The Riau Islands provincial administration is to investigate the alleged illegal trade of ancient Malay scripts, most of which are believed to be in the collections of research centers in Malaysia and Singapore.

Provincial spokesman Irmansyah confirmed Wednesday the alleged widespread illegal trade of the ancient Malay scripts originated from Penyengat and Lingga islands, and were sold by residents, whose buyers included academics and researchers disguised as foreign tourists.

"The illegal transactions are difficult to trace because the buyers disguise themselves as tourists visiting Penyengat and Lingga islands, and the illegal trade has been going on for many years," Irmansyah told The Jakarta Post.

"However, we will take the necessary steps to anticipate and respond to the issue in the near future," he added.

The provincial administration, according to Irmansyah, will visit Malay study centers in Singapore and Malaysia to make an inventory of the number of ancient scripts originating from Riau Islands.

The administration set up museums on Lingga and Tanjung Pinang islands three years ago to document the history of the area.

"Offers of big money from buyers to our residents, most of whom are low-income earners, lured them into selling the scripts. Now, we will offer them an appropriate sum of money to return the artifacts to the museums," said Irmansyah.

He hoped the measures would effectively prevent the ancient scripts and heritage objects from being purchased by foreigners in the future.

Based on information from the Riau Islands provincial administration, more than 100 sheets of ancient scripts have been purchased by Malaysian and Singaporean buyers.

"This must be dealt with seriously because the scripts are part of the history of the Malay people from Riau Islands," he said.

A descendant from the Malay kingdom on Penyengat Island, Raja Malik, told the Post that his palace was currently preserving a number of Malay scripts of high historical value on its own initiative.

He said limited funds were the main challenge. Many residents living on Penyengat Island, with a population of around 2,000, are in possession of historical relics, which are considered of high cultural value.

However, they are reluctant to give them to the government or relevant agencies because doing so would cost them money.

"I am personally struggling to save the ancient scripts inherited from my parents. A foreign agency once assisted the transfer of the scripts into slides, but only a few; there are thousands of scripts that should be transferred so they can used as material for discussions for everyone interested," he said.

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