Snapshots of Globalization’s First Wave February 9, 2015 – Posted in: Reviews

By SUNIL S. AMRITHJAN. 10, 2014 Every weekend in 1979, Ooi Cheng Ghee took his Leica camera out to the docks of Penang, an island off the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. Mr. Ooi, a local physician of Chinese descent, roamed the working-class district of Georgetown to document life in the harbor. By year’s end, he had taken 4,000 portraits, mostly of first-and second-generation migrants from India. The photographs chronicle a vanishing world. You can…

05 Feb 2015: Tragic Orphans February 5, 2015 – Posted in: Newsletters

Extensively researched and engagingly written, a welcome addition to the much neglected topic of the history of Indian communities in Malaya/Malaysia … an insight into the lives and challenges faced by them. – Gauri Krishnan, National Heritage Board, Singapore In view of recent trends and directions structuring the current political scenario in the country, a book which openly discusses the plight of the Indian community in Malaysia, imperfections and all, is presumed to be nothing…

29 Jan 2015: Unsung Patriot – Posted in: Newsletters

Leaders must be capable of bringing a clear-sighted and intelligent approach to life’s problems, of making just decisions based on available data, of approaching people sympathetically and in a friendly fashion, and of integrity, honesty and uprightness in their own personal lives. – Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee The truism that history is written from the standpoint of the victors often results in heroes being pushed to the sidelines. Their personalities and contributions become increasingly…

23 Jan 2015: The Mutes in the Sun – Posted in: Newsletters

“Written with a sense of realism, and laden with elements of local colour in the setting, speech, social structure and custom – Lee’s story is truly Malaysian” So much has been said of Lee Kok Liang’s writings, during his productive years and after his passing in 1992, that there are few stones left unturned. Still, his works continue to haunt us and we can’t help but keep revisiting them time and again. One such work is…