Tombstones may shed light on Malacca’s early history

ARCHAEOLOGISTS discovered more than 100 ancient graves in rural areas which might unravel mysteries about Malacca’s early history, Harian Metro reported.

Shaped like a star fruit with eight ridges, the tombstones of the graves found between Jasin in Malacca and Tangkak in Johor were believed to be made from reddish bricks which no longer exist today.

Villagers who first discovered them in Kampung Chohong and Chin-Chin informed the Museum Department.

Universiti Putra Malaysia lecturer Dr Rohaidah Kamaruddin, who was involved in the expedition, said that it is possible that a sovereignty had existed prior to Parameswara’s arrival.

Parameswara was a prince from Palembang in Sumatra who founded Malacca around 1400.

“This is because the tombstones in the Parameswara-era were carved and flat in shape. The tombstones found on the graves show no carvings and were made of a different material,” she said.

Malacca Art Institute general manager Dr Mohd Nasruddin Rahman said the find was substantial but added that it was still too early to make any conclusions.

> A 17-year-old girl has become the youngest Malay­sian diploma holder in TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language), Utusan Malaysia reported.

Aleaa Nur Insyirah Alias (pic), who studied at the Management and Science Univer­sity (MSU), Shah Alam, earned two Dean Awards and four President Awards for outstanding excellence in her studies.

According to the daily, Aleea’s academic gift was first noticed during her secondary schooling in Brunei, the country where she was born. Aleaa said that she had skipped grades twice and enrolled in the General Certificate of Edu­cation (GCE) examination when she was 14.

However, Aleaa admitted that being advanced at an early age presented her with challenges fitting in with her peers.

“At 13, I was more interested in discussing our future while my peers preferred to talk about fashion and games.

“So, I was considered more mature and did not fit in well with them,” said Aleaa.

Aleaa, now pursuing a degree in the same field in MSU, hopes to continue her education in Britain.

?  Found in Translation is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.