Hans Ras - The University of Malaya

The University of Malaya

In 1961, Ras obtained his Master’s degree cum laude. He married Widjiati, and the newly-weds set out for Kuala Lumpur, where Ras had been appointed as lecturer at the University of Malaya even before passing his Master’s exams. His head of department was Professor Roolvink, who later became professor at Leiden. Besides his teaching duties, Ras devoted his time to writing a PhD thesis on the Hikayat Banjar, the Malaysian-language history of Banjarmasin.

In Kuala Lumpur, a son was born to the couple. On expiry of Ras’ three-year contract there, the family moved back to Leiden, where Ras became a lecturer in the Department of Languages and Cultures of Southeast Asia and Oceania.

In 1966, a daughter was born and Ras obtained his PhD degree cum laude on the basis of a voluminous thesis containing not only a careful edition of the text of the Hikayat Banjar but also a detailed description of the literary and cultural-historical context in which the text had originated. Not long after this, the Ras family left the Netherlands for Jakarta to make the necessary preparations for the establishment of the first Indonesian office of the KITLV there.

Ras made a success of this venture in spite of major political and bureaucratic obstacles. Thanks to his efforts, a solid foundation was laid for the academic cooperation between the Netherlands and Indonesia, which continues to this day.