Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the governance structure in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD) using historical Hukum Kanun Melaka (the Land Law) and Undang-Undang Laut Melaka (the Maritime Law). The focus is on self-correction, control and accountability that were used to p...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mustafa, Hasri, Ibrahim, Mohd Ikhwan
Format: Article
Published: Emerald 2023
_version_ 1811137882348322816
author Mustafa, Hasri
Ibrahim, Mohd Ikhwan
author_facet Mustafa, Hasri
Ibrahim, Mohd Ikhwan
author_sort Mustafa, Hasri
collection UPM
description Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the governance structure in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD) using historical Hukum Kanun Melaka (the Land Law) and Undang-Undang Laut Melaka (the Maritime Law). The focus is on self-correction, control and accountability that were used to preserve the peace and well-being of society and the overall harmony of the community during the period. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs close readings to discover and identify implicit formal and thematic elements of the texts into a meaningful enactment. The study is based on historical archival research at the National Archives of Malaysia and at the National Library of Malaysia. Findings – Though classical, the underlying accounting practices were shown to consummate in an articulated model of measurement activities based on specific proportion of gold in tahil measurement, used for slaves, free men and stolen animal and property value. Controls were established through punishment and penalty. Accountability functioned in different levels and degrees hierarchically and horizontally. Research limitations/implications – The study excludes the improved sections of the laws that are based on the Islamic perspective. The discussion is limited to the indigenous adat sections of laws only although the sections may inseparable with the Hindu/Buddhist tradition. Originality/value – A study of these classical laws would be a reference for accounting publication in the Malay world which has been stationed in the gallery for many years, awaiting discovery.
first_indexed 2024-09-25T03:41:21Z
format Article
id upm.eprints-109129
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
last_indexed 2024-09-25T03:41:21Z
publishDate 2023
publisher Emerald
record_format dspace
spelling upm.eprints-1091292024-09-02T06:41:50Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/109129/ Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD) Mustafa, Hasri Ibrahim, Mohd Ikhwan Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the governance structure in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD) using historical Hukum Kanun Melaka (the Land Law) and Undang-Undang Laut Melaka (the Maritime Law). The focus is on self-correction, control and accountability that were used to preserve the peace and well-being of society and the overall harmony of the community during the period. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs close readings to discover and identify implicit formal and thematic elements of the texts into a meaningful enactment. The study is based on historical archival research at the National Archives of Malaysia and at the National Library of Malaysia. Findings – Though classical, the underlying accounting practices were shown to consummate in an articulated model of measurement activities based on specific proportion of gold in tahil measurement, used for slaves, free men and stolen animal and property value. Controls were established through punishment and penalty. Accountability functioned in different levels and degrees hierarchically and horizontally. Research limitations/implications – The study excludes the improved sections of the laws that are based on the Islamic perspective. The discussion is limited to the indigenous adat sections of laws only although the sections may inseparable with the Hindu/Buddhist tradition. Originality/value – A study of these classical laws would be a reference for accounting publication in the Malay world which has been stationed in the gallery for many years, awaiting discovery. Emerald 2023-06-19 Article PeerReviewed Mustafa, Hasri and Ibrahim, Mohd Ikhwan (2023) Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD). Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 36 (5). pp. 1396-1416. ISSN 0951-3574 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-04-2020-4512/full/html 10.1108/aaaj-04-2020-4512
spellingShingle Mustafa, Hasri
Ibrahim, Mohd Ikhwan
Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD)
title Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD)
title_full Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD)
title_fullStr Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD)
title_full_unstemmed Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD)
title_short Self-correction, control and accountability in the ancient Melaka Kingdom (1401–1511 AD)
title_sort self correction control and accountability in the ancient melaka kingdom 1401 1511 ad
work_keys_str_mv AT mustafahasri selfcorrectioncontrolandaccountabilityintheancientmelakakingdom14011511ad
AT ibrahimmohdikhwan selfcorrectioncontrolandaccountabilityintheancientmelakakingdom14011511ad