Munshi Abdullah (Pena Senjata Moden)

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From 23 November until 8 December2019 , Melaka In Fact (MIF) did an exhibition titled “Munshi Abdullah: Social Media Influencer” to explore the history and work of Munshi Abdullah whose pioneering work in modern Malay literature has made an everlasting impact in the way we engage with social media today. The exhibition was done at Ghumah Homestay in Jalan Tukang Emas, Melaka.

Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854)(Arabic: عبد الله بن عبد القادر 'Abd Allāh bin 'Abd al-Qādir) also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer of mixed ancestry. He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, a part of the Ottoman Empire.

Munshi Abdullah has been popularly regarded as among the most cultured Malays who ever wrote, one of the greatest innovators in Malay letters and the father of modern Malay literature.

The term Munshi means "teacher" or "educator". Munshi Abdullah was a great-grandson of a Hadhrami Arab trader, and also had Tamil and to a smaller extent, Malay ancestry.Owing to his ethnic and religious background, the Malays would refer to him as a Jawi Peranakan or Jawi Pekan.

Munshi Abdullah followed his father's career path as a translator and teacher of colonial officials in the Malay Archipelago, mainly the British and the Dutch.

J.T. Thomson, a contemporary of Abdullah, described him thus: "In physiognomy he was a Tamilian of southern Hindustan: slightly bent forward, spare, energetic, bronze in complexion, oval-faced, high-nosed, one eye squinting outwards a little. He dressed in the usual style of Malacca Tamils. Acheen seluar, check sarong, printed baju, square skull cap and sandals. He had the vigour and pride of the Arab, the perseverance and subtlety of the Hindoo - in language and national sympathy only was he a Malay."