The Malays have two sets of narratives in encounters with the West – one is actual, the other mythical/ metaphysical. Melaka was one of the earliest places of encounters, in both sense of the word, producing the Ferringhis and Rum (Rome). These are popular conceptions of the world, forging our consciousness as a nation. And so when the Ferringghi

The Ferringhi, Farang, and Franks have their origins at a particular moment in history, geography, and identity formation. It is an ethnography, of not only a Malay marker of the European, but by other societies that have come into contact with the natives of “the northern quadrant” where “the sun is far from the zenith – increasingly far t

Alfian Saat’s Merdeka is a timely reminder for history-starved Singapore. It is about Singapore’s breaking up with the West, on why Raffles must fall. I was among the Singaporeans in October of last year. Watching the play is like digesting large chunks of texts in two hours, alerting me to the ‘emptiness’ of the island’s past identity ha

The emergence of recent voices calling for decolonizing names and narratives in Malaysia cannot deny the history of colonialism in this part of the world. The story of the coming of Europeans to Melaka and the Malay Archipelago serves as integral to our history. The shores of Melaka, and that of other ports in the Malay Archipelago, emit a cacophon

Khairuddin Aljunied makes an unusual venture in retelling the story of Islam in Malaysia. The cosmopolitanism of Islam in Malaysia in its interactions with the world spells the leitmotif of his work. In so doing, Islam in Malaysia: An Entwined History reconsiders the problem and the accuracy of periodization in studying the history of the Islamic w

In this study, biochar was produced from sugarcane bagasse in a modified muffle furnace without using a purging gas at different temperatures; 400˚C to 700˚C with increments of 50˚C at 25˚C/min heating rate. Biochar yields were significantly influenced by the devolatization of biomass during the pyrolysis and were inversely proportional to the

There is a growing interest in Enrique de Malacca (the name from Portuguese sources) generally described as a Southeast Asian in Magellan’s voyage around the world. Enrique “played a significant role in the expedition and deserved to be recognized by the people of the region from which he came from.” These words came from a Filipino historian

Under the focus of evidence law in general, the authorities or any agencies involved in the investigation of crime may obtain the evidence by unlawful means. For instance, the evidence may be obtained through the commission of crime, a tort or a breach of contract or a breach of statutory or provisions governing the powers, procedure and the duties

This essay is not about Covid-19, but about coffee, of how the subject of the brew has been written, intoxicated with Eurocentric history. Recently, I encountered the comment of blogger Omer Aziz about a reviewer on the history of coffee. Adam Gopnik's essay in The New Yorker brewed the rage in him. Omer "felt a savage inner reaction to eve

The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the many crises that threaten press freedom. Reliable, diverse and independent information is at risk. The next 10 years will be pivotal to press freedom due to several converging crises. These are geopolitical (due to the aggressiveness of authoritarian regimes); technological (due to a lack of technological gua