid of the commentaries and a clear understanding of the contents, it will enableusto analyse thoroughly what the manuscript is all about. This analysis will firstly be doneby looking at the highlighted points deciphered from the manuscript. Then, the points will be evaluated in terms of its value, significance and relevance. The ascertain its authenticity, prior knowledge plus thorough crossreferencing with earlier works should be done. This may include comparisonofothermanuscriptsofsimilarsubjects. From the evaluation and analysis of the manuscript, we will then try to reach to a conclusion whetherthemanuscripthasanysignificantcontributiontotheknowledgeinthehistoryofPerak.

LibraryVisits In order to get hold of thepublished works and earlier writingsfromvariousauthors,weneedto pay a visit to key librarieslocallyandifpossible,globally.Someofthemostcommonworksmay have several copies in manylibraries. But for rare books, maybe only one or two places in the world houses the document. Hence, paying avisitto that particularlibraryisessentialinorderto haveaccesstothedocument. As mentioned earlier in the literature review, some of the documents we intend toconsult are kept in Europe. Paying a visit to these libraries is essential but costly. Assumingwe have the funds either through sponsors or grants, we will definitely visit the librariesmentionedearlier namely the Royal Asiatic Society Library in Bayswater, London the Rhodes House Library in OxfordandtheSpecialCollectionsUnitattheSchoolofOriental&AfricanStudies,London. Not to forget, there are some works that can be accessible at local libraries which includes libraries of local universities. All in all,library visits arepartoftheresearchprocess.However,in the event whereby funds areverylimited,wemaywanttogethelpfromstrategicpartnersinthat

foreign country. By engaging with partners,weneednotbegoingtoLondontovisitthelibraryfor the purpose ofaccessing the documents. The partners will do itfor us, on our behalf, andlater passthecopiestousforfurtherevaluation.

ArchivalResearches Apart from libraries, archival researches should also be conducted in a similar manner as the library visitations. Archives which are near to home such astheNationalArchivesofMalaysiain Kuala Lumpur and the National Archives of Singapore should be visited in the course of this research. Of course the Colonial Officepapers and the Parliamentary Paperswhicharekeptat the Public Record Office in Kew Gardens, England might be of help as to give a more indepth understandingofthesubjectofthisresearch.

TheInternet Another platformthatwecouldutiliseinconductingthisresearchistousetheinternet.Thereare several online sites and blogs dedicated to the subject that can be found on the net. However, when dealing with articles on the web, one must first ascertain the credibilityof the author and also the authenticity of thecontents. One must have prior knowledgeon the subject in order to determinewhetherthecontentsfromthewebareworthyofuse.

Interviews A more traditional approach to theresearchshouldnot beneglectedsuchasinterviewswithkey persons or experts in the field. These experts may come from different backrounds such academicians, members of the Royal family, official royal genealogists and perhaps public enthusiasts. Byinterviewing these individuals, itcanvalueaddourresearchintermsofopinions fromdifferentperspectives.

Discussions Finally, getting involved in discussions or debates on the subjectcan be beneficial in ensuring the success of this research. These discussion may not be limited to small commoninterest groups. It may extend to participation in seminars and conferences on relevant topics to the subjectinquestion.

WORKSCHEDULE Assuming myapplicationisapprovedfortheFebruary2014intake,Iwillsettheworkscheduleto begin latestby March 2014.This is to allowthe7daycompulsory inductiontocommenceinthe firstmonthofthecourse.Theresearchtimelineisexpectedtobeasfollows: FortnightlyMeetingwithSupervisor RomanisationoftheManuscriptwithCommentaries[1month] HighlightsoftheContents[1month] AnalysisoftheHighlights[2months] Comparisonwithothersources[2months] Conclusion[1month] Basedonthistimeline,theresearchcanbecompletedasearlyasDecember2014,Godwilling.