20 June 2015: Personal & Profane–50 Years of Verse August 3, 2015 – Posted in: Newsletters

Cecil’s poems are like the multiverse wonders of music and paintings, songs and parts of great speeches. They often provide deep insights, inspiration and even ignite people’s conscience into action. – Anwar Fazal, Director, Right Livelihood College” Cecil Rajendra’s free verse compositions have been likened to music, songs and ballads. This is not surprising – as the energy of poetry – often combined with music has, for the longest time, been widely harnessed as a popular tool for social…

30 May 2015: Mission Pioneers of Malaya June 8, 2015 – Posted in: Newsletters

This book pays special tribute to the incomparable legacy of the La Salle and Infant Jesus Institutes in Malaysia and Singapore. With the other Missions, they gave to our cities places of honour. — Keith Tan The birth of the Mission Schools are an encapsulation of the very beginnings of formal education itself in the country’s history, including establishing the word which would come to represent schooling in Malaysia – escola. As Tan puts it, the…

30 April 2015: Redoubtable Reformer May 18, 2015 – Posted in: Newsletters

The life of Cheah Cheang Lim as a spokesman for change is an inseparable part of Anglo-Chinese Malayan history. In Francis Cooray’s story and Khoo Salma Nasution’s account of socioeconomic transitions in Perak and Penang, we are reminded of some of the transnational factors that laid the foundations of modern Malaysia. Both the outline of one man’s life and the well-researched study of what made him a tireless reformer deserve to be read by all…

9 April 2015: Gayatri Rajapatni – The Woman Behind the Glory of Majapahit April 30, 2015 – Posted in: Newsletters

This book brings to life some of the most colourful women in history. The author depicts the court which ruled the largest empire ever to appear in Southeast Asia in a believable and accurate way. I hope that this novel will attract more people to learn about the fascinating history of this region. – Dr John N. Miksic (Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore) The kingdom of Majapahit, once centred in present-day…

05 Mar 2015: The Penang House – Posted in: Newsletters

The Penang House and the Straits Architect is the first serious attempt to define the architectural identity of Penang, and one that will certainly give rise to more detailed studies by others in the future. – Miles Lewis, architectural historian The mercantile communities of the Straits of Malacca were patrons of a distinctive architecture which flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Western advances in technology combined with Eastern tastes, craftsmanship and local…

13 Feb 2015: Mimi Fan March 16, 2015 – Posted in: Newsletters

The amateur theatre anywhere in the world is the place where the future professional theatre begins. And there can be no proper theatre unless there are playwrights. – Lim Chor Pee This week’s feature book Mimi Fan is a novelization of the three-act play by the late Penang-born lawyer-playwright Lim Chor Pee, written and first staged in 1962. Fans of local plays would probably know the plot by heart, but for the uninitiated, the play is described…

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…

27 Dec 2014: Moving Pictures – The Rickshaw Art of Bangladesh December 29, 2014 – Posted in: Newsletters

Beautifully painted and brilliantly decorated, rickshaws are a defining feature of Dhaka; turning the City of Mosques into a city of rickshaws. Hello reader, Rickshaws and their counterparts are a common sight in some Asian countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Although the flat terrain of Bangladesh is suitable for bicycles, people prefer to commute by cycle rickshaws, a mode of public transport which swiftly replaced the horse drawn carriage after the Partition. Auto…

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