Dear Members We only have two events this month due to Easter, so if you want to do more with MCG, why don't you visit our library or join one of our book or explorers clubs. Our monthly lecture on the 18th of April will focus on the forests and forest people of Borneo. Environmental issues, in particular the need to protect our forests for the indigenous communities, biodiversity and sustainability, are insufficiently valued. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) takes a holistic approach, and seeks to work with local communities and the public and private sector to protect communities and their homes. Darius Sasher from the WWF will talk about these issues. Next, we are very fortunate to be able to join the festive and unique celebration with the Sikh community as they celebrate their New Year. Amarat Gill, a long time member of the MCG, will introduce us to her temple, community and the symbolism and festivities for this celebration. On the 9th of May we will hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is an important event for the MCG. As a registered society in Malaysia we have certain legal duties we must perform for our members and the Registrars Office. The AGM is the occasion when we present our financial accounts to our members and you have the opportunity to have input to the formation of our Board. Given that AGMs are important events we also endeavor to give you a special experience, and this year is no exception. We are fortunate to be able to invite you to join us at the Royal Selangor Club for lunch and a lecture by Mr Chris Syer. Mr Syer, will give a talk on the history of the Club. The Royal Selangor Club formed the focus of the Colonial community and Chris has many anecdotes and a superb slide collection to share. Following his talk we would like to invite you to join us for lunch in the club rooms. What a perfect way to spend a morning! Best wishes Sunita Varlamos PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
NOTICE
OF 25th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
PLEASE NOTE: If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may complete the Proxy Nomination Form below and fax it, no later than 8th May to the Secretary, Nisha Dobberstein at fax no. 2694 6212.
REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS Chinese New Year's Traditions February 7th On February 7th forty women were treated to a delightful Chinese New Year presentation at the home of Lynn Davies. The morning began with an informative and entertaining talk on the traditions and rituals surrounding Chinese New Year celebrations given by the foremost event planner in Malaysia, Mr. Stephen Foong. Stephen explained that New Year is the most important festival of the Chinese calendar and the 15 days that make up the New Year celebrations are the most important days of the year. Chinese New Year celebrations reflect the love that the Chinese have for rituals, symbolism and tradition. Several weeks prior to the start of the New Year, households prepare for the holiday by spring cleaning, painting the house, getting new curtains, shopping for gifts, ornaments and decorations and most importantly many women get a new hair style! Every Chinese home buys pussy willows, chrysanthemums and paper scrolls with calligraphic characters representing wealth, luck, prosperity and longevity. Everything is painted or decorated in red and every household must buy a new broom. On the eve of Chinese New Year, family members return home for a reunion dinner. The meal includes delicacies like duck, shark fin and abalone. It is also believed that the cupboards must overflow with food and goodies to usher in a year of good fortune and good will. All family members dress up for the occasion and women wear jewelry, preferably things passed down from previous generations. The more jewelry and smiles worn by the family, the more prosperous the new year, it is believed. The main door of the house is left open, if possible, with all the lights on signifying a burst of wealth that will come with the new year. After dinner, the family gathers in the main hall to serve the elders with Chinese tea . The words "Gong Xi Fa Chai" is said and a red envelope containing money (angpao) given to all. No one goes to bed until after midnight after a drink and dessert. . On the first day of the new year everyone wears new clothes, new shoes and even new undergarments. The day is ushered in with smiles and prayers at the altar. Four important food items must be served on this day: salted fish, garlic, onion and celery. This assures that the family will never be without food. The meals are mostly vegetarian and drinks include a sweet tea made with red dates, longan and lotus seeds. On the second day of the new year people usually stay home. The third day is good for gambling but not for visiting as it is believed to be a day of argument. The fifth day is good for traveling and celebration. The seventh day is everyone's birthday. In modern Malaysia and Singapore, the most popular dish eaten at this time is is "Yu Sheng" or "Yee Sang." It has 18 ingredients. 18 is also the number for sure prosperity. Everyone participates in adding the ingredients and tossing the Yee sang which signifies the celebration of life, good health, prosperity and success in business. The eighth day is special day for the Hokkein Chinese of southern China where sugarcane is used to welcome the god of wealth. On the 15th day it is the first full moon of the year known as "Chap Goh Meh," and is a day of merry making and joyous celebration. This is also a day of romantic luck. Single ladies or men throw oranges into the river so that they can find someone to marry. Stephen Foong's lively presentation was followed by a Lion Dance performance. Traditionally, the lion dance is performed to bring happiness in the new year and to drive away unwanted spirits. Four men covered in orange and gold lion costumes danced and bowed to the guests while three musicians played Chinese music. Oranges, the symbol of gold, were tossed between the lions and the ladies. The lions ceremoniously pealed the oranges and arranged the slices on the ground to form the Chinese characters for wealth and prosperity. The morning ended with a Yee Sang meal. 18 ingredients were arranged on the tables. The ingredients including jelly fish, crispy crackers, plum sauce and other items were added to the plate in the center of the table by each of the guests. The guests were then invited to "toss their prosperity." Each guest used chopsticks to mix the ingredients on the center plate by tossing the items together. It is believed that when tossing the ingredients to mix the dish, it is important to toss as high as possible to ensure the greatest wealth. This resulted in a delicious and prosperous but somewhat messy meal! Annette Long
EXPLORERS In an unassuming location east of Ampang Point the Explorers gathered to visit the private gallery of Pakhruddin Suliaman and his wife Fatimah. Pakha, as he is known to his friends, is a lawyer by profession, but his passion is collecting contemporary Malaysian art. Beneath his office lies his beloved domain, his personal art gallery. Our visit was to be as much a lesson on Malaysian art history as it was a private view of the collection He and Fatimah have been collecting works of art since the early nineties and in the beginning they collected affordable works which they liked. As their collection increased they ran out of space at home and last year they moved some of the collection to its current location in Taman Dagang. As they bought works, they researched the artists and learned as much as they could about their purchases. Over the years they have acquired an enormous collection of art books and catalogues from exhibitions. In 1996 there was a turning point in their collecting which determined the way they would buy art in the future. With a limited budget they had to decide between buying a minor work by a major artist or a major work by a little known artist. They decided that they would take a gamble and collect the major works by young artists who were at the start of their careers. They visited a solo exhibition by a relatively unknown artist called Bayu Utomo Radjikin. They very much liked his canvas entitled "Does History Change?" This picture was inspired by Eddie Adams famous photograph which captured the exact moment that the chief of police of South Vietman fired a bullet at the head of a Vietcong prisoner. It is a large forbidding painting and perhaps not one you would want to live with, but it is a great piece of art. This purchase inspired them to discover more about the Matahati group of artists who were not well known in the early 90s, and to begin collecting their works. Today Pakha and Fatimah have an extensive collection of work by the members of this group, each of whom is very well known and respected as a major Malaysian artist. Their initial investment has greatly increased in value. The gamble has paid off, although Pakha has no intention of selling any of his collection. Pakha and Fatimah are still collecting art by the Matahati painters, but they are also buying from young unknown artists, putting faith in their work. We all enjoyed listening to Pakha's easy yet knowledgeable style as he explained the significance and background to the paintings and sculptures. He is passionate about his collection of modern Malaysian art but sadly we had to stop him at 12 as it was time to end. Fran Jones
The talk by Ramsay Ong was held at the the residence of Cheryl Hoffmann.
Ramsay Ong an artist and specialist in bark painting, is also a collector of art by indigenous people of Sarawak. He helps to keep the knowledge handed down from mother to daughter of ancient ways of making baskets, mats and textiles.
Ramsay talked with passion about the ways the beautiful items were made. The next time you go to Sarawak you will look at all the art shops not as a tourist stop but as an art gallery.
Sarawak is divided into divisions and each has its own special design, way of making baskets and/or textiles. In the neighborhood of Kuching are Bidayuh people who are renowned for their beautiful bamboo baskets. He explained that the husband made the structure while the wife did the weaving. The items we were shown were very pretty color patterns.
Ramsay explained that a basket was of high quality when the weaving around the top was fine. Like all the people in Sarawak, the Bidayuh like beads. Beads came from all places as seafarers reached the shores of Sarawak. Claws, bells, crocodile teeth and beads are all used. Most of them are used for self protection, he explained pointing out that the heavy beads around the neck protected a person in case someone slashed his neck.
The Iban people live close to the Indonesian border. They also make baskets. We were shown a beautiful wedding basket with a curved ring on top from split bamboo. Ramsay explained that bamboo splits easily while Rotan did not. Bamboo is fragile and doesn't last long, while Rotan get tougher the longer it is used.
The Iban weave cloth that is very fine and soft. In this division the people weave mats from reed. The patterns have different designs and are finely woven. The mats are used to sit on and are placed on top of bamboo floors. The tradition of reed weaving and woodcarving could soon be lost, felt Ramsay.
Other areas are the Sibu and Bintulu Districts. The cloth is of a heavier texture and the design is stronger. We were shown a skirt and a jacket made with small beads in mirror image. The shreds are so delicate if broken the clothes are ruined. A skirt made of stark black cloth with little shells attached is supposed to increase the fertility of the lady who wears it. Another item was a jacket of the medicine man with long sleeves. The jacket had sticks sewn on to avert the evil spirits.
Indigenous people relate to their environment. They make use of what is around them. They all have their individual design.
Ramsay had a few handy tips:
If you wanted to buy a basket or a piece of textile from a person, never ask if you can buy it. Ask if you can borrow it, of course for a price.
When hanging a cloth, make sure it is done properly by hanging the flower or head upwards.
The effect of light on a piece of cloth has some significance too. Ramsay said one should change the cloth regularly from back to front. Another option was to keep the cloth like Chinese scrolls. One could also do like the Chinese, hang tapestry only for special occasions.
To clean tapestry, hand wash the item and let it hang to dry. If you are not sure about the colors, air the item.
Soft wood will not crack in dry climate but hard wood would crack. To protect hard wood from cracking apply liquid paraffin to seal the liquid in the wood.
Odette Schilling
MCG NEWS BOOK CLUB REPORTSGroup
1
While on a research grant at Oxford, Barbara Halliwell receives an unexpected package, shipped anonymously from an online bookseller. Though she is unable to determine who sent her this gift, she is intrigued and brings it with her en route to an international public-health meeting in Seoul, where she is slated to present a paper. Dr. Halliwell begins reading the mysterious memoir. Written more than 200 years ago, it recounts the extraordinary life of Crown Princess Hyegyong, who lived under a tragic regime that left her a widow and grieving mother. As the princess describes the details of an era steeped in ritual and banished emotions, Dr. Halliwell is determined to learn more, unaware that the princess has chosen her to give voice to this remarkable story. And as the princess narrates her life, Margaret Drabble narrates the tender love affair that emerges >from Dr. Halliwell's journey.
However interesting this material sounds, none of our readers enjoyed the book. At the discussion we were trying to determine what the two stories had in common and what were they really about. We were trying to reconstruct the author's intention to "question the nature of survival and the possibility of the existence of universal transcultural human characteristics", but we hardly came to any conclusions as to what characteristics and universal messages she wished to refer to. We were struggling with understanding of this Transcultural Tragicomedy -- as its subtitle challenges the reader – but it left us in a quandary. One could eventually try to comprehend this book based on the author's solid academic background in literature and her obvious knowledge of 'postmodern' forms (?) and features (Margaret Drabble is, moreover, appreciated as the co-editor of the successful Oxford Companion to English Literature), although this would be an unusual approach to be expected from a common reader. This novel was not the biggest success – either commercially or in our small book club community.
Anna Hrindova The novel Malaya, written in 1930, reflects a world that saw the exotic, mysterious East as a combination of earthly paradise and savage realm waiting to be "improved" and exploited. In 2007, the novel provoked discussions on colonialism, the ethics of international aid and the politics of the laissez-faire approach. Some members of the Book Group did not enjoy reading the book while others were inspired by the discussions to re-read sections.
Fauconnier introduced many of us to the Malay poetic form the "pantoum", using them in chapter headings and as a dialogue device. The pantoum is a collection of four line stanzas where the first two lines depict a natural object or event while the second two reveal the message – often a thought, feeling or value.
We discussed the model of the pantoum as a possible way to understand some of the more allusive communication seen in Malaysia today. The novel follows a journey undertaken by two French planters and their Malay assistants to the east coast. Amid much self-exploration and social inquiry, one of the Malays, Smail, falls in love with a princess. He offers improvised song and poetry but is humiliated by the villagers. On the party's return to the plantation, Smail disappears and runs amok in the princess's village. "Amok" is one of the few Malay words to be found in the English language and it was suggested that running amok is a form of suicide (which is forbidden in Islam) – socially and literally as it tends to provoke execution. Fauconnier was probably influenced by Joseph Conrad's work of the early 20th century set in south-east Asia. In turn the influence of Fauconnier, can be seen in writers of the exotic east, including Burgess, Theroux and even Tash Aw.
Julie Bocca
NEWSLETTER You can submit articles, artwork and photographs to the editor at mcgevents@yahoo.com with ''newsletter'' in the subject line. Please submit all articles for the May Newsletter by April 8. Stories are edited for reasons of clarity, space or accuracy of expression. The opinions expressed in the MCG newsletter are those of the writers concerned and not necessarily those of the MCG. Jaishree Balasubramanian BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS eservations Wait List Payments
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PLEASE NOTE that the information in this website has been gathered informally within the group and reproduced privately for members' enjoyment only. There may be inaccuracies and these publications are not designed for commercial use. Anyone intending to make formal or outside use of MCG material is requested to contact the President | Events
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