Conservative Crusader: Law Siak Hong defends Perak’s Heritage February 10, 2014 – Posted in: In The News

Article by Kenny Mah IPOH, Jan 24 — Initially conceived by a band of citizens concerned about the conservation of Ipoh’s historical sites, the Perak Heritage Society (PHS) now promotes public awareness and preservation of the entire state’s cultural, social and environmental heritage. One of their leading lights, PHS founding member and former president Law Siak Hong is relentless about the cause; he leads regular heritage walks for the public around Old Ipoh as well…

US newspaper features Malaysian doctor’s photography January 16, 2014 – Posted in: In The News

Article by Winnie Yeoh Veteran shutter bug: A file picture of Ooi attending the official launch of ‘Portraits of Penang: Little India’ in Georgetown. GEORGE TOWN: A local doctor has been featured in an article in The International New York Times for his photographs that “chronicled a vanishing world” of harbour life in Penang. Dr Ooi Cheng Ghee, known for his vivid portraits of Little India between 1979 and 1981, was noted in the article…

Snapshots of Globalization’s First Wave – Posted in: In The News

Article by Sunil S. Amrith 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. Penang is also known as Pulau Pinang, the Malay…

Index for Living Pathways: Meditations on sustainable cultures and cosmologies in Asia – Posted in: Excerpts

Index A academicself 25, 113 Ainu 25, 67 American Dream: 35, 41 the underside of 37, 41–43, 59, 132 Americanisation: 41 of the world 37, 41 the harms of 43–45 Americanism: 35 unsustainability of 36 in relation to Asia 41–45 (Also see ‘Asia’) animism 8 Anwar Fazal 67 Asia: author’s study of xvii, 1, 29–31, 107, 113 Asian scholarship 53–55, 109 cosmologies within 73–75, 87, 99 (Also see ‘cosmology’) cultures of 11, 17 development in…

If walls could speak August 13, 2013 – Posted in: In The News

Article by Christina Chin Typical of architecture of its time, in the 18th century, the Pinang Peranakan Mansion features a mix of features, such as the Scottish cast iron columns and railings that surround an air well furnished in typical upperclass Chinese fashion. — Photos by GARY CHEN/The Star We would hear tales of a life lived adventurously, one that was, in the end, celebrated by magnificent architecture. HERITAGE researcher Tan Yeow Wooi released his…

Ipoh Echo – Mark Soo’s Book Launched August 3, 2013 – Posted in: In The News

Article written by Lena A book launch, jointly hosted by Perak Academy and Areca Books in honour of Mark Yoi Sun Soo’s debut book, was held at Symphony Suites, Ipoh recently. Entitled “My Days in the Sun”, the book is a memoir detailing Mark’s first 40 years of his life where he spent alternating between Hong Kong and Kampar, Malaya where his father’s family herbal medicine business was located. Mark witnessed firsthand the devastation of…

Penning a Memoir: Dr Soo narrates life after years of labour August 1, 2013 – Posted in: In The News

Article written by Cheryl Hew, Photos by Saiful Bahri Dr Mark Soo, a renowned radiologist was interviewed by The Star during the launching of his memoir, My Days in the Sun. He spoke of his childhood memories and how he came to write his own book. My life shared: Dr Soo presenting a copy of his book to well-known psychiatrist and guest-of-honour MANY of us have hazy memories of our childhood which fade even more…

Penang as a Presidency May 8, 2013 – Posted in: In The News

Article written by Kat Fatland Article originally published on Penang International – Volume 7 – April – May 2013

A review of “Penang, the Fourth Presidency of India” April 2, 2013 – Posted in: In The News

by Looi Sue-Chern IMPORTANCE: Penang was more than just one of the Straits Settlement states under British rule, learns Looi Sue-Chern from an Australian author researching the history of Melbourne Driven by his ancestral links, Australian author Marcus Langdon began a search into Melbourne’s early history in the mid-1990s but his quest eventually took him to Penang. While researching the history of the second largest Australian city, Langdon, 58, discovered that an early Melbourne pioneer…

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A History of Phuket: “An Absolute Must Read” March 29, 2013 – Posted in: Reviews

Review by Alasdair Forbes First, a declaration of interest: I edited an early version of Colin Mackay’s A History of Phuket and the Surrounding Region. I thought then that it was an excellent piece of work. The final product is just plain superb. Mackay spent five or six years researching the book, unearthing memoirs, official documents, love letters and even an epic poem, in Thai, English, Dutch, Russian, German, Portuguese, French, Danish, Malay and more languages.…