ISSC 2016 : International Soft Science Conference An Identification Task toward Engendering a Malaysian Folktale Classification System for Preservation Harryizman Harun a *, Zulikha Jamaludin b * Corresponding author: Harryizman Harun, harry@uum.edu.my a School of Multimedia Technology and Communication, Universiti Utara Malaysia,06010, Sintok, Kedah Malaysia,harry@uum.edu.my b School of Computing, Universiti Utara Malaysia,06010, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia, zulikha@uum.edu.my Abstract Malaysian folktales are one of the intangible cultural heritages that mirror and carries the lineage of the past generations to the present. It deserves to be preserved systematically but thus far; such effort is scarce if not lacking in this country. Consequently, a study is conducted to create a structural classification of the folktales with an aim to preserve such valuable heritage. Nevertheless, before the classification begins, an important task precedes which are an identification of the Malaysian folktales in a form of literary sources. The identification taskis guided by a combination of two qualifying factors: an operational definition established in the study and also an ownership of the folktales. Ultimately, this paper presents the method employed in the identification process and also the number of the accepted and excluded Malaysian folktales along with the titles of the folktales as findings of the process. © 2016 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk Keywords: Malaysian folktales; intangible cultural heritage; folktale classification; identification of folktale; preservation of folktale. 1. Introduction In the past, the cultural heritage of the world purely represented the tangible artefacts of old but at present, the cultural heritage also encompasses the similarly valuable intangible heritage of the forefathers(UNESCO, n.d.). The intangible cultural heritage is composed of many aspects, and one of them is folklore which embodies social and cultural identity of a community (UNESCO, 1989). Several facets of folklore reflect the traditional practice of a society namely music, dances, festival, and also stories, which persist through times in a form notably known as folktale (Mohd Hussein, Mohd Nor, & http://dx.doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2016.08.4