Rare book on early Singapore stories back in Republic

NLB buys Munsyi Abdullah's edition of Malay Annals from UK library; it goes on show today

The Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, was printed in Singapore in the 1840s and edited by Munsyi Abdullah, a scribe for Sir Stamford Raffles. There are only five known copies of the book that exist in public institutions today - two in the United Stat
The Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, was printed in Singapore in the 1840s and edited by Munsyi Abdullah, a scribe for Sir Stamford Raffles. There are only five known copies of the book that exist in public institutions today - two in the United States Library of Congress and one each in Malaysia and Indonesia. The National Library Board bought the fifth copy of the book from the private collection of a British library. It goes on display with other rare books today at NLB's Victoria Street premises until March 24.ST PHOTO: SAHIBA CHAWDHARY
Housing and Heritage Correspondent
  • Published
    Jan 23, 2019, 5:00 am SGT
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A book that holds the stories of early Singapore, including Sang Nila Utama's experience on the island when he arrived in 1299, has made its way back to the Republic.

The Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, was printed in Singapore in the 1840s and edited by Munsyi Abdullah, a scribe for Sir Stamford Raffles.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 23, 2019, with the headline 'Rare book on early S'pore stories back in Republic'. Subscribe
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