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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.


Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The Malays : Their Origins, Migration and Travels

OK. After some two weeks of hiatus here's a story of an academic lecture...


Monday 8th August 2016. I headed for a certain section of the Humanities Building at UIA or IIUM, International Islamic University of Malaysia campus in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur.


Here at a conference room named after a prominent ancient Muslim scholar, the lecture has started.


Titled "The Malays :  Their Origins, Migration and Travels" it was scheduled to start at 11am. But I arrived at close to 11.30.


Still I was practically whisked to take a seat at the fore, in front of tens, maybe 20 or more Malaysian scholars who are professors. It is an honour as the person giving the lecture is a senior high-ranking professor who personally invited me to come via Whatsapp... after having known each other for some time due to my rather active participation in intelectual discourses over the last few years.


Back to the lecture. I understand it was still in the first section when I arrived...


The speaker, Professor Dato' Dr Md. Salleh Yaapar was then talking about how the Malays were already popular in China during the Tang Dynasty rule (618-907AD). This should correspond to the time the Srivijaya empire became the main ruling power in the Malay world. For the record Salleh is a professor of comparative literature and ombudsman at USM, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He is also a distinguised fellow at Centre for Malay World & Islamic Civilisation (under IIUM) and chairman of the board of governors of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka,


The popularity is reflected by an ancient Chinese romance writing depicting what he mentioned as a very able Malay martial artist fighter stamping his mark in China. Salleh said the word Kunlun (referring to a foreign region) in Chinese writings actually refer to the Malay archipelago. That Malay character has sparked other writings, even comics and movies up till this day...


The lecture then move to what is termed as pre-history of the Malays. Here, effort is made to explain and debunk old theories which say the Malays originated from southern China.


To be clear the Malays here does not just refer to the Malays we know inhabiting Malaysia or even Indonesia. It actually refers to a big major race with branches that became the indigenous island people and such inhabiting area so large that it practically covers most of the Indian and Pacific oceans!





OK. I won't comment so much now. Let the slides speak for itself...














Mainly what Salleh has to say reflected studies such as that has been voiced by Profesor Stephen Oppenheimer of the Oxford University especially through his book "Eden in the East - The Drowned Continent of South East Asia" first published in 1998. For the record, this is the 1,551 article in this blogspot...



That there was a time when South East Asia used to be a huge land mass to the lower sea level at the time rendering the current Melaka Straits and South China Sea as dry land. This huge continent was the home of the ancient Malays. Abrupt rise of sea level lead to the formation of current land mass as some of the Malays abandoned to home by ships to finally settle at faraway islands anf such...