R.J.

Wilkinson: scholar, historian

and administrator


Sir R.J. Wilkinson. (Source: Arkib Negara Malaysia)
Sir Richard James Wilkinson, the son of a British Consul in Greece, was born in 1867 at
Salonika, Greece. He was educated at Trinity College in Cambridge. He was multilingual and
commanded a few languages, which includes French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish and later,
Bahasa Melayu and Hokkien.
He became a cadet in 1889 after joining the Straits Settlement Civil Service.
His other posts while serving in the Straits Settlements are as follows:
1896 1898 Acting Director of Education, Penang
1898 1900 Acting Inspector General of Schools in the Straits Settlements, Singapore
1902 1903 Transferred to Dindings, Perak
1903 1906 Acting Inspector of Schools for the Federated Malay States
1906 1910 Secretary General to the British Resident (EW) Birch in Perak
1910 1911 British Resident, Negeri Sembilan
1911 1916 Colonial Secretary, Straits Settlements, Singapore
His legacy includes the establishment of the Malay Training College in Malacca in 1900 which
was eventually succeeded in 1922 by the Sultan Idris Training College (SITC) at Tanjung
Malim. In 1905, he founded the Malay Residential School, later known as the Malay College
Kuala Kangsar (MCKK).
He was an important contriubutor to the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society (JMBRAS). Some of the books authored by him are:
1. Malay Grammar, co-authored with Sir R.O. Winstedt, published by Clarendon Press ,
Oxford, 1913.
2. A vocabulary of central Sakai (dialect of the aboriginal communities in the Gopeng
Valley), published by J. Brown, FMS Govt. Press, 1915.
3. The Achehnese, co-authored with CS Hurgronje and AWS O Sullivan, published by
E.J. Brill, 1906.
4. Malay beliefs, published by Luzac & Co. 1906
5. A history of the Peninsular Malays, co-authored with Sir R.O. Winstedt, published by
Kelly & Walsh, 1920.
6. A English-Malay dictionary, co-authored with Sir. R.O. Winstedt, published by Kelly &
Walsh, 1932.
7. A history of Perak, co-authored with Sir R. O. Winstedt and SWE Maxwell, republished
by Journal of The Malaysian Branch Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS), 1974.
8. The incidents of Malay life, published by J. Russell at the FMS Govt. Press, 1908.
9. Papers on Malay Subjects, Part I-V.
10. Life and Customs, Part 1: The incidents of Malay Life, 1908.
11. Papers on Malay Subjects: Law, Part 1-2: Introductory Sketch and the Ninety-Nine Laws
of Perak
R.J. Wilkinson was appointed Companion of The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael
and Saint George (CMG) in 1912. In 1916, he was appointed the Governor of Sierra Leone and
served till he retired in 1922. He died in 1941.
Reference:
1. Arkib Negara Malaysia
2. Wikipedia
3. British National Library Bibliography
4. Journal of the Malaysian Branch Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS)
5. Journal of the Straits Branch Royal Asiatic Society (JSBRAS)
6. Soda Naoki. The Malay world in textbooks: The transmission of Colonial Knowledge in
British Malaya, Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 39, no. 2, September 2001.
7. J. M. Gullick. RJ Wilkinson (1867-1941): A man of parts. Journal of the Malaysian Branch
Royal Asiatic Society, vol 74. no 1, 2001. Cipta laman "R.J. Wilkinson" di wiki ini!
Kamus
Peringkat perkembangan (1800-1950) : R.J. Wilkinson (1901, 1908, 1932 W.G. Shellabear (1902,
1916) R.O Winstedt Seorang sarjana Inggeris yang ...
11 KB (1,553 patah perkataan) - 18:30, 7 Mac 2013
Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa
Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa versi R.J. Wilkinson, dicetak batu dalam tulisan Jawi berukuran
fulskap oleh Kim Sik Hian Press, No. ...
15 KB (2,149 patah perkataan) - 21:57, 8 Mac 2013
Kolej Melayu Kuala Kangsar
Ditubuhkan pada 1905 oleh pihak British atas cadangan daripada R.J. Wilkinson, pegawai
pendidikan jajahan pada masa itu. Cadangan itu ...
12 KB (1,562 patah perkataan) - 11:27, 20 Mac 2013
Hikayat
Ini dibuktikan melalui cerita-cerita penglipur lara yang dikumpulkan oleh R.O. Winstedt dan R.J.
Wilkinson seperti Hikayat Malim Deman , ...
6 KB (239 patah perkataan) - 01:11, 30 Julai 2012
Galaksi Andromeda
Wilkinson | title The mass of the Andromeda galaxy | journal Monthly Notices of the Royal ...
Pautan luar : Skrutskie, R.J. Patterson, M. ...
37 KB (4,860 patah perkataan) - 07:03, 9 Mac 2013