Institute of Borneo Studies (IBS), UNIMAS, in collaboration with Amanah Khairat Yayasan Budaya Melayu Sarawak (YBMS), are hosting a talk by prominent Sarawak historian Datu Dr Hj. Sanib Hj Said in Pustaka Negeri, on 24 September 2024. The timing of the talk “A fresh look at the 1841 Brunei-Brooke Agreement: Unveiling new interpretations” is appropriate for the occasion of the 183rd anniversary of the agreement signed on 24 September 1841. The esteemed speaker offered a new perspective in the interpretation of the document by viewing it from the original, Jawi-language version, rather than the English rendition which has been making inroads into many of the works by the Brooke’s historians.
The talk today garnered 54 participants from diverse backgrounds who come together and show interest to learn Sarawak history from the prolific scholar. The audience was treated with a few lessons in historical methodology and interpretation, such as comparing different types of sources and combining multidiscipline in philology, archaeology, textual study and anthropology, all to arrive at a reasonable historical truth. Among many others, two key findings stood out – the differential understanding of what constitute governorship from the Malay political tradition and the English-Brooke; and the dating of the actual treaty, between the two dates presented in the Jawi version (“30 Rajab 1257” and “2 Syaban 1257”) and the English translation (“24 September 2024”).
This is a second public talk run by IBS featuring prominent scholars in humanities in the space of three months. Under the IBS leadership, there is an ongoing commitment to extend quality knowledge to the members of public, particularly as they have been a burgeoning interest to learn about the past. By inviting Datu Dr Hj Sanib, whose writings spread over 40 years, the audience gains insight into the philosophy he has been promulgating in his works. He remains a leading historian in Sarawak who pioneers a decolonising history as a counter-discourse to Eurocentrism in historical writing.
IBS welcomes suggestion for topics in seminar and lecture series. The Institute believes in bringing scholarly-informed knowledge to the public as a way to democratise education and to fulfil UNIMAS mission as a community-driven university.