The Historian

BEDUK DRUM OF KAMPUNG KELING MOSQUE, MALACCA

2013-10-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

Beduk is a kind of giant Malay drum esspecially used for the call of prayers. Its made of one single tree front the lower trunk of hard wood species normally Merbau or chengal. The length and diameter of the trunk will determine the loudness of the beaten sound. The stick is normally made of rattan or wood wrapped with cloth or rubber in order not to damage the wood. This drum is normally, placed at the side aisle of the mosque or the corridor to ensure the sound could be heard at far distance. During the fasting month

of Ramadhan, the sound of the drum is the signal for beginning of the fast or the time for the break of fast. As in villages,the beats of the drum are a message for any emergency such as theft, fire or death.

Izham Aziz

THE NATRAH INCIDENT IN SINGAPORE

2013-10-10T01:56:00.002-07:00

The Natrah episode took place more than 50 years ago and should be viewed in its own perspective. At the center of it all was a Dutch girl, Huberdina Maria Hertogh who was better known as Natrah. She was brought up in the islamic way by her mother Cik Aminah, in Chukai kemaman, terengganu, Living among the malays. They attracted a lot of attention when Natrah natural born mother arrived in Singapore on 5th Safar 1370 Hijrah/15 November 1950 to claim her back. The court decission showed that she had been cruelly taken away from her adopted mother cik Aminah. Her marriage to Mansor Adabi was nullified under civil law and she was forced to live in a convent. Later, she was taken back to Holland to live in a small village from the traditions and culture of the Malay life she had been familliar with. Riots broke out immediately after the court judgement was announced on 2 Rabiulawal 1370 Hijrah/12 December 1950. 18 people were killed and 173 injured. Singapore was placed under curfew for two days and two night. The riots were not just the manifestation of the sensitivity of the Malays towards religious issues which had been belittled by the west, but actually indicated more seroius issues than that. It showed the deep-seated anti colonial feelings of the Malays. The unhappines of the Malays living under the colonialist and their desire to be independent like other Asian nations at that time inflamed their spirit to go againts the British. Indonesia had also just achieved absolute independence from the the Dutch. The riots were like sparks of natinalism and were the first large scale display of the desire for independence in modern times.

Malaysian Food

2011-11-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

Assam Laksa

Yummy..!!! This dish is Penang signature dish. It is noodles in fish broth garnised with a lot of different vegetables. It is spicy hot & sour dish ( visit penang & try this dish!!). The spicy and fishy soup is sour because of the large quantity of tamarind used known as Assam Jawa. The fish used to make the broth is mackerel, which is first poached, deboned and added to the soup together with lemongrass, chillies and tamarind to boil. The noodle used in Assam laksa is fresh rice vermicelli which is much thicker than the regular dry ones. The noodles is first placed at the base of the bowl after which chinese lettuces finely shredded cucumbers and onions, chopped pineapples and most importantly mint leaves are added. Then the piping hot soup is poured over it, followed by finely chopped ginger buds. Some stalls pour out the soup from the bowl back into the pot and then re-scoop the soup into the bowl again repeating this action twice or thrice to make sure that the noodles are piping hot. Before serving, a thick, sweet and salty shrimp paste is swirled on top of the dish. Some may find the prawn paste called "hae kao" too strong but this paste further enhances the dish. The price for each bowl is around RM2.00 to RM3.00.

Ais kacang

This is a popular dessert among the locals as it is very tasty and refreshing especially on a hot day. The ingredients used usually consists of thick, sweetened red bean, canned sweet corn, grass jelly and palm fruit locally known as "attap chee". The red bean is cooked in sugar syrup. These ingredients are scooped into a bowl and topped with finely shaved ice. Different coloured sugar syrup, palm sugar syrup called "gula melaka" and evaporated milk are liberally poured over the ice kacang with colourful jellies, ice cream and even fresh fruits. A basic bowl usally costs RM2.00 but costs more for additional toppings.

Roti Canai

Roti canai is a pastry like flat bread. Wheat flour is kneaded and the large dough is then separated into small lumps about the size of ping pong balls. It is then flattened and then taken through a process of twirling and flinging motion in the air to thin it out. Ghee is constantly added in the process to prevent the dough from breaking as it gets thinner. When the dough is stretched paper thin it is then folded into a circle shape. It is fried to a crisp and slightly charred on a flatbed circular iron pan. Roti canai is served with Dall (i suggest to choose spicy curry chicken ) onion pickles or with sugar. The dhall may not necessarily be spicy hot but the herbs and spices used are rich and pungent. A plain roti canai with the curry costs around RM0.80. You can opt to add on some chicken or beef curry. The important things it is halal dish. Try it!!!

History Of Penang Hill

2011-11-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

Penang Hill is one of the oldest colonial hill station established by the British during their time in Malaysia. Explored in the late 18^th century, a horse trail was cut by the waterfall gardens (now present Penang botanic gardens) to the summit of the hilly spine of Penang, allowing the British to escape from the chaos of Georgetown to the cooler climate on the hill. Penang Hill comprises several hills including strawberry hill, Halliburton’s hill, flagstaff hill, government hill, tiger hill and western hill. The highest point of this range is at western hill with an elevation of 833m (2723ft) above sea level.

The range also serves as the largest water catchment area on the island and a number of tributaries to major rivers in Penang. The earliest mode of transport to the hill was via horses or a system called “dollies” where masters were carried up the hill on the special sedan chairs. To further explore the potential of the hill systems of bridle paths were cut by Indian penal servitude prisoners for the establishment of more bungalows on the hill. The Penang hill funicular railway was the second mode of transport established for access to the summit. The first railway was constructed in 1901 and completed in 1905 but was rendered useless due to technical faults. A second’s railway was commissioned in 1909 and works for the second line started in 1914 with budget of 1.5 million dollars.

On 1^st January 1924 the 2,007m long funicular railways was officially opened by then Governor of straits settlement Sir L.N Guillermard. The last upgrade was in 1977 before a complete overhaul of the system in 2010. Historical building with the oldest building dated back to 1803 (convalescent bungalow) Penang hill is a good repository of bungalow featuring a fusion of architecture from British colonial to Asian and modern architecture.

Wang Kertas Diganti Kerana Logam Berkurangan (Malay version)

2011-08-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Selamat berpuasa kepada para pembaca. Pagi ini saya mengharapkan agar pembaca dapat mengetahui bagaimana wang kertas terhasil. Wang kertas wujud adalah kerana timbul kesukaran untuk memindahkan duit syiling dalam jumlah yang besar ke merata tempat. Pada zaman pertengahan orang ramai lebih suka menyimpan duit tunai atau syiling serta barang-barang berharga pada tukang emas yang boleh dipercayai. Tukang emas tersebut akan mengeluarkan resit kertas untuk penyimpanan. Pemegang resit boleh memberi arahan kepada tukang emas dengan menulis surat pengesahan bagi menegeluarkan wang simpanannya untuk membuat pembayaran kepada saudagar lain. Jika anda mahu lihat persamaan fungsinya, lihatlah pada cek kerana ia lebih kurang sama fungsinya. Apabila ia mula menjadi kebiasaan, tukang emas mengeluarkan beberapa keping resit mengikut nilai yang dikehendaki oleh penyimpan iaitu sebagai ganti sekeping resit. Lama kelamaan resit terebut bertukar fungsi sebagai wang kertas bank. Pengeluar menyatakan jumlah bayaran yang dijanjikan kepada mana-mana pemegang yang mengkehendaki sejumlah duit tunai yang sama.

"Wang kertas kerajaan China dikeluarkan oleh lembaga Hasil untuk edaran semasa pemerintahan Dinasti Ming. China dikatakan negara paling awal yang memperkenalkan wang kertas untuk edaran, iaitu bermula dari kurun ke-11 Masihi. Wang kertas dikeluarkan bagi menggantikan duit syiling".

Daripada sini jugalah wujudnya sistem perbankan peringkat awal. Jurubank yang mendapat kepercayaan komuniti peniaga banyak mengeluarkan nota. Kebanyakan pemegang tidak bercadang menukarkan resit atau nota dengan duit perak mengikut jumlah yang diminta. Apabila sampai ke peringkat ini, nota bank bertukar menjadi wang. Thank you for reading......

Dahulu Kepingan Logam Kini Kad Kredit (Malay version)

2011-08-11T02:56:00.000-07:00

Contoh duit syiling Lydia antara duit syiling yang terawal dicipta pada kurun ke-7 Masihi.

Pembayaran menjadi mudah kerana nilainya dapat dibuat dengan beberapa kepingan logam. Nilainya juga mudah diukur dengan menimbang logam tersebut dan ia diterima sejagat. Sebahagian besar sejarah wang melibatkan duit syiling. Ia dikatakan dicipta lebih 2500 tahun yang lalu. Duit syiling merupakan mata wang yang paling penting di seluruh dunia dan ia menggantikan kebanyakan bentuk mata wang awal seperti siput gerus. Medium kewangan yang baik diterima umum, tidak mudah didapati dan boleh dibahagikan. Ia juga hendaklah tahan lama, mudah dibawa ke merata tempat dan setiap unitnya hendaklah berkualiti sama. Ciri-ciri ini biasanya boleh didapati pada logam berharga seperti emas dan perak. Oleh itu sudah tentulah bahan logam merupakan bentuk wang komoditi yang paling popular digunakan. Logam dipilih untuk dijadikan wang kerana ia memenuhi ketiga-tiga syarat:

digunakan utk membuat pembayaran
boleh diukur
diterima umum

Pembayaran menjadi mudah kerana nilainya dapat dibuat dengan beberapa kepingan logam. Nilainya juga mudah diukur dengan menimbang logam tersebut dan ia diterima sejagat. Logam mudah dibayar dengan jumlah yang tepat kerana boleh dipotong menjadi kepingan kecil tanpa merosakkan nilai kandungannya. Di negara timur tengah purba, wang bahan logam ini mengikut berat masih digunakan hinggalah awal kurun ini. Walaupun selepas terciptanya duit syiling di Yunani, bulion perak dan tembaga masih penting dalam pembayaran. Kebiasaanya, pedagang atau saudagar akan menimbang jumlah yang dikehendaki semasa membuat pembayaran. Kepingan logam perlbagai saiz dan berat boleh dibawa ke merata tempat dan ini memudahkan pertukaran. Daripada sinilah bermulanya ciptaan duit syiling yang nilainya ditetapkan oleh berat logam berkenaan. Keadaan ini juga menerangkan mengapa perkataan seperti shekel dan paun yang pada mulanya merupakan kadar timbangan berat kemudiannya menjadi nama duit syiling. Thank you for reading.....

Kewujudan Wang Pada Peringkat Awal (Malay version)

2011-08-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Kewujudan wang pada peringkat awalnya digunakan untuk tujuan lain, selain dari perdagangan biasanya barang-barang yang diterima umu ialah barang kegunaan lansung yang tidak diperlukan, tahan lama & tiada masalah untuk ditukarkan semula. Peningkatan penggunaan sesuatu bahan atau barang sebagai medium pertukaran dan juga kestabilan piawaianya secara beransur-ansur akan menaikkan tarafnya sebagai wang. Permintaan tinggi sesuatu barang mungkin disebabkan oleh faktor bukan komersial.

(kulit siput gerus) salah satu bentuk mata wang yang digunakan sebagai medium pertukaran di semenanjung Tanah Melayu sejak kurun ke-3 Masihi. Kulit siput gerus ini diimport dari kepulauan Maldives atau borneo sebagai mata wang untuk pembelian kecil.

Ramai menerima sesuatu barang sebagai pertukaran kerana digunakan untuk upacara keagamaan. Bayaran yang ditetapkan oleh masyarakat seperti bayaran denda terhadap kesalahan yang dilakukan, bayaran ufti, duit darah sekiranya berlaku pembunuhan serta wang hantaran perkahwinan. Pada mulanya wang bukanlah sekadar satu medium pertukaran malah ia juga satu cara menetapkan harga barangan iaitu bagi menentukan kadar yang berpatutan bagi komiditi yang hendak ditukarkan dengan barang yang lain. Apabila ia berfungsi begitu, wang dikatakan menjadi satu unit akaun.

Cara perkiraan mengunakan kulit siput gerus:

50 biji kulit siput gerus = 1 keping/pitis

3 keping/pitis = 1 sen/sou

100 sen/sou = 1 dolar = 15,000 biji kulit siput gerus

Sebahagian besar bentuk mata wang pada peringkat awl berupa komoditi yang dianggap bernilai ataupun yang dapat dijadikan barang hiasan dan seterusnya dapat digunakan bagi tujuan lain sekiranya tidak digunakan sebagai medium pertukaran. Mata wang awal ialah barangan yang paling mudah dipasarkan dalam komuniti berkenaan. Antara berntuk mata wang awal yang biasa didapati ialah binatang ternakan, teh, garam, siput gerus, tembakau, gula dan sebagainya. Apa-apa jua bentuk komoditi yang dipilih sebagai wang hendaklah tinggi permintaanya. Thank you for reading...