Members were treated to a very interesting presentation by Sten Sjostrand, a naval architect. With his thirty-three years of experience and enthusiasm in marine structures, ceramics, historical trade, shipping, sailing, diving and excavation, he took us on a journey beyond our expectations.

The presentation held at Badan Warisan provided ample space for the display of complete and broken pieces of historical and fake ceramic pieces, and books on display and for sale. Before and during Sten's presentation, there was also a video display of the recordings they took of their works on the various shipwrecks.

Sten told us that his journey started off from his curiosity as to whether a ceramic piece he bought was truly a genuine antique. He wanted to know the history behind the piece and many others that he was offered in shops.

His interest turned into an investment, and today, he has already discovered ten shipwrecks along the coastal waters of Malaysia, most of which are in the South China Sea. He did this with the help and assistance of the Malaysian government and key personnel working with him.

Sten briefly shared with us how to identify a genuine antique ceramic from a fake. We would need to have in-depth knowledge of the glaze used, the motifs and the clay used for the piece of ceramic.

The wood of the ship that carried the piece of ceramic will also help shed some light on where it came from. If we do not have a strong background on the history of the ceramic piece we are interested in, we were advised not to make the purchase.

There was also a piece shown to us that was a copy from the year 1640. Sten told us that the motif and the dynasty printed on the piece do not match. For every piece that was on display, Sten explained in detail the history behind each find and how one piece differs from the other.

Marine archaeology is a very tedious process. Sten told us that the initial stage involves surveys done with the Marine Department in the waters of a particular recorded historical route. The search begins after the survey is completed. If the search is successful, a few specimen pieces will be retrieved, recorded and archived.

Thereafter, they have to map the ship at its location. This involves numerous dives and recordings on the make of the ship, measuring its current and actual size, according to the detailed measurement of each plank of wood available.

The mapping of the ship and estimation of the load it carried are both tedious and critical. The recordings provide valuable information on the history behind the shipwreck.

For example, the Desaru Shipwreck took Sten's team two months to do the mapping and to suck out the mud that covered the ship. It then took another six weeks to sketch the whole layout of the ship.

Not all shipwrecks are found in deep waters. There are shipwrecks that are only 12 metres deep while there are others which are found 60 metres deep. There are times when the divers only have 11 minutes to work underwater but have to spend about two hours to rise back up to the ship.

Hence, with all the work involved in the excavation, they have to engage the services of the Customs, Navy and Marine officers to protect the artifacts and ensure the security of the excavation team. It is usual for them to spot other boats monitoring their activities.

Anyone who is interested to know more can buy the book Maritime Archaeology and Shipwreck Ceramics in Malaysia by Roxanna Brown and Sten Sjostrand from Nanhai Marine Archaeology Sdn Bhd. You can contact Ms Karen Loh at 012 203 9126 for more details.
- Kris Ang

Our tour on Monday 13th September to the Taoist temple started in Ampang Jaya with a ch`i kung lesson.

Ch`i kung is one of the eight Taoist traditional healing arts. After a nice stroll through the totally hokkien neighborhood of Ampang Baru we arrived at the Temple of the Nine Emperors of Heaven.

The temple itself was built approximately 90 years ago, but the place of worship has been here for more than 140 years. At that time this area of Ampang was a tin mining area, and many Chinese laborers from the southern part of the Canton province came to work here, hoping for a better life.

One of these workers brought a praying bowl from the mainland with him, and built a little hut for it. This hut became a place of worship for the Chinese community. After sufficient funds were raised, the land around the hut was bought and the first part of the temple was built.

The Taoist "sect" of the Nine Kings of Heaven was funded about 200 years ago during the Manchu dynasty. The people were following 9 kings of the Chu dynasty instead of the ruling Manchu emperor. The Emperor classified the Kings which lead to a revolt. The Emperor then arrested and beheaded the Kings. However, instead of the peace and order the Emperor had hoped to restore, these actions caused him a lot of trouble, both inside and outside of the palace.

To restore peace and harmony the Emperor declared the 9 rebels posthum to be kings. The people started to pray for the 9 kings, asking them for favors and help. This all had to be done secretly as the ruling emperor still wanted to be the only one in charge.

50 years ago devotees traveled to main land China hoping to find more information. They could not find anything due to the secrecy of this sect.

The most important part of the temple is the shrine of the Nine Kings of Heaven.

During the year it is open to everyone for prayer. At the Nine Kings Festival it is closed by a curtain and the prayers have to be transmitted by a care keeper.

At the ninth month of the Chinese calendar there will be 9 days of praying, fasting and offering. Devotees from around the country partake and stay at the temple.

When you want to ask a certain favour or need help with your health, job or indeed anything, you can write your question on a piece of paper and put it on an incense spiral.

You pray for what you wish and send your prayer to the gods by letting it burn until it is finished.
- Hedie Sizoo

Prof. Dr. Sarun Kaur Gill of U.K.M [National University of Malaysia] gave a very interesting talk on language in Malaysia. I think many of us are very envious of the many local people's fluency in so many languages. Much of this has come about due to the language policy.

When deciding on a policy, Dr. Gill explained the factors that are involved; economics, customs and values of society, politics, nationalistic concerns, the knowledge, science and technology economies.

In post colonial Malaysia Bahasa Melayu and English were inter-twined. Tunku Abdul Rahman thought it right that there should be a national language; otherwise there was no identity for the country. As a multi-ethnic country there had to be a national language and as the Malay race was dominant this was chosen. To gain citizenship it was a condition that Bahasa Melayu was learnt.

The challenges faced were mainly due to the multi-ethnicity, many non-Malays felt insecure and so left the country. Some felt it was also important to have their children educated in English.

It took 17 years from the introduction of the language policy to see many changes.

Higher education institutions were very slow to change as most texts are produced in English. Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia was set up to teach solely in B.M . The mission was 'To build up the Malay language and sensitivity to Bahasa Melayu and to enhance Prestige'.

Thus giving the Malay people opportunities for success and advancement, this produced a need to translate texts in English to B.M., and for texts to be produced in B.M. However, academics still produced texts in English and then had to get them translated; this process is very slow so the question remains: 'Can any language compete with English?' For example in Japan books are translated from English to Japanese very quickly but not vice versa, so Japanese knowledge is comparatively slow in getting to the rest of the world.

Due to this there has been a drastic reversal in the language policy, which has lead to the re-institution of English as the medium of instruction for science and technology. It has been recognised that if this change wasn't made then Malaysia would be left out of the 'race' for development and progress.

In 1999 Dr. Mahathir said, "Learning the English Language will reinforce the spirit of Nationalism when it is used to bring about progress for the country…. True nationalism means doing everything possible for the country, even if it means learning the English language."

The challenge is now to maintain the national and ethno-cultural identities; the anxiety now felt by many Malays is similar to that felt by the minorities over the years.

Dr. Gill went on to talk about the experience from the Punjabi point of view. In the late 1980's religious and language education declined so there was a generation who couldn't read or speak Punjabi, thus a loss of the Sikh identity. In 1998 this was recognised by the government and legislation was introduced to allow primary schools to teach minority languages. If 15 parents requested this then school would provide. However, in practical terms there were rarely 15 pupils of the same race at the same age and ability to secure this teaching.

The Punjabi Education trust was launched. Now 220 teachers are reviving the mother tongue in specialist Punjabi education centres.

Dr Gill finished by so ablely thanking the group in English, her global language, Bahasa Melayu, her national language and in Punjabi the language of her heritage and identity.
- Elaine Wade