The Manuscript of Hukum Kanun Pahang: Insights on Trade Laws and Economic Regulations in 17th-Century Malaya

Abstract

The Hukum Kanun Pahang is a 17th-century legal manuscript from the Malay world that combines Islamic legal principles with Malay customary law. As a written legal text, it offers more than just jurisprudential content—it reflects the political authority of the sultanate and the effort to preserve legal knowledge through textual transmission. While often described by the colonials broadly as a digest of laws, its specific provisions suggest a more intricate role in regulating daily life, particularly in the economic sphere. This study focuses on the sections of the manuscript that detail commercial practices, taxation mechanisms, and regulations surrounding port activities. By examining these aspects, the research highlights how structured economic thought was embedded within the legal language of the time. Employing textual analysis alongside comparative historical sources, the study draws attention to how references to commodity categories, metrological units, and differentiated customs duties mirror a functioning economic logic tailored to the realities of regional trade. The findings suggest that while Pahang may not have functioned as a major entrepôt, it likely served as a supportive collecting centre within Melaka’s broader trade network. More significantly, this research argues that Malay legal manuscripts like the Hukum Kanun Pahang hold valuable and underexplored data on economic governance. Rather than dismissing them as outdated or merely ceremonial, these texts should be mined for their rich details—offering historians a clearer view of early Malay approaches to trade regulation, taxation, and commercial administration.