A Frenchman’s view of Perak history
THE Jacques de Morgan – Exploring Perak In 1884 exhibition officially opened its doors recently, offering the public an in-depth knowledge about the expedition and life of French archaeologist, Jacques de Morgan, who travelled to Perak to survey tin mining sites in 1884.
French Ambassador to Malaysia Frederic Laplanche said the exhibition, organised by the embassy, exhibits the beautiful drawings and notes of de Morgan that are still relevant to today’s Malaysia, among other things.
“The drawings and notes are among the few written sources available to us, today, to understand in more detail the history of Perak, and in particular the history of the Orang Asli populations,” he said at the launch of the exhibition at Alliance Française Kuala Lumpur (AFKL).
Also present were Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah and Selangor Princess Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who is also the president of AFKL, the co-organiser of the exhibition.
Laplanche added that the embassy also aims to hold the exhibition in Perak, as he was certain that the people of the state would find it very interesting to see the sketches of the society and landscape of Perak in the 19th century by de Morgan.
In his book Exploration In The Malay Peninsula By Jacques de Morgan In 1884, the Frenchman compiled all his impressions in his journal, giving exquisite renderings of the people he met and the places he went to.
“This is an exhibition which actually talks about the people of Perak themselves. My dream is that one day we (Embassy of France) will have a Jacques de Morgan Heritage Trail in Perak.
“There is much more ‘Frenchness’ in Perak than people usually think ... more than 15 of the most famous schools in Perak were founded by French Catholic missionaries, for example Convent Schools and La Salle Schools in Ipoh, Taiping, Batu Gajah and Teluk Intan,” he said.
The exhibition is on at Alliance Française KL, 15, Lorong Gurney, off Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra in KL till March 11. Free entry. Open: Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.