Opening of Malaysian Resource Centre in Leiden
On Thursday 19 March, 1998, Leiden was enriched by one more important research centre, the Malaysian Resource Centre. The donor was the Government of Malaysia and the official recipient was the Royal Institute for Linguistics and Anthropology (KITLV), but the Centre is intended not only for the Institute, or even for Leiden University, the idea is that it can be accessed from all over Europe.By Rosemary Robson-McKillop
This Malaysian Resource Centre is only the second of its kind and the decision to open such a facility in Europe was prompted by the success of the first, that for the USA and Canada, which is stationed at the University of Ohio.The opening was of itself a formality as, for several years, the Royal Institute has been receiving copies of all the books published in Malaysia on the Humanities and Social Sciences. The project was officially inaugurated in December 1995. For a more detailed account of this see the interview with Dr Roger Tol, Chief Librarian of the Royal Institute in IIAS 8 (1996).
Why Leiden?
For the almost 150 years of its existence the Malay Peninsula has been one of the main fields of interest for the Royal Institute. Therefore, it now has a fine collection of books on this part of the world, ranging from priceless classics to the most up-to-date information. The gifts which are now received from Malaysia will ensure that this collection will continue to grow from strength to strength. Added to this was the fact that, at the time the plan was first mooted some six or seven years ago, Professor Muhammad Haji Salleh was the first incumbent of the Chair of Malaysian Studies, then just established at Leiden University by courtesy of the Malaysian Government. He worked enthusiastically to plead Leiden's cause, also pointing out that such a Centre would be an appropriate back-up to his chair. As negotiations intensified, the torch was taken over by the most recent incumbent of the chair, Professor Jaacob Harun. He has worked with dedication to ensure that relations between the Royal Institute and the National Library of Malaysia ran as smoothly as possible and it was he, in conjunction with Datin Mariam and H.E. Mr Ganapathy and the First Secretary, Raja Nazrin, who worked tirelessly to bring the whole project to fruition.
What is a Malaysian Resource Centre?
Its basis is a depôt library in which the Malaysian Government deposits all publications which the National Library considers to be relevant to strengthening knowledge about Malaysia abroad. Of course, in this day and age, economics is the topic which springs most readily to mind, and indeed businessmen will be well served by the facilities, but the context is far wider embracing the Performing Arts, Music, the Plastic Arts, the Social Sciences, Education, Modern Media (cinema, television etc.), Law, Language, Literature, Religion, Architecture, and, besides food for the mind, food for the body -there is a large component on Malay cuisine, which fits perfectly into the acquistion profile the Institute has maintained for the last century and a half. The Institute will also receive copies of two major Malaysian newspapers, the English-language New Straits Times and the Malay-language Utusan Melayu on microfilm, beginning from 1990. It is hoped that, as in America, the fame of the Centre will grow and an ever-increasing stream of interested people will be able to avail themselves of all sorts of information about this important and fascinating country.