Persecuted in Thailand, a group of missionaries went on to establish Malaya’s greatest contribution to Asia’s networks of knowledge. A mining engineer desperately searched for gold in Sumatra, but instead found tin in Perak. A planter sailed inadvertently to a new land and won a Goncourt prize for his vivid descriptions of what he saw. An enterprising man pasted a rooster on a tin of sardines, creating what would become one of the most well-known food brands in Malaysia…
In editing and writing French Memories of Malaysia, the author Serge Jardin is surely the first to collect in one place nearly a hundred tales of French men and women who travelled to, explored, documented, fictionalized, and influenced each of the Malaysian states: the tales of priests, pilots, authors, architects, planters, philosophers, scientists, sailors, marauders, tricksters, and many more. Some names – the de La Salle brothers, Henri Fauconnier, Jean Cocteau, and Jacques Cousteau – may be familiar to history lovers, but others less so. These riveting characters left a mark on the country now called Malaysia, or, perhaps, it was Malaysia that left a mark on them.
In documenting these stories, French Memories adds wonderful texture to Malaysia’s rich cultural history, making it a worthy read for anyone interested in discovering the world as it once was: a frontier of excitement, waiting to be explored.
Henri Fauconnier, author of Malaisie, was happy in Selangor and depicted the Malays and Tamils with friendly eyes and a deep understanding of their cultures. Compared to the other Europeans who colonised Malaysia and its people, French travellers and sojourners to Malaysia were more interested in describing plainly what they saw before them. The conscientious Serge Jardin presents the whole gamut of their experiences and perspectives.
“most interesting and valuable contribution to the documentation of the French presence and influence in Malaysia”
Accessible History of the French in Malaysia
by Christine Choo in Serani Sembang
French connection: Impressions and memories of old Malaya
“French Memories of Malaysia presents itself as an invaluable resource for readers and scholars who are interested in a more multifaceted social, cultural, economic, cinematic, and literary history of Malay(si)a – especially those who cannot easily access French sources and archives themselves.”
French Memories of Malaysia: Literary Excursions & Fortuitous Encounters
in 3L : Language, Linguistics, Literature, Vol 28, No 4 ( 2023) – UKM e-Journal (pdf article)
by Augustine Chay
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