Malaysian Telugu of Teluk Intan & Bagan Datoh, Perak

Who are the Malaysian Telugus? In studies on South Indians as a minority group in Malaysia, the Malaysian Telugu ethnic community is mentioned only in passing or ignored altogether. Indeed, Malaysian Telugus are a minority within a minority.

This book presents Telugu identity from the perspective of the communities in Bagan Datoh and Teluk Intan, Perak.

Telugus from Andhra Pradesh in British India came to British Malaya to work as farmers. Since their migration in the nineteenth century, a strong sense of Teluguness has persisted, even among those who have out-migrated to Klang Valley for white-collar jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The early Telugu migrants made unrelenting efforts to preserve their language and culture in a foreign land, through Telugu schools, ritual worship and foodways. The next generation of Telugus derived immense pride and solidarity from the remembered histories. The early matriarchs proved themselves heroic pillars of strength and guardians of tradition. Today, it is the Telugu Association of Malaysia which organises language classes and activities to build Telugu solidarity and reaffirm their ethnic identity in a multicultural Malaysia.

Written in a narrative style, this book reaches out to all types of readers and enables them to appreciate the trials and tribulations of an ethnic community – a minority within the broader Malaysian Indian community – and the contestations of identities that inevitably occur in pluralistic environments. Based on a six-year PhD study, this book demonstrates that Teluguness is alive and well and likely to flourish in Malaysia.

Suami Isteri Naik Haji 1939–1940: Kembara Raja Shahabuddin dan Rahmah

Rihlah atau kisah naik haji ini merakamkan petualangan Raja Shahabuddin dan isterinya Rahmah yang menaiki kapal terakhir ke Jeddah sebelum pecahnya ‘Peperangan Besar Eropah’ (Perang Dunia Kedua) sembari ‘U-boats’ (kapal selam Jerman) menjadi jerung yang bermaharajalela di lautan lepas.

Karya Raja Shahabuddin yang ditinta dalam aksara Jawi dan dicetak pada 1940 mengisi lompang (lacuna) periwayatan perjalanan haji dari Tanah Semenanjung ke sekujur tanah gurun merupakan kesinambungan mata rantai dan rekod zaman pengerjaan haji pada abad ke-20.

Catatannya ‘gender sensitive’ sungguh teristimewa sebagai satu-satunya pengkisahan perjalanan haji pada zaman itu yang memberi wacana mengenai kegiatan kaum Hawa dalam mengerjakan fardu haji.

Perjalanan kapal haji dari Pulau Pinang menempuh Laut Merah, Laut Socotra dengan persinggahan di Ceylon (Sri Lanka) dan Pulau Karaman. Sekembalinya mereka pasangan suami isteri itu di kuarantin di Pulau Jerejak kerana seorang penumpang mengidap penyakit cacar.