Penang

Penang
Author: Julia De Bierre
Publisher: Areca Books
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2006
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9789834283421

Yearning to Belong

Yearning to Belong
Author: Patrick Pillai
Publisher: Iseas Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9789814519687

Malaysia is among the most ethnically diverse and culturally rich nations on earth. Yet much of its cultural wealth lies buried beneath the rubric of its main Malay, Chinese and Indian "race" categories; the dazzling diversity within and outside these groups remains largely unexplored. This book uncovers some of this fascinating diversity through the stories of five little-known acculturated ethnic groups in Peninsula Malaysia. The author, a Malaysian sociologist, delivers an insightful and lucid study of these groups, with some surprising findings. These communities illustrate how much more cross-cultural mingling, sharing and co-dependence there is within Malaysian society than we care to recognize, admit or celebrate. This raises various questions: Is a similar process of spontaneous inter-ethnic interaction possible between larger ethnic groups today? How can we foster such acculturation, and can it by itself contribute to ethnic harmony? The author also discovers that despite their long settlement and deep acculturation, segments of these groups are anxious about their future, and pine for an indigenous identity. What are the implications of this trend for ethnic relations, and how can it be resolved? This book traces the acculturation journey of these communities and draws lessons for ethnic relations in one of the most complex multi-ethnic nations in the world. It will appeal to scholars, students, laymen and visitors interested in migration, history, culture, ethnicity and heritage in Malaysia and the region.

Voices from the Underworld

Voices from the Underworld
Author: Fabian Graham
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2020-02-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1526140594

In Singapore and Malaysia, the inversion of Chinese Underworld traditions has meant that Underworld demons are now amongst the most commonly venerated deities in statue form, channelled through their spirit mediums, tang-ki. The Chinese Underworld and its sub-hells are populated by a bureaucracy drawn from the Buddhist, Taoist and vernacular pantheons. Under the watchful eye of Hell’s ‘enforcers’, the lower echelons of demon soldiers impose post-mortal punishments on the souls of the recently deceased for moral transgressions committed during their prior incarnations. Voices from the Underworld offers an ethnography of contemporary Chinese Underworld traditions, where night-time cemetery rituals assist the souls of the dead, exorcised spirits are imprisoned in Guinness bottles, and malicious foetus ghosts are enlisted to strengthen a temple’s spirit army. Understanding the religious divergences between Singapore and Malaysia through an analysis of socio-political and historical events, Fabian Graham challenges common assumptions on the nature and scope of Chinese vernacular religious beliefs and practices. Graham’s innovative approach to alterity allows the reader to listen to first-person dialogues between the author and channelled Underworld deities. Through its alternative methodological and narrative stance, the book intervenes in debates on the interrelation between sociocultural and spiritual worlds, and promotes the de-stigmatisation of spirit possession and discarnate phenomena in the future study of mystical and religious traditions.

Catching the Wind

Catching the Wind
Author: Francis E. Hutchinson
Publisher: Penang Institute
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2012
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9814379875

However impressive the economic success of Penang has been over the past four decades, structural conditions in the region call for a fundamental reconfiguration of this Malaysian state’s competitive advantage. In the 1970s, the ageing entrepôt transformed itself into a manufacturing hub for the electronics industry and a well-known tourist site. This outward-looking model of economic growth has underpinned Penang’s economic development up until the present. The question that now arises is whether Penang’s present mode of development will continue to be effective, or whether it will have to transform itself. First, Malaysia in general, and Penang in particular are caught in a middle-income trap. Second, while the evolving weight of the global economy is shifting towards Asia, many of its emerging powers are competing with Penang in areas where it formerly excelled. Third, Penang is a state within a federation, and its capital, George Town, is a secondary city. Neither can rival Kuala Lumpur in terms of size or facilities, and thus must offer investors other attributes. Effectively meeting these challenges while retaining Penang’s vibrant and living culture are the key issues that are dealt with in this second volume of the Penang Studies Series.

Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways

Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways
Author: Ric Francis
Publisher: Areca Books
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2006
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 9789834283407

"Which city once had the smallest trolley-bus in the world? Where do you find the first funicular railway in Southeast Asia? How do you recognize a trolley-bus pole? Where is Tramway Road?" "With over 100 old photographs, maps and illustrations, this book gives an overview of the various forms of public transport used in George Town from 1880s to 1963, and the role this transport played in the development of the growth of George Town and Penang." "Penang was one of the first urban centres in Southeast Asia to operate steam trams, horse trams, electric trams and trolleybuses. When the Municipal Commission established its own electric supply, it took over the tram service and started the electric trams in George Town in 1906. This gave the local population excellent public transport around George Town, with one line going up to Ayer Itam. In the late 1920s, the Municipality replaced trams with trolley-buses, experimenting for a while with re-conditioned double-deckers from London Transport!" "The Municipality also operated two railways - firstly, the Penang Hill Railway which was considered an engineering marvel when it was first built, and secondly, the electric railway which transported supplies and tin ingots for Penang's foremost smelting works."--BOOK JACKET.

More Than Merchants

More Than Merchants
Author: Salma Nasution Khoo
Publisher: Areca Books
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2006
Genre: Germans
ISBN: 9789834283414

Squatters Into Citizens

Squatters Into Citizens
Author: Kah Seng Loh
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Bukit Ho Swee Estate (Singapore)
ISBN: 9788776941222

The crowded, bustling, 'squatter' kampongs so familiar across Southeast Asia have long since disappeared from Singapore, leaving no visible trace of their historical influence on the social life in the city-state. Fifty years have passed since the great fire at Bukit Ho Swee destroyed the kampong, left 16,000 people homeless, gave rise to a national emergency and led to the first big public housing project, a seminal event in the making of modern Singapore. Loh Kah Seng grew up in one-room rental flats in the HDB estate built after the fire. Drawing on oral history interviews, official records and media reports, he describes daily life in squatter communities and how people coped with the hazard posed by fires. His examination of the catastrophic events of 25 May 1961 and the steps taken by the new government of the People's Action Party in response to the disaster show the immediate consequences of the fire and how relocation to public housing changed people's lives. Through a narrative that is both vivid and subtle, the book explores the nature of memory and probes beneath the hard surfaces of modern Singapore to understand the everyday life of the people who live in the city.