More Lost Cities?

‘Several lost realms need to be found’
BY LEE YUK PENG


MALACCA: There are several other lost Malay kingdoms pre-dating the Malacca Sultanate that need to be discovered, said Melaka Museums Corporation general manager Dr Badriyah Salleh.

Referring to the possible discovery of the lost city of Kota Gelanggi in Johor, an excited Dr Badriyah said this would enhance the history of the Malay kingdoms.

She pointed out that the Malacca Sultanate obtained significance in history as it was an empire and also because information and artefacts of the sultanate could still be found in local and foreign records.

“There is ample evidence of the Malacca Sultanate but not the earlier ones, although their names were mentioned in the famed Sejarah Melayu.

“With the lack of records and the significance of Malacca Sultanate, the other kingdoms tend to be marginalised or blurred,” she said.

Dr Badriyah, a retired associate professor of history from Universiti Sains Malaysia, also said the eventual discovery of Kota Gelanggi had strengthened her hypothesis that the many names of kingdoms and places listed in Sejarah Melayu were actually real.

After The Star published stories about the possible discovery of Kota Gelanggi, Dr Badriyah reread several versions of Sejarah Melayu.

“Sejarah Melayu has to be studied in a different perspective – with a focus on the names mentioned to prove their existence.

“There were many layers of meaning in Sejarah Melayu as ancient people tended to use proverbs, hints, comparisons and subtle language to express themselves,” she said.

“History has to be discovered all the time, like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle,” she said.

While the Malacca Sultanate started with Parameswara travelling from Temasek to Bertam in Malacca around 1400, Dr Badriyah said there was no record on the places in Johor on Parameswara’s travel route.

“Perhaps Kota Gelanggi was gone by then" she said.