400-Year-Old Sultan Tengah Manuscript To Be Nominated For UNESCO Historical Recognition
KUCHING: Sarawak is set to achieve another major milestone in heritage conservation as a classic Jawi manuscript over 400 years old, believed to have been written by Sultan Tengah, the first Sultan of Sarawak, will be submitted for UNESCO recognition under the Memory of the World programme.
Sarawak Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the manuscript is among the most significant heritage discoveries in Sarawak's history due to its direct link to Sultan Tengah, who played a crucial role in the history of the Sarawak and Brunei Sultanates.
According to him, the manuscript, titled ‘Penggambaran Sri Sultan dan Sultan Tengah Kesebuah Gunung’, contains records of the life journey, experiences, and thoughts of Sultan Tengah and is believed to have been written by the Sultan himself.
“If examined closely, this manuscript can be considered as Sultan Tengah's personal diary that records his own life experiences and journeys,” he said.
He said this during a press conference after the 2026 Sarawak Heritage Council Meeting here on Thursday.
Dato Sri Abdul Karim added that the 179-page manuscript was written using 16th-century classic Jawi script and old Brunei court language, possessing immensely high historical, cultural, and academic value.
He noted that research on the manuscript has been carried out by the Sarawak Museum Department in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak Branch since 2021, before being fully translated in 2022.
According to him, the manuscript has now become a vital primary source in efforts to reconstruct the history and biography of Sultan Tengah, besides providing a clearer picture of the governance system, philosophy, and diplomatic relations in this region during the 16th century.
“This discovery opens up a new space for local and international researchers to understand the early history of Sarawak more deeply, including the relationship between the Brunei Sultanate and Sarawak, as well as the regional political developments at that time,” he stated.
He explained that the Sarawak Museum Department will submit the manuscript to be gazetted under the Sarawak Heritage Ordinance 2019 before the nomination process to UNESCO is carried out.
Also present were the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew, Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Operation), Datu Hii Chang Kee, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Morshidi Fredrick, Director of the Sarawak Museum Department, Nancy Jolhi, and former Rector of UiTM Sarawak Branch, Prof Dato Dr Jamil Hamali. -UKASnews
