Replica of Malacca Sultanate sailboat to cost RM10mil

Bygone wonder: A sketch of Mendam Berahi berthing at a port during the height of the Malacca Sultanate.

MELAKA: Back in the 1400s, it sailed as far as Rome and China during the heyday of the Malacca Sultanate. Among the consignments it carried were four elephants from then Siam, which were gifted by the Siam King to Malacca.

The vessel known as the Mendam Berahi was said to be much larger than Portuguese galleons of the time, and had three cannons fixed to its hull.