Traditional Old Cures Find New Devotees
5 min read
Penang is culturally diverse, and it is quite natural that it has on offer a variety of traditional medicines including Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Mala...
Making Extreme Sports Common
5 min read
Speed, height, maximum physical exertion and specialised equipment: check. A high level of inherent danger: check.Extreme sports like skateboarding, skim boar...
The Kopitiam – Where Cultures Congregate
3 min read
Before coffee franchises and hipster cafes, there existed the good old kopitiam. And in Seberang Perai, the kopitiam has a character of its own: nestled in old...
A New Lease of Life for Rumah Kampung
4 min read
Balik Pulau always holds unique experiences for me. The sight of the paddy fields, coconut trees, picturesque beaches and its gracious residents have never fail...
The Word and the World (Part Two)
15 min read
Penang emerged as a significant print centre during the nineteenth century. In turn, this helped spur the development of a market for all kinds of published mat...
Borneoans in Penang
5 min read
At a glance, Damai Beach in Kuching is not dissimilar to Penang's beaches.Leaving home is painful but unavoidable for many: the unbearable longing for fam...
A History of the Malay Left: Part One
8 min read
Being anti-colonial, the Malay Left was classed either as communists or at least as fellow travellers of the reds.1 The basis for this claim? Undeniably, being...
A History of the Malay Left: Part Two
9 min read
The fall of Singapore on February 15, 1942 saw the release of Ibrahim Yaacob and the resumption of Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM)’s activities.1 For the sake...
The Warung – A Pit Stop for Refreshment and Some Culture
4 min read
The moment Pak Mat stands up from his chair, fixing his shabby East Coast batik sarong and reaching for his Kelantanese batik lepas headcloth that has been hang...
Magic in the Malay World
5 min read
Naim Marjani, a traditional kuda kepang maker, demonstrating how a puppet is made. Kuda Kepang is rooted in ancient Javanese rituals and traditions still foun...
Can the Erasure of Malaysian Arts be Reversed?
5 min read
What does Malaysian literature mean today, and what is required for a work of literature to be considered national literature? Can literature in Chinese, Tamil...
Millennials Moving into Politics – in Malaysia and in Indonesia
6 min read
In six months’ time, Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, will be holding its presidential election, known as pilpres, simultaneo...