Felice Noelle Rodriguez
The emeritus professor Dato’ Ahmat Adam, the first historian fellow of the Malaysian Academy of Science, passed away at about 18:00 on Monday (3 November).
I first met Prof Ahmat Adam in 2000 when he was host president of the International Association of Historians of Asia (IAHA) conference in Sabah. He was also host of the 1978 IAHA at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
In recent years, he continued to be as prolific and iconoclastic as ever.
His PhD thesis on the impact of the 19th-Century Indonesian language newspapers was cited by everybody from renowned political scientist Benedict Anderson to Indonesian novelist and writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
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His work on the Terengganu Stone updated Royal Professor Syed Naquib Al-Attas’ earlier transcription using his mastery of kawi (ancient Javanese in Arabic script).
Although from Malacca, he challenged the abuse of uncorroborated literature for historical narrative. He also transcribed the St Petersburg Sejarah Melayu manuscript.
Prof Ahmat Adam was a key leader at the University of Malay in 1967, mobilising students in support of landless peasants. May his soul rest in peace.
Dr Felice Noelle Rodriguez is the director of the Centre for Local History and Culture, El Kaban de Zamboanga, at Universidad de Zamboanga. She earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees in history from the University of the Philippines.
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