Sarawak to nominate 16th century manuscript for Unesco listing

 The manuscript with the title 'The Adventures of Sri Sultan and Sultan Tengah to a Mountain' is believed to have been authored by Sultan Tengah, who was reportedly installed as Sultan of Sarawak in 1599.

Sarawak minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the manuscript will be nominated for inclusion in the Unesco ‘Memory of the World’ register.

PETALING JAYA:

A rare 16th century manuscript “The Adventures of Sri Sultan and Sultan Tengah to a Mountain” will be gazetted as a Sarawak heritage item and nominated for inclusion in Unesco’s “Memory of the World” register.

The move was announced by Sarawak tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah after a Sarawak Heritage Council meeting yesterday.

He said the council agreed the manuscript should be preserved and promoted as part of Sarawak’s heritage, the Borneo Post reported.

The manuscript, written in Arabic, was authored by Sultan Tengah, also known as Sultan Ibrahim Ali Omar Shah, who was the son of Sultan Muhammad Hassan, the ninth ruler of the Brunei sultanate who reigned from 1582 to 1598.

Following Sultan Muhammad Hassan’s death, Sultan Tengah was reportedly installed as Sultan of Sarawak in 1599 to prevent a succession dispute with his elder brother, Sultan Abdul Jalilul Akhbar, who later became the 10th Sultan of Brunei.

A research team from the Sarawak museum department and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Sarawak branch began further studies on the document in 2021. The 179-page manuscript was fully transliterated and translated by JMS researchers by 2022, with help from Amanah Khairat Yayasan Budaya Melayu Sarawak and manuscript experts from UiTM Sarawak.

Karim said the manuscript is an important primary source for reconstructing the history and biography of Sultan Tengah and offers valuable insights into his philosophy, leadership and legitimacy as a ruler.

“This discovery provides opportunities for deeper studies into the linguistic style, writing techniques, and symbolism found in classical texts,” he said.

Separately, Karim said the museum department had six ceramic jars, an old Mushaf al-Maliki Quran manuscript, personal passports and documents from 1939-1940, seven sets of historical firefighter uniforms and hornbill-related artefacts. They were among 88 objects donated in 2025. So far this year, it has received 39 donations.

He said the department is planning an exhibition in 2027 to showcase the growing collection of artefacts and heritage items donated by members of the public. - FMT