The strategic geographical location and wealth of natural resources had placed the Malay Peninsula as the centre of trade since the Hindu-Buddhist era and continued after the advent of Islam, where the trading activity became increasingly active. Due to this, the Malays had created a set of laws concerning business regulations and ethics which were legislated and enacted long before the arrival of the British in the 19 th century. Therefore, it is important for us to discuss and analyse the existing pre-colonial laws of the Malays as this will prove that the Malay Kingdom in ancient times were already highly civilized. In order to do this, this study will adopt the qualitative method to analyse four (4) ancient laws in the Malay kingdom, namely the Hukum Kanun Melaka, Hukum Kanun Pahang, Undang-Undang 99 Negeri Perak and Undang-Undang Kedah. This study also has two (2) objectives: (i) to examine the legal provisions related to business rules and ethics contained in the law, (ii) to prove that the Malay Kingdoms before the arrival of the British were already civilized based on the ancient laws which highlights the importance of ethics and rules in trade. Findings from this study discovered that several provision of the relevant laws and rules pertaining to business ethics had already exited in the canons of Malay law before the 17 th century AD. This includes ethics in usury (riba), prohibition of selling items prohibited in Islam (alcohol, dogs and pigs), condition and certainty of the price, quantity and quality of the item, freedom of choice and buying, return policy and real estate to name a few. This proves that the government and people of Peninsula Malaysia were already concerned about ethics in business. Hence, further

In the Islamic history of the Malay Archipelago, the Persian's contribution in terms of the artistic repertoire influence towards the shaping of the Malay's Islamic art has rarely been discussed by scholars. This is troubling as much of the Persian land (Iran & Iraq) from the 10 th until early 13 th century was inhabited by the Turkic people from Central Asia who were heavily influenced and thoroughly 'Persianised'. Therefore, the art historical method was employed in this study to analyse the artistic connection between the Malay Archipelago with the Turco-Persian Dynasties in Iran. The findings indicate that there is a strong artistic connection with the Turco-Persian Dynasties, namely the Ghaznavid Dynasty (977-1186CE), Seljuk Sultanate of Rum (1077-1308CE) and the Candarogullari Beylik in Kastamonu, Anatolia. Although a small fraction of the Ghaznavid and Seljuk Islamic art survives, their influence can still be seen in the Islamic art used to adorn the Mahmut Bey Mosque in Kastamonu which is slowly deteriorating in time. The Mahmut Bey Mosque is a vital piece of evidence as the surviving Islamic art used to adorn the mosque is a combination traditional Turkic art with the the Seljuk and Ghanavids forms of Islamic art, in which influence of previous religion practiced by the Turkic people such as Tengrism and Buddhism are also evident. These influences were then brought to the Malay Archipelago where it is then acculturated in the existing Malay art culture, particularly in woodcarving and masonry of early Islamic tombstones.

Physical objects in the forms of pillar and tombstone of Muslims migrants who came to Southeast Asia are of tremendous significance as they are the earliest seeing evidence which indicates Muslim presence in the region. However, the artistic dimensions of these objects are less studied compared to the inscription and material. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the connection between the earliest Islamic evidence found in the Southeast Asia region, the Champa Pillar (1035 CE) and its artistic influence. The art historical method was used in this study to analyse the development and influence of the Islamic art in the region based on style, technique and composition. Based on the analysis, the artistic repertoire in terms of the calligraphy script together with the content of the inscription show a strong connection with the Turkic people from India, particularly the Ghaznavid Dynasty (977-1186 CE). In addition to this, the content is also historically accurate with the development of Islamic Dynasties in the west in terms of event, historical figures and their migration. This suggest that Muslims of Turkic stock from the Ghaznavid Dynasty were among the earliest to migrate to Southeast Asia and settled in Champa, where they established an art guild and their Turkic-Islamic artistic repertoires later influenced the local existing Malay art. This indicates that while the Arabs and Persians were responsible for the spread of Islam, the Turkic people had a role in spreading the Islamic artistic repertoires to Southeast Asia.