Museum Adat

Inside the exhibits are well presented, with good lighting and ample explanations of the contents in both Bahasa and English.

Did you know that one of the first Malay rulers, Sultan Iskandar Shah, the Raja of Temasik who founded the Malay Sultanate of Malacca in the 1400s, was actually a descendant of Alexander the Great? Perhaps the clue is in his name. Al Iskandar is the Arabic name for Alexander.

The galleries explain the many customs and practices of the various races that make up the population of Malaysia. For example…

• When visiting a Malay home – the greetings, the kissing of the hands of the elders, the removal of footwear, how to sit on the floor, how never to refuse food, how never to visit during evening Maghreb prayers and so on.

• Chinese New Year’s Eve Reunion Dinner customs and Baba Nyonya customs – examples of their bamboo and wood tiffin carriers.