GEORGE TOWN: Britain's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) are collaborating to preserve and curate a digital archive of documents related to the early years of the British trading post set up in Penang in the 18th century.
This follows a 2018 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) granting USM exclusive digital access to the 1,200 documents in SOAS's Malay Archipelago Correspondence Collection, which span from 1768 to 1794.
The collection, also known as the Light Letters, is organised in 11 volumes and is believed to be the largest compilation of Malay manuscripts in the world.
It is named after British East India Company officer Francis Light, who founded a British trading post in Penang in 1786.
USM's Centre for Policy Research and the Hamzah Sendut Library are the first insititutions outside of SOAS to be offered digital access to the collection for the benefit of researchers, scholars and the public.
The Light Letters offer descriptive metadata, transcriptions and transliterations that can be accessed online.
USM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Seri Ir Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed said the exclusive rights granted to the USM Library, as the custodian of the Light Letters digital collection, would provide significant opportunities for researchers to conduct new studies on the history of Malaysia.
He said the Light Letters held great potential for research across various fields and would aid in studies, particularly in the history of the Nusantara region.
"The access to digital images of the Light Letters greatly benefits the academic world, particularly in enhancing the availability and quality of historical sources for researchers and scholars, supporting efforts to preserve and understand valuable historical heritage," he said today (Aug 28).
Through the Digitisation and Documentation of the Light Letters project, SOAS has granted access to the Light Letters under its rights for cataloging and searching the transcriptions and transliterations produced.
The digitised Light Letters have resulted in 2,400 images that need to be properly stored.
Under the agreement, USM has the right to store these images as long as the agreement is upheld by both parties and will be renewed annually.
The USM Library is responsible for preserving and maintaining the Digital Collection of the Light Letters in accordance with this agreement by ensuring that:
* the digital images of the collection are accessible through a dedicated portal;
* cataloging of the digital Light Letters is carried out by the USM Library;
* transliterations and transcriptions are produced by the Centre for Policy Research (CPR); and
* searching of transcriptions and descriptive metadata is accessible through an open-source software system managed by the USM Library: https://libdigital.usm.my
The collection of documents include writings and notes from the old Malay Sultanates, royal family members, Malay dignitaries and prominent figures from the Malay Archipelago, business associates, wives of Malay nobles, Light and several English traders written over a period of 26 years, from 1768 to 1794.
The letters are classified into those sent to Light, those sent to James Scott (Light's business associate), notes, records, drafts and copies sent by Light, letters from kings and dignitaries and other documents such as bills, receipts, petitions and contracts.
The collection includes letters from Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Selangor, Perak, Terengganu, Kelantan, Borneo, Acheh, Asahan, Batu Bahara, Siak, Palembang, Pontianak and others.