Launch of Made in Malaysia

The Malaysia-Day launch of Alexandra Wong's Made in Malaysia: Stories of Hometown Heroes and Hidden Gems took place at MPH's Nu Sentral flagship bookstore.

The store put up about thirty-plus chairs in the beginning. We were told (or promised, rather) that more people will be coming, so the staff took out all the chairs they had (which would STILL not be enough).

Noelle Lim, Queen of the Breakfast Grille programme on BFM89.9 and the author's long-time friend was picked as the emcee for the launch.

The author, Alexandra Wong, started signing books early, almost an hour before the launch began. Her book is a compilation of selected articles from her "Navel Gazer" column in English-language daily The Star.

She got the idea of getting launch attendees to write their names on these stones from somewhere online. She plans to put these stones in a big glass bowl that will take place of pride in her new digs - another element that's in line with her community project of a book.

Every now and then, Alexandra takes time out from signing books to greet her guests and their friends and relatives. Her articles feature the whole gamut of Malaysians, from everyday people to luminaries, and she cherishes every encounter.

It got a bit hard for her to personally thank everyone who attended the launch as the day wore on. Among many of the attendees are Alex's parents and her friends/acquaintances and their relatives or friends.

Showtime was just after 3pm.

As expected, we had no problem filling seats - just getting them. Around the middle of the launch, the bookstore people brought out wooden stools from somewhere inside the store, but it remained standing room only until the end.

Noelle did a fine job as an emcee, even though she claimed this was her first time. Alex thought she'd exceeded expectations.

Singer-songwriter Ray Cheong volunteered his time and talents to open the launch. When he and Alex met, she'd begun her freelance writing career and he was selling cameras.

Now, she's an author and columnist and he's got an album (sold at indie talent venue Merdekarya) and, among other things, opened for Pixie Lott's 2012 Kuala Lumpur tour.

Like I said, no problems filling seats...

...just finding them.


Young Visaghan delivered a dramatised reading of a story in the book, "My superwoman BFF". Said superwoman is his mom, Shivanee Selvaratnam, one of Alex's childhood friends, who couldn't make it and pledged her husband, sons, mother-in-law and several relatives to stand in her stead.

Seems she coached the kid to memorise the lines by heart and, after getting Alex to eat out of his hand during his first encounter, had the audience in the palm of the same hand as well. He's like, what, only ten?

An unscheduled and surprising bit of entertainment was provided by Semai craftsman Raman bah Tuin, who took about two minutes to introduce himself and play the nose flute for the audience.

Alex went all the way to Raman's home to interview him for an article in MAS's in-flight magazine, Going Places (which is pretty much her ambition). If the audience thought his nose-flute playing was enchanting, they should hear it at his backyard, closer to nature.

The author herself finally took the stage to speak about the book and invite some "guests of honour" to share the spotlight with her.

Of course, Alex's parents were first. Their presence at the launch was significant, as she fought for years to earn their (especially her mom's) approval of her freelancing writer's career.

To Alex's surprise, Mrs Wong took the mic. The author's gung-ho, always-seize-the-moment attitude definitely came from her mother. "She never told me about this book until the last minute," Mrs Wong told the audience, to their amusement.

Quiet, dignified Mr Wong, meanwhile, isn't used to being in the limelight.

One thing she forgot to mention: that fellow sitting in the barber's chair on the cover of the book? That's her dad, Mr Wong, getting a haircut at Ipoh's Star Barber.

More and more of the guests of honour - some of the "hometown heroes" and "hidden gems" Alex encountered so far in her career - are invited up the stage and would later sign the mock book towards the end of the event.

This is, after all, their book and their stories.

I'd been sick (sinuses and itchy throat) for the past several days; I only felt a bit of it during the launch, but it got even worse later that night. And it's the first launch I actively participated in since becoming an editor....


This is a truncated version of my Facebook photo album of the event, which for some reason is still "unavailable" despite its "Public" status (Facebook can be so dysfunctional).

Made in Malaysia should be available now at bookstores in the Klang Valley, including Borders, Kinokuniya, Cziplee and, of course, MPH. Some details about the book can be found here.

Book Marks: Excellent Sheep, Book Tour, Banned Words

Here's Salon's Q&A with former Yale lecturer William Deresiewicz where he talks about millennials, meritocracy, student loans and the Ivy League. He also suggests these elite schools are churning out "excellent sheep", which is also the title of his book.

"Our leaders are also excellent sheep," Deresiewicz says. "They're timid; they're risk-averse. They're self-serving. They are intellectually underpowered and very full of themselves, because they've been told their whole life how wonderful they are, and therefore, that they deserve everything they're getting."

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After James Frey, Somali Mam, etc., can works of non-fiction be considered reliable media sources?

"Perhaps in a perfect world, every publishing house would have an army of fact-checkers — but what can we do until then?" Kate Newman wonders over at The Atlantic. "At the very least, it's important to read more critically, especially for journalists, who perpetuate untruths when they rely blindly on books for fact."

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Authors Josh Weil and Mike Harvkey went on a road trip to "little America" and stopped by a few indie bookstores. They had a blast, but were also touched by the treatment they got from the stores:

Many booksellers thanked us for coming. Some had worked very hard to fill seats — and sometimes it worked. A few had worked harder than that, drumming up notices in local papers or arranging interviews with local radio. Very rarely we encountered a bookseller who had done nothing — no publicity, no press, no questions asked, no attempt to get to know the two authors who had driven halfway across America to spend a couple of hours in their store.

Man, I almost teared up.

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The "distinguished but difficult" VS Naipaul was reportedly dropped from this year's Ubud Writers' Festival line-up because of "11th-hour requests" from his agent that included a (US?)$20,000 fee. From what I see, flying him in and hosting him in would cost half the Festival's total budget.

"Our cash sponsorship so far this year is less than $100,000, so we can't spend 50K of that on him," said the founder Janet DeNeefe. "I actually rejected some Indonesian musicians because we can't afford them."

Gosh, whatever happened to "Sure, would be happy to mingle, holiday, and spread the writing gospel"? Am I just naive or have these literary giants been around this block so many times that they've become jaded?

Plus:

• Wilbur Smith's vainglorious eunuch Taita returns in his upcoming novel Desert God. Smith's story (here in The Telegraph), however, is no less compelling. Though the descriptions of Taita and the book aren't quite flattering.
• Kua Kia Soong's May 13: Fact & Fiction has been temporarily banned because an actor from the film Tanda Putera objected to being on the cover. But was the movie really made to rebut Kua's previous May 13 book?
• Food writers and bloggers should probably take note of Eater's list of banned words, which includes "foofaraw", "nom", "foodie-preneur", "victuals" and several ways to say "Internet". Tony Bourdain added "unctuous" to the list, it seems.
• How many of you heard about Oscar Pistorius's plan to write a book about "what happened on that day" and were disgusted by it?
• An armchair detective thinks he's finally unmasked Jack the Ripper, with the help of some "cutting-edge" forensics. The dissection of this theory seems to have begun.

Searching For Malaysia

A compilation of Alexandra Wong's popular Navel Gazer columns in the Malaysian English-language daily The Star and other stories, Made in Malaysia: Stories of Hometown Heroes and Hidden Gems is about one woman's journey of discovery across a historically and culturally rich and diverse land.

When Wong left her corporate job in 2005 to pursue her dream of being a writer, she didn't expect to open a treasure chest of experiences.

She soon made a name for the heartwarming tales of ordinary Joes and Janes in Malaysian society, all of which she'd serendipitously encountered during her travels. Each gem she uncovers inspires her to seek out more.

Culture shock and curtains of mosquitoes give way to familial warmth at an Iban longhouse. A French former nuclear scientist who embraced Malaysia as his second home makes a weekend in Gua Musang even more memorable.

Pointers on how to be a serious and caring teacher emerge from one of her school's naughtiest girls. And stirring displays of chivalry shine a different light upon titled and supposedly aloof public figures.

"For me, it was important that the book could make a difference and touch the hearts of my readers, no matter who the stories reminded them of: a taxi driver, a makcik in a warung or a kind stranger who left a fleeting yet unforgettable impression," she says.

"That's why my early articles invariably revolved around the interesting characters I chatted up on buses and trains; the cosy mom-and-pop eateries I found along the way; obscure but charming small towns that make up the real Malaysia – they were based entirely on my own life experiences."

In the search for herself, Wong gets reacquainted with her homeland through the stories she's told: stories of lives that can only be made in Malaysia.

But why now, and not earlier?

"Although I was discovering a whole new world as a writer, two years seemed too short a time to amass enough real-life experiences for the book I had in mind," Wong explains.

Well, I guess she has plenty of those by now.

From the generosity of food vendors and selflessness of bus and taxi drivers to innumerable life lessons learnt from friends both old and new, she knew from the start she was chasing something far more precious than her dream.

"I wrote those stories because I knew no better way of acknowledging these good Samaritans, and secretly hoped that, in the process, they might inspire someone else to do the same," she says of this book, which she finally began working on for the past year and a half.

Pieces were selected, enhanced with some backstory and arranged in a way that chronicles her writing journey, from brief stints at an NGO and a newspaper to full-time freelancing.

The process wasn't easy; there were so many people she wanted to include, as the Acknowledgements pages (yes, pages) attest. Some of these figures are also given faces, with the inclusion of photos somewhere in the middle.

The cover featured a photo of Star Barber, a part of the Sekeping Kong Heng guesthouse, taken by an acquaintance. A sibling of a friend conceived the concept for the cover.

It ended up being sort of a community project, a reflection of the country she experienced as a writer and traveller - and the perfect gift she envisioned for the people who has enriched her life.

"This book is a heartfelt thanks to the angels I met on my writing journey," Wong says. "Their stories have moved and reinvigorated me, made me laugh and cry, and taught me what it means to be Malaysian."

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Made in Malaysia will be launched at MPH Nu Sentral on 16 September 2014 (Malaysia Day), at 2:30pm. Several people featured in the book are scheduled to appear - nobody you might know, however.

23/09/2014  Catch the podcast of the BFM89.9 interview with the author of Made In Malaysia.

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Made in Malaysia

Stories of Hometown Heroes and Hidden Gems

Alexandra Wong
MPH Group Publishing
279 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-209-3

Facebook page

Buy from: Kinokuniya | MPHOnline.com

Epicurean Editor's Basic Pork Stew

My third attempt at pork stew this afternoon (let us not speak too much of Attempts #1 and #2) turned out a bit better. My previous attempt yielded pie filling and a layer of unappetising crust at the bottom of the pot because (1) heat was too high and (2) I didn't keep an eye on it.

Pork Stew Attempt #3 in progress; SO not a 30-minute meal

Raw pork shoulder from a grass-fed oinker from a nearby An Xin Meat Shop was marinated with salt, black pepper, a clove of garlic, dark soya sauce (actually a 'sweet sauce' from a local brand with gula melaka) and McCormick's mixed herbs for 20 to 30 minutes and then seared in a hot pot with some oil.

Chopsticks are helpful when turning the pieces, if you can stand the splattering hot oil.

Then the two cloves of chopped garlic, chopped shallots (also two) and one red onion (roughly diced) went in, along with a bit of salt and black pepper, and are sautéed until brown. I then threw in some carrot and potato (skin on) and sautéed the lot for a short while, maybe three or four minutes.

I probably should have seared the root vegetables as well, so they don't fall apart too quickly when they stew. But the gravy may not be as nice and thick.

Then the meat went in, followed by some water and a tablespoon of light soya sauce; I learnt that you only need enough liquid to cover the pieces.

The whole lot is brought to a boil, then reduced to a REALLY LOW simmer for over an hour (at some point I stopped keeping track). Then I removed the lid and let it simmer for another half-hour (this I kept track of).

I returned to the pot every ten minutes or so to stir the contents, fearful of another crusty development at the bottom. Didn't happen this time; I have a four-burner stove, and I transferred the pot to a small one after the sautéing and set it to low (which I didn't do previously).

When the stew was almost done, I stirred in another tablespoon of light soya sauce (which was not as salty as some common brands) before pouring it into a bowl and mixed in a bit of olive oil.

(The bottom of the pot was near pristine this time, so I didn't have to scrub like crazy.)

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for stew.

The stew, it was good. Can also fill pies.

Delicious, though not as salty as some would like it. Didn't even use chicken stock cubes, as in Attempt #2 (so let us not speak of it again). Meat would've fallen off the bone if it had any; I think the searing also helped. Too bad I didn't have any rice or bread.

Will do this again. Soon.

Bookmarks: Bookselling, Self On Orwell, and Book-Triggered Violence?

Oh boy, people these days are sensitive:

A book got a reader so angry that the latter shot an alligator, and author of said book is sad. "I didn't expect my book to cause the death of an alligator, but somehow it did," said Jeff Whichello, who wrote What Happened to Ochopee?.

Meanwhile, a schoolteacher was suspended, apparently for writing a work of fiction that featured a futuristic school shooting in the year 2902. So it seems the cops saw this as a red flag (he's gonna blow!) and combed the school for bombs and guns but, of course, found nothing.

And was hip-hop artiste Suge Knight shot to keep his tell-all book on the music industry under wraps?

...Okay, now for some good news.

There's this publisher that ditched Amazon and ended up "selling more books than ever".

How? By selling to venues other than bookstores - "museum shops and toystores", for one, and a multilevel marketing model, "an army of some 7,000 sales "consultants" who sell Usborne and Kane/Miller books directly to their friends and neighbours, mostly through book fairs and Tupperware-style home parties."

But the report cautions, "Whether Hachette and other publishers can duplicate EDC's success is by no means certain. Creating their own MLM divisions would seem to be out of the question, though experiments with select imprints might be worth a try."

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Will Self calls George Orwell the "Supreme Mediocrity", "slamming the 'obvious didacticism' of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, and describing Orwell's acclaimed essay Politics and the English Language as 'plain wrong'."

The Pass Notes people at The Guardian wonder if it's because Self has a new book out.

Also at The Guardian: what they say is a chapter from an early draft of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

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Look at what Slate brought in: Pop songs reinterpreted as Shakespearean sonnets, anyone?

According to Slate, Erik Didriksen, the one behind the Pop Sonnets, "meticulously" adheres to the Shakespearean sonnet form, which "consists of three quatrains and a couplet, with the rhyming pattern ABAB CDCD EFEF GG."

Scroll down slowly and see if you can recognise the original hit. I could only spot several, but only because the lyrics were unique.

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Oh, and check out this writer/ENT specialist's list of recommended reads. What books would she prescribe for a bad episode of allergic rhinitis?

Forever Lat

Of all Malaysian cartoonists, arguably none have left a deeper mark on readers than Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid, beter known as "Lat".

Few are unfamiliar with his accounts of his formative years, travels and travails, as well as his succinct graphic commentary on local and world affairs, for which he has won much praise and accolades. Many have noted the accuracy in how he captures details of what he sees, and the sensitivity and insight in how he presents his observations and conveys nuances.

Therefore, MPH Group Publishing is proud to be issuing reprints of evergreen titles Kampung Boy, Town Boy and Kampung Boy: Yesterday and Today, which were launched in conjunction with the grand opening of MPH Bookstores' Nu Sentral flagship today and the upcoming Merdeka celebrations.

Ge re-acquainted with the story of a village boy growing up in rural Perak, and his subsequent migration to a town setting during his teenage years. The protagonist's hijinks and scenes from a seemingly distant era are bound to tug a chord among other kampung boys and girls.

MPH is also publishing Forever Lat, a new compilation which features works published in local news dailies, as well as some new and unpublished ones.

This will be his latest compilation, after Dr Who?!: Capturing the Life and Times of a Leader in Cartoons, released in 2004.

Smile, laugh or maybe shed a tear as you revisit past events and issues depicted within and realise that even as the years go by, some things - for better or worse - never change.

Like a lighthouse in a storm, Lat's works shine upon the things that matter, things we should never forget even as we hurtle towards the future along with the rest of a fast-changing world.

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Forever Lat

Lat
MPH Group Publishing
168 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-246-8

Buy from MPHOnline.com

Bookmarks: Twittering Turkish Publishers, Children's Books, Etc.

So, yes, I'm doing this again.


Writer Phyllis Rose's "extreme reading experiment" and the resulting "bibliomemoir".

"In their obscurity, these books might be dull, bad or even unreadable; they might, in fact, be a total waste of her time," Rachel Cooke writes in The Guardian. "But she also felt certain that, should she embark on such a scheme, she would find herself on the readerly equivalent of virgin snow, for who else would have read this precise sequence of novels?"

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Seems children's books are popular at the Shanghai Book Fair. But beside the old argument that the sector is saturated, there are other challenges. For one, it's easier to create books for older children than younger ones, a chief editor of a publishing house claims.

"Here, artists often draw after the writers have finished stories, and that creates a barrier," says Zhuo Qing of one Children's Publishing House. "But in many other countries, many writers can also draw themselves. And they will consider many details of a book including how it feels when it's touched."

Never thought of that.

Also, it's not just about good writing and storytelling, but understanding what and how children think, says Zhuo. "Some young writers decided to quit after initial trials because they found it is very hard to become famous quickly in this area."


Also:

• Apparently, thanks to Twitter, Turkey's book publishers are finding their voices again. If only they all sounded like @Mangal2, but it's based in London, so ....
• Publishing a book app? Here are three mistakes to avoid.
• Might want to keep an eye out for Suki, an author's tribute to her deceased cat.
• For those who're all "too long, didn't read" about Amazon vs Hachette, here's what Engadget thinks you need to know about the kerfuffle.
• Wanna get published as a photographer? Writer and photographer Michael Ernest Sweet tells you how.

Masterclass In Session: 30-Minute Meals With Sara

If there's anything food-loving Malaysians are starved for, besides good places to dine out, is time - more so for urban-dwellers. After a long day at the office and long hours in traffic jams, sweating behind a stove (and maybe doing laundry by hand) is the last thing on their minds.

So we eat out, commuting and enduring more traffic jams along the way. But outside fare is not necessarily healthy, as online entrepreneur Sara Khong learnt.

"The full attention I gave to my newly established online fashion business led me to give up the luxury of home-cooked food altogether," says Khong. "Meals consisted of takeaway chicken rice in Styrofoam boxes or nasi lemak in brown paper. The pizza delivery guy became a familiar friend; when I was at my busiest, I had pizza for every meal for a few days straight!"

Unsurprisingly, this lifestyle began taking its toll.

"I lost a lot of weight, looked scrawny and sickly, and had little energy to do anything I enjoyed," she says. "Going to the doctor was a monthly affair."

Faced with this, Khong decided to dine in more often. She began formulating strategies and tips that enabled fast, less-hassle cooking with the help of modern kitchen appliances and useful household items utilising the latest technology.

Over time, her health returned and she found joy in her work and her quest to simplify and speed up the preparation of certain Malaysian dishes, as well as sharing her gospel of fast home-cooking on social media and her online lifestyle portal, JewelPie.com.

(Yes, kitchen experiments can be fun, as I can attest.)

Now, her time-saving tips and recipes can be found in Malaysian Meals in 30 Minutes, the newest addition to the MPH Masterclass Kitchen series.

From kitchen organisation, food storage guidelines and selection of kitchen tools, utensils and appliances to tips on picking quick-to-prepare dishes and cooking them faster, let Khong show you how you can whip up a dish - a full meal, even - within half an hour.

Pick from one of the many featured hawker-stall staples such as wantan mee, nasi lemak, Portuguese grilled fish and BBQ chicken wings; then pair it up with a sago gula Melaka, sweet potato soup, or maybe cekodok and drinks such as teh tarik and chrysanthemum tea.

One thing all of these recipes have in common is that they use few ingredients and prep time for everything is short - or as short as she can make it.

"These few meals should be fast to prepare and use common ingredients which are readily available in your pantry and refrigerator," she says. "It should be one of your favourite foods, made so frequently you need not refer to a cookbook and can prepare speedily."

And you won't necessarily need the knife-wielding skills of a three-star executive chef.

Khong also recommends maximising the use of whatever you have in your kitchen. Those clunky chicken scissors can slice chillies, long beans and spring onions, and you can cut up an onion with an apple corer. Got a gas stove with multiple burners? Use 'em all if you have to, but keep an eye on them.

Still not enough time? She also provides menu suggestions for some typical meals. Living near Jalan Alor during her childhood is perhaps why virtually all her book's recipes are all warung, kopitiam or mamak stall fare.

The point is, ultimately, to get busy people eating healthy - or at least, healthier than usual. Cooking your own meals is one way - you manage what goes in and determine the size of the portions. Plus, you'd gain some essential life skills in the process.

"My aim is for this book to be more than just a collection of good recipes and nice photographs," writes Khong. "I want it to be a practical guide to inspire busy people to start cooking. If you can't cook during the weekdays, try to at least cook on the weekends. I encourage you to eat in!"


For more tips and recipes - not just for cooking - visit JewelPie.com.

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Malaysian Meals in 30 Minutes

Sara Khong
MPH Group Publishing
178 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-073-0

Buy from MPHOnline.com

MPH Quill, Issue 42, July to September 2014

Yes, MPH's Quill magazine is still being produced. This issue has radio and TV host Azura Zainal (whose masterclass on hosting we'd published.

(Yes, I may have skipped an issue or two. Work and all that.)

Highlights include:

• Leon Wing looks at smartphone addiction and highlights some serious mishaps involving the devilish devices.
• Charmaine Augustin goes from broadcasting to gourmet foods with her venture Passion Doux. Shantini Suntharajah speaks to her about her sweet business.
• Shantini also chats with HR consultant, cat lady and maestro of macarons Anna Tan on coaching, cats and cakes.
• HANDS Percussion and their latest production, Tchaikovsky on Gamelan, is also featured in this issue. Several of my colleagues attended the performance last night.
• Juan Margrita Gabriel went to Pulau Banding and the Belum Rainforest Resort and was captivated by what she found there.
• Who's "Storm Chase" and how did he/she end up contributing these tips to "rescue your relationship"?

All this and more in this issue.

Masterclass In Session: Franchising With Sofia

The franchise industry in Malaysia has always received strong government support. But while many businesses have benefited from growing franchise opportunities, many potential franchisors and franchisees don't know where to start.

With the release of Sofia Leong Abdullah's Guide to Franchising in Malaysia, the latest volume in the MPH Masterclass series, the author hopes to help them out.

Sofia Leong Abdullah is the founder of her own franchise consultancy. Her vast experience in multiple industries, including hospitality, food and beverage, property management, make her eminently suited to advising aspiring entrepreneurs on franchising.

She also had stints as the franchise brand manager for Roasters Asia Pacific (M) Sdn Bhd, which brought (and later bought) Kenny Rogers' Roasters; and CEO of the Malaysian Franchise Association.

"The franchise business model is very interesting," Sofia notes. "It allows existing businesses to grow in ways that would have been very difficult to do on their own, while giving aspiring entrepreneurs a chance to become businesspeople in their own right."

Even so, misunderstanding abounds. "Franchisors are often in the dark about the kinds of preparation that goes into getting their businesses ready to be franchised," she says. "On the other hand, potential franchisees mistakenly expect to be handed everything on a silver platter."

This book is an extension of her efforts to help grow the franchise business in Malaysia. Readers will find information on franchising, such as its history in Malaysia, and some of the more popular sectors that use this business strategy: food and beverage, education, services, and so on.

Learn what franchisors and franchisees should expect before embarking upon a business, as well as potential pitfalls and tips for success for each of the sectors highlighted in this book.

Myths of franchising as a risk-free business model are busted. And few could imagine that brands such as Singer and Bata were among the first franchises to enter Malaysia in the 1940s. "At that time, we simply recognised them as two international brands, not franchised outlets," writes Sofia.

Aspiring franchisors and franchisees can also expect some case studies, as well as a look at the legal issues in franchising, and where to find additional support and information.

"Running a franchise consultancy gives me the chance to share my experience and knowledge of the industry with keen businesspeople eager to start franchising," says Sofia. "Now, writing this book allows me to reach out to far more people than my consultancy alone could ever achieve."

Overall, the success (or failure) of a franchise depends on the people who run it. "Any form of business comes with its own set of challenges and it's how you overcome these challenges that determines the longevity of your business," says Sofia. "Franchising merely provides the new business owner (the franchisee) access to a working business system."

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Sofia Leong Abdullah's Guide to Franchising in Malaysia

Sofia Leong Abdullah
MPH Group Publishing
146 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-223-9

Buy from MPHOnline.com

"Remember Us"

This book was, in retrospect, reviewed on impulse.

But the "emissary" said I just had to, had to read it. Maybe she was that blown away by the tale of that 14-year-old who followed her dad to Gaza.

To a certain degree, I was. Perhaps you'd be, too.

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A book that does more than tell stories

first published in The Malay Mail Online, 01 August 2014


Palestine has always been an emotional topic, so I've largely stayed out of it. But a tiny piece of Palestine arrived at my desk, begging me for a look.

"I visited an NGO and they gave me this," said the emissary, who even bookmarked a couple of what she thought were the best parts.

Remember Us: Stories of Struggles, Hopes and Dreams is a project by Viva Palestina Malaysia (VPM), a group of NGOs pushing for the creation of a free sovereign Palestinian state.

This book puts together poems, short stories and real-life accounts of what's going on in the area by residents and visiting activists. What's striking is that the contributors and the "creative editors" are all women.

Even before I opened the first page I knew what I'd find inside. The Malaysian pro-Palestinian bias is pretty thick, and while some also blame certain quarters within the Palestinian resistance for their role in prolonging the conflict, none of the contributors seem to feel that way.

Most, if not all of the non-fiction accounts, read like dispatches from oh so many online news portals that have been bringing the horrors of the conflict to audiences, telling them of their sojourns into hostile territory and of the lives of those who live there.

An old woman who kept the keys to her home that she was driven away from, clinging on to the hope that she would return to it.

The frustrations of a young lady whose life and pastimes are dampened by daily power supply interruptions.

Another young lady's visit to a foreign country (mine) and her written exchange with American academic Noam Chomsky (really?).

Yet another young lady's anguish and fury at the death of her friends in the hands of Israeli forces, which she says makes her a "terrorist" because "I want the Palestinian refugees to get their land back, and I call the Israeli army a group of cold-hearted murderers all the time."

She makes a particular mention of one young victim. "Haneen did not know what a cold-hearted murderer is... She was a 6-year-old girl who was split into little pieces while in bed. Haneen was too young to die. But who cares about Haneen's death, anyway? She was a terrorist, too."

Among the several Malaysian contributors was a 14-year-old girl (by now I'm all "where are all the men OMG so embarrassed for my gender") who was brought to visit Gaza by her dad, the chairman of VPM; it's her adventure that this book's emissary was gushing about.

Said 14-year-old's short entry ends with a small punch in the gut: "I hope one day I will get the chance to visit Gaza again to volunteer and make myself useful, instead of just finishing their limited supplies of food."

Now, the editing could be tighter, the flow between stories better managed, the cover better designed, and the overall narrative tips heavily towards the Palestinians. But all this melts under the heat of the emotions that emanate from the pages. One can't help but wonder...

What would life for these people be, devoid of the fear of missiles in their living rooms, their roofs collapsing on top of them at night, being picked off by snipers or stray bullets while buying produce at the market, and being dragged away from some checkpoint by armed men, possibly never to return?

What would these people achieve in a world where the air is clean, free of the smell of explosives and burning flesh, chemicals from supposedly forbidden weapons and the wails of grieving fathers, mothers and children? Where they are allowed to live like free people should?

What would it take for the world to stand up, cast aside its collective historical and mental baggage, and do something to make it happen? And not just in the territories occupied by Israel?

It's perhaps a pity that we only get to hear 20 or so voices here, and even these may be forgotten, silenced and swept away by yet another tide of hate, anger, grief, outrage and indignation raised by a fresh salvo of bombs and bullets.

But to resign oneself to this would be an act of surrender, and none of the contributors — Palestinians and Malaysians alike — want to do that just yet. As long as there are those who speak up from and for the occupied territories, the plight of its people — and hope for their freedom — will never be forgotten.


This book is a project by Viva Palestina Malaysia. More information on VPM can be found at their web site; more information on the book can be found here.

Punctuation for one paragraph in this version has been changed. The previously supplied Facebook link is bad; the right Facebook page appears to be this one.

---

Remember Us

Stories of Struggles, Hopes and Dreams

Zabrina A. Bakar and Husna Musa (editors)
Wise Words Publishing (2013)
178 pages
Mix of fiction and non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-12261-0-0

Get the book from PalestineMall.net

Web site: rememberusstories.com/wp/

Masterclass In Session: Babywearing With Adriana

After the successful Masterclass and Masterclass Kitchen series, MPH Group Publishing is kicking off a new line, the MPH Parenting series, with Adriana Thani's Babywearing Made Simple.

Though still practised in other parts of the world, babywearing as a parenting tool was apparently extinct in most industrialised nations, Adriana claims, until the past decade, thanks in part to celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Orlando Bloom(!).

This practice of carrying or "wearing" a baby with a soft carrier is said to help babies sleep better, cry less and become calmer, while those who wear their babies are free to move around and go about their daily duties without neglecting their wards.

"Research has shown that re-enacting the womb during 'the fourth trimester' — essentially, the first three months after the baby is born — is important for a baby’s physical, mental, and emotional growth, Adriana says. "Babywearing helps extend the 'womb experience', allowing the baby the time to slowly get used to living outside the womb."

Adriana's introduction to babywearing was when she had her first child, a "very restless baby", in 2007, while she was still in university. When she failed to calm her baby down, she tried "wearing" him, and has since become a huge fan and cheerleader of the practice.

Upon graduation, she returned to Malaysia and, along with other moms who were big on babywearing, founded the non-profit advocacy organisation called Malaysian Babywearers (MBW).

Though more and more parents in Malaysia are wearing their babies, Adriana notes that more still needs to be done to create awareness about babywearing. That's when she began to consider writing a book, know known as Babywearing Made Simple.

Inside, she lists the benefits of this practice; provides detailed descriptions of carriers, such as slings and wraps, and illustrated instructions on their use and safety tips; pointers on how to look stylish while carrying babies, and more.

A handy list of resources and glossary of terms are also available, which includes web addresses of online resources for more advice, tips and the related equipment, and blogs of seasoned baby-wearing parents, including Adriana's.

"I hope this book will eventually play some part in the further growth of the babywearing community and become a tool for babywearing advocacy in Malaysia," she writes. "More importantly, I hope it can give you, dear reader, the ability to safely, comfortably and confidently keep your baby close enough to kiss!"


For more information, visit Adriana's blog at Diaries of a Glam Mama and the Malaysian Babywearers Facebook page

---

Babywearing Made Simple

Adriana Thani
MPH Group Publishing
168 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-222-2

Buy from MPHOnline.com

How It Grates When Your Ginger Milk Doesn't Curdle

Things are still busy over at the office, so I'm still not writing as much as I should. Perhaps making this a books-focused blog wasn't a good idea. At some point, one would be scrambling to find something to fill the gaps with and feel that it isn't enough.

So here's a bowl of home-made ginger milk curd.

The surface is a little pockmarked because of air bubbles from stirring
the milk with a whisk; perfectionists eyeing a smooth alabaster surface
can use a wooden spoon - and slower movements

This is the trickiest thing I've made so far. They key to the success of this dessert lies in the ginger and the temperature of the milk. Too hot or too cold and the milk won't congeal into the custard-like consistency you want in an almost magical process that involves the enzyme zingipain, found in ginger.

Old ginger root, which has a very fibrous core, is recommended, as it's said to be richer in the enzyme; if the ginger is too young or soft, the fibres are finer and fewer and you'll have to use more of it.

So far, only two out of my seven or eight attempts at this dessert were successful. Other times, all I got was ginger-flavoured milk which is also good, but not what I was aiming for.

After many failures, this is practically an event - World Cup, what's that?

All I do is heat the milk to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer. I sweeten it with honey, resisting the urge to use any kind of cane sugar - which they say we're having too much of, whether brown or 'organic'. No exact measurements for the honey - I just add and stir until the colour's to my liking.

Because the ginger I currently have can be considered young, I grate a whole pile of it (maybe four to five inches worth) before the milk goes into the saucepan. While the milk is heating up, squeeze the ginger juice over a strainer or sieve into a bowl or mug, and set it aside.

When it's time to pour the milk, give the ginger juice a stir. If the juice has been sitting there for a while, you might find a layer of what feels like chalk or powdered starch at the bottom. Stir this up so that it mixes with the juice; one or two recipes says this helps the curdling process.

I then turn off the heat and let the milk cool a bit before pouring the milk into the bowl with the ginger juice. Then I leave it alone. This is another stage where the recipe tends to fail. Some recommend a temperature of between 40°C and 70°C, but this is cooking, not science. Just make sure the milk isn't boiling when it's time to pour.
­
Though a lot of recipes say the milk will congeal within three minutes, but I tend to set it aside for a little longer (up to ten minutes). I also keep it covered with a small dish or saucer to keep the heat in - and the creepy crawlies out.

If you think the warm stuff is good, wait till you eat it after it's chilled

I'm not the type who often experiments with various milks, so I stick with the ingredients that I've been successful with: full cream milk (none of that UHT stuff, that's milk-flavoured water), honey, ginger, and maybe a little prayer for success. But the grating - oh g*ds, the grating.

I might have to use a different ginger root, however.

Some additional points:

• I don't grate the ginger or extract the juice and store it for later use. Ginger has quite a few enzymes and they might degrade with time. It's better to grate and squeeze it fresh. The milk can simmer for a bit longer while you do it, and it'll thicken, which means a creamier curd.
• If it fails, don't rescue it with more ginger juice, additional heating, or both. You're likely to end up with a partially curdled mess that might not taste good, as I did once. Let the failure cool, drink it up, and try again next time. But my refusal to admit defeat one evening led me to drink about a litre of failure.
• If you're making multiple servings, keep at least one in the fridge to cool. It'll taste even better.
• Resist the urge to throw in flavours like vanilla extract, coffee or pandan, as it might mix with the ginger and produce a not-so-ideal taste. ...Okay, maybe pandan might be worth a try.

'k, good luck.

Masterclass In Session: Bread-baking with Ezekiel

Bread is a staple in many cultures worldwide, found in many shapes and sizes, and enjoyed by many in different ways.

The earliest breads were said to have been made around 10,000 years ago, though some have argued that bread goes back some 30,000 years. Its presence in the cuisines of much of the world speaks of its appeal and role in the lives of many families.

Few can resist the aroma that wafts out of a bakery, the sweet scent reminiscent of caramelised sugar, butter and toasted gluten that, when inhaled, rings louder than any bell that says, "Breakfast's ready!"

Those seeking the joys of bread-making or hankering for the heady scent and taste of freshly baked goodness, take heart. Bread-baking instructor Ezekiel Ananthan brings you this masterclass in bread-making, which incorporates his experience in a New Zealand bakery and background in local cuisine.

"I've always been passionate about baking bread," Ezekiel writes. "I’m intrigued at how a few simple ingredients like flour, yeast, salt and water could combine and magically transform into something so delicious.

"Working in a New Zealand bakery that emphasised the importance of craft in baking bread changed the course of my life. The experience inspired me to start my own brand of hand-crafted artisanal bread."

Recipes abound in this volume. Learn the art (and science) of baking breads from around the world, from basics such as the classic white loaf, roti canai, baguette and ciabatta to the Japanese melon pan, Hokkaido milk loaf and deep south cornbread from the US.

Zeke (let's call him Zeke for the sake of brevity) introduces us to the main ingredients in bread, and to the steps and techniques in basic bread-making before guiding us in baking our first white loaf.

After traipsing through the world via a selection of "Asian", "European", "sweet" and "international" breads, he shares with us several recipes and custom creations. Red velvet buns and oven-baked lamb roti, anyone?

Zeke is one real bread nerd. How he talks about making pre-ferment and starters, kneading, mixing, baking and the like makes you want to dive into the action yourself. "There is no other French bread that catches the imagination like the baguette," he enthuses, "and there's also no other bread that will test bakers like the baguette."

On another French bread: "Many French breads are rich in butter and eggs, which makes them a great choice for breakfast, or to make French toast with. The brioche is no different. There have been many times while I was making the brioche that I thought to myself, 'This bread is just 20g of butter away from becoming a cake!'"

So, get acquainted with the basic ingredients in bread and the alchemy involved that transforms them into fragrant, flavourful loaves; learn to avoid the pitfalls in making your first loaf; and discover the pleasure of biting into the fruits of your labour.

You'll soon learn that bread-making can be fun – and delicious.

---

Home-baked Breads

Ezekiel Ananthan
MPH Group Publishing
192 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-224-6

Buy from MPHOnline.com

It's A Pie Thing

So it's been over a year since I wrote my last food review. I think it shows.

Opinions of the place seem divided; some liked it, others didn't. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the pie place initially. Then the pulled lamb happened. Give. It. A. Go. I'd return for the meat pies, and I think they have a limited-edition special at the moment.

Sorry about the odd photo dimensions; they were taken with a Samsung Grand smartphone.

---

Pie thing, you make my gut sing...

first published in The Malay Mail Online, 09 July 2014


Reading about pies in a Terry Pratchett novel (which isn't about pies) made me want to try something similar, but I was hard-pressed to think of a suitable pie place.

However, after a long caffeine-soaked afternoon with Melody's friends, that choice was made for me. "Let's give A Pie Thing a whirl," one of them suggested. "Maybe in a couple of weeks?"

Interior of A Pie Thing, Damansara Uptown

Since then, I've heard a thing or two about this pie place, all of which from makan kaki Melody. Seems pies are the hottest new thing in town and Klang Valley-dwellers have begun to take note.

So one Sunday evening, off we went to A Pie Thing at Damansara Uptown for dinner. Currently, this new kid on the block (only launched this May) only opens from four in the afternoon and closes at 11pm — or until all pies are sold out, says the chalkboard outside.

Savoury pies appear to be the focus, with several dessert pies like lemon curd, peanut butter and chocolate, and a flavour called "The Elvis" (peanut butter, chocolate and banana) to round up their offerings.

Among the savoury offerings are chicken and mushroom, "pulled lamb", chilli and cheese, and creamy spinach, tucked into coffee cup-sized casings of shortcrust pastry.

Aside from the rich brown gravy, patrons have the option of capping their pies with either mashed potatoes or mashed peas — or a combination of both, called "The Mashacre", which can also be paired with a soda or hot beverage to form a combo.

Beverages? Choose from a list of coffees, teas, and something called the Leonidas Dark Choc Latte, which sang to Melody: "Take me off the shelf, I'll show you a good time."

Left: Choose to crown your pies with mashed peas (foreground) or
good old mashed potatoes; Centre: Oh, succulent, saliva-pumping
savoury goodness; Right: Surprisingly, the Peanut Butter Brownie
was nice and not as filling as the savoury meat pies

Neither of us wanted to be "mashacred" this evening, and Melody's two friends haven't shown up yet. So we picked a pie each, with gravy and one topping. "Let's try these and see if we can recommend these to them later," she said.

I know you're famished, Mel. You told me so — twice — on the way here. No need to cover it up.

Melody's creamy spinach was subtly flavoured, so it needed the gravy — not just because the crust can be dry. The champions are undoubtedly the meat pies. The pulled lamb, for one, was sublime. Even the pastry itself was good, after it soaked up a good amount of gravy.

♪ ...pie thing, I ... think you move me... ♫

By the time the other half of the pie party arrived and started ordering, we were almost done. So I decided on a chilli and cheese, which also had minced beef that was gamier compared to the lamb, said Melody. The flavour suited me fine, though they could have cut down on the salt.

The Dark Choc Latte was another odd thing. It came in two parts: a bottle of heated milk and a dark chocolate "lollipop." You unwrap the "lollipop", swirl it into the milk while it's still hot until almost nothing's left on the stick, and savour.

The flavour's pretty good, but the novelty of it doesn't last. If you're still not satisfied, a whole counter of other Leonidas products is available.

For me, it's the meat pies, hands down. Though they could re-think the use of the paper lining, which, despite being able to drink as much gravy as the pie crust, is hardly as appetising.

---

A Pie Thing

128G, Jalan SS21/35
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Pork-free

CLOSED FOR GOOD; MOVING ELSEWHERE?

Twitter | Facebook page | BFM89.9 Interview

Still Honking After All These Years

Though it has been over seven years since Lydia Teh "honked" her way into the hearts of readers through her best-selling Honk! If You're Malaysian, it appears things haven't changed much since it was published. Yes, she is still honking. And she still is the typical Malaysian next door.

In Still Honking: More Scenes from Malaysian Life, Teh continues to hold up a mirror to the Malaysian psyche and way of life. Her light-hearted and whimsical tales and essays, which capture the essence of being Malaysian, take the form of personal anecdotes, how-tos, newspaper-style columns, and hybrids of two or more of the aforementioned - all tinged with her (at times) fiery, sharp, straight-to-the-point wit and homespun wisdom.

Follow the chronology of a typical piece of world-class infrastructure via a series of acronyms. Pick up some ideas on how to deal with pesky sparrows, handling garbage-can theft, saving electricity, and promoting your book - should you decide to write one. Find out what you can use instead of a warning triangle when - heavens forbid - your car breaks down.

Get acquainted with some common archetypes of salespeople, queue-jumpers, "actors" and people who stare into mirrors - have you encountered one or more of these? Also, learn how to get your fussy children to take their medicine, brush their teeth, or eat their vegetables - maybe.

Closer to home, learn why a beloved pet's demise made her swear off roti canai for a while, laugh at her anxiety over her teens taking the wheel, and gawk at what happened when Phua Chu Kang aka Gurmit Singh and company arrived at her sister's place for a location shoot.

True-blue Malaysians and foreigners alike will still recognise the characters and situations in these snippets of what happens in the average (and not-so-average) Malaysian backyard and laugh (or maybe cry) at memories of something similar.

Some might be sad at the realisation that little has changed in this multicultural melting pot of a nation, but many others, perhaps, wouldn't want it any other way.


Lydia Teh hung up her well-worn apron after 17 years of staying home with her four children. She now runs an English-language centre in Klang. She writes a weekly column, "Family Teh Time", for The Sun newspaper on family life in general. She's the best-selling author of Life's Like That: Scenes from Malaysian Life, Honk! If You're Malaysian and Do You Wear Suspenders? The Wordy Tales of Eh Poh Nim. She can be reached through her web site at www.lydiateh.com.

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Still Honking

More Scenes from Malaysian Life

Lydia Teh
MPH Group Publishing (July 2013)
194 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-208-6

Buy from MPHOnline.com

From Kampung Kenang To Kasoa

When the manuscript arrived over two years ago, I'd felt that the book project, though interesting and well-intentioned, wouldn't make much of a splash.

From what I'd heard about it since, it did.

Compiled into a blook, the adventures of a new teacher who was posted to the interior gained quite a following, and the blog itself won the Malaysia Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance Award in 2011.

From Kampung Kenang in Perak to Kasoa, Ghana ... that's over 11,000km (or
more than 7,000 miles) - quite a distance between two books

I guess the emergence of a Book Two would not have been a surprise.

I was more involved with this project than the previous one, from editing and fact-checking to the initial selection and sequencing of the photos. This, along with the other book projects, took up quite a bit of my time, leaving me too tired to blog and stuff.

But looks like it was all worth it.

After several years of teaching maths at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Kenang in Perak, Muhamad Hafiz Ismail, author of Life Through My Eyes: A Teacher's Little Steps Towards Perfection, left to embark upon a year-long programme for a Master in Education (MEd) in International Development and Education at Newcastle University in the UK.

As part of his studies, he ventured into the West African country of Ghana with a group of fellow students, to study the reflective practices of teachers in the country. Specifically, that of several schools run by Omega Schools, a social enterprise that aims to provide quality education at the lowest possible cost to the poor, located in the district of Kasoa in southern Ghana.

Quite a huge leap.

Sample pages from Life Through My Eyes 2; the design concept is similar
with the previous book, but both can be read as individual volumes

"I chose to study International Development and Education mainly because I wanted to learn about social entrepreneurship, which is still new in Malaysia," Hafiz writes. "Every child deserves the best education. I wanted to find out how I could make a difference by being a teacher and social entrepreneur."

A continuation of his blogged-about adventures in teaching and education, Life Through My Eyes 2: From Kampung Kenang to Kasoa mostly chronicles his time in Ghana and compares his experiences in Malaysia and the UK, with some personal musings in between.

Hafiz has chosen to immerse himself in a world where, despite poverty and lack of what many of us take for granted, people still put a premium on education. "In Ghana, advertisements for private and public schools are present at every road corner, market stall, or bus stop," he notes.

Sample two-page spread from Life Through My Eyes 2: a neighbourhood
somewhere in Kasoa, Ghana

Follow him as he bids goodbye to the teachers and pupils of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Kenang and flies off to Newcastle, where he returns to the life of a student, to the hot dusty streets of Kasoa in Ghana, where the Omega Schools headquarters is located.

He witnesses first hand the spirit of learning within the students, most of whom come from poor families; learns about the culture: the language, traditional games and food and so on; explores some of the country's rural areas, historial sites and visits a national park; and gets a better grasp about another developing country's education system. To better teach the Ghanaian students traditional Malay games, he even learns a local song.

In the end, he comes away with new perspectives of his chosen field and the realisation that he still has more to learn and do as an educator.

I learnt quite a bit about Ghana from working on this book, and I think readers will, too. More of our young people should look for new opportunities and experiences beyond our borders. To know that he was apparently criticised for his decision to study overseas and undertake his posting to Ghana was a bit sad.

But he's not letting that get him down.

"Still, I want to make my own choice, even though it might be the worst choice ever in other people's minds," he writes. "I want to make the biggest contribution that I can to other people, to education, to society. That is what drives my decision, my choice, my life. Better to regret doing it, rather than to regret not doing it at all."

Hafiz is now a consultant with Frogasia, a YTL initiative to "connect an entire nation through a single, cloud-based learning platform". Follow his further adventures at his blog or the book's Facebook page.

01/09/2014  Listen to the podcast of Hafiz's interview on BFM89.9 about the book.

---

Life Through My Eyes 2

From Kampung Kenang to Kasoa

Muhamad Hafiz bin Ismail
MPH Group Publishing
214 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-210-9

Buy from MPHOnline.com

When Wild Ain't Real

Like many on that day, I was stunned to learn of Steve Irwin's death. Back when I still had an Astro subscription, the "Crocodile Hunter" was a welcome distraction, as were his other fellow wildlife-championing daredevils.

Years later, comes this point of view, which would change my perceptions of the Crocodile Hunters of TV forever.

King cobra: "I'm a celebrity?
Get me outta here!" Photo
from here.

"Five years on, the pet-and-pester approach he pioneered has become the standard way for nature programs to produce cheap dramatic footage — reality TV with claws," writes Andrew Marshall in that piece. "Turn on any channel and you'll see Irwin lookalikes hassling animals. They declaim their love of nature, while unwittingly recording our dysfunctional relationship with it, teaching our children to both fear and subjugate creatures already pushed to the brink of extinction."


Dancing with death
Anybody remember Austin Stevens? The "snakeman, herpetologist, adventurer, photographer, filmmaker" and "author"? I do. But not Andrew Marshall, apparently. The shift in thought I'd just mentioned was reinforced when watching him again one day.

In an episode of Austin Steven's Most Dangerous, he was looking for a king cobra. At one point he voiced his frustrations at not being able to find one. Then, by the law of the last 15 minutes - huzzah! - they found a wild specimen. Watching him sweatily dance around a snake that just wanted to get the hell out of there was excruciating. Not content to get his photos, he also wanted to pet the snake, something he "wanted to do" for years. And when he does, oh boy, does he sound ever so elated.

If you'd seen it, you'd be rooting for the snake, too.

Even before Steve-O's untimely demise, the nature show machine was already becoming more and more mass-market. It's good television, provided that the core messages were also being sent. Now, I'm no longer sure that's the case.

Well... maybe these wildlife experts are experts. Maybe they do love nature enough to know they shouldn't molest potentially lethal species for television. Maybe there are times when they would advise against all these stunts.

But TV demands an audience, one that's developing an appetite for mindless action and gore nurtured by the entertainment and games industry. And so, even experts have to bend over and violate a few moral tenets for exposure and a living. Kind of like the chefs in those reality and travels shows.


Sending (and receiving) the wrong signals
While the proliferation of celebrity chefs would do relatively little harm, I feel that the nature show industrial complex played a role in the mess caused by the exotic pet industry. A few TV shows and an Internet-enabled device and somebody's an "expert" on Burmese pythons and monitor lizards.

Did they miss the part about Burmese pythons being able to grow up to 7 feet long within a year, if cared for properly? Or that a 10-footer can easily kill a child? Or the massive sizes they can achieve if kept alive for years?

Exotic pet industry advocates say the trade creates jobs, fosters understanding about wildlife and the environment, and so on. Well, the firearms industry creates jobs too. But people can't be counted on to be responsible with their pets or guns all the time.

These exotic pet traders expect their customers to be knowledgeable and responsible pet keepers. The Burmese and African rock python invasion of Florida's Everglades is the result, possibly due to the negligence of a few irresponsible individuals. The snakehead "invasion" in Maryland was reportedly caused by one fellow.

And how does taking a Burmese python out of Burma help in understanding nature and the environment? Or help in conservation, even? Why should little Timmy have a bearded dragon, just because it's cool to have one and "Mark down in Shepford Avenue has one too and oh, his dad keeps a Gaboon viper"?

"Muskingum... oh G*d, that was awful.
I close my eyes and I can still see it...
Photo from here.

The so-called wild creatures can't demonstrate their roles in their natural habitat when they're not in their natural habitat. Nor can they speak for themselves, which is why we need real animal experts. I don't think the commercial exotic pet trade helps with this at all.

Those traded animals that didn't come from a factory farm were likely caught illegally from habitats that may not afford the loss of these species. The National Geographic article on the Asian wildlife trade still fills me with shame and fury, as does the extermination of the animals in Muskingum, Ohio.

And how can these wild creatures be compared to other domesticated animals such as dogs and cats? A pet shop is not a Toys-R-Us. Kids will get bored with their toys, just as they will with pets. And there are no recycle bins for unwanted African rock pythons or Indian star turtles.


Coming home to roost - or nest
We often fail to understand that many of this planet's creatures evolved to perform certain duties necessary to keep the circle of life going. The effects of any unnatural tampering of this circle may not be known for years and by the time they're felt, it's often to late.

With regards to pythons in the Everglades, nobody knows exactly how these snakes react when placed in a foreign habitat. Will they be eventually killed by the climate, or will they evolve to fill the niche they're placed in?

Wildlife experts now fear the possibility of the latter, a worst-case scenario where these pythons would spread beyond Florida or, worse, breed a hybrid Burmese-African super python.

Sceptics argue that snakes won't survive the winters outside Florida and, hell, we ain't seen a super snake yet. That's because the twain hath never met - Burma, Africa, you know. But now that both species are sharing the same neighbourhood, it may only be a matter of time.


Keep it real
Not to denigrate the good work these wildlife warriors do off-camera, but I don't really feel the action-adventure circuit does much good for wildlife conservation or the reputation of the related professions in the long run.

Not when the nature channels appear to be pandering more and more to the action-adventure- and blood-and-guts-loving demographic, distilling their subjects down to tiny yummy, bloody bites for an increasingly attention-deficient dumbed-down audience.

I'm not sure they dance with crocs or wrestle great white sharks onto boats for tagging, measuring and DNA sampling for the glam. It's hard work, more a labour of love or a duty to inform. Cliché, perhaps, but that's what I'd like to believe.

(I've not heard of researchers who treat field work as a "job", but I'm sure they exist).

Just as these shows reduce these dedicated men and women to Crocodile Hunters, Snake Busters or Shark Men, these wild animals and their roles in their exclusive ecological niches are similarly reduced to just stripes, spots, fins, scales and sharp teeth, to be gawked at, feared or admired, and perhaps owned. Trophies, trinkets, ornaments. Status symbols.

These people and the wildlife they work with are more than that. And it's time we all learn how much.


I wrote this back in 2012, partly in response to an article that commemorated Steve Irwin, a few years after his death. Things are hectic at the company, which is why there are more pictures than prose around here these days, and only when I can be bothered - not even enough time to compile the space-filling listicles I used to be fond of.

Zan Does Afghanistan

After covering and chronicling the South Thailand insurgency in the book titled Operation Nasi Kerabu: Finding Patani in an Islamic Insurgency, journalist and filmmaker Zan Azlee turned his lens towards a conflict zone much further afield: Afghanistan.

A "KL-ite journalist who has lived all his life in non-conflict zones", Zan travelled there "to see if he can come up with the best travel guide for the country. With no idea what he is getting himself into, he dodges suicide bombers and IEDs, and even gets embedded with the army, to plan out the best tourist route in Afghanistan." Okay....

Upon his safe return to Malaysia, Zan has gone on to write articles and produce photo essays and video clips on his trip to Afghanistan. As part of his various Afghanistan-related multimedia projects, Zan, together with creative director Arif Rafhan, brings us his Afghan adventures in a black-and-white graphic novel.

Zan and his fixer's first meeting (as Zan imagined it, I believe)

The monochromatic textures and shades manage to convey the mood of the characters and scenes, bringing home the reality of the Afghan conflict (it's not like Rambo III at all) and its impact on the long-suffering populace. The results are more National Geographic than Lonely Planet, though I felt the book was a bit short.

As I said before, Adventures of a KL-ite in Afghanistan (I suggested a title change, but no) follows Zan the "macho" solo-journalist (he says) on his romp around the war-torn country in his attempt to put together said tourist guide.

Going to the ground with his fixer, Ahmad Bilal Raghbat, Zan sees first-hand the plight of the Afghan people and the efforts of those who are contributing towards rebuilding the country and returning some semblance of normality to Afghan society.

Our intrepid protagonist also talks to (allegedly) the last Jew living in Afghanistan; witnesses an orderly, police-assisted march in honour of Ahmad Shah Massoud; meets Oliver Percovich, founder of NGO Skateistan; looks up the empty gigantic cavities that once housed the Buddhas of Bamiyan—the fulfilment of a years-long dream; briefly accompanies Malcom ISAF 2, Malaysia's military contingent, on a humanitarian mission in the war-torn country's Bamiyan province; and more.

Plus, a cameo by a mat salleh who looks like Dave Grohl. Awesome stuff overall - what's not to like?


Zan Azlee is a TV/film director, producer, videographer and writer who's involved in journalism both for broadcast and print, a content developer for new media/Internet, and a content consultant. He also runs Fat Bidin Media. You might have seen some of his scribblings on the online news portal The Malaysian Insider.

Arif Rafhan is a Malaysian creative director of web design agency who loves to draw on anything – from dead-tree media to his computer monitor and his son's bedroom wall. He is also the illustrator for Imaginary Friends: 26 Fables for the Kid in Us by Melanie Lee.

12/08/2014  Listen to the podcast of Zan and Arif's interview on BFM89.9 about the book.

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Adventures of a KL-ite in Afghanistan

Zan Azlee
illustrated by Arif Rafhan

MPH Group Publishing
136 pages
Non-fiction
ISBN: 978-967-415-196-6

Buy from MPHOnline.com