Melaka to bring back Hang Tuah artefacts, documents in May

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said the state government had previously conducted a research mission to prove the existence of Hang Tuah in several countries in Europe and Asia.

"The artefacts found during the mission include the world's oldest Hang Tuah Tale manuscript dating back to 1758 and the Hang Tuah Tale translated into several foreign languages at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

"In addition, the Peca de Malaca, a cannon given by the Indian King of Calicut to the Sultan of Melaka when he resisted the Portuguese attack, is now in the Lisbao Military Museum," he said when tabling a motion of thanks for the speech of Yang Dipertua Negeri of Melaka in the State Assembly today.

Ab Rauf said the research mission team also found an old map of the Cantino Planisphere called Malaqua dating back to 1502 at the Museu Marinha in Lisbon.

In addition, a nine-pronged dagger and an official document of the Ryukyu Kingdom, 'Rekidai Hoan', were found at the Archaeological Centre of Okinawa, Japan, containing 19 letters from the Ryukyu Kingdom to the Melaka government and 11 letters from the Melaka government around the year 1480, including the admiral's name, he said.

Ab Rauf said the state government has been holding talks with various parties to obtain the documents and artefacts.

-- BERNAMA