OBSERVATORIES IN MALAYSIA: DESCENDANTS OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION SUPERIORITY

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1 International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET) Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2017, pp , Article ID: IJCIET_08_12_085 Available online at ISSN Print: and ISSN Online: IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed OBSERVATORIES IN MALAYSIA: DESCENDANTS OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION SUPERIORITY Ibnor Azli Ibrahim Department of Syariah, Faculty of Islamic Studies & Institute of Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Mohd Hafiz Safiai Department of Syariah, Faculty of Islamic Studies & Institute of Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Ezad Azraai Jamsari (Corresponding Author) Department of Arabic Studies and Islamic Civilization, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Md Yazid Ahmad Department of Syariah, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Amir Husin Mohd Nor Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia Badlihisham Mohd Nasir Faculty of Islamic Civilization, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia Aminudin Hehsan Faculty of Islamic Civilization, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia ABSTRACT This article covers official observatories in Malaysia on their historical aspects of establishment and development. The observatories were built for the advancement of the science of falak in Malaysia in the fields of research, education and tourism. However, studies on observatory are few in numbers in spite of it being an important Islamic institution apart from mosques and schools. Hence, this study was carried out to examine the development history of official observatories in Malaysia. This research

2 Observatories In Malaysia: Descendants of Islamic Civilization Superiority employed a qualitative method via document analyses, interviews and observations. It was found that the history of the establishment of official observatory in Malaysia commenced in the 1980 s and the institution rapidly grew until Up to date, there are eight official observatories in Malaysia excluding hilal observation stations, mobile observatories and private observatories, be they mobile or stationary. Key words: Observatory; Islamic Astronomy; Al-Marsad Al-Falaki; Astrofiqh; Cosmofiqh; Islamic Civilization. Cite this Article: Ibnor Azli Ibrahim, Mohd Hafiz Safiai, Ezad Azraai Jamsari, Md Yazid Ahmad, Amir Husin Mohd Nor, Badlihisham Mohd Nasir and Aminudin Hehsan, Observatories In Malaysia: Descendants of Islamic Civilization Superiority, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(12), 2017, pp INTRODUCTION The rapid growth in the science of falak (astronomy) can be witnessed during the golden age of Islamic civilization, especially during early in the 9 th century during the rule of Caliph al- Ma mun ( ) of the Abbasid Caliphate. As a result, numerous Muslim scientists from various fields of knowledge, in particular astronomy were born and became world-renowned (Hassan, Abiddin & Ahmad 2011: 37-38). In the rapid development of the knowledge, two observatories in the Islamic world became landmarks of its glory leaving great impact in the history of falak. They were the Maraghah Observatory in the south of Tabriz and the Ulugh Begh Observatory in Samarkand. Both observatories were built complete with facilities provided for astronomers to facilitate their work. In addition, the observatories also functioned as education centers of falak science which were well known at that time (Mujani, Ibrahim & Safiai 2012: 1370). This study commenced from reviews of previous works in Malaysia such as The Importance of Observatory in Astronomy Research by Othman (1993), The Al-Khawarizmi Falak Complex: Planning and Future Direction by Bahali (2006), Astronomical Seeing Measurement of Two Observatory Sites in Malaysia: The DIMM Method by Zainuddin, Abd. Aziz, Arif, Ahmad and Haron (2006), Observatory Technology: Then until Now by Aziz (2010) and Human Resource Development Issues in the Field of Islamic Astronomy: Analysis of the Langkawi National Observatory, Malaysia by Ismail, Asillam and Zin (2014). In general, all the works only discussed the functions and roles of the observatories. A lack of research in the history of the observatories makes studies such as the one at hand important to be completed. Through reviews of previous literatures on international observatories, this study has referred to several works such as The Royal Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam by Leuschner (1892), The Yerkes Observatory of The University of Chicago by Hale (1892), The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Scotland by Aitken (1898), The U.S. Naval Observatory by Hall (1899) and The Tananarive Observatory by Hunt (1901). Analysis of the works reveals that foreign nations have long been working on and documenting the history of observatories for future works. Hence, the objective of the current study is to examine the history of official observatory development in Malaysia. In Malaysia, official observatories are categorized into three types: astrofiqh observatory, federal observatory and high education institution observatory. An astrofiqh observatory is an observatory which is operated by the State Mufti Department (Safiai, Jamsari & Ibrahim 2014). Federal observatory is one that is under the custody of the National Space Agency or Agensi Angkasa Negara Malaysia (ANGKASA). ANGKASA is a Malaysian government agency editor@iaeme.com

3 Ibnor Azli Ibrahim, Mohd Hafiz Safiai, Ezad Azraai Jamsari, Md Yazid Ahmad, Amir Husin Mohd Nor, Badlihisham Mohd Nasir and Aminudin Hehsan which was established for the purpose of developing the education and research in space science, as well as helping the government in implementing the National Space Policy or Dasar Angkasa Negara (Amri 2009: 23). Meanwhile, high education institution observatory is the observatory run by Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Terengganu. Studies relating to the greatness and excellence of Islamic and Arabic studies generally and Islamic history and civilization particularly are also assayed by local scholars, covering various issues such as discussion of the role of the al-azhar University in the dissemination of Islamic religious knowledge (Mujani, Abdullah & Bakar 2012), the historical development of public institutions of Malaysian higher learning (Mujani, Muttaqin & Khalid 2014), the takharuj principle flexibility in solving the inheritance issues (Ahmad et al. 2017), heir pre-investigation mechanism according to shari ah perspective (Ahmad, Isa & Omar 2014), the management of zakat distribution in the practice of fatwa in Terengganu (Hassan et al. 2017), the approach of knowledge transfer in deriving Shafi ite hukum (Hassan et al. 2015), the economic effects of the Julban riots during the Mamluk period (Mujani 2013), Ibn al-athir s records on Islamic history in India (Ashari, Nor & Jamsari 2013), al-salawi s records of the Marinid military from the point of war (Jamsari et al. 2012a), the Marinid kingdom from different perspectives; i.e. naval force (Jamsari & Ashari 2014), administrative system (Jamsari et al. 2012b), Ibn Kathir s records on chain of wars in al-bidayah wa al-nihayah (Jamsari, Yaacob & Ashari 2013), al- Ghazali s views on family development (Sulaiman, Jamsari & Noh 2014), the basis and meaning of leadership in Islam (Jamsari et al. 2012c; Mujani et al. 2012), Ibn Firnas s contribution to aviation technology (Jamsari et al. 2013), Reinhart Dozy s bio-bibliographical aspect (Jamsari & Talib 2014; Jamsari et al. 2014), strategic leadership of Sultan Muhammad al-fatih (Jamsari, Isa & Ashari 2014), concept of knowledge according to Syed Sheikh Ahmad al-hadi (Sulaiman, Jamsari & Talib 2016), the scholarship of Sheikh Muhammad Rif at in the science of tarannum (Abdullah et al. 2014), astrolabe as portal to the universe, inventions across civilizations, multipurpose astrofiqh instrument, functions in solving astrofiqh issues, general similarities of Malaysian observatories, observatories in Islamic history (Safiai et al. 2017; Safiai et al. 2016; Ibrahim, Safiai & Jamsari 2015; Safiai, Jamsari & Ibrahim 2014; Mujani, Ibrahim & Safiai 2012), as well as the purification of historical facts in selected Malay novels (Kamaruzaman et al. 2017). 2. OBSERVATORY DEFINITION Observatory is closely linked with observation studies and theories on celestial objects, the space between them and the universe on the whole. Observed objects include the sun, moon, planets and stars (Vasiliev & Tataridou 2013: 36-38). The technology of observatory construction existed since the 8 th century and it was considered as one of the important Islamic institutions alongside schools and mosques (Farahati 2011: ). The Islamic civilization era was the beginning era of observatory constructions and since then an evolution occurs from time to time to the rest of the world (Arny & Schneider 2010: ). The word observatory in Malay is balai cerap. According to Kamus Dewan (2005: 114, 270), the word balai means a hall, house (for public) or building specially built for a certain purpose while cerap means to observe, to view, an action or a process of observing certain phenomena and to accept a certain thing in the heart using senses such as sight or hearing. Meanwhile balai cerap is defined by Kamus Dewan (2005) as a building which is equipped with certain equipment to enable scientists and others to make observation and prediction on weather phenomena, position and movement of celestial objects. According to Othman (1993: 1), observatory is an institution for astronomy experts to study the universe. They examine emissions or images from celestial bodies to form theories on the universe. Therefore, observatory has been a basic amenity without which the advancement of editor@iaeme.com

4 Observatories In Malaysia: Descendants of Islamic Civilization Superiority astronomy science seen today would have not been able to achieve. Meanwhile Aziz (2010: 1) defines observatory as a place used for observing phenomena of the universe, either directly using human senses or with the help of instruments. The existence of observatory greatly contributes in the field of astronomy and at the same time defines the level of excellence of a civilization. In the Malaysian context, the use of the term astrofiqh observatory refers to observatories which are operated by the State Mufti Department. According to Ibrahim and Nordin (2005: 1-3), astrofiqh observatory means an integrated center of falak sciences which runs activities of education, research and tourism which are related to falak shar ie, specifically in matters concerning worship such as deciding the qiblah direction and calculating the time of prayer (Ibrahim, Safiai & Jamsari 2015). The term astrofiqh was coined and later used by certain quarters in Malaysia to refer to the discipline of falak shar ie. Astrofiqh, from the angle of Islamic ruling discussion, involves domestic issues such as the period of iddah, calculation of nasab and other issues of ritual worship such as deciding qiblah direction, calculating prayer times and fixing the starting day of fasting in Ramadhan and the two Eid days of Eid-ul-Fitri and Eid-ul-Adha (Ibrahim et al. 2009: 157). The terminology was coined by Ibrahim (2010: 67) who conjoined the term with the term cosmofiqh. This eventually formed a new corpus of knowledge which combines space science and Islamic fiqh. He defined fiqh al-falak wa al-kawn (astrofiqh and cosmofiqh) as: A discipline of knowledge which debates about the universe as to the position and movement of celestial objects in order to determine the takwim (calendar), find direction and decide the time for what concerns Islamic hukum/ruling in the aspects of worship, creed and morals based on the shari ah. Also according to Ibrahim, astrofiqh encompasses the debate on cosmofiqh concerning creation of the universe and all objects within it. Astrofiqh is a branch of knowledge which is endless because knowledge on the universe is too vast to explore (Ibrahim 2010: 67-68). If one is to scrutinize this new definition of falak shar ie, one will find that the study is broadened to include questions of Islamic faith and morals beside the Islamic rulings related to the universe on the whole and not limited to space only. Thus, the Shari ah positions, on what is on earth such as the oceans, air, clouds, earthquakes, lightning and all matters of earth geography, are included in al-kawn as meant in this definition (Ibrahim, Ahmad & Safiai 2013). 3. THE HISTORY OF OFFICIAL OBSERVATORY DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA 3.1. Sheikh Tahir Falak Centre The history of astrofiqh observatory construction in Malaysia commenced in the late 1980 s with the building of the Sheikh Tahir Falak Centre in Penang. This center was first built in 1988 and later officially opened on the 9 th of October Its construction marked the beginning of the advancement of falak in Malaysia at that time. The center also functions as an astronomy and atmospheric science research station for the Penang State Mufti Department and the Falak and Atmospheric Sciences Research Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia (Ilyas 2003: 120). Sheikh Tahir Falak Centre is located in Pantai Acheh, which is in the westernmost part of Penang. The observatory s coordinates are latitude 5º N and longitude 100º E. It was built on a hill at a height of 40m from sea level. Its location which is far from the hustle and bustle of the city renders the observatory a suitable place to carry out observation activities (Observatori Negara Langkawi 2009a: 40). The 123th Conference of Malay Rulers on the 18 th of February 1982 consented to the observatory site being made an official site for hilal sighting for Ramadhan, Shawwal and editor@iaeme.com

5 Ibnor Azli Ibrahim, Mohd Hafiz Safiai, Ezad Azraai Jamsari, Md Yazid Ahmad, Amir Husin Mohd Nor, Badlihisham Mohd Nasir and Aminudin Hehsan Zulhijjah (Majlis Raja-raja 2010). The Sheikh Tahir Falak Centre was named after an expert in the field of falak shar ie in the Malay realm, Sheikh Tahir Jalaluddin. He was an Islamic scholar who received his high education in the Middle East and was well-renowned in the Malay Archipelago for his mastery in two disciplines of knowledge, namely fiqh and falak (Abdullah 2004: 15) The National Planetarium Observatory The history of the National Planetarium Observatory began with the setting up of Planetarium Division in the Prime Minister s Department in the year The construction of the observatory was listed in the construction project of the National Planetarium Complex which began in 1990 and was fully completed in 1993 (Chen 2012a). Bahagian Kajian Angkasa (BAKSA) or the Space Studies Division was established with its responsibility broadened to include sciences and outer space. Its unofficial launching was in May 1993 and the complex was officially opened by the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on the 7 th of February After operating for one and a half year, the division was moved to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE) in July In 2002, the National Space Agency or Agensi Angkasa Negara (ANGKASA) was established and mandated with the power to set policies and regulate, coordinate, implement and monitor space activities. Later on, BAKSA and ANGKASA were merged in 2004 (Planetarium Negara 2012). The National Planetarium Observatory began operation in 1993 and all systems were handled manually. Observation dome and the telescope system were controlled by staff assigned with the duty of operating them. Operation of the telescope at that time was manually done because the telescope mounting which was Takahashi NJP Mounting was not automated (Solinggong 2012). Due to difficulties faced in controlling the observatory dome and the telescope at that time, the whole operation system at the observatory was replaced by a fully robotic system in Since then, the operation system of the dome and the telescope was fully controlled robotically by computers until now. The National Planetarium Observatory is located at Lake Garden, Kuala Lumpur near the National Museum, Tun Abdul Razak Memorial and the Museum of Islamic Arts. Its location coordinates are latitude 03 º 09 N and longitude 101 º 41 E. It was built on a tower at a height of 112m above sea level (Observatori Negara Langkawi 2009a: 16). The National Planetarium Observatory is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment befitting the objective of its establishment as a center of space science studies in Malaysia. This observatory uses a semispherical dome with a diameter of 5m and automatic controls. The dome was built in two layers, an inner layer made from fiber glass and an outer layer made from rust-resistant alloy. The purpose of building the planetarium observatory is for public education. It has the objective of exposing the public to outer space through a combination of space science knowledge, cultures and religion (Chen 2012b) The KUSZA Observatory In line with the development in the field of astronomy in the 1990 s, construction of an observatory in Bukit Merang, Setiu was proposed with the intention to enhance the advancement of astronomy in the State of Terengganu specifically and Malaysia generally. This observatory began to be built in 1992 and was fully completed in 1995 (Observatori Negara Langkawi 2009a: 36). The observatory is administrated by Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) formerly known as Kolej Ugama Sultan Zainal Abidin (KUSZA) under the supervision of Falak Unit, Faculty of Islamic Contemporary Studies (FPKI). The observatory is one of the official hilal sighting locations in Malaysia. In the beginning, the observatory used editor@iaeme.com

6 Observatories In Malaysia: Descendants of Islamic Civilization Superiority the name Bukit Merang Observatory, but that was later changed to KUSZA Observatory which is still used until today. The KUSZA Observatory is located in Bukit Merang, Setiu, Terengganu about 26km away from the main campus of UniSZA. Its position is latitude 5º N and longitude 102º E and it was built on a hill at a height of 112m above sea level. In the 160 th Conference of the Malay Rulers held on the 11 th of February 1993, the site of the observatory was given the royal assent by the Council of Malay Rulers to become one of the official hilal sighting place for Ramadhan, Shawwal and Zulhijjah (Majlis Raja-raja 2010). The KUSZA Observatory is equipped with an aluminum dome of diameter 5m with wooden inner layer. The hemispherical dome is manually controlled and the observatory is also equipped with other facilities such as a mini-planetarium, exhibition gallery, lecture rooms, observation field and prayer rooms (Observatori Negara Langkawi 2009a: 37). As an observatory operated by a local university, the setting up of the KUSZA Observatory is more focused towards the aspect of education. Various activities related to astronomy education are organized at the observatory, among which are hilal observation every Hijri month, night sky object surveillance, periodic courses, demonstration of telescope operation and open-day programs. In addition, the observatory also serves as a practical training place for astronomy students of UniSZA who take the co-curriculum subject or elective course of falak shar ie. Not limited to an education institution, the KUSZA Observatory is also open for those who are interested in carrying out research activities related to astronomy Al-Khawarizmi Falak Complex The Al-Khawarizmi Falak Complex, Malacca was built in 2002 and was later officially opened on the 1 st of December Proposal for the construction of the observatory was mooted to expand and enable efforts of managing worship affairs of the Muslims involving falak such as determining the starting date of the Hijri months and calculating prayer time (Bahali 2012). The Al-Khawarizmi Falak Complex is located in Kampung Balik Batu, Tanjung Bidara in the District of Alor Gajah and is about 25km from the city center of the Historical City of Malacca. Originally, this observatory was an ordinary observation site which was owned by a local resident by the name of Mr. Abdul Karim bin Mohd Amin. Later on, the land was donated or made a waqaf land to the State of Malacca Mufti Department to be gazetted as an official hilal sighting site (Bahali 2012). Its location is on the shore facing the Straits of Malacca at a latitude of N and longitude E. It was also built to face the qiblah, which is at azimuth (Ibrahim et al. 2012: 318). The position of the observatory at an altitude of 44m above sea level prevents it from any obstruction such as tall buildings and trees. In addition, it has a wide angle of west horizon view of 240º- 295º (Bahali 2006, p. 15). In the 185 th Conference of Malay Rulers on the 23 rd of March 2000, the observatory got the royal assent from the Council of Malay Rulers to become one of the official hilal observation sites for determining Ramadhan, Shawwal and Zulhijjah (Majlis Raja-raja 2010). The Al-Khawarizmi Falak Complex was named after a highly knowledgeable Islamic figure for his knowledge in the fields of philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and history, namely Al-Khawarizmi. He was the most prominent mathematician who pioneered several important branches and fundamental concepts of mathematics. The term algebra today is proof of his great contribution in the field of mathematics to the whole world (al-daffa 1977: 13; Dedron & Itard 1978: 153) editor@iaeme.com

7 Ibnor Azli Ibrahim, Mohd Hafiz Safiai, Ezad Azraai Jamsari, Md Yazid Ahmad, Amir Husin Mohd Nor, Badlihisham Mohd Nasir and Aminudin Hehsan 3.5. The Al-Biruni Observatory In the year of 2004, the Al-Biruni Observatory in the State of Sabah began to be built. Construction of the observatory was not only for the purpose of hilal sighting but it also is to function as a catalyst for education, research and the tourism sector. In addition to that, this observatory plays the role of generating growth in the field of falak in Malaysia particularly in the state of Sabah. It was officially opened on the 29 th of October 2007 (Rajak 2011: 11). The observatory is in Tanjung Dumpil, Putatan about 15km from Kota Kinabalu and 1km from Putatan within the vicinity of Kg. Contoh, Petagas, Kg. Sri Pandan and Taman Pasir Putih Putatan. The coordinates of the observatory are latitude N and longitude E (Rajak 2011: 16). The building which is at 1.7m above sea level is oriented to face the South China Sea facing the Ka bah, which is at azimuth Apart from that, it has a wide angle of the west horizon view, at azimuth 230º-310º. Gazettement of the observatory site as an official hilal sighting site for the state of Sabah was made on the 19 th of October 2006/26 Ramadhan 1427H for the area of hectares or acres (Rajak 2011: 17). The Al-Biruni Observatory was named to commemorate a prominent figure in the fields of mathematics, geography, physics and astronomy (Said 1979: 149). The eminence of al-biruni in various disciplines of knowledge made him a scholar highly respected by rulers of the Islamic world then and he received special treatment and high position from them. He was once an advisor to the ruler of Khawarizm, Abu al- Abbas al-ma mun (Said & Khan 1992: 110) Langkawi National Observatory Through the establishment of the National Planetarium, Kuala Lumpur in 1994, the importance of space science has since increased. In line with the setting up of ANGKASA in 2002, an idea was mooted to build an observatory with robotic telescope system which can be remotely operated through the internet. This observatory is known as the Langkawi National Observatory (Amri 2009: 26). The Langkawi National Observatory was completed in 2006 and officially commissioned on the 28 th of January 2011 by Datuk Seri Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili as the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. The observatory is an astronomy research center built specifically for local researchers to undertake space science studies in a more systematic manner, in addition to functioning as a platform to foster international network cooperation, especially in Equator-themed research (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation 2011). The Langkawi National Observatory is located near Bukit Malut Dam, on the Island of Langkawi. Its construction was done in a forest reserve area in the north of Malaysia. Its location coordinates are latitude N and longitude E (Observatori Negara Langkawi 2009a: 2). The observatory location is far away from urban area making it free from most light and noise pollution, which are two critical elements to consider when doing observation. This observatory is furnished with a stellar telescope for night sky object observation and a solar telescope to observe the sun (Observatori Negara Langkawi 2009b: ii). In addition, the observatory is built close to the sea and has an altitude of 111m above sea level. These factors render the site a very suitable place for observation activities due to its position which has a wide angle of the horizon view without any obstacle such as buildings and trees. There are two observatories built at the site, which are stellar observatory and solar observatory. Both observatories have different instrument according to its own functions. The stellar observatory has a robotic dome of diameter 5m made from an aluminum alloy of thickness 1.6mm. The dome is fully controlled by a computer. The observatory uses modern and sophisticated equipment. Therefore, instruments available at the site are well taken care of and maintained. The solar observatory meanwhile has a robotic dome with a diameter of 10 feet editor@iaeme.com

8 Observatories In Malaysia: Descendants of Islamic Civilization Superiority (Observatori Negara Langkawi 2009c). This dome is also automatically controlled by a computer. The Langkawi National Observatory is built as a center for expert scientists from all over the world, in particular from Malaysia, to carry out research activities on space science using the facilities available. On top of that, through the establishment, it plays the role of being a meeting point for international astronomer to exchange ideas and partake in research on equatorial sky. The types of research carried out include calendar system, ephemeris, astrophysics, atmospheric physics, space radiation, materials science, earth-sun relation, sunspots and microgravity (Amri 2009: 26) The Selangor Observatory Construction of official observatories in Malaysia continued to take place 2009 with the Selangor Observatory. Its construction began in 2009 and was finally completed and commissioned on the 1 st of September The observatory which was then worth RM2.1 million is a building for falak studies fully operated by the Observatory Unit of the Falak Shar ie Division, State of Selangor Mufti Department. The observatory which was officially opened on the 20 th of July 2012 is a facility provided by the State Mufti Department in efforts to study and explore the creation and secrets of the universe. Among the goals of its establishment are to become a research center for astronomers, an education center for the discipline of falak and simultaneously to be a medium to spread da wah to the masses. In addition, it can also be an attractive tourist destination in Sabak Bernam (Observatory Selangor 2011). The Selangor Observatory is located in Sungai Lang more than 20km away from the town of Sabak Bernam. The area of the observatory is approximately 4824 m 2 and it is within a 100- acre land area of Pusat Dakwah Islamiah (Islamic Da wah Centre). The observatory is positioned at latitude N and longitude E. Its position of 7 m above sea level facing the Straits of Malacca gives a broad view of the horizon and is strategic without being obstructed by obstacles to make surveillance activities (Jabatan Mufti Negeri Selangor 2003: 1). In the 221 st Conference of Malay Rulers on the 24 th of June 2010, the observatory was made, by the royal assent of the Council of Malay Rulers, an official hilal sighting site (Majlis Raja-raja 2010) Teluk Kemang Baitulhilal Complex The fifth official observatory built in Malaysia is the Teluk Kemang Baitulhilal Complex. Originally, it was only an ordinary hilal sighting station. However, redevelopment process of the observation station was started in the month of December 2009 and the complex was completed in November This observatory which returned to normal operation in March 2012 is operated by the Negeri Sembilan State Mufti Department in cooperation with Universiti Malaya (Anonymous 2012). Teluk Kemang Baitulhilal Complex is located in Teluk Kemang, Negeri Sembilan. It is about 40km from the city of Seremban from where it takes about 35 minutes by drive to get there. The location is on the shore facing the Straits of Malacca and its position is latitude N and longitude E. It was also built to face the direction of qiblah, which is at azimuth (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia 2012). In the 92 nd Conference of Malay Rulers on the 16 th of March 1972, the observatory site was given the assent by the Council of Malay Rulers to become one of the official hilal sighting places (Majlis Raja-raja 2010). The complex was built on a land with an area of 1.2 hectares owned by the Majlis Agama Islam Negeri Sembilan (MAINS). The complex construction project which cost approximately RM30 million was a joint effort between the Department of Waqaf, Zakah and Haj or Jabatan Wakaf, Zakat dan Haji (JAWHAR) and Majlis Agama Islam Negeri Sembilan (Jabatan Wakaf, Zakat dan Haji 2011). The complex takes the role of being a center for hilal, star and universe observation activities in the effort to further the advancement editor@iaeme.com

9 Ibnor Azli Ibrahim, Mohd Hafiz Safiai, Ezad Azraai Jamsari, Md Yazid Ahmad, Amir Husin Mohd Nor, Badlihisham Mohd Nasir and Aminudin Hehsan of falak, having well-equipped with the most modern telescope in Southeast Asia and the biggest in Malaysia valued at RM1.8 million (Anonymous 2012). The complex consists of an observatory building, three apartments and a 3-star 4-storey hotel which has 82 rooms of which 43 are superior rooms and 39 deluxe-type rooms. It is built near the observatory building as a facility for visitors and tourists. The hotel is the only hotel in Malaysia which offers as a unique attraction a package for occupants of the hotel to observe objects of the universe (Anonymous 2011). The complex has the privilege of having unobstructed view of the horizon. Its location is also among the most strategic point in Southeast Asia for hilal sighting activities. In Malaysia, it holds the record as the official hilal sighting site with the highest hilal visibility compared to other official hilal observation places all over the country (Shaharuddin 2006). 4. CONCLUSION Up to date, there are eight official observatories which were built in Malaysia excluding hilal sighting stations, mobile observatories and private observatories, be they mobile or stationary. All official observatories were built to develop the field of falak from the aspects of education, research and tourism. Today, the construction of the official observatories in Malaysia can further advance the progress of falak. Apart from being sites for observation activities, they also have the role of being effective research centers and education institutions of the falak science. In reality, the existence of official observatories exhibits the importance of space science in the economic growth of the nation. Space exploration is one of the utmost agenda in the world of space science in Malaysia as it does not only encourage Malaysians to enhance their knowledge in space science, but also build a spirit of self-identity among the masses in deepening their knowledge of space science. Besides, internal security of the nation is more secure if Malaysia is able to explore outer space in her effort to position her security control to the highest level. All of these can be achieved with the cooperation of various parties, especially with the establishment of the National Space Agency (ANGKASA) which has the role of not only coordinating space activities but also developing space science in the nation. In the future, it is hoped that the official observatory can be added in states which have yet to have an observatory. Such initiative is important for the uniformity and integration of official observatories all over Malaysia I order to increase the quality of observatory itself. This can develop the advancement of falak science, especially in matters pertaining to worship rituals of the Muslims such as determining the fasting day and calculating prayer time. it is hoped that Islamic astronomy in Malaysia can flourish directly making the nation well-known throughout the world. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This study is financed by the Research Group of Astrofiqh and Cosmofiqh (ANCOR, GUP ; GUP ), UKM; the Research Group of the Maghazi Studies (2017: FPI UKM-KAGAT ATM); the Research Group of the Islamic Military History (GUP ; INDUSTRI ), UKM; and the Action/Strategic Research Project (PTS ; PTS ), UKM editor@iaeme.com

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