Sufism and Storytelling: Wayang Kulit, Songs, Fables, Poetry and Journalism in the Archipelago
IT has been stated that Islam, and some of the rituals in the decades of the 1800s through the 1900s in Tanjong were visibly imbued...
Malay Editorial Cartoons: Humour, Sarcasm and Self-Criticism
My earliest memory of editorial cartoons was Lat’s from the 1970s. These became more visible especially in the 1980s and 1990s through the New Straits...
Stories from the Verandas: Another History of the Tanah Air in The Genealogy of Kings
When The Genealogy of Kings: Sulalat al-Salatin by Tun Seri Lanang was released by Penguin (Penguin Random House SEA) in 2020, I would imagine it...
Marhaen: Sukarno’s Decolonized Icon
After graduating as an Ingenieur (Engineer) in 1926, Sukarno spent time on the possibilities opened to him. He refused two government appointments. Instead, he accepted...
Atas Angin: Reflections of the Persian Cosmopolis on the ‘Lands below the Wind.’
The Bahasa Melayu term atas angin, literally ‘above the wind’ refers to regions and peoples westward. It is a Malay geographical and ethnic marker mainly...
Saudara (1928-1941): Covering Melayu Tanjong and the World
Saudara (Brother) was a Tanjong-based international newspaper before the Second World War. The newspaper had readers throughout the Malay states, Siam, Sabah, Sarawak, Indochina, Kalimantan,...
Writing Kedah History: A Shameful Belief Toward Thailand’s Chauvinistic Nationalism
SOMETHING is gravely wrong on Pulau Pinang’s argument and belief on the history of Kedah. An alternative narrative no doubt. Nobody is prohibiting the expression...
Watan (1976-1997): An Independent Voice of the Times
Watan captured the mood on campus in the late 1970s through the early 80’s. This was in Shah Alam in my undergraduate years. It was...
The Pantun: A Cultural Investment in the Medium and the Message
There is a line in Betawi-born Ismail Marzuki’s keroncong number titled “Rindu Lukisan” which says “Maklum maksud tak sampai” (message conveyed not understood). My earlier...
Dr Mohd. Said: Public Servant, Scientist and Intellectual
Former Chief Secretary to the Government, the late Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid wrote in his forward of an honest, strict and learned man. That...