Order of Australia Award for Emeritus Professor A.H. Johns

The immense contribution of Emeritus Professor A.H. (Tony) Johns to Southeast Asian, and particularly Indonesian, studies was acknowledged in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours List. Tony was awarded Medal of the Order of Australia (AM) for ‘significant service to tertiary education, particularly to language and culture.’

Tony gained his PhD in Malay Studies from the School of Oriental and Asian Studies in London in 1954, after which he gained employment in Sumatra with the Ford Foundation as an English teacher. It was there he met his future wife Yohanni. In 1958, Tony was recruited to teach Indonesian and Malay at the Canberra University College, which was soon absorbed into The Australian National University. In 1963, Tony was appointed professor of Indonesian and Malay studies and went on to serve several terms as dean of the Faculty of Oriental (later Asian) Studies.

In the mid-1960s, Tony began deepening his study of Arabic and Islamic disciplines to better understand Islam in Southeast Asia. By the late 1960s he had established an Arabic studies program. Over time, this program produced a succession of students who combined high-level vernacular Southeast Asian language skills with a command of Arabic. Many of these students went on to produce highly influential research on Islamic history, culture and literature in region.

Tony’s own research output throughout his years at ANU was prodigious. He has published more than 100 scholarly articles and chapters as well as authored 10 books. The range of topics was vast, from classical Malay texts, the history of Islamisation and translations of contemporary Indonesian novels to Qur’anic exegesis, Southeast Asian mysticism and studies of Prophets in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. His articles appeared in most of the leading journals on Southeast Asia, Islamic studies and comparative religion.

Tony retired from ANU in 1993, after 35 years’ service, and was conferred the status of emeritus professor. He continued for many years to mentor post-graduate students and emerging scholars and give guest lectures in courses on Islam and Southeast Asian studies. His lectures were full of erudition and passion, and showcased his capacity to engage students. In recent years, Tony has only occasionally been able to visit campus, but at the age of 97, he continues to do research and write. He has almost finished a book manuscript, the culmination of many years work, on the famous medieval Persian theologian, philosopher and jurists, al-Ghazali.

The awarding of an AM to Tony is fitting recognition of his extraordinary life of service to scholarship on Southeast Asia and Islam.

Author - Emeritus Professor Greg Fealy, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific