N.A Halim Biografi

Dia merupakan salah seorang daripada kakitangan yang bertanggung jawab menyediakan bahan bagi pameran sejarah semula jadi yang pertama di Muzium Negara pada tahun 1964, sebelum memilih untuk bersara pada tahun 1988. Ketika bertugas dengan muzium, dia menjelajah seluruh negara dan mengambil gambar segala perkara yang menarik perhatiannya. Muzium Negara menjadi tempat dia mengembangkan kerjaya profesionalnya sebagai arkitek pemulihan dan jurugambar, penyelam, penangkap ular, dsb. Antara asetnya yang paling berharga ialah pengalaman yang luas dan bakat dalam penulisan, fotografi, seni bina, epigrafi dan tradisi lisan. Oleh sebab dedikasinya terhadap pemeliharaan dan pembaikan, Muzium Negara telah mentauliahkannya untuk mereka bentuk sebelas rumah tradisional Melayu yang terdapat di sebelas negeri di Malaysia untuk dibina di pusat pelancongan Taman Mini Malaysia, Ayer Keroh, Melaka. Lain-lain sumbangan berharga yang sangat membanggakannya termasuk yang berikut:

1. Dia merancang dan membina sebuah rumah tradisional Melayu di Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
2. Dia menyediakan salasilah keluarga diraja Melayu dalam Dunia Melayu bagi Muzium Raja Johor (Istana Besar) Johor Baru.
3. Dia mereka bentuk sebuah rumah wakaf di Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
4. Dia mereka bentuk Rumah Universiti di Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.
5. Dia mereka bentuk sebuah rumah wakaf di Taman Pantun, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.

Sumbangannya diiktiraf dalam berbagai bentuk, termasuk penganugerahan Pingat khidmat Cemerlang daripada Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan pada tahun 1978. Pada tahun 1990, ketika berkhidmat di UKM, dia dianugerahkan Sarjana Kehormat Sastera.

Pada tahun 1970 dia berkahwin dengan Cik Zainab binti Haji Musa dan telah menjalani kehidupan berkeluarga yang bahagia bersama empat cahaya mata, dua pasang lelaki dan perempuan. Dia menghargai masa lapang yang ada dan memanfaatkannya dengan mengembara, mendokumenkan dan menulis tentang perkara yang dianggap bererti dan penting bagi dirinya dan budaya Melayu. Cintanya terhadap fotografi, mengembara, dan menulis kekal sepanjang hayatnya. Ketika merantau di serata Malaysia dan Dunia Melayu atas tugasan bagi Muzium Negara, atau menghadiri kursus di Indonesia, atau membentangkan kertas kerja, atau mengadakan kursus, dia sentiasa mencari bahan fotografi dan penulisan. Antara bahan fotografi kegemarannya ialah rumah, masjid, istana dan perahu Melayu yang semuanya mempamerkan aspek seni bina Melayu yang berbeza-beza. Dia boleh dikatakan sebagai perintis pendokumenan fotografi warisan Melayu berdasarkan koleksi yang diwariskannya kepada PATMA (singkatan bagi Perpustakaan ATMA). Padanya, gambaran lisan bagi gaya seni bina adalah sangat daif jika dibandingkan dengan pernyataan bergambar. Misalnya, gambar yang elok sebuah istana boleh dianggap sebagai pernyataan yang benar kerana ia boleh dijadikan suatu kenyataan, menggambarkan kuasa, sejarah dan budaya. Minatnya terhadap fotografi mungkin juga didorong oleh hakikat yang gambar foto tidak menyampaikan maklumat yang palsu, berbanding dengan tulisan di dalam buku yang mungkin mengandungi kesilapan atau pembohongan.

Akibatnya, maklumat bergambar menjadi sangat penting bagi koleksi N. A. Halim. Sesiapa yang belum pernah melihat istana diraja Kuala Kangsar akan ingin melihat gambarnya. Serupalah dengan sesiapa yang tidak pernah melihat Batu Bersurat Kuala Terengganu akan menghargai gambarnya. Begitu juga perbezaan antara bot nelayan Kelantan dengan bot nelayan Terengganu, atau perbezaan antara rumah Perak dengan rumah Kedah, yang boleh dilihat dengan lebih berkesan melalui gambar berbanding dengan perkataan. Pandangan udara bangunan (misalnya masjid), upacara yang sedang berlangsung (misalnya kenduri kahwin) atau objek kecil (termasuk keris Melayu), atau orang sedang bersantai, adalah juga antara contoh subjek pilihan N. A. Halim. Bukan saja tiada had pada potensi penyampaian dan interpretasi mana-mana subjek, pemerian melalui penulisan tidak akan dapat menyampaikan maklumat yang serupa dengan berkesan. Tiada pemandangan harian yang lebih dramatik daripada gambar sebuah masjid pada waktu tengah hari, dengan jaluran sinaran matahari yang menembusi daun-daun di taman dan menerangi bumi dengan lopak cahaya, atau kilauan lantai marmar putih di masjid ketika bulan penuh. Yang penting baginya ialah setiap gambar mengandungi maklumat unik yang sukar disampaikan dalam cara lain, biarlah walau bagaimana remeh pun maklumat itu.

Memandangkan nilai sesuatu foto itu terletak pada keberlangsungan dan impak visualnya, maka ia lebih baik daripada lain-lain perantara. Hakikatnya dapat dilihat pada gambar foto N. A. Halim. Dia sedar bahawa sesuatu objek atau subjek tidak boleh dimengerti tanpa gambaran objek atau subjek itu sebagai sebahagian daripada satu keseluruhan. N. A. Halim telah berusaha untuk mendokumenkan seni bina Melayu dalam apa jua cara yang mungkin. Dia tidak membuat anggapan bahawa sebuah bangunan, masjid, perahu, rumah dan malahan sebatang sungai atau sebuah tasik yang diminatinya akal kekal seadanya sampai bila-bila. Kini, dia telah mengabadikan imej-imej itu bagi kita semua. Sebagai contoh, dia akan mengambil gambar sebatang rasuk dari berbagai sudut – tampak sisi, tampak atas dan tampak bawah – cara yang sama seperti seorang jurufoto bola sepak profesional yang akan menangkap gambar jaringan gol dari berbagai sudut. Di sinilah letaknya keunikan seni fotonya. Dia juga tahu bahawa semua bahan akan berguna pada seseorang, pada sesuatu tempat dan pada sesuatu ketika nanti. Sebelum gambar foto menjadi komoditi yang diperdagangkan N. A. Halim telah sedar bahawa satu hari nanti gambar fotonya akan menjadi berharga apabila objek yang diambil gambarnya tidak lagi wujud.

N. A. Halim merupakan seotang jurufoto amatur yang hebat, yang tidak pernah mengambil gambar semata-mata untuk dijual. Dia dianggap sebagai salah seorang perakam visual terhandal Malaysia pada abad ke-20 walaupun tidak pernah mendapat pendidikan formal dalam bidang fotografi. Bakatnya dalam mengambil gambar foto yang berguna diasah melalui pengalam dan pengkhususan. Minatnya terhadap mendokumenkan sejarah budaya Melayu bermula pada pertengahan tahun 1960-an ketika dia bertugas di Muzium Negara. Projek rasmi yang dilaksanakannya bagi muzium itu telah mendorongnya untuk mencari sebanyak mungkin peninggalan budaya yang masih wujud. Dia mengambil peluang itu bagi mengembangkan minatnya dalam bidang fotografi walaupun ia bidang yang sangat sibuk dan mahal.

Ketika menjalankan beberapa tugas lapangan dia tertarik pada reka bentuk unik dan struktur indah bahan budaya Melayu – rumah, istana, perahu, masjid, batu nisan, sama ada masih baru atau dah lama, masih digunakan atau sudah ditinggalkan, berkeadaan baik atau usang. Dia mendapat kepuasan daripada aktiviti itu dan menjadi inspirasi bagi ramai yang lain. Dia mungkin tidak berniat untuk mewujudkan koleksi foto dan slaid yang besar apabila memulakannya 40 tahun yang lalu. Pasa asalnya dia mungkin mula mengumpul untuk kepuasannya sendiri. Walau apapun, dia sememangnya pengumpul yang berdedikasi. Dia menyimpan berkeping-keping maklumat visual dalam cara yang membingungkan, dan skop koleksinya menampakkan iltizamnya terhadap pendokumenan budaya Melayu dan Malaysia. Dia telah mengumpulkan sebuah koleksi yang hebat tentang pelbagai jenis subjek selama empat puluh tahun. Dia juga sedar bahawa bagi sesuatu gambar foto atau lakaran untuk mempunyai nilai maklumat, ia mesti disimpan dengan teratur supaya boleh dikenal pasti melalui prosedur mudah.

Walaupun penstoran gambar foto dan slaid menggunakan sedikit ruang berbanding bahan cetak, namun gambar dan lakaran adalah lebih rentan dan susah dikendalikan. Penstoran itu sebaik-baiknya dikendalikan oleh sebuah institusi yang diwujudkan khas bagi tujuan itu, memastikan objek tersebut hanya boleh dicapai betul-betul bagi tujuan akademik dan seni sahaja. Kami berterima kasih pada beliau kerana mengabadikan dan memantapkan imej-mej tersebut melalui sifat geniusnya. Banyak gambar foto yang diambilnya pada tahun 1960-an kini menjadi sangat berharga. Dokumentasi fotonya menjadi bahan mentah yang tiada tandingan bagi semua terbitan dan seminarnya. Bagi N. A. Halim, sekeping gambar foto ialah dokumen yang penting. Kini gambar-gambar itu menjadi sumber maklumat bagi kita mengkaji budaya dan masyarakat Melayu dari tahun 1960-an hingga 1990-an. Adakah dia mengambil gambar untuk dirinya sendiri atau adakah terdapat prinsip yang membimbing keseniannya? Koleksinya ialah bukti nyata bagi aktiviti dan kejayaannya.

Jelas sekali selain daripada mengambil gambar, dia juga telah menghabiskan banyak masa dan tenaga pada penulisannya. Banyak gambar foto dan slaid yang diambilnya tentang haiwan dan tumbuhan, orang dan bahan budaya digunakan sebagai ilustrasi dalam artikel, buku dan kertas seminarnya. Antara lain, dia mula menulis dengan tetap untuk Dewan Pelajar, Dewan Masyarakat dan Utusan Malaysia pada tahun 1960-an. Maklumat bibliografi penulisan popular tersebut disenaraikan di halaman 517 hingga 543 katalog Koleksi N. A. Halim (Bangi: Perpustakaan Alam & Tamadun Melayu, 1992). Selain daripada menulis artikel popular, menyampaikan kertas kerja di seminar dan berkhidmat sebagai perunding, dia juga menerbitkan buku melalui Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Penerbit UKM, Fajar Bakti, Muzium Negara, Berita Publishing dan Darulfikir. Senarai penerbitannya ialah seperti berikut:

1. Sejarah Perak: Siri Pertama. Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Muzium, 1977. 223 hlm.
2. Tempat-tempat Bersejarah di Kelantan. 1979.
3. Tempat-tempat Bersejarah: Perak. Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Muzium, 1981. 252 hlm.
4. Masjid-masjid in Semenanjung Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing, 1984. 73 hlm.
5. Pengenalan Rumah Tradisional Melayu: Semenanjung Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Darufikir, 1985. 104 hlm.
6. Ukiran Kayu Melayu Tradisional. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1986. 159 hlm.
7. Traditional Malay Woodcarving. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1987.
8. Kota-kota Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1993. 249 hlm.
9. Rumah Melayu Tradisi. Kuala Lumpur: Fajar Bakti, 1994. (dikarang bersama Wan Hashim Wan Teh)
10. Seni bina masjid di dunia Melayu-Nusantara. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 1995. 196 hlm.
11. Memoir Abdul Halim Nasir dari Kampung Sekolah ke Menara Gading. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 1998. 275 hlm.
12. Lembangan Sungai. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Berdasarkan penerbitan di atas, jelaslah bahawa N. A. Halim telah berusaha untuk mewujudkan suber maklumat baru, dan tidak semata-mata menjadi seorang pengumpul pasif. Latihan, daya cipta, penyelidikan, pengalaman, falsafah, keperibadian, dan keprofesionalannya jelas terbukti dalam buku-bukunya. Dia tidak pernah mengetengahkan hal-hal peribadi kecuali dalam memoirnya (1998). Kerja-kerjanya yang diterbitkan telah mendapat sanjungan antara bangsa. Terbitan yang ditulis dalam bahasa Melayu pada asalnya telah menarik minat pembaca dari seluruh dunia. Mereka terpesona dan terpukau oleh fotografi dan daya ciptanya. Oleh itu, banyak terbitannya telah diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Inggeris dan banyak juga yang menjadi panduan piawaian rujukan tentang seni bina Melayu. Dalam terbitan ini dan seminarnya, dia memberikan maklumat terperinci mengenai bangunan Melayu dengan memberikan struktur, reka bentuk, susun atur, dan keadaan. Dia jatuh sakit dan meninggal dunia sewaktu mengusahakan buku Rivers in Malaysia. Ketika itu dia bertugas sebagai karyawan tamu di Penerbit UKM.

Semua penerbitan ini mengukuhkan lagi ketokohan N. A. Halim sebagai seorang sejarawan disanjung tinggi yang sepanjang hayatnya sentiasa mendokumentasikan masjid, istana, rumah, rakyat dan alam semula jadi, menjadikannya seorang pakar rumah tradisional Melayu dan pendokong kuat pemeliharaan warisan budaya yang semakin lenyap. Koleksinya juga benar-benar menggambarkan tahap, bidang, semangat dan gaya penglibatannya dalam kebudayaan Melayu. Kita mungkin tertanya-tanya kenapa dia mewujudkan satu koleksi khas. Koleksinya itu terbentuk melalui gabungan koleksi gambar foto, slaid dan bahan cetak yang berbeza-beza. Sesungguhnya, koleksi yang lengkap itu adalah ciptaan sepenuhnya, satu sumber gergasi daripada seorang yang sangat berbakat, yang mengabadikan sejarah budaya Melayu dalam apa cara juapun. Keunikan koleksi itu bukan saja terletak pada kepelbagaian bahan bukan bukunya, tetapi juga pada jumlahnya. Koleksi tersebut boleh dikenal pasti dengan merujuk silang secara teratur item yang berikut:

• 7,736 gambar foto,
• 7,983 slaid,
• 300 satah,
• 150 peta, dan
• 1092 buku, artikel, kertas seminar, tesis dan laporan.

Bersandarkan maklumat di atas, koleksi N. A. Halim merangkumi pelbagai media, daripada gambar foto, slaid dan lakaran kepada lukisan dalam perkadaran yang berbeza-beza. Sejumlah besar item berharga yang jarang didapati telah ditemui dalam koleksi tersebut, menjadikannya semakin bernilai. Mungkin kerana dia sengaja mengumpulkan koleksi itu tanpa sebarang haluan yang jelas, supaya kecenderungannya sendiri tidak membataskan hasilnya nanti. UKM menerima sumbangan itu sebagai sebahagian daripada koleksi yang lebih besar yang berbaloi disimpan, dipelihara, dikapsyen dan dikatalog. Antaranya terdapat gambar yang mengagumkan, lakaran dan lukisan yang boleh disalin dengan memuaskan, dan berguna pada ramai penyunting gambar.

N. A. Halim bukan sahaja seorang pengumpul berdedikasi yang menghabiskan sebahagian besar hidupnya mengembangkan koleksinya, tetapi juga seorang perancang yang percaya bahawa peluang kolesi itu untuk terus kekal adalah lebih baik jika diserahkan kepada sebuah institut penyelidikan atau perpustakaan yang mantap. Maka, koleksi itu diserahkan kepada ATMA tanpa dikenakan sebarang ikatan. Dengan itu, dia bukan setakat berjaya mendapatkan tempat baru bagi koleksinya, tetapi juga mengelak daripada memelihara keutuhan koleksi itu. PATMA telah mengklasifikasikan koleksi itu menurut subjek yang berbeza-beza menggunakan Library of Congress Subject Headings, memeliharanya sebagai satu keseluruhan yang lengkap dengan bahagian-bahagiannya, dan Halim sendiri telah menyediakan kapsyen koleksi itu. Kini bahan itu menjadi teras bagi satu koleksi khas.

Walaupun gambar, slaid, lakaran, peta itu diletakkan pada rak yang berasingan, semua bahan itu disimpan di dalam bilik yang sama, bermakna bahan yang berbeza-beza itu saling berkaitan. Dalam erti kata lain, item itu tidak boleh cerap secara individu dan di luar konteks. Dua tahun kemudian, Katalog Koleksi N. A. Halim (1992) pun diterbitkan. Pada masa yang sama, kakitangan perpustakaan telah melekapkan item itu dalam sampul plastik pelindung atau fail yang lengai secara kimia, mengurangkan kemungkinan berlakunya sebarang kerosakan. Walaupun dompet tepi terbuka ini membolehkan udara beredar, ia juga membenarkan masuk habuk dan berlakunya pemeluwapan. Koleksinya mempunyai pelbagai aspek, dan berharga oleh sebab yang berikut:

i. Jumlah item tentang seni bina Melayu;
ii. Pelbagai subjek lain;
iii. Melengkapi pelbagai subjek berkaitan budaya Melayu; dan
iv. Kaitannya dengan bidang penyelidikan dan keperluan ATMA,

Sumbangan Halim kepada PATMA jelas dilakukan demi kepentingan penyelidikan. Maka, ia bukanlah satu matlamat dengan sendirinya. Kemungkinan mengatur seiring bahan bukan cetak dengan bahan cetak memberikan penyelidikan di ATMA satu perincian baru. Koleksi boleh berpotensi menarik pelbagai jenis pengguna, asalkan ia diatur supaya mudah dicapai. Dengan itu, kami telah memutuskan untuk menempatkannya di jaringan sejagat. Geran penyelidikan daripada DAGS/MIMOS telah membolehkan pendigitan dimulakan pada pertengahan tahun 2002. Kami telah mengambil kesempatan bertemu dengan anaknya, Hazrul Halim yang bertugas di UKM untuk mendapatkan bahan yang masih berada dalam simpanan keluarganya. Bahan-bahan ini boleh mengisi kekurangan dan mengembangkan koleksi yang ada. Ekoran itu, kami berjaya menambah lebih kurang 2,000 item baru.

N. A Halim was born in 17 March 1938 in Lenggong, Perak, and passed away in Kajang General Hospital on 25 October 1999. UKM_Halim_ImgHe left his village with a certificate of Standard 7 from a Malay medium school to venture into a totally different environment in Kuala Lumpur. He survived doing odd jobs: started as a roadside artist painting pictures and portraits, and later worked as an electrician and even as a cook. His talent in painting was spotted by the late Mubin Sheppard (1905-1994), who took him to work at the Muzium Negara as a collector and field worker. Thus began his exciting career in the museum working as a diorama artist in 1963. Encouraged by Sheppard, and given an environment to develop his talent and skill in drawing and collecting samples of wildlife, he felt a new man full of energy and ideas. He collected samples of corals, fishes and other living sea organisms to construct Ocean Diorama, and tigers, leopards, bears and other animals to form Jungle Diorama in the National Museum. His began seeing himself as a researcher after he attended a course in oral history at the National Archive Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in 1975, and other courses on architectural archeology, aerial photography and technical drawing at various vocational institutes in Indonesia. Armed with the above education and training and his inborn talent and skill, he led a very colorful and exciting life traveling, writing, taking photographs, drafting and collecting Malay artifacts. He wrote numerous articles on Malay traditional architecture, history, culture, and wildlife, his favorite subjects. Among the exciting chapters in his life were the following assignments:

1. In 1968, he was seconded to Geneva Zoology and given the task to catch 2,000 different snakes from all over Malaysia.
2. In 1973, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Malaysia appointed him the consultant on ASEAN traditional architecture.
3. In 1979, he was seconded to Museum of Brunei to conduct courses for the staff.

Before opting for retirement in 1988, he was one of the staff responsible for preparing material for the first natural history exhibition at the National Museum in 1964. While working for the museum, he explored the country and took pictures of whatever attracted his attention. It was at the Muzium Negara that he also developed his professional career as a restoration architect and photographer, diver, snake catcher, etc.…His vast experience and his talent in writing, photography, architecture, epigraphy and oral traditions were his greatest assets. His dedication to preservation and restoration, and his love for historic buildings led the National Museum to commission him to design eleven different Malay traditional houses found in eleven states in Malaysia Malay in tourist resort Taman Mini Malaysia, Ayer Keruh, Malacca. Other significant contributions he felt very proud of were the following:

1. He planned and set up a Malay traditional house in the National Museum, Kuala Lumpur.
2. He prepared a Malay royal family tree in the Malay world for Muzium Raja Johor (Istana Besar) Johor Bahru.
3. He designed a wakaf house in the National Museum, Kuala Lumpur.
4. He designed Rumah Universiti in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.
5. He designed a rumah wakaf in Taman Pantun, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.

His contributions were acknowledged in many ways, including Pingat Khidmat Cemerlang from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1978. While working in UKM, he received Honorary Sarjana Sastera, in 1990.
He married Cik Zainab binte Haji Musa in 1970 and had a happy family life with four children, two boys and two girls. He cherished his pastime and used it effectively in traveling, documenting and writing about what he felt as significant and important to him and Malay culture. His love for photography, traveling, and writing lasted the rest of his life. Roaming all over Malaysia and the Malay World on various assignments for Muzium Negara, or attending courses in Indonesia, or presenting papers, or conducting courses, he was on a constant lookout for objects for his photography and writing. Among his favorite photography objects were Malay houses, mosques, palaces and boats, all showing different aspects of Malay architecture. Based on the collection he bequeathed to PATMA (abbreviated as Perpustakaan ATMA), he can be said to have pioneered photographic documentation of Malay heritage. To him, verbal accounts of architectural styles were woefully inadequate compared with pictorial representations. A good photograph of a palace, for example, can be said to be as true a representation as it is possible to achieve, conveying a sense of power, history and culture. His keen interest in photography might also have been due to the fact that photographs do not convey false information, unlike books that may contain errors and lies.

Consequently, pictorial information is fundamental to N. A. Halim’s collection. Those who have not seen the royal palace in Kuala Kangsar would like to be shown a picture of it. Similarly, those who have not seen the Batu Brsurat of Kuala Terengganu would be grateful for a photograph of it. Likewise, the difference between a fishing boat in Kelantan and in Terengganu, or the difference between Malay houses in Perak and in Kedah can be easily shown through pictures more effectively than words. Aerial views of buildings (for instance, mosques), of events in progress (for example, kenduri kahwin) or small objects (including, Malay keris), or people at rest, are further examples of the subjects N. A. Halim selected. There is not only no limit to the possibilities of presentation and interpretation of any subject, none of the information can be communicated nearly so effectively, if at all, by verbal descriptions. There is hardly any daily scene more dramatic than a mosque at midday, with nearly tangible bands of sunlight piecing through the leaves in the garden and lighting the ground in great pools of light, or the pure white marble floor of the mosque under a full moon. The important point is that for him, each picture contains some unique information, no matter how trivial, difficult to convey in other means.

Since the value of photos lies in its immediacy and visual impact, they are superior to any other medium in that way. The truth of this is easily observed in the photography of N. A. Halim. He realized that an object or subject could not be understood without an idea of the relation of its parts to the whole. N. A. Halim sought to document Malay architecture in every conceivable way. He never took it for granted that a building, mosque, boat, house or even a river or lake that he was interested in would remain as it is forever. Now, he had frozen their image permanently for us. He would for example take pictures of a beam from many different angles, – the side view, the top view and the bottom view – the same way a professional football photographer would capture a goal from various angles. It is here lies the uniqueness of his photography. He also knew that even the most unlikely material would be useful to someone, somewhere and sometime. Before photographs became a trade commodity, N. A. Halim already knew that someday, they would be worth money once the objects photographed no longer existed.

N. A. Halim was a great amateur photographer, who never took pictures for the purpose of selling them. With no formal training in photography, he was regarded as one of Malaysia’s top visual recorders of the 20th century. His ability to capture useful photographs is a skill gained through experience and specialization. His interest in documenting Malay cultural history began in mid-1960s while he was working for Muzium Negara. His official projects with the museum inspired him to search for as many cultural relics as possible that were still in existence. He grasped this opportunity to expand his interest in photography, despite the fact that photography was an exceedingly hectic and expensive business. On various field trips, he became attracted to the unique designs and beautiful structures of Malay cultural objects – houses, palaces, boats, mosques, gravestones, whether they were new or old, still in use or abandoned, well kept or dilapidated. He gained tremendous satisfaction from this and was an inspiration to many others. He might not have intended, 40 years ago when he started, to build up a sizable collection of photos and slides. What he might have been collecting was for his own satisfaction originally. In any case, he was undoubtedly a dedicated collector. He stored scraps of visual information in a bewildering variety of ways, and the scope of the collection does show his commitment to documenting Malay and Malaysian culture. Over a period of forty years, he amassed a superb collection covering a very wide variety of subjects. He also knew that if photographs or sketches were to have informational value, they had to be stored in an organized manner, so that they could be identified with simple procedures. Though photographs and slides occupy less space than printed material, pictures and sketches are more vulnerable and difficult to handle. This could best be done by an institution established for that purpose, keeping the objects accessible only to those with serious academic and artistic intentions. We are grateful to him for permanently capturing those images, touching them up with his genius. Many of the photos taken in the 1960s are now uniquely valuable. His photo documentation provided him with unparalleled raw material for all his publications and seminars. To N. A. Halim, a photograph was a very important documentation. They are now sources of information for us to study Malay culture and society from the 1960s to 1990s. Did he photograph for his own sake or was there some principle guiding his art? His collection is an apt record of his activities and achievements.

Well, apart from taking photographs, he devoted enormous time and energy to his writing. Many of his photographs and slides on animals and plants, persons and cultural objects were used to illustrate his articles, books and seminar papers. Beginning in the 1960s, he wrote regularly to Dewan Pelajar, Dewan Masyarakat and Utusan Malaysia, among many others. The bibliographical information of these popular writings is listed on pages 517 to 543 in Katalog Koleksi N. A. Halim. (Bangi: Perpustakaan Alam & Tamadun Melayu, 1992). Apart from writing popular articles, delivering papers at seminars, and engaging in consultant work, he published books through Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Penerbit UKM, Fajar Bakti, Muzium Negara, Berita Publishing, Darulfikir and Fajar Bakti. His list of publications is as follows:

1. Sejarah Perak: siri pertama. Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Muzium, 1977. 223 pages
2. Tempat-tempat bersejarah di Kelantan. ? 1979.
3. Tempat-tempat bersejarah: Perak. Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Muzium, 1981. 252 pages.
4. Masjid-masjid in Semenanjung Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing, 1984. 73 pages.
5. Pengenalan rumah tradisional Melayu: Semenanjung Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Darufikir, 1985. 104 pages.
6. Ukiran kayu Melayu tradisi. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1986. 159 pages.
7. Traditional Malay woodcarving. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1987.
8. Kota-kota Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1993. 249 pages.
9. Rumah Melayu tradisi. Kuala Lumpur: Fajar Bakti, 1994. (co-authored with Wan Hashim Wan Teh)
10. Seni bina masjid di dunia Melayu-Nusantara. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 1995. 196 pages.
11. Memoir Abdul Halim Nasir dari Kampung Sekolah ke Menara Gading. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 1998. 275 pages.
12. Lembangan sungai. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, (forthcoming)

From the publications, N. A. Halim was obviously occupied also with creating a new source of information, and was therefore not a passive collector. His training, creativity, research, experience, philosophy, personality, and professionalism were obvious in his books. Except for his memoir (1998), he kept personal matters strictly in the background. His works were published to international acclaim. Written originally in the Malay language, they attracted the attention of people from around the world who were intrigued and enchanted by his photography and creativity. Thus, many of them were translated into English language, and quite a number of them are now standard reference guides on Malay architecture. In these and his seminars, he provided detailed information about buildings, describing their structure, design, layout, location and condition. He was karyawan tamu at Penerbit UKM, working on Rivers in Malaysia, when he fell sick and died.

All these publications are further testimonies of N. A. Halim as a highly acclaimed cultural historian whose life-long project of documenting extant mosques, palaces, houses, people and nature made him a renowned authority on traditional Malay houses and a strong advocate for the preservation of vanishing cultural heritage. His collection also faithfully represents the breadth, width, the spirit and the style of his involvement in Malay culture. One wonders whether he had intended to build a special collection, his collection came about through combining different collections of photographs, slides and printed materials. The complete collection was very much his creation, a giant resource from a gifted man, capturing Malay cultural history in every conceivable way. The uniqueness of the collection lies not only in the variety of non-book material, but also in the volume. This collection can be identified by systematically cross-referencing the following items:

1. 7,736 photographs,
2. 7,983 slides,
3. 300 planes,
4. 150 maps, and
5. 1092 books, articles, seminar papers, thesis and reports.

From the information given above, his collection consists of all sorts of media, from photographs, slide and sketches to drawings in varying proportions. Quite a number of valuable rarities have been discovered in the collection, increasing the value of this collection. This could be because he had deliberately collected them without any obvious guiding principle, in order not to let his own bias limit the final collection. UKM accepted the donation as a coherent and homogenous whole worth keeping, preserving, captioning and cataloguing. Among them are excellent pictures, sketches and drawings useful to many picture editors, which can be satisfactorily reproduced.

N. A. Halim was not only a dedicated collector who devoted a large part of his life to building up his collection, but also was tactical and believed that its chances of survival would be very much greater if it was entrusted to an established research institute or library. Thus, the collection was given to ATMA as an gift with no strings attached. In that way, he did not only find a new safe home for his collection, but he also saved himself the trouble of keeping them in good condition. PATMA has since classified them under different subjects using the Library of Congress Subject Headings, preserving them as an integral whole, with Halim himself providing the captions. This material now forms the nucleus of a special collection. Though the photographs, slides, sketches, maps are shelved separately, they are kept together in a room, meaning that each discreet item is linked to another. In other words, the items cannot be observed individually out of context. Two years later, Katalog Koleksi N. A. Halim (1992) was published. In the process, the library staff mounted the items in protective plastic envelopes or folders that were chemically inert, minimizing the possibility of damage of any kind. These open-sided wallets allow air circulation. However, they admit dust and tend to allow condensation. His collection is multi-faceted, and is valuable for the following reasons:
i. The number of items on Malay architecture;
ii. The wide range of other subjects;
iii. The complementing variety of subjects relating to Malay culture; and 
iv. The relevance to the research interest and need at ATMA,

What the library had done can be summarized as:

1. To gather items related to a particular subject, theme or area, in close proximity to each other.
2. To make available to a given body of people the kind of material they are likely to require in the pursuit of their study or profession.
3. To provide documentation in the form of illustrative material, either for study, research and exploration.

Halim’s gift to PATMA was evidently done with the interest of researchers at heart. Thus, it was not an end in itself. The possibility of juxtaposing non-printed material with printed items gives research at ATMA a new depth. The collection can potentially attract a very wide range of users, provided that they are made easily accessible. To achieve this, we have decided to put them on the web. Digitalizing work started in mid-2002, made possible by a research grant from DAGS/ MIMOS. We took the opportunity to approach his son, Hazrul Halim, who works in UKM, for material still in his family archives, which could fill the gaps and enlarge the collection. Thus some 2,000 new items are added.