National Atlases
Malaysia's national atlas appeared in two editions separated by nearly four decades: the 1977 Atlas Kebangsaan Malaysia issued by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka under the Ministry of Education, and the 2016 edition produced by the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM). A 2019 account by Nur Zurairah Abdul Halim, Zoher Nomanbhoy and Mohd Noor Isa describes the planning and production of the 2016 volume.
The Atlas Kebangsaan Malaysia was published in 1977 by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, in Malay and English. It is the first national atlas of Malaysia. A 2019 account of Malaysia's national atlas experience by Nur Zurairah Abdul Halim, Zoher Nomanbhoy and Mohd Noor Isa dates this first national atlas to 1977 and notes that updating it was long delayed by constraints of time, funding and staffing.
The 2016 Atlas Kebangsaan Malaysia was published in Malay by the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan Malaysia, JUPEM). According to the 2019 account by Nur Zurairah Abdul Halim, Zoher Nomanbhoy and Mohd Noor Isa, a National Atlas Technical Committee (NATC) was formed in 2010 under the National Spatial Data Mapping Committee (JPDSN), with JUPEM leading coordination of data sharing among government agencies. The new atlas project began in mid-2014 and was completed and published in late 2016. The authors describe the design work, including content structure, scale selection and projection, and report problems encountered: uneven data quality, shortage of specialists, limited cooperation among agencies, absence of an English edition, and data currency. They recommend pilot studies, a full-time editor, interdisciplinary cooperation, bilingual publication and periodic review, and propose an interactive national atlas.
Nur Zurairah Abdul Halim; Zoher Nomanbhoy; Mohd Noor Isa
A national atlas is an essential multi-subject geographic atlas of a country. It is a widely known cartographic product which contains the summary representation of contemporary scientific knowledge of the country in the field of physical, economic and political geography. The conception of a national atlas is a complex and no trivial matter. Nevertheless, a national atlas is deemed necessary for infrastructural planning, pre-investment studies and as a source for geospatial information transfer that enables international comparability. On top of that, it is a symbol of national unity, scientific achievement, and political independence. Realising its importance, the new National Atlas of Malaysia project was initiated in mid-2014 and later completed then published in late-2016. This paper aims to share the experience of developing the National Atlas of Malaysia. The methodology of designing the national atlas is explained, while issues and recommendations from Malaysia’s perspective are also highlighted. The ongoing progress of updating the national atlas is also deliberated to ensure the relevancy of the national atlas to the public. By publishing the national atlas, the dissemination of popularised but authoritative scientific information about the geography of Malaysia from a national perspective can be achieved.
Photographs are being prepared for this hall.
