Name Mubin Sheppard | ||
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Died September 11, 1994, Subang Jaya, Malaysia Books Taman Indera: a Royal Pleasure Ground: Malay Decorative Arts and Pastimes | ||
Tan Sri Datuk Dr./[Hajji|Haji]] Abdul Mubin Sheppard (born Mervyn Cecil Ffrank Sheppard; 21 June 1905 – 11 September 1994) was a renowned historian and academic in Malaysia.
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Life and career
Mervyn Sheppard was born on 21 June 1905 in Ireland. He obtained his early education at Marlborough College later at Cambridge University. He enrolled in the Malayan Civil Services (MCS) in 1928; a year after passing his qualification examination exam in London. He eventually became attached to the country and its people during his posting there. He served as a Company Commander in the Federated Malay States Volunteer Force (FMSVF) from 1941 until 1942, in which he became a prisoner of war during the Second World War. He retired as a Major in the FMSVF in 1945, deciding to stay on his job in the civil service until his total retirement in 1963. He converted into Islam in 1957, taking on the name of Abdul Mubin Sheppard.
In 1958, he was appointed as the first Keeper of Public Records, whose office would eventually evolve to become the Arkib Negara, or the National Archives. One year later, he became the first director of the then-Federation of Malaya's own national museum; where he had assembled a team tasked with retrieving artefacts covering the many historical eras of Malaya from cities like Lisbon and London to be exhibited there.
He died on 11 September 1994 at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre in Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Legacy
The Mubin Sheppard Memorial Prize was established under his name in 1996 by the Malaysia Heritage Trust to stimulate students' awareness of "the need to conserve Malaysia's built heritage and to encourage research and writings on various aspects of conservation and preservation."
