Dear MCG Members, I am writing this message from snowbound Indiana where we haven't been able to drive anywhere for three days, but it is beautiful for walking and that suits us just fine. (Actually, the only thing Fritz and I don't like about Malaysia is the constant heat, so we are really enjoying this total change in weather). The MCG team has been busy over the holiday season and we begin our 2005 lecture series with a talk about the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. This is followed by a visit to an Ayurvedic Center for those interested in alternative medicine. Our MCG member, Waveney Jenkins will expertly guide us through woodcarving in Malaysia; its past and its future. Bernice Chauley will tell us about the traditional performing arts of Malaysia. And we start a new series about travel in SE Asia. We begin with Vietnam in February followed by Indonesia in March and Nepal in April. If you have experiences in these countries and you would like to share them, please contact me. This series will be conducted by MCG members, so we would be most happy to have your input. Future countries we will cover are Myanmar and naturally, Malaysia. In March, we already have several things planned for you, two of them in the 1st week, so mark your calendar now. Come and celebrate Japanese Girl's Day with us. This will be the 4th year we have organized something special and this year's event will be a little different so do join us. Dr. Amir Zekgroo, an expert in many areas of art and architecture will speak to us about Islamic Architecture and its Symbolic Significance. I hope that I will see you at many of the above events! Also, it is with regret that we say goodbye to two of our board members, Susan Thomas and Joan Hunter. Both have other commitments that now require more time spent away from KL. On behalf of the membership and myself, many thanks for the time and hard work you have given. Good luck in your future endeavors!
- Cindy Zeier PS: I had finished this short message and was ready to send it to our editor when the news of the Aceh earthquake and the following Tsunami hit the news. What a horrible tragedy! I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are safe. PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
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If you have any interesting stories, travelogues or photographs you'd like to submit, we would love to have them. You can submit articles, artwork and photographs to the editor at mcgevents@yahoo.com with 'newsletter' in the subject line. Please send text as MS Word documents. Artwork/photos should be at 300dpi resolution. Please submit all articles for the March newsletter by February 10. 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.
- Lorna Wilkinson REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS
GUARDIANS OF THE FOREST
- 9th November 2004
This was the third showing of this moving film to the MCG but my first viewing. It dealt with the forced removal of an Orang Asli tribe - Temuans - from their ancestral home in Ulu Selangor necessitated by the construction of the Sungei Selangor Dam. Their ancestral lands now lie under hundreds of feet of water. Most have moved into government constructed houses in a far from satisfactory settlement. The film touched on aspects of Government policy and actions towards Orang Asli, the conflicting needs of economic development and the environment, and the nature of the Temuan culture and way of life. It did not give us too many answers but certainly made us think. The Orang Asli are Peninsula Malaysia's aboriginal population. The Malay term means 'original' or 'first' peoples. They migrated here in 3 waves, starting around 25,000 years ago. There are 18 tribes, each with their own language and culture, but in total they amount to only 0.5% of the national population. The film gave an idyllic view of their previous life in the steeply sloping valley of the Selangor River. Children played in the river and helped their parents collect wild fruits, bamboo shoots and tapioca. Someone caught a 5 metre long python that provided the community with some timely protein. But they were not just hunter-gatherers. They also grew fruit for their own consumption and for sale, and they were never short of food, despite living below the poverty line. They used their environment in a sustainable way. Indeed, they consider the rainforest to be sacred. But it wasn't an unalloyed idyll. An issue raised by the film was their lack of basic amenities such as electricity and piped water, and it seems the authorities have been reluctant to connect them up even where this could be done cheaply. The film implied that government has a sub-plot to eradicate Orang Asli cultures and ways of life. An adviser suggested that a Temuan name chosen for a baby was unsuitable and encouraged the use of a proper Malaysian name. There has been pressure for them to convert to Islam and to integrate into Malay culture, but they value their own religion and way of life. The film hinted that this destruction of their environment was economically unnecessary, and that the dam was built to help the construction industry. We were left to draw our own conclusions. This is a group of people who are not empowered. They have absolutely no legal rights to the land they occupy, so can be displaced at any time without consultation. No Orang Asli is employed in the Department of Orang Asli Affairs that supervised their relocation. This department came over as paternalistic, erratic and impotent; unwilling or unable to adequately help them or represent their needs. Having said that, the world over, aboriginal people get a raw deal, and comparatively Malaysia seems at least humane and well meaning. The film also included contributions from Dr Colin Nicholas of the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, an NGO that seeks to promote their needs. We learned a little about the Temuan culture and beliefs. They believe in elves and nature spirits, and that a great dragon will sweep down the valley in vengeance and destroy the dam. They have a rich musical tradition and we followed one lady, Minah Anggun as she performed at a Rainforest Music Festival. She speaks of her sadness at leaving the valley, and we learned that she died shortly after the film was made, taking to the grave a large slice of the Temuan musical tradition. Having been relocated, the Temuans now have at least theoretical access to water, electricity and education. They previously had unlimited free clean water, albeit not in taps, but now they have to pay for it. This is the ultimate irony - they had to give up their environment to improve water supplies for the community, and their reward has been to be charged for this very commodity! Since moving some have been unable or unwilling to pay for utilities and have thus lost their supply. They were promised title deeds to their new properties, but are yet to receive them. They have been encouraged to use their new land for agriculture, but there are many problems. Some now go out to work, and because they have lost their original way of life their elders have lost authority and respect. The lessons they teach are no longer so relevant. After the film its producer, Mary McGuire, its Director, Alan D'Cruz, and Sonia Randhawa brought us up to date with the current situation and answered the many of our questions. The plight of this Temuan tribe is far from an isolated example of unsatisfactory relocation, and at the present time other tribes are threatened with loss of their ancestral lands and destruction of their traditional way of life.
PERFORMING ARTS IN MALAYSIA : PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE - Wednesday 1 December 2004
We were very fortunate to have Kathy Rowland speak to the group and give us an historical perspective of the performing arts past, present and future in Malaysia. Kathy is the co-founder of Kakiseni, the online publishing company that promotes performing arts in Malaysia. Kathy is Malaysian and studied literature at UM. She has worked at the Italian Embassy and at the Australian High Commission in KL where she headed up the PA department. Kathy was responsible for initiating the Australian Film Festival in Malaysia and has produced Kuali Works "From Table Mountain to Teluk Intan" at the New York Fringe Festival. She is also one of the founding members of ArtisProAktif, a non-partisan collective of Malaysian art practitioners who question the status quo. She has been granted a Research Fellowship by the Singaporean government to do an MA in Arts Management. Her thesis subject is "The politics of Drama: Post 1969 Government Policy and Theatre in English in Malaysia". This will include aspects including the Boh Cameronian Awards, community based projects and how to raise the profile of the performing arts with the Malaysian public generally. We thank Kathy for outlining the development of theatre and theatre practice in Malaysia, including an historical perspective. The effect of colonialism, multi-ethnic culture, independence, the riots of 1969, the revivalist development of Islam in the 1980's , governmental policies and developmental theatre groups and practices were discussed. I have personally enjoyed the performances of "Emily of Emerald Green", "Flies and Foreigners" and "Menopause" since arriving in Malaysia and I look forward to many more interesting performing arts that this diverse country has to offer. Thank you Kathy from all attendees who enjoyed your thought provoking lecture. May you go on to greater success. Good luck with the thesis.
MCG NEWS BOOK CLUB REPORTSLolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi According to the overview on the back cover ,"Reading Lolita in Tehran" is about seven former students of the author who meet once a week to talk about Western literature. The books are forbidden and the students are all female! The promise is that you, the reader, will be given an intimate glimpse into the lives of these women as some of them take considerable risks to fulfill their weekly commitment. Consequently, you will come to know them as individuals, know their beliefs and aspirations and the learn the impact of the regulations imposed on them living in the Islamic Republic of Iran. But does Azar Nafisi deliver? Initially we are introduced to the seven women and are given vivid detailed albeit thumbnail sketches when they enter the author's apartment, as they embark on their reading group in the first section of the book, "Lolita". Having raised the reader's interest and concern about these women, in the following two sections of the book, "Gatsby" and "James", they are almost reduced to walk-on roles. The concern of these sections is the author's justification of her own teaching career against a back drop of revolutionary Iran and the war with Iraq. The events were poignantly dramatic and harrowing, although the descriptions were occasionally confusing. Obviously Nafisi was attempting to reconcile the realities of what was happening in Iran in tandem with her own personal issues. She had returned to Iran after a 17 year absence and was dealing with her expulsion from the University of Tehran, for refusing to wear the veil. Our group was split on how effectively Nafisi had used Nabokov, Fitzgerald and other authors. Some found the extensive analogy with western literature thought provoking, while others found the references and lengthy reflections at times bordering on tediousness. The author's own words describing her style (page 266) did ring a true note; "I am too much of an academic: I have written too many papers and articles to be able to turn my experiences and ideas into narratives without pontificating". This does help explain why Nafisi employs a variety of genres: autobiography, literary criticism and fiction. There is also a mysterious, charismatic character the "magician", that shares her love of both books and chocolates, and these interludes provide some of the most intimate moments of the book. But was the "magician" real or Nafisi's alter ego? We couldn't decide. In the final section of the book, "Austen" the focus again is centred on her reading group when we learn about the personal lives of these women. Apart from one, who has decided to stay in Iran and not to marry but concentrate on her career, the remainder of the group are struggling to reach a decision of whether to leave their homeland or not. The teacher like her students is also facing this dilemma. Nafisi elects to leave and on June 23rd 1997, the day before departing she writes a few random remarks in a notebook and heads the entry "For my new book". Two years later Nafisi is awarded a contract for the book. By the end of 2004 it was into its fifteenth printing and had been translated into 12 languages. So a formerly little known Iranian literature professor became an international best seller. The whole group would recommend the book and considered its success was due to the fact that Nafisi told the stories of ordinary people not of the ruling elite, but wished she had greater confidence in writing the memoir more from her protagonist's view point instead of depending so heavily on academia.
The book is an autobiographical account of growing up during the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. In the book, Chanrithy is a young girl when the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975. She is forced to evacuate Phnom Penh in Year 0, and live with her family, which consists of her parents and five brothers and sisters and live in the countryside. The title of the book "When Broken Glass Floats" refers to a Cambodian proverb about what happens when good and evil are thrown together in the river of life and good ultimately triumphs over evil. The Khmer Rouge favored the peasant class and forced the educated to subsist. Her world is a savage realm where children are reduced to brutal slavery and struggle alone for their very lives. Her family is torn apart and deliberately separated to weaken their allegiance to each other. Her story is peppered with heart-wrenching accounts of attempts to find, grow and obtain enough food for the family. Quite often ingenious methods were employed. However, by the end of their terror, only 3 siblings from her entire family survived. The death of family members and friends is heartbreaking, particularly the episode when her youngest brother, 5 year old Than is dying, separated from the family and their Mother does not have the strength to nurse him despite his pleas for her. But within the agony, there are tales of heroism and compassion. The book club members were all moved by Chanrithy's and her family's ordeal. The group discussed at length the wider political issues of how totalitarian regimes come to power and how they maintain power. We discussed other totalitarian regimes in the world today which perpetuate their own blend of brutality on their people. This naturally led us to feel despair, but recalling Chanrithy's book, which we all felt was essentially about the strength of family love and loyalty, lifted our spirits somewhat. In the end, the Vietnamese liberate Cambodia and the 3 remaining siblings spend some time in a Thai refugee camp before being allowed to join an Uncle who had escaped to the US before the Khmer Rouge took power. In the US, Chanrithy becomes involved in interviewing other survivors and this experience led her to write this book. All members of the group were challenged, saddened and enlightened by the experience of reading When Broken Glass Floats. It is a moving tribute to those who survived and an eloquent eulogy for those who did not.
LIBRARY REPORT We have two new books of interest. The first concentrates on sites in Burma, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, the second relates to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Both contain photos, drawings and researched text by Jacques Dumarcay and Michael Smithies. After January's talks by Kathy Rowland and Bernice Chauly you might be interested in learning more about the performing arts in Malaysia. Follow up with Volume 8 of the Encyclopaedia of Malaysia (a whole volume on various forms of performing arts), Ramli: the Heart of Sutra, Miettinen's book on Classical Dance and Theatre in South-East Asia, Mhd Chouse Nasuruddin's The Malay Dance, and Sweeney's The Ramayana and the Malay Shadow-Play and Malay Puppets. Bernice Chauly's written work is also represented in New Writing 2, published by Silverfish books. We have a copy. We also have Rehman Rashid's "Malaysian Journey", Farish Noor's "The Other Malaysia", and Karim Raslan's "Ceritalah: Malaysia in Transition". All provide well-written and perceptive commentary on contemporary Malaysian society, which you may find especially interesting after Sonia Randhawa's talk about freedom of speech here. See you at the library. Please give me a call on 2142 0152 before Chinese New Year to arrange a time.
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS CHINESE NEW YEAR: THE YEAR OF THE ROOSTER Previous Rooster Years:
Rooster people are very observant. And most of the time, they are very accurate and precise with their observation. Perhaps, you can say that Roosters have a very keen "sixth-sense". With Roosters, what you see is exactly what you get. There are no hidden depths to the Rooster's character: he is neither complicated nor profound, rather, he is very forthright and straightforward. The rooster likes to be noticed and flattered. He might dress a little flashily with this in mind, but in his heart, he is completely conservative. Roosters always appear attractive and beautifully turned out. They are sociable and love to receive attention. Believe it or not, it is not an easy task to fool the Rooster. His mind is cautious and sceptical, with this perceptive gift, Roosters make excellent trouble shooters, detectives, doctors, nurses and psychiatrists. Roosters are always up, out and doing. You rarely see a relaxed rooster that sits quietly in the living room, doing nothing. They are also multitalented, and can become accomplished in many different ways. All Roosters are extremely conscious about clothing and appearance. They may appear conservative but are obsessed with their look - they can spend hours standing in front of the mirrors and will not even wink when they spend $500 for a dress. That doesn't mean they don't care about money, in fact, they love to compare prices and even if the bargain is only few cents or few dollars cheaper, they will be satisfied. Though sharp, practical and resourceful, the Rooster also likes to dream. And because he likes to dream, he will disappointed the loved one, for the reality will never match up to the dreams he would like to share with her. Nevertheless, he really is sincere about those dreams though. Rooster people make great hosts and adore entertaining. The main virtue in the Rooster character is loyalty: they make devoted friends. They always keep their promises and are always true to their word. When Roosters love and admire someone, they will even catch the moon just to keep them happy. Famous people born in this year include Dolly Parton, Katherine Hepburn, Bette Midler, and Rod Stewart. CHINESE NEW YEAR The Chinese New Year has a great history. In other traditions, by this time of the year, most resolutions - made on December 31 - have been subtly forgotten and placed in a cupboard marked 'maybe next year'. However, all hope is not lost, as there's a second chance to start afresh with the celebration of Chinese New Year starting 9 February. The Chinese New Year is very similar to the Western one, swathed in traditions and rituals. The origin of the Chinese New Year is itself centuries old, in fact, too old to actually be traced. It is popularly recognised as the Spring Festival and celebrations last 15 days. Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year (similar to a Western Christmas), when people start buying presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. A huge clean-up gets underway days before the New Year, when Chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and windowpanes are given a new coat of paint, usually red. The doors and windows are then decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on them. The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event, as anticipation creeps in. Here, traditions and rituals are very carefully observed in everything from food to clothing. Dinner is usually a feast of seafood and dumplings, signifying different good wishes. Delicacies include prawns, for liveliness and happiness; dried oysters (or ho xi), for all things good; raw fish salad or yu sheng to bring good luck and prosperity; fai-hai (Angel Hair), an edible hair-like seaweed to bring prosperity; and dumplings boiled in water (jiaozi) signifying a long-lost good wish for a family. It's usual to wear something red as this colour is meant to ward off evil spirits - but black and white are out, as these are associated with mourning. After dinner, the family sit up for the night playing cards, board games or watching TV programmes dedicated to the occasion. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks. On the day itself, an ancient custom called Hong Bao, meaning Red Packet, takes place. This involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. Then the family begins to give greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbours. Like the Western saying "let bygones be bygones," at Chinese New Year, grudges are very easily cast aside. The end of the New Year is marked by the Festival of Lanterns, which is a celebration with singing, dancing and lantern shows. Although celebrations of the Chinese New Year vary, the underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family members and friends.
THAIPUSAM Several hundred devotees spear their cheeks with long, shiny steel rods - often a metre long - and pierce their chests and backs with small, hook-like needles in penance. Tourists watch in awe as metal pierces the skin with hardly any bleeding and, apparently, no pain as the devotee stands in a trance in the dawn light after weeks of rigorous abstinence. Over the years, curious British, American and Australian medical experts have come to observe and speculate. Some think the white ash smeared on the body, the juice squeezed from the yellow lime fruit or the milk poured on the pierced areas may help to numb the skin. But most admit they have no answer. The devotees say it is faith. "The belief in Lord Murugan is what prevents the pain and the bleeding," says Krishna Vadyar, a priest at the temple which conducts the annual rituals. There are plenty stories about what Thaipusam is about. Among the most popular is that it commemorates the day Lord Siva's consort, the powerful goddess Parvathi, gives her son, Murugan, the vel (lance) to vanquish three demons and their large army which were plaguing the world. Thaipusam falls on a full moon day in the auspicious 10th Tamil month of Thai when the constellation of Pusam, the star of well-being, rises over the eastern horizon. In Kuala Lumpur, the festival is celebrated on a mammoth scale at the Batu Caves temple on the outskirts of the city. It began in 1892, started by early Tamils who migrated to colonial Malaya. Reportedly, two of them made the difficult trek up the ancient limestone hill and planted the `vel' in the cave. The cave, the size of a soccer field, houses a temple dedicated to Lord Murugan. The vel, made of metal and shaped like a lance, symbolises Murugan who is also known as Velan. On the eve of Thaipusam, a five-ton silver-chariot bearing Lord Murugan's image and followed by a procession of several thousand people leaves the Sri Mahamariaman temple in downtown Kuala Lumpur, on a 15-kilometre trek to Batu Caves. Mahamariamman is also another name for Parvathi, Murugan's mother. Drums beat out trance-inducing rhythms and long wooden pipes, known as nathaswaram, croon devotional tunes in a loud carnival atmosphere. Hundreds break coconuts and offer fruits to the God all along the chariot's meandering route. Throughout its history, the chariot has been pulled by up to six pairs of bulls. But in 2000, the organisers responded to accusations of animal abuse, by switching to a motorised vehicle. To many Thaipusam is the day of thanksgiving or atonement for wrongs. Spectacular edifices or kavadis are often carried or pulled by the devotees with chains and ropes anchored in the skin of their backs or chests. After ritual cleansing at a stream at the foothills, they walk up the 272 steps accompanied by family and friends. But kavadi carrying need not be so arduous. Just carrying a small pot of milk up the steps to be poured on the vel is enough. Most devotees do this. Some parents carry newborn babies slung in a cloth-cradle hung on a pole shouldered at both ends by the mother and the father as thanks for a safe birth. Some also carry kavadis made of wood or metal adorned with pictures or statues of Hindu deities, flowers and peacock plumes. Others shave their heads bald as a symbol of humility and atonement. Thaipusam is on January 25. BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS Reservations Wait List Payments Cancellations Refunds Eligibility Event Participation
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