These articles have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in MJHA, but are pending final changes, are not yet published and may not appear here in their final order of publication until they are assigned to issues. Additionally, titles, authors, abstracts and keywords may change before publication.

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The Logic of Modern Constitutional Legitimacy: From Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights (1215–1689)

Yu Qingsheng & Zhang Zhiyu*

*Coresponding Author: Zhangzhiyu78@outlook.com

Abstract

Spanning the five centuries between Magna Carta (1215) and the Bill of Rights (1689), this study re-examines the making of England’s constitutional order and argues that legitimacy was not the product of seamless progress or episodic rupture, but of a continual re-appropriation of inherited forms. It identifies three overlapping paradigms—feudal contract, parliamentary sovereignty and rights universalisation—through which successive generations re-articulated political obligation while maintaining a rhetoric of continuity. Medieval jurists first used the language of mutual obligation to circumscribe royal prerogative; Tudor and early-Stuart polemicists then adapted that vocabulary to elevate Parliament; by the late seventeenth century, appeals to the “ancient constitution” fused with natural-law theory, translating corporate privileges into individual rights. The analysis draws on royal charters, plea rolls, parliamentary journals and printed pamphlets, integrating legal exegesis with social-historical method to show how selective memory served as a legitimising resource. By uncovering the bricolage that transformed a feudal pact into a constitutional monarchy, the article challenges linear Whig narratives and contributes to comparative debates on state formation, the politics of tradition and the contingent evolution of constitutional norms in early modern Europe.

Keywords: Magna Carta: Bill of Rights; England's constitutional; natural-law theory; Whig

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Pemberontakan Brunei 1962: Peranan Pengaruh Luaran terhadap Gerakan Subversif Parti Rakyat Brunei

Ahmad Syakir Ja’afar* & Azmi Arifin

*Corresponding Author: ahmadsyakirjaafar@gmail.com

Abstrak

Kajian ini meneliti pengaruh Sarawak Communist Organization (SCO) dalam Pemberontakan Brunei 1962. Pemberontakan tersebut berkait rapat dengan arus anti-kolonialisme serantau, khususnya melalui perkongsian ideologi dan sokongan luar dari Brunei, Indonesia, dan Filipina. Pada peringkat awal, kerjasama SCO dengan pihak luar menyediakan asas penting bagi strategi pemberontakan yang digerakkan oleh Parti Rakyat Brunei (PRB). Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah kualitatif berasaskan sumber arkib dan perpustakaan, termasuk bahan daripada Arkib Negara Cawangan Sarawak, Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Repositori Arkib Negeri Sarawak, Perpustakaan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Cawangan Sarawak, serta Perpustakaan Hamzah Sendut. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis secara naratif dengan penekanan terhadap aspek sebab dan akibat. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa, walaupun sokongan awal daripada pihak luar meningkatkan keyakinan PRB untuk melancarkan strategi bersenjata dan memperkukuhkan gerakan subversif berorientasikan komunisme, pemberontakan tersebut akhirnya gagal. Kekurangan sokongan domestik dan merosotnya pengaruh luar menyebabkan kemerosotan karier politik PRB, menunjukkan bahawa strategi subversif yang dijalankan tidak berhasil dan kehilangan legitimasi dalam kalangan rakyat Brunei.

Kata kunci: Sarawak Communist Organization; Parti Rakyat Brunei; Pemberontakan 1962; Komunisme; anti-kolonialisme

 

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An Overview of the Development of Modern Chinese Education in Penang, 1900–1945

Yang Yang*, Azmi Arifin & Tan Chee Seng

*Corresponding Author: yang10@student.usm.my

Abstract

This study revisits the developmental trajectory of Chinese-medium modern education in Penang from the early twentieth century to the end of the Second World War. Structured chronologically, the article divides this historical process into four distinct phases: the Formative Stage (early 1900s–1911), the Period of Rapid Growth (1912–1925), the Golden Age (1926–1940), and the Dark Period (1941–1945). By analysing school histories, community records, and colonial educational policies, this study reveals how Chinese education in Penang evolved from the traditional aims of moral instruction and cultural preservation towards a more diversified and utilitarian model of schooling. Findings show that Penang stood at the forefront of modern Chinese education within the Straits Settlements during its formative years. The economic strength of the Chinese community and shifts in social consciousness collectively drove the modernisation of educational structures. By the 1920s, Penang’s Chinese schools had expanded rapidly in both scale and hierarchy, demonstrating remarkable institutional maturity and communal resilience. During the 1930s, Chinese education entered its peak, characterised by a comprehensive and multi-tiered system that encompassed primary, secondary, vocational, and teacher training levels. However, this educational framework was systematically dismantled during the Japanese occupation, when policies of cultural assimilation and wartime repression brought about institutional collapse and cultural rupture. This research reconstructs a coherent historical narrative of early modern Chinese education in Penang, filling a significant gap in the historiography of Penang’s education between the 1900s and the Second World War. Beyond enriching the understanding of local educational development, it also provides new empirical insights into the dynamics of educational modernisation within the Chinese community under colonial rule.

Keywords: Penang; Chinese education; Straits Settlements; Chinese community in Penang; Second World War

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Political Play in Perak History: Pangkor Treaty 1874 at a Glance

Waqqas Zulfiquer

Corresponding Author: waqqasbinzulfiquer03@gmail.com

Abstract

Perak stands as a state uniquely defined by its rich historical narrative, particularly from a colourful political perspective. This study focuses intensively on the Pangkor Treaty, signed in 1874, an event that serves as the starting mark to the control of British government over the Malay States. Despite its profound impact on the subsequent governance and socio-political structure of the region, the Treaty is often treated cursorily in official history. Its crucial role is frequently summarized in a highly brief and simplified manner, resulting in a significant scholarly gap that warrants further, dedicated academic exploration. To address this deficiency, this research aims to bring a fresher perspective, opened for further and deeper studies in relation to this topic. The core primary source is the original content of the 1874 Treaty document itself, which is systematically cross-referenced with established historical analyses. This cross-referencing approach forms the backbone of the study, enabling the triangulation of information to ensure a comprehensive, objective, and accurate re-evaluation. The ultimate objective is to offer a clearer, more nuanced, and critical point of view toward this event that had shaped the history of both Perak and the other Malay states. It is therefore the strong recommendation of this study that this part of political play in our history be further examined and into formal academic research in the future.

Keywords: Perak, Pangkor Treaty, Ngah Ibrahim, Sultan Abdullah, Chinese Secret Societies

 

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Naratif Baharu: Revisionisme dan Sejarah Melayu

Azizi Yazit

Corresponding Author: aziziyazit@gmail.com

Abstrak

Kajian ini meneliti peranan aliran revisionis dalam membentuk naratif baharu sejarah Melayu sebagai satu usaha ilmiah untuk menilai semula historiografi yang sekian lama dibentuk oleh warisan kolonial dan perspektif Eropah-sentrik. Sejak era penjajahan, penulisan sejarah tempatan banyak dipengaruhi oleh tafsiran orientalis yang menekankan kepentingan kolonial, meletakkan Eropah sebagai ukuran kemajuan, dan menenggelamkan suara masyarakat pribumi serta kelompok yang dianggap mencabar kuasa penjajah, termasuk nasionalis kiri dan nasionalis berorientasikan agama. Dalam konteks ini, revisionisme muncul sebagai pendekatan kritikal untuk meneliti semula tafsiran sejarah arus perdana berdasarkan bukti-bukti baharu, termasuk dokumen arkib British seperti Colonial Office. Pendekatan ini berperanan menyaring naratif penjajah dan mengembalikan keadilan sejarah kepada kelompok terpinggir, khususnya masyarakat pribumi yang mengalami penjajahan secara langsung. Melalui revisionisme, sejarah Melayu dapat ditulis semula secara lebih tepat, adil dan berpaksikan perspektif pribumi. Sehubungan itu, pendekatan revisionis merangkumi tiga proses analisis utama. Pertama, “membaca dengan melawan arus,” iaitu menganalisis sejarah berdasarkan logik dan rasionaliti sambil menilai perspektif pribumi. Kedua, makna-makna dalam sejarah yang telah ditentukan oleh kolonial didekonstruksi untuk menghasilkan tafsiran berpaksikan perspektif pribumi. Ketiga, naratif baharu dihasilkan melalui rekonstruksi tafsiran arus perdana berdasarkan makna-makna baharu tersebut. Kajian ini menegaskan bahawa revisionisme bukanlah usaha untuk memutarbelitkan sejarah, tetapi merupakan proses ilmiah untuk membetulkan persepsi yang dibentuk oleh warisan kolonial, ideologi, dan kepentingan politik tertentu. Kesimpulannya, aliran revisionis memainkan peranan penting dalam memperkukuh disiplin sejarah Malaysia dengan membebaskan historiografi tempatan daripada dominasi kolonial dan Eropah-sentrik. Ini juga berpotensi menghasilkan naratif baharu yang lebih seimbang, berasaskan sumber, dan berpaksikan penyelidikan akademik.

Kata kunci: revisionisme, revisionis, naratif baharu, historiografi kolonial, perspektif pribumi

 

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Perkembangan Gabungan Politik di Tanah Melayu, 1947–1974: Analisis Faktor, Isu dan Keberkesanan terhadap Landskap Politik

Muhammad Naim Fakhirin Rezani

Corresponding Author: naimfakhirin@usm.my

Abstrak

Kajian ini membincangkan perkembangan gabungan politik di Tanah Melayu dalam tempoh 1947 hingga 1974 dengan memberi tumpuan kepada faktor pembentukan, isu serta cabaran dan keberkesanannya terhadap landskap politik. Tempoh tersebut merupakan fasa kritikal yang menyaksikan peralihan daripada kerjasama politik bersifat pragmatik kepada gabungan politik oleh All-Malayan Council Joint Action (AMCJA)-Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (PUTERA), Parti Perikatan dan seterusnya Barisan Nasional (BN). Justeru, objektif kajian ini adalah untuk menganalisis perkembangan gabungan politik di Tanah Melayu antara 1947 hingga 1974 dengan meneliti faktor pembentukan, isu serta cabaran yang dihadapi, dan keberkesanannya dalam membentuk landskap politik negara. Berdasarkan pendekatan kualitatif, kajian ini menganalisis dokumen arkib, dokumen rasmi, laporan kerajaan serta dokumen parti politik bagi memahami kepelbagaian gabungan dalam konteks peralihan kolonial ke pascakolonial. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa pembentukan gabungan politik didorong oleh keperluan kestabilan politik, pengurusan kepelbagaian etnik, tekanan pentadbiran kolonial, serta strategi elit politik dalam menghadapi persaingan ideologi dan pilihan raya. Walau bagaimanapun, kajian ini turut mendapati bahawa gabungan politik awal berdepan pelbagai isu dalaman, termasuk ketidakseimbangan kuasa antara parti komponen, konflik kepentingan etnik, dan keterbatasan mekanisme pengurusan konflik. Dari sudut keberkesanan, gabungan politik berjaya mengekalkan kestabilan politik dan membentuk sistem kepartian dominan, namun pada masa yang sama menyumbang kepada pengecilan ruang persaingan politik dan pengukuhan dominasi elit. Kajian ini menyumbang kepada literatur politik Malaysia dengan menawarkan penilaian kritikal terhadap gabungan politik awal, sekali gus memperluas pemahaman tentang implikasi jangka panjang model politik gabungan dalam konteks negara pascakolonial.

Kata kunci: Gabungan politik, Perikatan, Barisan Nasional, Tanah Melayu, politik pascakolonial

 

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Megalithic Landscapes and Social Memory in South India: An Archaeological Interpretation

P. Pratheesh

Corresponding Author: drpratheeshraghav@gmail.com

Abstract

Megalithic monuments constitute one of the most prominent archaeological features of the Iron Age in South India, yet they have often been interpreted primarily through typological classification and chronological sequencing. This article advances an alternative, interpretive framework by examining megalithic landscapes as materialized practices of social memory. Drawing on archaeological evidence from across South India, the study situates burial monuments within their spatial contexts to analyse how durability, visibility, monumentality, and long-term reuse enabled communities to anchor remembrance within lived landscapes. Rather than treating megaliths as static funerary structures, the article argues that they functioned as active mnemonic devices through which ancestry, social identity, and hierarchy were negotiated and reproduced over time. Variability in burial architecture and assemblages is interpreted not only as cultural or environmental variation but as differentiated modes of remembering shaped by social relations and historical trajectories. Through a comparative engagement with megalithic traditions beyond South India, the study suggests that while monumentality reflects a broader human strategy of materializing memory, its meanings are locally configured. Methodologically, the article highlights the analytical value of integrating social memory with landscape archaeology for interpreting protohistoric societies where textual sources are limited. By foregrounding memory-making as a spatial and material process, the study contributes a theoretically transferable approach to the archaeology of mortuary landscapes.

Keywords: Megaliths; Social Memory; Landscape Archaeology; Protohistory; Mortuary Practices; South India

 

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150 Tahun Pembunuhan J. W. W. Birch: Satu Penelitian terhadap Hubungan antara Ngah Ibrahim dengan J. W. W. Birch

Nor Hisham Zulkiflee, Khairi Ariffin

Corresponding Author: iesham_ww2@yahoo.com

Abstrak

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk memfokuskan hubungan antara Ngah Ibrahim dengan J. W. W. Birch. Dalam menelusuri sejarah negeri Perak kira-kira 150 tahun lalu, nama Ngah Ibrahim dan Birch tidak dapat dipisahkan serta amat sinonim dengan sejarah kebangkitan menentang British di tanah air. Namun, tiada kajian khusus untuk menilai hubungan antara kedua-dua personaliti sejarah negeri Perak sejak termeterainya Perjanjian Pangkor pada 20 Januari 1874 sehingga tercetusnya pembunuhan Birch di Pasir Salak pada 2 November 1875. Kajian ini dilaksanakan dengan menggunakan kaedah penyelidikan kualitatif yang meliputi penggunaan sumber primer seperti rekod-rekod kolonial seperti Journals of J. W. W. Birch, Colonial Offices dan sumber sekunder seperti kajian lepas oleh Abdullah Zakaria Ghazali, Khoo Kay Kim dan Mohd Zamberi Malek. Hasil kajian ini menunjukkan latar belakang Ngah Ibrahim yang terkenal dalam kalangan pentadbir kolonial barat hingga dikenali sebagai ‘Raja Larut’ dan ‘Menteri Larut’. Seterusnya, perbincangan akan meneroka hubungan Ngah Ibrahim dengan Birch yang mana akan menilai sudut pandangan Birch terhadap pembesar Melayu Perak ini dan perkara-perkara yang mencetuskan kebangkitan menentang British yang dipelopori sendiri oleh Ngah Ibrahim.

Kata kunci: Ngah Ibrahim, J. W. W. Birch, Perjanjian Pangkor, Perang Perak dan Larut

 

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Decolonising the Museum Narrative: A Critical Analysis of Exhibition Texts in the Perak Museum and Borneo Cultures Museum

Hariz Ahmad Kamal

Corresponding Author: harizkamal@gmail.com

Abstract

Museum decolonisation is a vital process for dismantling colonial legacies embedded within institutional narratives and representations. However, a significant research gap exists regarding the linguistic construction of exhibition texts as specific sites of decolonial practice within Malaysian museum studies. This study critically examines exhibition texts at the Perak Museum and the Borneo Cultures Museum (BCM). The methodology employs a theoretical framework integrating the concepts of ‘epistemic arrest’, linguistic decolonisation, and indigenous storytelling. Findings reveal that the Perak Museum retains an enduring colonial gaze, presenting local history as fragmented and ahistorical. While the BCM demonstrates progress in representing indigenous cosmologies, its historical narrative paradoxically reinforces colonial perspectives by sidelining Malay-Islamic history and using biased terminology that criminalises anti-colonial resistance. These results imply an urgent necessity to shift decolonisation efforts toward reformulating exhibition language. By addressing these linguistic frameworks, museums can move beyond ‘inherited memories’ to restore suppressed accounts of sovereignty and affirm indigenous civilisations.

Keywords: museum decolonisation, colonial gaze, exhibition text, museums in Malaysia

 

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The Sacred and the Secular: Symbolism in Sriksetra’s Pyu Coinage

Thet Naing Linn

Corresponding Author: thetnainglinn59@gmail.com

Abstract

This paper studies the economic and cultural transformations of early Myanmar society by analyzing Pyu silver coins discovered from the ancient city of Sriksetra (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), which flourished between the 2^nd century AD to the 9^th century AD. The study emphasizes how the Pyu people transitioned from a barter system to a stamped silver coinage system to facilitate, stability and convenience in trade. Srivatsa, Bhadrapitha, conch, sun, and moon motifs on Pyu coins represent religious, symbolic iconography, and royal symbolism that integrate with the Indian culture and indigenous traditions and beliefs. This paper analysis the existence of strong regional economic, trade networks and the existence of shared culture within Pyu city states by comparing the four types of coins discovered at Sriksetra with other coin types discovered from other Pyu ancient cities as Halin, Beikthano, and Pinle (Maingmaw).

Keywords: Srivatsa, Bhadrapitha, Sriksetra coins, Pyu coinage, early Myanmar society