On 5 December 2020, the Centre of Malay Manuscripts, Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS), Universiti Teknologi MARA, (UiTM), Malaysia, in collaboration with Leiden University Netherlands organized an International Seminar on Malay Manuscript (SEMALAM) Serie 1/2020.
This international meeting which took place virtually through the virtual platform via Google Meet and ACIS FB Live platform had participants from various culture and age groups from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Egypt and Netherlands.
The seminar brought together Malay manuscripts as the original source of the intellectual heritage of the Malay world. The authenticity of Malay manuscripts, which are mostly preserved in the Netherlands and England were discussed and exposed to the participants. The seminar with the theme ‘Through the Greatness of the Malay Manuscript Nations’, was attended by about 200 participants virtually through google meet and FB ACIS by 3000 spectators from all over the world.
In this seminar, participants were impressed by the excellence of Malay manuscripts that beautifully highlighted the sciences of Malay literature and customs. From the figure of Hang Tuah, the participants were exposed to real history and Malay identity, according to Sulalat as-Salatin, Taj al-Salatin, and others, who were well known with soft culture, courage, moderate in life and strong faith.
The manuscripts which were preserved at Leiden University Netherlands revealed the great history of the nation and showed the greatness of Malay history and the great international Malay network which included the era of Hang Tuah, up to the heritage of Jawi literature as world legacy.
Leiden University took eighth place in the recent UI Green Metric announcement, a global sustainability ranking for universities where more than 900 universities globally participated in the ranking.