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Meet 3D artist from Pahang who has reimagined Melaka of the golden ages

Arif Zikri
·3-min read
A 3D artist from Pahang, Faizal Rahmat has recreated an outlook of the old Melaka city. — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat
A 3D artist from Pahang, Faizal Rahmat has recreated an outlook of the old Melaka city. — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Fuelled by imagination and a lot of historical references, a 3D artist from Pahang has been reimagining the city of Melaka during its golden ages with his artwork.

The 3D artist, Faizal Rahmat who is an architecture alumnus from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Skudai, Johor said that he has been working on the old Melaka city model since 2004.

This is after he was involved with the project of listing Melaka as part of the “World Heritage Site” for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

The recreation of the Melaka Palace or the Istana Mahligai. — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat
The recreation of the Melaka Palace or the Istana Mahligai. — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat

Faizal who was already familiar with the history of the Melaka Sultanate was granted the opportunity to meet the Melaka Museum Corporation committees to gain further understanding of Melaka and its history.

Besides that, the Melaka 3D artworks are created through countless references and amongst them were from the Annals of Bendahara (chief minister) Tun Sri Mambang from Johor and Hikayat Hang Tuah.

He also uses references from Portuguese sources like the notes of Tome Pires and Emenual Gedinho Eredia journal.

“Even though Melaka was described in these references but the descriptions were too general.”

“So, I’ve used my knowledge about the Malay architectures and my own creativity especially for the architectural designs,” Faizal told Malay Mail.

Faizal also takes into accounts a few historical events during the Melaka Sultanate era which has prompted him to include elements of Siamese architecture in the Melaka city model. — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat
Faizal also takes into accounts a few historical events during the Melaka Sultanate era which has prompted him to include elements of Siamese architecture in the Melaka city model. — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat

Apart from that, Faizal also took into account a few historical events that happened during the Melaka Sultanate era which was when it successfully took over the Pahang kingdom that was under Siamese control and ruled by Emperor Dewa Sura at that time.

The successful campaign against Pahang resulted in the Sultan of Melaka, Sultan Mansur Syah marrying Puteri Lela Wangsa (the daughter of Emperor Dewa Sura).

Following this, Faizal included elements of Siamese architecture into the Melaka city model.

As for the details of the Palace of Melaka or known as the “Istana Mahligai,” these were mostly taken from the Hikayat Hang Tuah annals where there's a depiction of the throne room and the seatings of the Melaka leaders.

“The Melaka City 3D artwork covers the view from Bukit St. Paul where Istana Mahligai was believed to have been located.”

“The insides of the palace include components from the Johor’s Istana Besar which are the Balairong Seri (throne room), Balai Nobat for the Royal Orchestra, Masjid Agung (The Great Mosque) and the Royal Mausoleum,” he said.

Faizal also said that his artworks depicted Melaka during its golden ages which was around 1456 to 1477 under the commands of Sultan Mansur Syah and Bendahara Tun Perak.

He also said that the Istana Mahligai was well known in the region at that time and it was claimed as the “Crown Jewel” of the Melaka Sultanate era.

Faizal's depiction of the Istana Mahligai's Balairong Seri (throne room). — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat
Faizal's depiction of the Istana Mahligai's Balairong Seri (throne room). — Picture courtesy of Faizal Rahmat

Faizal who is passionate about Malay architecture said that besides the old Melaka city outlook, he has also recreated the Istana Seri Terentang in Pahang which was demolished in 1948 and Istana Balai Besar in Kota Baru, Kelantan.

Faizal is also selling his 3D artworks for a fee of RM100 for his 3D Melaka city set which comprises 107 artworks.