Dear MCG Members, As
2005 draws to a close, it is a time for reflection. The
Malaysian Culture Group has enjoyed a very successful year judging
by the numbers of members and the fantastic attendance at our many
events. We have organized
an amazing range of events, from celebrations of religious festivals,
art, textiles, and the performing arts… the list is endless. One
of our initiatives this year was the Travel Tips and Experiences
series, and this has proved very popular, with many enjoying armchair
travel to minority villages in China, to Bangladesh, Tibet and India,
to name a few. We have
been entertained and learnt a great deal from our many speakers,
including talks on human rights, Islam, UNICEF and life in Aceh
post-tsunami. I
want to thank the hardworking Committee and all of the team for
making my job as President a pleasure. To all of you who have helped
us in whatever capacity, my sincere thanks.
Special thanks to the Events Planning Team who keep coming
up with unique and interesting events month after month.
Michelle Pease, has taken on the role of EP Convener.
This is a big task and we appreciate her commitment.
Michelle and the team have many great events planned for
2006. This
newsletter covers both December and January.
There are too many events to list each separately, so I encourage
you to read the remainder of the newsletter to learn about all the
events. I would like to point out our monthly lecture in December
is being given by Ramsey Ong, a specialist in Sarawakan Arts and
Crafts. We are very
fortunate to be invited to his studio.
Also, on the 13th of December we are hosting a
Hari Raya and high tea . This
will be a lovely opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural aspects
of Hari Raya. I
wish all of you a joyous Christmas season and to everyone a very
Happy and Healthy New Year! If you are traveling over the holidays,
enjoy your journey and have a safe return. See you in 2006! Sunita
Varlamos PS: Almost forgot -
don't forget to get your renewal forms returned to us promptly!
And please, fill in the survey on the reverse side.
It helps us with our planning. - Sunita Varlamos PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS EXPLORERS:
OCTOBER
2005 - A
Visit to the Home of Yeoh Jin Leng, Well-known
Malaysian Artist On Monday, 10th October,
eleven members and one guest gathered at the home of Malaysian artist, Yeoh
Jin Leng, to learn about his life and his art, as well as tour his home.
Tucked away in a corner of Hillview Estate off Jalan Ulu Klang, his house
with its lush and spacious garden is truly inspirational. Jin Leng gave us a brief history of his
origins, which are most fascinating, since they reveal how truly a Malaysian
he is, having both Chinese and Peranakan/Malay ancestry. He is able to trace
his roots back many generations which makes for fascinating story-telling.
Jin Leng seems to have inherited his adventurous spirit from his
father who, as well as working in various jobs using his English and Malay
skills, was an amateur boxer, traveling around the region as a flyweight
champion for 30 years. Ultimately, Jin Leng was brought up in a
Malay kampong near Ipoh in simple circumstances in the 30’s. However, his
mother made sure he had a good beginning education in English. Later he
joined the Anderson School in Ipoh until the Japanese Occupation, when his
education was severely disrupted for 5 years. Later, upon completing his
Cambridge examination, his HM told him he was to be a teacher and promptly
put him in the classroom. This led to a scholarship overseas for Teacher
Training at Kirkby in Liverpool, England in 1952. He pursued a general
teacher education course with an art option. Upon his return he was posted
to teach in Terengganu for 5 years; here he was very much influenced by the
crafts and culture of the East Coast, incorporating them into his teaching.
Following a comedy of errors in applying
for a scholarship to a college for art education, Jin Leng was finally
placed in the Chelsea School of Art in 1957 where his art studies began in
earnest. This formal art
training centered on British and European Art, from Classical to
Impressionist, with an emphasis on realism and no hint of the expressionism
which he has later developed. Returning to Malaysia, Jin Leng was
initially reposted to Terengganu where, during after-school hours, he began
painting extensively and, in appreciation of his surroundings, producing
landscapes of a ‘reduced’ or ‘simplified’ nature.
One year later, he took up a post at STTI (Specialist Teachers’
Training Institute) where over the next 20 years he served in roles varying
from instructor to administrator, and was very involved in the evolution of
the teaching of art in Malaysian Schools. In addition Jin Leng began serious
work of his own, in an ever-evolving style which centered on various themes
over time. He taught himself pottery, built his own kilns and began
producing sculptures and ceramics as well as paintings.
Jin Leng showed us some of his works demonstrating this evolution;
Many of these phases resulted in solo or group exhibitions. Among those
shown were Rock Forms, the Ovum series, the Ecology series, Bottle icons,
early stone ware, raku pottery, Earthscapes, the Trapped Series, and Dance
of Apsaras. After Jin Leng retired from STTI in
1984, he became Dean of the Malaysian Institute of Art for another ten
years. Although he did not mention them, we know he has received many awards
over the years for his monumental contributions to the art world. While he
had traveled extensively prior to retirement, Jin Leng has been traveling
even more in these later years. These travels always produce further
inspiration and have led to a much deeper spiritual look into Asian cultural
traditions. This journey has resulted in an even greater interest in
iconography which seemingly pervades his work more and more. Jin Leng is surely a “Renaissance
Man” with such versatility and wide ranging interests; not only is he an
artist, but also an educator, environmentalist, thinker and scholar. His
latest exhibitions have been at Sutra House with drawings based on the
dancers in motion at the dance school. He says another exhibition is in the
works. We had a wonderful
morning basking in the beauty of Jin Leng’s home and the warm hospitality
of both him and his wife Diana.
A
GREAT ENCOUNTER WITH A MULTI-TALENTED ARTIST! On
Tuesday October 25 we gathered at the National Art gallery for a
morning with artist Nizam Ambia. I
opened the morning by introducing Mrs. Nishriwani Yahaya, Executive Director
of the Malay World Foundation. She is also the manager of Nizam Ambia at the
moment as the Malay World Foundation saw the blossoming talent in this man
and took him under their wings. Mrs.
Nishri Yahaya gave us a short introduction on the Malay World Foundation.
The foundation was initially established by Dr. Tun Mahathir to promote the
arts, culture and identity of the Malay World.
Early in 2005 it’s mission was broadened to promote the Malay World
in other countries and create a dialogue with other cultures. MWF sees as
its task to document and disseminate information and educational material
about the Malay world through research and publications. Some
of the current projects of the MWF are:
A
short film was shown which presented the artworks, paintings and batik
fabrics of Nizam Ambia. Then a short film of the Fashion show which was held
at the Hilton hotel on August 29,
that showed us the beautiful fabrics and designs of Nizam worn by
elegant Malaysian models was shown. After
that we finally met the man himself. He talked us through his artworks in a
multimedia show. We saw his radiant paintings, magnificent metal sculptures,
his kolam or rangoli which he eternalized on a canvas and his landscape
design. But
we were fascinated most by the batik fabrics. As Nizam brought samples of
his batik fabrics they were handed out and all members and guests were
equally impressed by what he showed us. Nizam gave us the chance to satisfy
our curiosity through answering our questions, for example, on the
techniques he used to make the beautiful fabrics and artworks and how he
intended to further produce his fashion line and market it. We
found out that Nizam really did not make a problem of anything in his life
and work or see any bumps on his road. He advised us to just let everything
flow freely and feel no inhibitions, only then he stated, creativity is able
to come out. It was clear to us that his inspiration is not something he has
to dig for, it is always present. We learnt to know the artist Nizam as a
very humble, pleasant and talented personality. There is clearly a
connection between his art, paintings, batik fabrics and his fashion
creations. They all radiate their creators’ passion and spiritual
connection. When
I saw his fashion show at the Hilton I thought he had an innovative courage
expressed through his batik patterns and his sometimes unworldly designs. It
was clear to me that he is communicating his message to the world. I saw a
public that morning on October 25th that clearly received this
message and appreciated it. Thank you all for your presence and finding ways
to give the artist Nizam Ambia the appreciation he deserves! -
Ardy Timmer MCG NEWS BOOK CLUB REPORTSChapter I
This is the latest novel from well-known
Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh, the author of the Glass Palace. The
title refers to the place in which the novel is set, the Sunderbans, a vast
delta region of tiny islands below Kolkata in West Bengal, India.
The Sunderbans is crossed by tributaries of the Ganges, covered by
mangrove forests and vast mud flats and is at the mercy of the constant ebb and
flow of the tides. Villagers on the
islands eke out a very difficult existence not only at the mercy of the tides
and fierce storms in the region but also constantly in fear of the man-eating
tigers that kill over a hundred people each year. The three main characters in the novel are
Piya, Kanai and Fokir. Piya is an
American Cetologist of Bengali descent. She plans to study the rare dolphins of
the Sunderbans. Kanai is a
translator and businessman from New Delhi who is travelling to the Sunderbans to
study a notebook left for him by his dead Uncle.
Fokir is a local boatman, born and bred in the Sunderbans who has a very
detailed knowledge of the weather and the waters of the Sunderbans.
The novel focuses on the interaction of these three characters and their
changing relationships with each other. Most of our Group thought the characters
were well developed and completely believable. However one of our members
thought the writing style was very old fashioned in that Ghosh was too detailed
in his descriptions of the characters thereby leaving nothing to the
imagination. She also felt that the
dialogue was too sophisticated for one or two of the characters and therefore
not realistic enough. Ghosh has been criticised for including too
much scientific detail in this novel, detracting from its impact as a work of
fiction. Our Group generally
disagreed with this criticism and we all found the book to be very informative,
especially on the subject of the dolphins in the Sunderbans.
However a couple of our members did admit to skipping over some of the
scientific detail in order to get to the next stage in the plot.
Our Group also thought that the author dealt
very well with the plight of the tigers in the Sunderbans.
Through some very confronting scenes he highlights the conflict between
preservation of the tigers and protection of the lives of the villagers living
in the region. He also skilfully
used the plight of the tigers to illustrate the differences between the worlds
of the characters of Piya and Fokir. Most of our Group also agreed that Ghosh
effectively uses the Notebook written by Kanai’s Uncle as a way of including
historical detail in the plot. For
example the Notebook describes the ‘Morichjhapi incident’ in which thousands
of refugees settled on an inhospitable island in the region and were violently
evicted by the Government. Overall our group thought that this was a
beautiful book to read. The
descriptions of this wild, inhospitable region are very evocative and we all
agreed that the ending was perfect.
Chapter
II
A
small group met at Betsy Dean’s home to discuss this, the author’s third
novel. Heaven’s Edge was shortlisted for the Best Book award in the Eurasia
region for the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2003, and named as a New York Times
Notable Book of the Year. The
novel is set at an unspecified time in the near future on the once idyllic
island where Marc’s grandfather was born. Following a war, the island is now
under the control of a brutal dictatorship and the wildlife has been ravaged.
Marc is a young college graduate from London who finds himself adrift in life.
He is drawn to the island in an attempt to understand why his father had left
his family in England when Marc was very young to fight in the island’s war.
During the conflict his father’s plane was shot down and he was killed. Marc
meets Uva, a young and beautiful woman who is on a mission to save the
island’s wildlife. They embark upon a passionate affair which ends when Marc
is detained by the regime and Uva is forced to flee. Marc’s desperate attempt
to find Uva leads him on a journey into a nightmarish world of violence and
horror that challenges all his beliefs. Romesh
Gunesekera is usually thought of as a Sri Lankan writer. The group was divided
between those who thought that the novel was set in Sri Lanka and those who did
not. All, however, agreed that the novel was not about the place in which the
events occurred, rather the place was used to bring out the story. No
members of the group cared much for this book. Whilst all of us found the
descriptive writing of the natural world an absolute pleasure to read, it was
felt that a lack of character development and no development of purpose marred
the book. All agreed that at one level it was a poorly written adventure story
that took away from the pleasure of reading the author’s beautifully poetic
prose. I find it telling that all of us thought that the novel was a comment on
the cruelty and dangers of war when this was not in fact the author’s stated
aim when writing the book. Although
none of those present would recommend the book, several of us will read it again
with a view to looking past the story and enjoying the writing.
LIBRARY REPORT
We
carried guide books everywhere (Lonely Planet and Rough Guides – both
recommended). For further insights
into life there, I can recommend “Another Quiet American”, by Brett Dakin, a
young Princeton graduate who lived and worked in Vientiane for a couple of years
from 1997. For a preview of the
beauty of Lao textiles, you can visit Carol Cassidy’s website (laotextiles.com)
and even buy some books online. While
in Vientiane, you can visit the brand new and very interesting Monument Books
(sister to the shop in Phnom Penh). Back
in KL, it’s time to visit Silverfish books in Bangsar to pick up two new
volumes of Malaysian short stories: “Silverfish New Writing 5” and “The
Wedgwood Ladies Football Club”. Come and borrow them from the library. Library
members – present and potential – will be interested in two recent library
acquisitions. The first is a DVD about textiles from Bhutan – bought by Joanne Mahendran during her recent travels there (thanks Joanne!). It is called From the Land of the Thunder Dragon, Textile Arts of Bhutan, and was made by the Peabody Essex Museum. The textiles of Bhutan – the “Land of the Thunder Dragon” - reflect social identity, regional and ethnic diversity and spiritual significance – as well as wonderful mastery of colour and intricate weaving techniques. The DVD shows them in all their glory. We also have a new book about renowned Malaysian artist, Yeoh Jin Leng. The book, Yeoh Jin Leng, Art and Thoughts, 1952-1995, was written by T.K. Sabapathy and was published by National Art Gallery in 1995. It is a valuable addition to our collection of art books. See you at the library!
NEWSLETTER REPORT
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 February newsletter by January 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..
BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS Reservations Wait List Payments Cancellations Refunds Eligibility Event Participation
Eligibility Your co-operation with the Booking Policy would be much appreciated by the Events Planning Team.
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
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