The Representation of Bunga Emas in Selected National Museums in Peninsular Malaysia
A Case Study in Three Federal Funded National Museums
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63088/pz6agm78Keywords:
National Museum, The Bunga Emas, Suzerainty, Malay Identities, MalaysiaAbstract
Purpose: The study explains the representation of Bunga Emas exhibition in selected federally funded national museums in Peninsular Malaysia.
Methods: The research focused on Bunga Emas museum texts in the Perak Museum, Kota Kayang Museum, and Muzium Negara. The Bunga Emas was a tribute from certain Malay sultanates to the Kingdom of Siam. The representations on Bunga Emas exhibitions and its descriptive text are national museum elements used by the nation-state to imagine the boundaries and the historical memories of modern Malaysia.
Results: The Bunga Emas not only serves as a historical event and memories of the past but also binds the community to recognize it as part of national history. A typology in the research was formulated for The Bunga Emas representation in explaining its similar and differing narratives. The exhibition of The Bunga Emas in Muzium Negara emphasizes its context in colonial period, while Perak Museum emphasizes it as a royal gift. Kota Kayang Museum in Perlis focuses on diplomatic convoys and the journey to Siam.
Conclusions: This study contributes to discussions on intersectional analysis in the realm of museums and power, history, and the formulation of boundaries of the northern Malay state. The museum is a microcosm where the mediation of The Bunga Emas into a part of the memories of Nation State.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Chang Yi Chang, Mohammad Reevany Bustami
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