Datuk Dr Annabel Teh Gallop received the Merdeka Award 2022 for “Outstanding Contribution to the People of Malaysia”.
The 61-year-old was recognised for her excellent contribution in scholarly analysis, curation, archiving and preservation of historical Malay letters and manuscripts, Malay seals and paperwork, which has led to the understanding of the Malay language as the language of commerce and diplomacy all through the Malay Archipelago, and the illumination of the rich heritage of the Malay world.
With her mom in London in 2016.Born in England to an English father and Malaysian mom from Kedah, and raised in Brunei, Gallop is the Head Curator for Indonesian and Malay Affairs in the South and South-East Asia Department of the British Library in London, England, the place she at present lives.
The Malay part of the library options about 10,000 printed books, magazines and newspapers, and 1,000 handwritten manuscripts in Malay and Jawi.
“My late father Christopher Hugh Gallop was British but my mother Teh Siok Lay, now 89, is Malaysian and still holds on proudly to her Malaysian citizenship. However, my only option was to be a British citizen so that’s why I’m based in London, and in fact, it was in London, during my Masters in Malay and Indonesian studies at SOAS, London University, that I learned to read and write Jawi,” she says, including that #SayaJugaAnakMalaysia is a hashtag that fits her effectively.
According to Gallop, being primarily based in London offers her a wider perspective of the complete area, particularly regarding Malay “which historically spans so many different countries”.
Gallop reveals that it was her late father who impressed her deep curiosity in Malay research.
“He loved the Malay world, and spoke excellent Malay during his work as a school principal and school inspector in Brunei.
Gallop and her parents meet Tunku Panglima Besar Intan of Kedah.
“When my parents retired to Penang, my father did his Masters in Malay literature, specialising in the work of the Brunei novelist Muslim Burmat, and graduating with his Masters at the age of 70!” she says.
Gallop’s curiosity in South-East Asia, Indonesian and Malay research grew additional throughout her first solo journey to Indonesia at 17.
While in Indonesia, she taught English for seven months and learnt to talk Indonesian fluently.
“That time led to me increase my fluency in Bahasa Malaysia, although I’ve to frequently remember to say ‘boleh’ instead of ‘bisa’ (the Indonesian version),” she laughs.
At the Warisan Warkah Melayu exhibition at the National Library in 1994.
Art of Quran
Gallop’s newest area of analysis and curiosity is the artwork of the Quran in South-East Asia.
“While I’m not a scholar of the text itself, I’ve studied the material and artistic aspects of Quran manuscripts, including their paper, bindings, and decoration.
“They’re so beautiful and have hardly been studied. In fact, I’ve found that the finest Qurans were produced in Terengganu.
“They’re the only Quran manuscripts in South-East Asia that have reached the same level of technical excellence as what you might find in the Ottoman world, and they’re absolutely exquisite in terms of calligraphy and illumination,” she says.
“While the text of the Quran, in Arabic, is the same all over the Islamic world, from Turkey to Malaysia, the materials and visual appearance of Quran manuscripts, and their styles of calligraphy and binding, are very different depending of the area of origin,” she explains.
Gallop (second proper) at the Spice Of Life exhibition (2007) held in Liverpool as a result of of its big Malay group, together with Malay sailors who settled down there. Photos: Annabel Teh Gallop
Of seals and letters
Gallop can be recognized for her publication Malay Seals From The Islamic World Of South-East Asia (2019).
“It’s a catalogue of over 2000 Malay seals from South-East Asia, spanning four centuries (from 16th to early 20th century).
They were sourced from over 70 public institutions and 60 private collections worldwide.
“The seals reveal the inter-connectedness of every corner of the Malay world – from Aceh, Indonesia; to Mindanao, Philippines; Pattani, Thailand; and Johor, Malaysia,” she says.
One of Gallop’s most essential discoveries about Malay manuscripts is the finer nuances of the seals utilized in historical paperwork.
“Aside from providing the name, date and place where the document was written, the position of the seals reveals the relationship between the sender and receiver. The placement of the seals is also determined by the social standing of the writer and recipient.
In 1994, Gallop worked with the National Archives in Malaysia on “The Legacy of the Malay Letter”, an exhibition of 100 letters from the sixteenth century.
“The manuscripts showed that Francis Light, the English captain who founded Penang, once wrote to the Sultan of Kedah, signing himself off as ‘Hamba yang sehina-hina hamba’ (The lowest of your lowest servant),” she reveals.
Digitisation and accessibility
In KL with writer Ninot Aziz whose novel she had a cameo position in, and National Library director Datuk Nafisah in 2017.Dr Gallop has been digitising conventional Malay paperwork to make them extra simply out there to anybody desirous about studying extra.
“Technology and digitisation has helped people all over the world to access these manuscripts more easily,” she provides.
Gallop believes the work they’ve executed is related and significant for the new era of Malaysians.
“There’s a lot for Malaysians to be proud of. We’re heirs of a rich tradition of writing and intellectual thought.”
Gallop says she felt stunned, amazed and humbled to be chosen for the Merdeka award.
“It’s my hope that this award will make more realise the importance of history and the historical awareness of heritage, as well as the historical sources and writings/manuscripts in the broader domain,” she says.
During her free time, Gallop enjoys studying novels and occurring trip along with her household.
In truth, Gallop even has a cameo in a novel. She seems as herself in Kirana: Dreams After The Rose by Malaysian writer Ninot Aziz.
