The Bible Society of Malaysia put up a special exhibition on the Bible in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of Merdeka. Entitled “Celebrating God’s Word at Work in Malaysia” it showcased the history of the translation of the scriptures into the Malay language and the languages of many of the indigenous communities of our country. Originally this was intended to be a brief report on the exhibition. But reading the brief history of the translation of God’s Word into Bahasa Malaysia it was not only an eye-opener to some interesting facts but also relevant to recent issues concerning the use of the Christian scriptures in Bahasa Malaysia.
 
The account below of the history of the translation is based on the paper “Malay Bible Translation: What’s In Store For Malaysian Churches” by Dr. Daud Soesilo, the Translations Coordinator for the Asia Pacific region with the United Bible Societies, excerpts of which were printed in the newsletter of the Bible Society of Malaysia (Issues 1-3, 2007).
 
Early History
It would be surprising to many of us to know that a copy of the Gospel of Matthew was translated into Malay before Chinese, Tamil or Tagalog versions became available. The text was completed in 1612, a year after the King James Version was released! But it was printed only in 1629. Another fact to note is that this translation is the very first non-European translation of a Bible portion.
 
It was translated by a Dutch tradesman named Albert Cornelisz Ruyl. An original printed copy of this Gospel of Matthew can be found at the Public Library of Stuttgart, Germany. Its title is: Iang Testamentum Baharu: Evangelium Mulkadus Bersuratnja Kepada Mattheum. It is of interest to note the instinct shown here to make the Word of God available to the native language of the people, rather than require them to learn another language in order to hear the good news.
 
Ruyl continued to translate with the help of others. Their edition of the four Gospels and Acts was printed in 1651, followed by the Psalms a year later. By 1668 the first complete Malay New Testament was produced through the work of Rev. Daniel Brouwerious. But this translation suffered from the excessive use of Portuguese loan words, which was not the best kind of translation. 

The First Foundations
It was only in the 18th Century that a real beginning took place in translating the whole Bible into Malay. Melchior Leijdecker, a Dutch medical doctor with theological training based in Batavia (Jakarta today), produced the whole Bible in Malay in 1733. It was entitled Elkitab, Ija itu segala Surat Perdjandjian Lama dan Baharuw, and was printed in Roman script in Amsterdam. Twenty-five years later a five-volume Malay Bible in Jawi script was published in 1758.

Leijdecker’s Malay Bible was extensively revised in the 19th Century by translators based in what is now Indonesia and Peninsular Malaysia. But another translation effort was being undertaken by a Dutch Mennonite missionary by the name of Cornelius Klinkert. This translation was in the low Malay of Semarang, Central Java. By 1879 the full Bible in this Malay language was completed, and constituted the second major step in the process of translating the Bible into the Malay language.
 
It was during this period of the 19th and early 20th Century that William Girdlestone Shellabear, Methodist missionary based in Singapore, took up the translation project. His was the first Malay Bible translation in the language that was used in the Peninsular, rather than in Indonesian Malay. He is also remembered for the New Testament in Baba Malay.
 
In the 1930s other efforts were made at new translations to replace these three translations of the Malay Bible. But it was not until 1974 that the “New Translation” (INT) was published, called Terjemahan Baru, the first truly ecumenical Indonesian Bible. This followed the “formal equivalence” method of translation that retained the form of the original languages.

The Evolution of the BM Alkitab
The INT was also used by Malaysian churches, but “it was eventually realized that a truly Malaysian Bible translation was needed to communicate the Good News accurately, without confusion and misunderstanding brought about by the subtle differences between Indonesian and Malay”.
 
At the same time there was an effort to translate the Bible in common Bahasa Malaysia. This was mainly “the labour of love” of another Methodist pastor, Rev. Elkanah T. Suwito, from an Indonesia background. His translation was based on the dynamic/functional equivalence method that emphasized conveying the meaning of the original languages rather then retaining the form.
 
The New Testament was published in 1974, the Perjanjian Baru: Berita Baik Untuk Manusia Moden. And the full Bahasa Malaysia Bible was published in 1987, the Alkitab: Berita Baik Untuk Manusia Moden (TMV).
 
Soon after its publication it was thought necessary to revise it to correct certain deficiencies of spelling, use of Indonesian rather than Malay words, mistranslations and the likes. This was done by a team of revisers, a number of reviewers and readers, even a stylist to ensure that the language style was readable and acceptable to all Malaysians.

The revision project enlisted the help of many, including language specialists, academic personnel, the seminaries and numerous BM speaking lay persons and teachers. Thus it was that the revised Alkitab Berita Baik (TMV96) was published towards the end of 1996.
 
One of the issues of relevance to us today was the use of the word “Allah” in the translations. In 1985, and again in 1989, the Heads of Churches decided for the use of the word. This was based on scholarly and historical grounds.

The Arabic loanword “Allah” is the cognate of the Hebrew names of God – ‘El’, ‘Elohim’, ‘Eloah’.

Arab Christians before Islam had been praying to Allah, and this word was used by Christian theologians writing in Arabic.

“Allah” is the name of God in the old as well as modern Arabic Bible.

The word had been used continuously in the Malay translations from the first printed edition of Matthew’s Gospel by Ruyl (1629), the first and second complete Bible by Leijdecker (1733) and Klinkert (1879) and other translations since then.
 
Today Bahasa Malaysia is widely used in our society and by Christian communities in the Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak. For a great many, BM is the language of their education and communication. For these Christians they read, study and hear God’s Word primarily in Bahasa Malaysia. Pastors preach and teach from their study of the Alkitab. The use of Bahasa Malaysia is thus indispensable to their religious/spiritual life and to the practice of their faith.
 
In this respect, the Bible Society of Malaysia believes it is time to produce another translation of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia. The Alkitab Berita Baik took the dynamic/functional equivalence approach. This new version would take the formal equivalence method following more closely the original languages. In providing
another version it would complement and supplement the dynamic translation, thus affording a greater understanding of the meaning of scripture. This would provide a richer understanding and facilitate a deeper study of God’s Word.

For the many Christians for whom BM is the language of understanding and communication it is essential that they are able to worship God, hear Him speak, learn of him in the language of their mind and heart.