SPEECH BY THE VICE CHANCELLOR, UTM

BOOK LAUNCHING CEREMONY

HISTORICAL FACT AND FICTION BY
Y.BHG. TAN SRI PROF. DR. SYED MOHAMMAD NAQUIB
AL-ATTAS

PLACE :

DEWAN BESAR, INTERNATIONAL

CAMPUS, UTM JALAN SEMARAK, KL

DATE

SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

TIME

9.30 AM

A Very Good Morning
Your Royal Highness, Raja Zarith Sofia binti Almarhum
Sultan Idris Shah,
Your Excellencies,
Professors,
Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the launch of Historical Fact and Fiction, a
noteworthy and groundbreaking piece of work, written by a
distinguished thinker and philosopher, Tan Sri Prof. Dr. Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas.

As the oldest university in the country, dated back in 1904

as Treacher Technical School, UTM seeks to become an
excellent institution of higher learning. Towards achieving
that goal, UTM is proud to be associated with this latest
project by Tan Sri Prof. Dr. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-

Attas, a globally renowned scholar, who has demonstrated

remarkable achievements in many different fields of Islamic
thought, history and civilisation.

This book, Historical Fact and Fiction by Tan Sri Prof. AlAttas, bears the maiden imprint of CASIS, the UTM Centre
for Advanced Studies of Islam, Science and Civilization, a
centre of excellence that would put UTM at the global front,
as an institution that offers outstanding work in humanities
studies and research programme, while maintaining its
status as a highly advanced technology-based University.

World-class universities and higher learning institutions such

as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and University of Chicago, to name just a few,
are institutions that are renowned for their science,
engineering, and technology-based studies, with many Nobel
Laureates in their academic faculty. University of Chicago, at
one point has more than fifty Nobel laureates on campus,
from Chemistry, to Physics, Astronomy and it has a worldclass business school.

All of these institutions also have one thing in common: a

world-class humanities programme that attracts the best
minds thinkers, scholars, intellectuals and students from all
over the world. Their libraries are immensely rich, not only in
their core subjects, but also in humanities resources, and
their publication of books, is the envy of other institutions.
UTM draws inspiration from these renowned universities, so
that our scientifically and technologically minded students
and academics are not detached from cutting edge research
and advances in humanities studies.

The book is the latest in a series of thought provoking and

landmark books by Tan Sri al-Attas, from his Origin of The
Malay Shair, The Concluding Postscript of the Malay Shair,
The

General

Theory

Of

Islamization

of

the

Malay

Archipelago, The Correct Date of the Terengganu Inscription,

and many others that redirect the interpretation, and
conclusion of Islam in the Malay Archipelago, and of Islam
and its role in World history.

Tan Sri Prof. al-Attas, in many of his intellectually stimulating

works, and this book in particular, brought forth a method of
analyzing and scrutinizing the problematic aspects of the
interpretation of our history, that have been left unsolved.
Many have taken for granted, from the legacy of European
historians of the Malay Archipelago.

We

all

would

agree

unanimously,

that

among

the

characteristics of a great work, is that, it gives its readers

long lasting guidance, either at the personal level, or societal
level. This book is set to fill that position, because not only it
guides us individually, but more importantly, as a nation.
The significant insights, therein, have reconfirmed that our
history, its problems, explanations and solutions, are ours.

The weak logical analysis, and rational estimation of the

European scholars about our history, must be put in their
proper perpective. This is due to the fact that, Islamization of
our region, is a process that is uniquely ours and innate in
our consciousness.

This book reminds us, and guides us of that process, in the

past, and it will continue to guide and inspire our generations
in the future, like many other books of Tan Sri Prof. al-Attas.

At the global level, this book reignites the illuminating

knowledge of Muslims in this region of their veritable history,
one that should not be construed by spurious thinking due to
errors and fallacies in chronological frameworks by
European historians, who write concerning Islam in this
region. Tan Sri Prof. al-Attas has thus drawn the intellectual
charts, of the global Islamization process, for the Malay
Archipelago.

UTM is indeed privileged, to have been given this

opportunity, to publish a book that brings order, logical
thought, and scientific analytical reasoning in the proper
Islamic framework, in analyzing and interpreting our history.
To further make the launch of this seminal book more
meaningful, CASIS is holding a special seminar later this
afternoon following the Friday Prayers. Everyone is most
welcome to attend free of charge, in the spirit of Eidul Fitri.

We would like to thank, and congratulate Tan Sri Prof. alAttas for consenting to publish his latest work with UTM,
although many other

academic

publishers

would be

extremely eager to do so.

Our deep gratitude and appreciation, especially go to Her

Royal Highness Raja Zarith Sofiah, who has consented to
cut short her Eid celebration in Perak, just to be with us to
grace this meaningful occasion.

Menjunjung Kasih Tuanku.

Thank you.