BERPETUALANG KE ACEH: Enjoying the waters at Gunung Datuk

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This blogspot is a medium to share my thoughts and adventures apart from promoting my books. Below are the books which have been written or authored and published by myself.

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"

ISBN 978-983-42031-2-2, November 2007

It is interesting to note that while these books were written in Malay it has gained enough attention to merit being part of the collections of the American Library of Congress and National Library of Australia. Look here and here.

While the first three books were published by my own company, the fourth titled "Rumah Azan" was published in April 2009 by a company called Karnadya with the help of the Malaysian national literary body Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It features beautiful pictures along with stories behind selected mosques which could be related to the history of Islam and the Malays alongside the formation of the Malaysian nation. Look at the article A collaboration of old collegemates - the book "Rumah Azan".

My fifth book "Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and Malay Sultanates", an English translation and adaptation of the Malay book "Ahlul Bait (Keluarga) Rasulullah SAW dan Kesultanan Melayu" authored by Hj Muzaffar Mohamad and Tun Suzana Othman was published early 2010. Look here... My 5th book is out! Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and the Malay Sultanates... . For more information check out my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU.

Like my fourth book "Rumah Azan", the sixth book "Kereta Api Menuju Destinasi" is also a coffee-table book which is published by the company Karnadya with the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the main Malay literary body in Malaysia). Coming out January 2011 it features pictures and stories on the adventure travelling by train to all of Peninsular Malaysia along with the interesting places which could be reached this way.

My seventh book "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" in turn is a coffee-table book which is written, editted, designed and has pictures taken by me. Coming out of the factory October 2011, this book which combines family history with history of places such as Singapura, Johor, Batu Pahat, Muar and in fact the history of the island of Java and England has been reviewed with me interviewed live in the program Selamat Pagi Malaysia at RTM1. Look at the article Siaran langsung ulasan buku "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" dan temu ramah di Selamat Pagi Malaysia. Some selected contents have been featured in Sneak peek "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah".

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The "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels could be obtained in e-book form. Enter http://www.e-sentral.com/, click general novel and go to page 4. You can also type the word "Aceh" at the search box. Or click straight Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Enjoying the waters at Gunung Datuk

OK, continuing from The Linggi river near Pengkalan Kempas . I then visited 2 more places around, actually near the slightly bigger town of Linggi some 4-5km away before going to the tomb of Raja Melewar. Have a look at the article Makam Raja Melewar di siang hari (The tomb of Raja Melewar during the day) in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) .

Once done, I headed towards the state of Melaka through the regions of Rembau and Pedas. Then I saw a sign pointing the way towards Gunung Datuk, a mountain said to contain its own mystery and decided to take a detour there...

I got off the main road into a village road before entering a rubber estate followed by some pristine jungle. Finally I arrived at the foot of Gunung Datuk...

The giant replica of the keris (Malay wavy blade) signifies this as a place of historical interest...

That is when I learned that the 2,900-foot high Gunung (mount) Datuk, fairly popular to climbers, was the place the legendary ancient figure Datuk Perpateh Nan Sebatang, founder of the maternally-heavy Malay custom called Adat Minangkabau set up some official structure of rule here... And that was supposed to have happened in 1372, two decades before the famous Sultanate of Melaka was said to have been established just before the 15th Century AD!

All this while I thought the stories of Datuk Perpateh Nan Sebatang all happened in the Indonesian island of Sumatera especially in the Minangkabau region. Now only do I know this important figure actually resided and set up a ruling structure here...

Now, apart from being a fairly popular climbing spot for enthusiasts, Gunung Datuk is also famous for a legendary footprint set upon a stone at the top, said to belong to the legendary Malay warrior Hang Tuah who hold sway in the mid 15th Century Melaka Sultanate.