Dear MCG Members, I hope everyone enjoyed the Chinese New Year holidays wherever you may have been. We stayed in KL and I must say it was absolute bliss without the normal chaos of KL traffic. We have an unbelievable program for you this month and I hope you will take full advantage of all that is offered: Japanese culture, Islamic architecture, Indonesian travels, Lao and Thai textiles, and warships! How is that for variety! Just read further to get all the details. I am happy to report we have some new members on our Events Planning team - welcome Ardy, Michelle and Wiesia! And we have had more members offering to write newsletter articles, so I am happy to say my begging and whining has paid off. The committee is already busy planning for the AGM which will be held on Wednesday, 4 May, so go ahead and mark your calendar for this important event. We depend on you to show your support at this strategic meeting, so do plan on attending. Details of the AGM will be in the April newsletter. As always, I hope to see you at one, or all! of our MCG events!
- Cindy Zeier PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
MCG ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS
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 April newsletter by March 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
WANT TO JOIN OUR BOOK CLUB?
The two MCG Book Clubs meet monthly to discuss books chosen by each group. Group I meets on the last Wednesday of every month and Group II meets on the last Friday of every month. The membership of each group is limited to a maximum of 15 members. At present neither group has a full quota, so if anyone is interested in joining, please contact the Book Group Convener, Joanne Mahendran by email on: Joanne_Mahendran@iskl.edu.my or joannm@streamyx.com for more details. The Groups read both fiction and non-fiction books, with a focus on the South-East Asia region. It's a great way to meet new people in an informal environment and you'll get to read some great books too.
REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS
GUZHENG - A MUSICAL MORNING - November 29, 2004
Shun Clayton was born in Hong Kong, but grew up abroad and it was not until she was over twenty years old, that she learnt something about her Chinese culture. She later tried to learn Chinese brush painting, but after moving to KL, where she heard the dulcet tones of an instrument in a Chinese restaurant, she knew. Not Chinese painting, but Chinese music! She also then recalled memories from her childhood, a grandfather playing the Erhu and his sister playing the Guzheng. That day in the restaurant, she approached the musician, who's wife became Shun's Guzheng teacher five years ago. On a beautiful November morning, Shun gave us a lesson in Chinese classical music accompanied by many beautiful examples on her Guzheng instrument. There are many different schools of Chinese music, each more or less following provincial boundaries. Apart from the minorities in China, Chinese musical differences follow a north/south divide. The harsh climate in the north made life hard and the music there tends to be higher pitched and more agitated. The milder environment in the south produces a softer, more graceful musical form. The other factor in the development of musical differences is the cadences and intonation of the native dialect. Chinese music was also influenced by Confucian philosophy, as a way of purifying and focusing the mind, not for amusement. Also Zen Buddhist thoughts and the Tao philosophy have played a role in the development. Chinese music is based on the pentatonic (five tone, Do, Re, Mi, So, La) or the heptatonic (seven tone, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti) scale. The introductions to Chinese songs are mainly freestyle, but moves to double and triple metre. The tone should be perfect in the Chinese music. To the Chinese, sound played an important role in bringing harmony and balance to the universe. An imperfect tone would bring chaos. Every dynasty would find their own perfect 'sound' by finding the standard pitch of a normal man´s voice. From this they would construct a reed pipe to emulate that pitch and then construct, according to a strict mathematical formula, twelve reed pipes, six male and six female "voices". These twelve "voices" were then considered the standard pitch of the dynasty, on which all music was based. There are thousands of Chinese musical instruments, but the most used ones in a Chinese orchestra are the Erku (violin), Pipa (lute), Yaun (mandolin), Dizi (vertical flute), Xiao (horizontal flute), Suona (bellshaped trumpet), Yangqin (dulcimer), Guzheng (zither), bells, drums and cymbals. The earliest Chinese instruments were made of hollow wood, clay or stone. The reed pipe was also an early invention. The Guzheng is part of the Qin family. Here Qin does not mean the Qin dynasty, but is the word used for any musical instrument made of wood or bamboo, over which strings are stretched. So a piano is a gangqin (a steel qin), a violin, a xiaoti qin (small portabel qin), a dulcimer, a yangqin (a foreign qin). The Guzheng is the oldest of the Chinese folk musical instruments. It first appeared in the early years of the Spring Autumn period of the Warring States era, approximately 700 - 400 BC in Qin. It was then known as qinzheng. Its use spread throughout China and later to Vietnam, Korea and Japan. The Han dynasty banned the Qunzheng as being associated with the overthrown Qin dynasty, but this didn't stop the common people from playing it. From the beginning, the zheng had five strings. During the Tang dynasty its size increased to present 6ft. The body also then took its present curved shape. The bridges became taller, the 12 strings were stretched tighter. The strings were made of silk, but they broke easily, so now they are made of steel. It was also at this time that false nails or plectra was introduced. Today they are made of buffalo horn. In the early history of the zheng, it was played with accompanying vocals by the player. But during the Han dynasty, small bands of six or seven different instruments were formed in the villages, where the zheng and the dizi (the bamboo flute) were the leading instruments and the practice of vocalising while playing the zheng ceased. There are nine main schools of Guzheng, each producing different techniques and different cadences. They are
We could have happily listened to Shun for the rest of the day, her lesson was so interesting and her playing so beautiful. I really hope we will have the opportunity to listen to her playing the Guzheng again soon.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH - BOUND AND GAGGED?
- January 19th, 2004
Sonia Randhawa, director of the Centre for Independent Journalism, asked for a minute of silence to commemorate the staff of Aceh newspapers who lost their lives on December 26th. She then spoke about the legal framework for the media in Malaysia, explaining the political events that encouraged colonial and post-colonial governments to limit the freedom of expression. Until WW2, English-language papers exercised self-restraint because they were financially dependent upon government advertising. In 1948 the colonial government moved to control the often left-wing press, and after independence the BN governments expanded that legal framework. The scariest weapon in the government's armoury is the threat to change, limit or revoke the license which every editor, publisher and printer of a newspaper or magazine in Malaysia needs to operate. There is no legal recourse, and the government has used this power, notably to reduce the frequency of a popular opposition magazine to once every two weeks instead of twice weekly. The staff of the critical website "Malaysiakini" have applied for a print license, and the government has stalled for three years without giving reasons. The government further contributes to a climate of uncertainty for journalists and academics by maintaining a sedition act on the books that has such a wide definition of incitement to sedition that anything critical of anybody - even outside of Malaysia - could lead to judicial action. Recipients of materials judged seditious can also be sentenced to jail terms under this act. After the race riots of 1969 parliament passed legislation limiting the freedom of association and expression of university students, prohibiting student newspapers and contacts between students and journalists. According to Sonia Randhawa, censorship in the print media or on the TV tends to be self-imposed. Astro, for example, monitors foreign news broadcasts and sometimes removes material, for instance some interviews with the politician Anwar Ibrahim after his recent release from prison. She did not elaborate whether self-imposed censorship prevails because owners of newspapers and TV stations are close to the BN governments or because newspapers are concerned about their license or fear action against critical journalists. Sonia Randhawa expressed the hope for a widening of the freedom of expression in Malaysia. She acknowledged that some websites had tried to disseminate hate speech and wild attacks on religious values before they were closed by their owners or by the government, but thought that more freedom of expression would educate Malaysians to use their expanded rights responsibly. Her committed and expert talk was applauded by some 50 members. Future activities in this area may be followed on her Institute's website at www.cijmalaysia.org.
NATURE'S BOUNTY RECYCLED
- Thursday, January 27, 2005
Cindy Zeier's introduction of artist Jurema Walendowsky Baker hit the mark when she said "you'll never look at your garden the same way again." Jurema has been fascinated by nature her entire life. Her artistic creations are indeed a product of nature assisted by her creative inspiration. Jurema shared her artistic adventure with a full house of MCG members at the Polish Ambassador's residence. Jurema, who is Brazilian by birth, but a third generation Pole, shared her story of how she started collecting plant matter in Malaysia. She found the sizes, shapes and varieties of plant life not only visually appealing but artistically inspirational. How many of you have stood in and around KL and just looked up at trees or picked up a leaf and were awestruck by its size? When Jurema started collecting plant matter she didn't have a clear idea of what she was going to do with it. Over time she began experimenting with a process that enabled her to shape and mould the plant material into specific forms. The perfection of this technique was not described in specific detail as Jurema's home-crafted trade secrets are hers to keep. What Jurema did share was a wonderful explanation of her love of nature. One of the stories she told was about her journeys to villages on the East Coast of Malaysia to collect palm fronds. She finds great solace in the whole process, from the collection of nature's supplies to the actual manipulation of the material. Jurema's leaf sculptures and frond creations are truly incredible. She sculpts leaves into bowls, fronds into holders of all forms and adds, on occasion, beautiful silver adornments to these items of artistic expression. This presentation left many of its attendees wondering what they could do with the amazing plant material that surrounds them. Jurema has found a use for it and does take donations although, her selection process has been refined over the course of years. If you would like to see some of Jurema's work log on to www.juremaonline.com.
MCG NEWS BOOK CLUB REPORTSThe Financial Expert by RK Narayan Book Club I's January meeting was held on Friday, January 28th at the home of Diana Cooper to discuss "The Financial Expert" by RK Narayan. Narayan was born in Madras (present day Chennai) in 1906 and by 1932 he had written his first novel "Swami and Friends" (although it was published only in 1935). He received a lot of encouragement and help from author Graham Greene. Narayan is considered to be among the pioneer Indian writers in the English language. Narayan got his idea for "The Financial Expert" from one of his brothers, who once mentioned a story of a colleague who sat under a tree and conducted his money-lending business. The main character in this novel does the same - Margayya sits under a tree opposite the cooperative bank and helps villagers seeking financial assistance. Narayan explores Margayya's relationship with his wife and his only male child very humorously, bringing to light the various social and economic problems of the time. This novel was written in 1952, soon after India got its independence from the British. At that time the social and economic situation in India was rather turbulent, especially for the rural sector. An average rustic had to suffer tremendous hardships to make ends meet. Narayan depicts these hardships very vividly. This novel has very depressing subject matter - poverty, ignorance, fear, superstition etc. but the author's portrayal and style bring and clarity to his readers.
"Not My Bowl of Rice" is ER Escober's first novel. The book was honoured as a finalist in the 2003 Independent Publisher Book Awards. The novel is a fictionalized account of a young woman's immigration to America from the Philippines. It is set sometime in the 1980s/90s. In the book, Escober describes the thoughts and feelings of the young woman, though he himself is a man. The book club members did not find this method convincing or the character credible. The experience of immigration is described by Ligaya, the main character. She outlines the process of immigration, her experience of settling into an American city, her employment and her relationships with friends and family. In particular a significant part of the book describes the visit of her cousin who we learn is dying from AIDS. A considerable part of the book is devoted to his treatment and relationships with other family members and lovers, and his ultimate death. Ligaya inherited her mother's love of cooking. Each chapter is named after a Filipino recipe which is also detailed in full at the end of the chapter. Whilst some dishes sounded moderately appetizing to the book club members none felt inspired to try preparing any of these dishes. Some book club members found the discussion of Filipino concepts and values raised in the book interesting. For example, the concept of Pagsasarili means "to be a person in his own right". Filipino culture places great emphasis on familial duty and closeness to one's family. However, Pagsasarili also acknowledges the need for individuals to overcome dependency and become self-reliant. Whilst the book had some redeeming qualities, to be honest, none of the members present at the discussion felt that the effort involved in obtaining the book merited reading it!!
LIBRARY REPORT First, a welcome to new library members, Caroline Sar and Ann Dolaher. Good news for new and old members alike is that the library catalogue has been edited and updated to make the library easier to use and keep track of the large number of items in it (more than 630!). I will always have a hard copy of the catalogue for you to refer to when you come and visit the library. Unfortunately you will not be able to visit as usual for the next couple of months, as most of the library will be going into safe storage while our house is renovated. But I will make sure that some of the most popular books (Murder on the Verandah is a perennial favourite), and those relating to recent and upcoming events (such as the lecture on Islamic architecture), will continue to be available. You can catch up with me at MCG events, or call me (012 930 4471) to arrange a time to visit the library boxes in their temporary home.
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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