A Magnificently Rich Tome on Early Penang March 28, 2014 – Posted in: Reviews

Review by Ooi Kee Beng of Penang – The Fourth Presidency of India 1805-1830, Volume One: Ships, Men and Mansions There are several questions about the history of Penang that have bothered me for quite a while, satisfactory responses to which cannot be found in any Malaysian schoolbook. This is not strange, given how the significance of Penang has been played down since independence for nationalistic reasons; and how national history has successively been caricatured to…

Book by cultural icon pays tribute to the traditional Malay dwelling – Posted in: In The News

Article by Farah Fazanna Zulzaha Lat (left) and Areca Books founding partner Abdur- Razzaq Lubis sharing a moment to read Tenas Effendy’s newly launched book of poems. A BOOK of poems dedicated to traditional Malay houses has recently been launched. Penned by the cultural icon Tenas Effendy, Rumah: An Ode to the Malay House presents Tenas’ classic tribute to the Malay house alongside a lively English translation by Raimy Ché-Ross, making the work accessible to new…

Missionary couple’s contributions are well-recorded in Penang February 24, 2014 – Posted in: In The News

Article by Wong Chun Wai The newly refurbished church in Farquhar Street is one of the country’s 50 national treasures. IT IS easily the most beautiful church in Penang but more than that, St George’s Church, which was built in 1816, is the oldest Anglican church in South-East Asia. Not surprisingly, the church, located on Farquhar Street, has been declared one of the 50 national treasures of Malaysia by the Government. The landmark church was…

Reviews for M. Nadarajah’s ‘Living Pathways’ February 12, 2014 – Posted in: Reviews

“There is no better time for this book.” After reading Living Pathways, my first response was “This book should be placed in the hands of every head of state around the world.” Clearly, deeply and beautifully, M. Nadarajah brings us face-to-face with of the most pressing global issue of our time: the urgent need to take responsibility for the precious resource belonging to all of us, our Mother Earth. I love how Nat takes us…

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…