Dear MCG Members, This newsletter covers both December 2006 and January 2007. It is hard to believe that 2006 is rapidly drawing to a close. I feel that the Malaysian Culture Group has had a stellar year. We have grown in membership and provided throughout the year a unique range of events and opportunities for members to appreciate and learn about the art, history, religions and cultures of Malaysia and Southeast Asia. I can recall many wonderful events over the past year –>from lectures on Malaysian Titles, Peranakan Chinese, Malaysian Architecture and Islamic family law. We have been transported to Bangladesh, Borobudur, Myanmar, a Bengali wedding and Bhutan in our travel tips series. We have experienced special festivals, such as Japanese Girls Day, a trip to the Boh Tea Estate, a Pakistani Wedding Ceremony, and the music and dance of Deepavali, to name but a few. I am sure you have your own favorites too. We have increased our Explorers' Group and now have two groups running with about 50 enthusiastic women planning, exploring and experiencing off-the-beaten-track parts of KL. Our library has moved to a new location and coupled with Minna's enthusiasm, we are seeing renewed interest in our collection. None of this is possible without the passion and commitment of the many volunteers who contribute to making the Malaysian Culture Group the special association that it is. I would like to acknowledge the work of many people who offer homes for events, offer lifts to events, take RSVPs, contribute ideas, and perform many other tasks besides. It is always a pleasure to me to be involved with such a generous and enthusiastic group of people. I would also like to thank the members of the Board who fulfill their duties expertly. The events covered in this newsletter are wonderful. In December, our monthly lecture on the 6th focuses on traditional Iban Tattoos and on the 12th we have a talk on Peranakan architecture and wall tiles. In January, our monthly lecture will be on the 17th and the topic is the Thaipusam festival in Malaysia. This will be given by Shankar, from the Temple of Fine Arts. On the 25th we resume our Travel Tips with a talk about beautiful Rajasthan. Can I please remind you that it is a good idea to register for events early when you receive the newsletter or monthly email. For those members celebrating Christmas, I wish you a happy time, and I look forward to sharing another year of fantastic MCG events in 2007 with you all. Best wishes for a happy New Year. Sunita Varlamos PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS Explorers – Batu Caves The choice was given for the members of the Explorers chapter of the MCG to choose either an educational or an adventurous tour within the walls of the Dark Batu Caves. 15 intrepid explorers gathered at the base of the caves in the car park on the morning of September 11 (the rest of the girls in the group being unable to attend) and the choice was made by some as they stared up at the caves and thought of what surprises might be in store for them if they DID choose the Adventurous tour … seven chose the educational choice while the rest went along for the ride and stuck with the Adventurous choice (some wishing later that they had opted for the shorter tour!!). Our guide, Jaya, was an enthusiastic caver who provided us with a wealth of knowledge on the cave history and the various highlights within the caves, such as stalagmites, stalactites curtains, straws and flowing stones. When we first entered the cave, we had to put on the provided hard hats, and collect head torches. The ladies had been told to wear good strong walking shoes before hand, which was well worth the hint, as often the ground was damp with the dripping of water from the cave walls or ceilings and somewhat slippery. The Educational tour consisted of one hour walking mostly on concrete paths, looking at the various stalagmites rising from the floor and stalactites jutting from the ceilings that formed intricate formations such as curtains, flow stones, cave pearls and scallops which took thousands of years to create … with some joining to form huge columns. The Dark Caves have been closed to the public for a number of years, as the tourists had broken many of the thousands of years of mineral collections when they had been allowed to travel through freely. With the MNS (Malaysian Nature Society) now having control of the tours, everything is protected and the history remains with those who listen on the tour. Everyone in our group went on this tour. There were plenty of bats flying overhead and the smell of the
guano all around was something we learnt to deal with upon entry
into the caves. It was interesting to note that the Chinese workers
mined the guano for fertilizers in the valleys years ago, and you
could see the lines of where it had once been and how it was so
much lower today – 5 or more metres below! it! Others found the climb down dreadfully scary, but overcame the trauma and managed to survive. I would highly recommend this trip… particularly to visitors who are keen to try out caving. Please make sure you wear long pants and long sleeves, as when crawling… they protect the skin somewhat. Expect to get wet and very dirty.. but the thrill of the hunt is overwhelming and well worth the intimidation. If you want to try it you need to contact the MNS office on 7782 5754, or Jaya on 012 310 3464 to book the tour. Jenny Savage
Monthly lecture: Change, Conflict and compromise:
the story of shift in language policy
in Malaysia. Being a 'Multicultural society' is an honour for Malaysia, and in this context understanding the language policy is a very important aspect in understanding the people of this country. Members of the MCG got an insight on this weighty subject thanks
to Prof. Dr Saran Kaur Gill. Dr Gill focussed on how the Chinese
Community reacted to the reintroduction, 3 years This dates back to the pre-colonial times when the Chinese community established its first school in 1815 to teach its children in Mandarin. The English let them be as they did not expect the Chinese migrants to settle in Malaysia. However this was a gross miscalculation on the part of the English. By the early 20 th century these schools thrived, and were mainly organised and
financed by the Chinese guilds and clans. As Malaysia has often been struggling between pluralism and assimilation, a few years later the Rahman Khalib report recommended a very strong emphasis on Bahasa Melayu as the language of instruction going forward and for the government to allocate more resources to the Malaysian National schools. It was a harder time for the national type school, although they very still allowed to coexist. It was only with extreme persistence the Chinese able to maintain their schools, up until today one can find 1280 primary and 60 secondary Chinese schools in Malaysia. Most of the graduates of theses national type schools went to private universities (taught in English), while the graduates from National schools would go to National universities, taught in Malay. At the end of the nineties studies showed that most of the young unemployed came from the national universities. This led to a drastic change in the language policy for the National schools: the reintroduction of English as the medium of instruction to teach Math and Science. As Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad was a very important proponent for these changes; made 2 years before he stepped down as premier- during an interview with Prof Saran, he explained that it is important for Malaysia going forward to become a knowledge based society. For this to happen effectively, it is very important to enable the students to learn in the language in which the knowledge is available. Statistics show that most research done today, in math and science, is in English. Therefore it is better to study those topics directly in English. For Dr. Mahathir is was time to redefine the notion of nationalism. Time to move from an extreme nationalism toward knowledge based nationalism, to enable the Malaysian people to have the knowledge, and not just be servants of the ones who have the knowledge. The Chinese national type schools were resistant to these new changes. They felt if math and science were taught in English, Mandarin would become redundant. They reached a 2: 3: 3 compromise with the government. After many years of "malaynisation" of the language policy and the education system, the government is now trying to reverse this trend and make the national schools the schools of choice to all ethnic groups and make education a means of integration of all the cultures of Malaysia. Dr Gill was a very accessible speaker and it was a pleasure to listen to her. The numerous questions asked by the audience showed that she was really able to raise our interest! Marie Christine Tseng
Explorers – Shadow Puppets The Explorers Group welcomed the change of pace from the previous month's caving adventure with a more cerebral trip to the Academy of Arts at the University of Malaya. Our trip occurred on one of the haziest days last month so an organized trip in-doors was greatly appreciated. The Academy of Malay Arts is an important faculty at the University. Its focus is on performing arts, linguistics, Bahasa Malaya among other areas of interest for the preservation and study of Malay Arts. Our group was warmly welcomed by Mohd. Anis Samad, the curator of the Malay Ethnographic Museum. We were introduced to several members of the faculty and to Professor Datin Dr. Rahmah Hj. Bujang. Professor Datin gave our group a most interesting and informative lecture about the Wayang Kulit, the traditional form of 'shadow puppets' as performed in Malaysia. What is Wayang Kulit? It has been suggested that the Wayang Kulit first originated in China but spread and adapted to local traditions in Indonesia, Turkey, India, Thailand and Indonesia. The form has prospered most particularly in Indonesia, where the stories of the Ramayana, a Hindu text have been retold for a very long time. In Malaysia, the Wayang Kulit has developed its own unique characteristics over time. It is performed by one person (traditionally called a Dalan). The Dalan (Master Puppeteer) is trained from a young age in the art and the craft is essentially passed down through generations of men. Traditionally, the Dalan also acted as the local Bomoh (medicine man) in the kampongs, but this is less common today. He manipulates both his voice into multiple characters and manages to move with great dexterity the many puppets which form the characters in the stories. As he is located behind a white screen, upon which he creates shadows for the puppets, the musicians must take their cues from him by the sound of a 'clapperboard' which he holds beneath his leg and makes a sound according to the change of story and music. In Malaysia the main text for the Wayang Kulit remains the Hindu text of the Ramayana. This epic tells the story of Seri Rama (depicted in gold and green) the hero, and his wife, Sita. The text is about a Hindu god but the story is universal. It is about the triumph of good over evil and the many trials and tribulations that are set as challenges for the characters. Whilst there have been modern retelling of the stories they are still essentially stories of piety and spiritual strength. The Shadow puppets are made from cow hide. This is dried and stretched and then cut into the various characters. A central wooden spike holds the backbone whilst other sticks are attached for movement of the arms. In Malaysia, flora and fauna puppets are also popular. The accompanying music is made up of wind and string instruments. There are also several percussion instruments which have both mother and child versions (i.e. big and small). We heard some of this haunting music at the start of the talk which was quite enchanting. In the past, performances could last a whole night, but today these tend to be shorter with opportunities for the audience to see a segment rather than the whole show. Where can you see Wayang Kulit? The best place to see traditional Wayang Kulit is in the state of Kelatan, but if you are unable to make the journey, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage produces a calendar which details performances. These are often conducted at the Malaysian Tourism Center in Jalan Ampang. After Professor Datin's talk we moved next door to the Malay Ethnographic Museum. This place is used principally as a reference site for students. Its collection contains a number of Wayang Kulits and very good examples of traditional forms of weaving found throughout Malaysia. The staff at the University were extremely helpful and very hospitable. Whilst we regarded the opportunity to visit as a 'rare treat' they also proclaimed our visit a 'rare treat' too. We completed the morning with lunch at a famous banana-leaf Indian restaurant on Jalan Gasing. This was recommended by Joanne Mahendran as the outdoor option was not suitable given the smog. Apparently all the locals know of this restaurant and it was certainly a little gem to find – for myself in particular, who got quite lost and confused despite everyone else finding it and happy sipping cool lime juices when I finally found it! Sunita Varlamos
South East Asian Ceramics The MCG gave us a great opportunity to learn about the ceramics of South East Asia with a talk by our own very experienced member, Carol McKenna Fort. Carol has quite an interesting background in this subject, having spent 19 years as a Senior Docent at the museum of Fine Arts in Houston where she, among other duties, gave tours of the permanent collections of Asian Art. She also organized two exhibitions of South East Asian Ceramics in conjunction with the National Museum in Singapore and worked on the accompanying catalogues. Carol was the lead editor of VIETNAMESE CERAMICS , published by the South East Asian Ceramic Society , Singapore and distributed by Oxford Press .It was the first English language publication on the subject. We are very lucky to have her expertise at MCG. Here in KL, the Museum Seni Asia at the University Malaya, has a rich collection of ceramics from the region. The curator, Mr. Aziz, and his helpful staff are very open and willing to share their recourses. The Museum is open to the public, the renovations are just being completed and we were not able to go for this talk but would make an interesting trip in the future for our members. We had the opportunity to see and touch numerous examples that Mr Aziz very kindly bought to the home of Michelle Pease, our host that day, and we were able to truly appreciate the beauty of these rare pieces. Carol used a slide show to help explain the different origins of our samples. The word ceramic is of Greek origin and means fired clay. From the Neolithic period of 3,000 BC to this day, ceramics have been produced in this region. What makes the ceramics of Thailand different from those of Cambodia or Vietnam? What are the different motifs used and how can they help identify different ceramic types? Carol took us on a journey, a journey of the trade routes around South East Asia. The Ban Chiang earthen wares and brown pearl Satchanalai stone wares of Thailand, the amazing doll customs of old Thai culture. She explained the firing techniques in stacking kilns and the more modern Bencharong style porcelain decorated in gold that we are more familiar with. We saw the Cambodian brown wares as slightly more rustic in appearance, due to the quality of the local materials, particularly the glazes and the distinctive "chocolate" base of the Vietnamese ceramics and their 3D animal figures. In Burma, old ceramic tiles and Martaban jars have been found around temples and stupas. The inter regional trading had a great influence and styles and motifs can be seen to be borrowed from other areas, even the Middle East. We thank Mr. Aziz for his contribution to the MCG programme. We also thank Michelle Pease for offering her home once again to MCG, and finally a big thank you to Carol McKenna Fort for her research and time to present us with a most interesting morning. Deborah Salyer
BOOK CLUB REPORTS Group
I The author's collection of short stories is set in contemporary Thailand and with the exception of one story and told through the eyes of children and teenagers. They are often dark and tragic, and deal with the universal issues of family relationships, growing up, finding love, aging and death. The prize-winning opening story, "Farangs", explores the notion of identity and belonging. It tells the tale of an adolescent boy, the son of a Thai hotel owner and an absent American sergeant. The boy falls constantly and innocently in love with the foreign girls who stay at their hotel, believing, always wrongly, that he can be something more than a holiday romance to them. Sightseeing, from which the book takes its title, is a beautiful account of a single mother visiting the sights of Thailand before she goes blind, and her son wondering how he can possibly pursue his plans to go away to university. The mother's courage and love for her son when she tells him he must leave her and go off to college, leaves us wondering what the final out come will be. We had a lively discussion about the merits of these stories, and their themes of cultural identity and human relationships. The members of the group were not unanimous in their praise for this book. Some of us thought that the stories were too short, and would have preferred more character development, others thought that it was too contrived. We all agreed that the weak point of many of the stories was the dialogue, which is not written the way Thais actually speak, but instead dounds more like Americans speaking. In spite of this, Rattawut Lapcharoensap has detailed the unique flavour of Thailand, revealing the differing aspects of the country; the poverty, the beautiful landscapes, the greedy and careless tourists, the spirited Thai people, Cambodian immigrants, and the streets teeming with people. To a tourist it is a holiday paradise, but to the residents of Thailand, it is very different, and it is that distance between the outsider's paradise and the inhabitants often grim reality, that Rattawut shows us. Fran Jones
Group
II We decided to discuss two books this month. The first Diary of a Girl in Changi by Sheila Allen was a moving personal account of a young girl living in the midst of hardship and adversity. Written on scraps of paper kept hidden in her quarters, Sheila Allen's diary is a record of the daily lives of those interned in Changi. The 3rd edition includes a new Preface and Conclusion, which tie up the 'loose ends' of the original book. It includes information on the Changi quilts, embroidered squares, individually created and signed by the women internees, were sewn together into 3 separate quilts, and can be seen at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia You'll Die in Singapore by Charles McCormac This book is an account of one of the most horrifying and amazing escapes in World War II. Weakened by hunger, thirst and ill treatment, author Charles McCormac, then a POW in Japaneseoccupied Singapore, knew he would die if he did not escape. With 16 others, he broke out of Pasir Panjang camp and began an epic 2000 mile escape from the island of Singapore, through the jungles of Indonesia to Australia. It took them 5 months and only two of the 17 men survived. The novel left us all wanting more information about what happened to the various characters, but in true male style they just got on with the events of the moment and didn't delve into each others thoughts and feeling In Allen's diary there is plenty of detail. It serves as very good "primary source" of life in Changi .We discussed at length the creation of the Changi quilts. One of our book group members who is a long time resident had actually
met two of the ladies mentioned in Sheila Allen's book – that
certainly added a new dimension to our discussion. We would certainly
recommend both of these books for anyone interested in World War
ll events LIBRARY Have you read any good books lately? It's one of my favorite conversation starters. It's a great way to get to know someone new and an often revealing way to learn something new about an old friend. And the MCG Library provides a great way to get to know Malaysia, whether it's a new place for you or whether you've been here for a while and are interested in delving more deeply. A good introduction is the Encyclopedia of Malaysia, an eleven volume set covering just about everything (and with lots of illustrations.) And for more depth, there are histories and memoirs, analyses and art books, travelogues and books about religion and philosophy—even a treatise on tin mining. There's a limited amount of fiction. The library is located at 23 Jalan Teruntong in Damansara Heights (see map) and is generally open on Fridays, 12:30-2:30. Please email the librarian minnasch@gmail.com by Thursday
night to confirm that the library will be open on any given Friday
before you come. On Friday, December 8, please plan to come to the library for a bit of bookish socializing and a few refreshments during regular library hours. For those of you who borrowed books at the October coffee morning: I hope you are enjoying them. Please plan to return them when you're finished reading them so they'll be available for others. A Clarification: How many books could you buy for yourself for that amount of money?
Instead, you have What kind of books would you like to see in the collection? If you've got subject areas or specific titles you'd like to be considered, please email Minna. Minna Schwarz-Seim
DUE SOON!!! Renewal of Membership Subscription 2007 On behalf of the Committee and Events Planning Team, I trust you
have enjoyed this year's wonderful Programme and Newsletters and
hope that we will be seeing you all again next year. I would hereby
like to remind you that your current membership expires on 31 December
2006 and all memberships are due for renewal on 1 January 2007.
Annual Membership (valid from 1 January to 31 December) is RM60. Please forward the 2007 Renewal of Subscription Form with your cheque made payable to Malaysian Culture Group to: Please do NOT send cash in the post. Cheques only – please feel free to email me for an alternative payment arrangement, if you do not have a cheque account and need to make your payment by some other method. You can also download both the 2007 Renewal and New Membership Application forms from the Malaysian Culture Group website: http://www.malaysianculturegroup.com
mcgevents@yahoo.com and
quote "membership" in the subject line. Lin Streefkerk
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 November newsletter by December 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 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.
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