Munsyi Abdullah

Father of Modern Malay Literature is an epithet often ascribed to Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi, a Malay author who lived in Melaka and Singapore during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi (1796–1854), born in Melaka of mixed Arab and Tamil-Muslim parentage, may have inspired many scholars and educators of Malay studies.

Having brought up by a very religious family background, Abdullah was made to learn Islam and the Quran since his childhood. In fact, it was his first education he received through his grandmother since she was a Quranic teacher.

His father made him to study and read the Quran with proper teachers. After that, then only he was made to learn other languages including Tamil, Hindu, English, and Chinese.

Two of his works, Hikayat Abdullah (tale of abdullah) and Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan (account of Abdullah’s voyage to Kelantan) are the stories most often singled out as those that form the bridge between traditional and modern Malay writing. As a language teacher and writer, Abdullah was mainly working for European and American administrators, merchants and missionaries in Singapore and Melaka.

Munsyi Abdullah lived at the beginning of the colonial period, which started around 1850. It was the beginning of Malay printing in the peninsula centered in Melaka and Singapore.
Munsyi Abdullah

Raja Haji Ali (1808-1873)

Ali Haji bin Raja Haji Ahmad also known as Raja Haji Ali was a greatest Malay writers of the 19th century. He was the grandson of Raja Haji, Marhum Teluk Ketapang, whose demise occurred in battle during the attack on the Dutch in Malacca.

He belonged to the Malay-Bugis royal house of Riau and underwent a broad education, which was to equip him to make a significant contribution to various areas of learning.

Raja Haji Ali is best known for his writing:
*Tuhfat al-Nafis (1865) – The Precious Gift
*Salasilah Melayu dan Bugis 1890

The Tuhfat is a history of the Johor-Riau-Lingga area from the late seventeenth to the mid-seventeenth century. Parts of the book contain long sections of genealogies of the royal families, including the major achievement of each reign.

Raja Haji Ali completed Tuhfat al-Nafis during a period when the Malay world was in great flux. Rivalry and conflicts were evident between the Bugis, their Malay hosts and the Dutch colonial authorities.

The diverse skills of Raj Ali Haji were displayed his expertise in various field, which cover Malay language, theology, law, history, grammar, poetry, custom and traditions, and statecraft.

The principal works of grammar by Raj Ali Haji are composed in:
*The Bustan al-Katibin 1857
*The uncompleted Kitab Pengetahuan Bahasa

Two works on statecraft:
*Intizam Waza’if al-Malik 1857
*Thamarat al-Mahammah 1857

Among the elements of reform that are found in the works of Raja Ali Haji are the disclosure of dates, acknowledgment for using other sources as reference and validation and the author’s own statement that any errors found in his writings would be corrected by his descendents on the future.
Raja Haji Ali (1808-1873)