“UNESCO World Laughing Site” – French Historian Shares Alleged Mistakes at Melaka History Museum

Just a few days ago, a French historian who is living in Melaka called out Tourism Melaka for allegedly filling their latest guidebook with historical mistakes.

Following this, Tourism Melaka apologised, recalled the guidebook and instructed the publisher to review and make the appropriate corrections to the guidebook. They also met with the historian to come to a consensus to no longer prolong this issue.

Now, the French historian, Serge Jardin, is once again calling out historical mistakes via his Facebook page. This time, the apparent mistakes appear to be displayed at the Melaka History and Ethnography Museum.

He wrote, “WHEN WILL THE COMEDY OF ERRORS STOP? Shouldn’t Perzim (Melaka Museum Corporation) feel embarrassed to invite the representative of the Government of the Netherlands to visit the Melaka History and Ethnography Museum?”

He then, once again, went on to share the various alleged mistakes he found, this time displayed around the museum.

Here is his list: 

1. The photo does not show a Portuguese canon, but a Dutch canon made in Amsterdam in 1706 by Claes Noorden and Jan Albert de Grave.
2. “1641, The Portuguese Governor, Manuel de Sousa Coutinho, surrendered to Sultan Abdullah of Johor.” – Was Manuel de Sousa Coutinho a Governor or a Captain-major? In 1641, was Sultan Abdullah still alive or was Abdul Jalil Shah III the Sultan of Johor? Was he in Melaka on January 14, 1641, when the Portuguese surrendered or in Pattani?
3. “The Stadthuys is the official residence of the Dutch Governor and his deputies.” – How many did the Dutch Governor have? Were the Governor and his deputy living in the same house?
4. “1795, the Napoleonic Wars.” – Where was Napoleon in 1795? In the wilderness, still a long way to power, without any military command between August 9, 1794 (he was arrested in Antibes), and October 5, 1795 (he suppressed the royal insurrection in Paris). Napoleon was nowhere to be seen when the French Revolutionary Army, under General Pichegru invaded Belgium in December 1794, and the Netherlands in January 1795.
5. “1807, the British began expelling Portuguese influences from Melaka.” – The Portuguese lost Melaka in 1641, what Portuguese influences was there to be expelled in 1807?
6. “1807, the Dutch then planned to pull the traders who came to Melaka to Penang.” – Or was it the British’s plan?
7. “1818, the Vienna Alliance.” – Was it not a Congress (Muktamar), and not an Alliance (Perikatan), which ended with a Treaty (Perjanjian)?
8. “1819, Sultan Hussain Shah cedes Singapore to the British East India Company.” – Was it a cession of the island or just the establishment of a trading post? Was the cession not signed on August 2, 1824?

“Could Melaka become the first UNESCO World Laughing Site? URGENT: calling for Malaysian historians to save Melaka.”

Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Serge Jardin shared his immense disappointment on how such a historical state can display such alleged inaccuracies.

“I feel ashamed to see Melaka, today a World Heritage Site, showcased so casually in one of the most respected institutions of Melaka: the Historical Museum. History is the most important cultural asset of Melaka. ‘Historical City’ is the name of Melaka since April 15, 1989.”

“History ought to be treated with the utmost respect. So many factual mistakes on information boards, museums and tourism brochures are a disgrace for Melaka and its people. For that indifference towards history, Melaka deserves to be kicked out of UNESCO’s listing,” he said.

We genuinely hope that Perzim looks into the alleged mistakes listed above and makes the appropriate corrections.

What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

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