Landscape Furniture Present in the Ancient Malay Garden According to Old Manuscripts and their Effects on the Formation of Malay Garden Design Concept Model in Malaysia

In peeling the dilemma of the Malay contemporary community nowadays, a study has been conducted to find out and discover the landscape furniture used by the Malay people in ancient times. The objectives of this research are to measure the image and culture of the Malays in Malaysia, which is applied in the design of the existing Malay Garden and also to identify the landscape furniture found in the existing Malay Garden. The method used in this research is, by referring to the old manuscripts and research papers done by researchers in the past about garden in the world of the Malay Archipelago. The main manuscripts in this research are as Sulalatus al-Salatin (Malay Annals), Bustan al-Salatin (The Garden of Kings), Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, Hikayat Inderaputera and Hikayat Abdullah. These methods consist of understanding and prove that culture, values on belief, the world of thought had been the base of Malay cosmology. Findings from this research can be concluded that the Malays in the past has had architecture skills and also have knowledge about every function of furniture and elements that been created by them. The knowledge possessed by the Malay people had inherited from generation to another generation. Therefore, to support a Malay garden design model, researchers have focused on the furniture's that have been used either in the gardens in the past, especially the palace garden, the home of the Malays and the vicinity at that time. Malay people are a special race, and there are many interesting elements through their creativity that may be highlighted to become a model for the design concept of a Malay Garden that are relevant in the present environment.