DOCSLIB.ORG

Masterarbeit

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Masterarbeit MASTERARBEIT Titel der Masterarbeit „Ethnic Policies Toward People of Chinese Descent in Indonesia and Malaysia“ Verfasserin Mag. phil. Anna Gabriella Szabó angestrebter akademischer Grad Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2015 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 066 864 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Masterstudium Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ostasiens Betreuer: MMMMag. Dr. Lukas Pokorny, MA 1 Acknowledgments Penang: Joann Khaw for being a great guide. Semarang: Bustanul Bokir Arifin for emotional intelligence and precious research skills. Harjanto Kusuma Halim for bringing the right people together. Rukardi Achmadi, Widjajanto Dharmowijono, Michael Deo, and Paulus Sandjaja Nagata for generous help and support. Jongkie Tio for sharing his deep knowledge and precious time in the joint quest to track the city’s most intriguing Chinese heritage. Vienna: Ulrich Lee and Erk Ucman for concise and crucial feedback, leading to the realization that an obese textual body can possibly be saved by a sound structural skeleton. Beyond time and space: my partner Alphis for his seemingly endless patience, my mother Helene for her meticulous check-ups, my father Mátyás for his constant reminder: “Pester your brain!” And last but not least, my outstanding supervisor Dr. Lukas Pokorny, for his professionalism and extensive support. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................................1 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Aim of Research ................................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Benefits of Study ................................................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Limitations of Study ......................................................................................................................... 8 2 Research Methods .......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 The Art of Fieldwork ......................................................................................................................... 9 3 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................................ 12 3.1 Terminology ....................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Modalities of Ethnic Oppression ............................................................................................... 18 3.3 Ethnic Policies targeting People of Chinese Descent in Southeast Asia ................... 23 3.3.1 Ethnic Policies toward People of Chinese Descent in Indonesia ............................. 24 3.3.2 Ethnic Policies toward People of Chinese Descent in Malaysia ............................... 25 4 First Chinese Contacts with Indonesia and Malaya ...................................................................... 26 4.1 The Chinese in Indonesia during the Colonial Era ............................................................ 28 4.2 The Chinese in Malaya during the Colonial Era .................................................................. 31 5 The Difference within: Baba-Nyonya, Peranakan, and Totok .................................................. 33 6 Turmoil of War and Independence ..................................................................................................... 38 6.1 Sukarno, Integration, and Chinese Inspiration ................................................................... 38 6.2 Five fundamental Pillars of the Indonesian Nation? ........................................................ 40 6.3 The Incident of September 30th ............................................................................................... 42 6.4 Suharto, Assimilation, and the “Chinese Problem” ........................................................... 43 6.4.1 Assimilation Policies in the Era of Suharto ....................................................................... 44 6.5 The Riots of 1998 ............................................................................................................................. 47 6.6 The Chinese in Malaya prior to Japanese Invasion ........................................................... 47 6.7 The Japanese Invasion and the Years prior to Independence ...................................... 48 6.8 New Policies following the Malayan Independency ......................................................... 49 6.9 The Riots of 1969 and the New Economic Policy .............................................................. 51 7 The City of Semarang from a Chinese Perspective ....................................................................... 55 7.1 The Chinese History of Semarang ............................................................................................ 56 3 7.2 The History of Pecinan .................................................................................................................. 59 7.3 The Icon of Pecinan: Boen Hian Tong ..................................................................................... 60 7.3.1 Initial Phase .................................................................................................................................... 60 7.3.2 The Golden Era .............................................................................................................................. 62 7.3.3 Occupation and Oppression ..................................................................................................... 63 7.3.4 The Era of Gus Dur ....................................................................................................................... 68 8 The City of George Town, Penang ........................................................................................................ 74 8.1 The Chinese History of Penang .................................................................................................. 76 8.2 The NGO Penang Heritage Trust ............................................................................................... 83 8.2.1 PHT prior to UNESCO Heritage Listing ............................................................................... 85 8.2.2 PHT after the UNESCO Heritage Listing ............................................................................. 93 9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 100 Literature .......................................................................................................................................................... 107 Abbreviations and Definitions ................................................................................................................ 116 Appendix 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 117 Appendix 2 – Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................... 118 Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................................ 119 4 1 Introduction With the research focus set on the Chinese cultural heritage in Indonesia and Malaysia, this thesis intends to add new knowledge to the field of overseas Chinese studies.1 As Indonesia and Malaysia gained independence in the middle of the twentieth century, people of Chinese descent became increasingly targeted by different ethnic policies. In the case of Indonesia, the implemented policies went beyond political and economic aspects and aimed at a complete eradication of the Chinese cultural heritage. What did these policies imply? Which consequences thereof can presently be discerned? What differences and similarities can be identified when comparing the outcome of the political agendas targeting the citizens of Chinese descent in Indonesia and Malaysia? To understand the historical context in which these questions are posed, the reader will be provided with a short yet comprehensive introduction to the main social, cultural and political issues that can be regarded as making up the backbones of the overseas Chinese culture in Indonesia and Malaysia. The first substantial wave of Chinese migration to Southeast Asia took place in the twelfth century.2 It was however not until the colonial era, with its imposed divide-and-rule policies, that a system of ethnic segregation was put into practice. This system was to a certain extent both backed by and perpetuated with the help of anti-Chinese sentiments, which were accentuated during the formative years of nation building in Indonesia and Malaysia. As the concept of the nation state was completely new to the Southeast Asian region, where Indonesia and Malaysia came into existence in the middle of the twentieth century, the question of belonging turned out to be volatile. In his often cited seminal work “Imagined Communities”,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Reifying Cultural Memory and Violence in Vyvyane Loh's Breaking
    Reifying Cultural Memory and Violence in Vyvyane Loh’s Breaking the Tongue HSIUNG Ting-hui Tamkang University LOYALTY and torture are accentuated in Breaking the Tongue, and reviewers on this novel have commented on the identity politics of the main character Claude Lim.1 Loyalty involves with whom one identifies, while under the tremendous torture, one suffers from the identification disorientation as Breaking shows. Journal articles provide more critical insights into the novel, including how this novel reveals a wartime Malayan Chinese identity, responds to collective identity proposed by the nation, participates in the global book market, and other issues to be tackled. 2 Aside * This paper is a thoroughly revised version of one of my dissertation chapters. It has been reorganized, with the original scope narrowed down and new references updated. I am also grateful to the two reviewers for their precious suggestions. 1. For example, see Christopher Korenowsky’s and Lisa See’s reviews on this novel. Kirkus Reviews keenly points out that “Loh’s characters scramble for safety and shuffle commitments and allegiances, endangered everywhere, belonging nowhere;” the episode of the interogation serves to manifest “a fluidity of identity” in the protagonist, Claude (“Breaking the Tongue”). 2. Tan Eng Kiong in his dissertation (2007) discusses Loh’s novel with a focus on the process of identification of Claude. He revised and published his dissertation in 2013, elaborating on Claude and formation of the wartime Chinese Malayan identity. Focusing on the food metaphor as a commercial vehicle to promote marketability in a global book market, Tamara S. Wagner notes that the metaphor of rojak used in recent Malaysian and Singaporean food fictions is to challenge Orientalism evoked by fusion food.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpreting a Culinary Montage: Food in Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies
    ASIATIC, VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2, DECEMBER 2014 Retrieving Lost Histories: Spaces of Healing, Spaces of Liberation Carol Leon,1 University of Malaya, Malaysia Gladys Koh,2 Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia Abstract A major theme in postcolonial fiction is the struggle to forget the traumas of colonisation and that is why issues related to memory and history frequently emerge in contemporary texts. Tan Twan Eng (1972-) is an acclaimed Malaysian author who deals with the theme of memory particularly with regard to the Chinese community in Malaya during the Japanese Occupation. Using ideas of space and spatiality, this study investigates the postcolonial reclamation of history and home through the medium of memory in The Gift of Rain (2008). In this context, the notion of space used by Tan includes the physical landscape and the psychological landscapes of memory and history. In The Gift of Rain, the memories of the characters are sometimes in conflict with official historical narratives. This article argues that the slipperiness between personal and public narrations of history opens up a space that allows for a renegotiation of identity and understanding of self. Keywords Tan Twan Eng, The Gift of Rain, postcolonial fiction, memory, space, history The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history, then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history…. The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting. (Kundera 2) In these oft-quoted lines from the Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Milan Kundera reflects on the nature of power and memory.
    [Show full text]
  • MISC. HERITAGE NEWS –March to July 2017
    MISC. HERITAGE NEWS –March to July 2017 What did we spot on the Sarawak and regional heritage scene in the last five months? SARAWAK Land clearing observed early March just uphill from the Bongkissam archaeological site, Santubong, raised alarm in the heritage-sensitive community because of the known archaeological potential of the area (for example, uphill from the shrine, partial excavations undertaken in the 1950s-60s at Bukit Maras revealed items related to the Indian Gupta tradition, tentatively dated 6 to 9th century). The land in question is earmarked for an extension of Santubong village. The bulldozing was later halted for a few days for Sarawak Museum archaeologists to undertake a rapid surface assessment, conclusion of which was that “there was no (…) artefact or any archaeological remains found on the SPK site” (Borneo Post). Greenlight was subsequently given by the Sarawak authorities to get on with the works. There were talks of relocating the shrine and, in the process, it appeared that the Bongkissam site had actually never been gazetted as a heritage site. In an e-statement, the Sarawak Heritage Society mentioned that it remained interrogative and called for due diligences rules in preventive archaeology on development sites for which there are presumptions of historical remains. Dr Charles Leh, Deputy Director of the Sarawak Museum Department mentioned an objective to make the Santubong Archaeological Park a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2020. (our Nov.2016-Feb.2017 Newsletter reported on this latter project “Extension project near Santubong shrine raises concerns” – Borneo Post, 22 March 2017 “Bongkissam shrine will be relocated” – Borneo post, 23 March 2017 “Gazette Bongkissam shrine as historical site” - Borneo Post.
    [Show full text]
  • Muzikološki Z B O R N I K X L I V
    MUZIKOLOŠKI ZBORNIK MUSICOLOGICAL ANNUAL X L I V / 1 ZVEZEK/VOLUME L J U B L J A N A 2 0 0 8 MUZIKOLOŠKI ZBORNIK • MUSICOLOGICAL ANNUAL XLIV/1 • MUSICOLOGICAL ZBORNIK ANNUAL MUZIKOLOŠKI APLIKATIVNA ETNOMUZIKOLOGIJA ISSN 0580-373X APPLIED ETHNOMUSICOLOGY 9 770580 373009 MUZIKOLOŠKI ZBORNIK MUSICOLOGICAL ANNUAL X L I V / 1 ZVEZEK/VOLUME L J U B L J A N A 2 0 0 8 APLIKATIVNA ETNOMUZIKOLOGIJA APPLIED ETHNOMUSICOLOGY 1 Izdaja • Published by Oddelek za muzikologijo Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani Urednik zvezka • Edited by Svanibor Pettan (Ljubljana) Urednik • Editor Matjaž Barbo (Ljubljana) Asistent uredništva • Assistant Editor Jernej Weiss (Ljubljana) Uredniški odbor • Editorial Board Mikuláš Bek (Brno) Jean-Marc Chouvel (Reims) David Hiley (Regensburg) Nikša Gligo (Zagreb) Aleš Nagode (Ljubljana) Niall O’Loughlin (Loughborough) Leon Stefanija (Ljubljana) Andrej Rijavec (Ljubljana), častni urednik • honorary editor Uredništvo • Editorial Address Oddelek za muzikologijo Filozofska fakulteta Aškerčeva 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija e-mail: [email protected] http://www.ff.uni-lj.si Prevajanje • Translation Andrej Rijavec Cena • Price 10 € / 20 € (other countries) Tisk • Printed by Birografika Bori d.o.o., Ljubljana Naklada 500 izvodov• Printed in 500 copies Rokopise, publikacije za recenzije, korespondenco in naročila pošljite na naslov izdajatelja. Prispevki naj bodo opremljeni s kratkim povzetkom (200-300 besed), izvlečkom (do 50 besed), ključnimi besedami in kratkimi podatki o avtorju. Nenaročenih rokopisov ne vračamo. Manuscripts, publications for review, correspondence and annual subscription rates should be sent to the editorial address. Contributions should include a short summary (200-300 words), abstract (not more than 50 words) keywords and a short biographical noe on the author.
    [Show full text]
  • Federated Malay States Railways
    CORNELL UNlVEiOJiTY LIBRARIES ITHACA, N. y. 14853 J§htt M. Eehelf GsHkeum on ^thmt Aili JOHN M, OUN LIBRARY^ t'i*v«S2?&:{*^86;®s pEDERflTED MALAY ST3TES RfllLWflYS x^ PEMANG TO itJM^/ SINGAPORE^ 24 HOURS SINGAPORE,- I.] TO ,^^_^ ^^NJ p. A. ANTHONY, I* ^ GENERAL MAIN/IGER FEDERATED M/flMY STATES RfllLW/lYSl KUflLfl LUMPUR MAiar PENINSULA ; r- ^ EITISH Equable 'tropical Qlimate. PALAfA. c^agnificent Scenery. Big Game Shooting. Snipe Shooting, best in the World. Great Tin Mines. Good Hotels. Rubber Estates. Summer Seas. Government Railway. Excellent Steamship Services. Coconut Plantations Chinese Temples. Fine Roads for Motoring over 2,000 miles. Winter Resort for Travellers. For Maps, Time Tables and Illustrated Guide to the F- M. S. apply to— " General Manager for Railways," KUALA LUMPUR OR The Malay States Information Agency, 88 Cannon Street, London, E.G. : OR Thos. Gook & Sons, Ludgate GIrcus. London, E.G. -\t. :^ . 1^1 LWAYS Pamphlet of Information for Travellers. Jours in the jYCalay Peninsula 19 14. 4^ !J^ Federated IDalay States Railioays. THE STATION HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR. i^yf.,^^ Electric Light and Fans. High-class Restaurant adjoining. >ioderate and fixed tariff. Accommodation can be secured by Telegram, free of charge, on application to the Station Master at any Station on the Federated Malay States Railway System. For Tariff and other Particulars, apply to the Traffic Manager, F. M. S. RAILWAYS, KUALA LUMPUR. THE STATION HOTEL, IPOH, will be Opened in 1914. 10 ^ ^ ^ f" =% Fedcnated malay States Railioays, Tzventy-four hours through Railway Service from PENANG to SINGAPORE, or vice versa, 472 miles. DAILY.
    [Show full text]
  • British Strategic Interests in the Straits of Malacca, 1786-1819
    BRITISH STRATEGIC INTERESTS IN THE STRAITS OF MALACCA 1786-1819 Samuel Wee Tien Wang B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1991 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History O Samuel Wee Tien Wang 1992 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY December 1992 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL NAME: Samuel Wee DEGREE: TITLE OF THESIS: British Strategic Interests in the Straits of Malacca, 1786-1819 EXAMINING COMMITTEE: CHAIR: J. I. Little ~dhardIngram, Professor Ian Dyck, Associate ~hfessor Chdrles Fedorak - (Examiner) DATE: 15 December 1992 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE 1 hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay British Strategic Interests in the Straits of Malacca Author: (signature) Samuel Wee (name) (date) ABSTRACT It has almost become a common-place assumption that the 1819 founding of Singapore at the southern tip of the strategically located Straits of Malacca represented for the English East India Company a desire to strengthen trade with China; that it was part of an optimistic and confident swing to the east which had as its goal, the lucrative tea trade.
    [Show full text]
  • Gustavus 2020 Brochure
    singapore malaysia gustavus symphony orchestra gustavus jazz ensemble JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 8, 2020 13-night tour planned and produced by www.accentconcerts.com GUSTAVUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & JAZZ ENSEMBLE singapore & malaysia Clockwise from top: Batu Caves; George Town seen from Penang Hill; Independence Square, Kuala Lumpur Friday, January 24 & Saturday, January 25 section of one of the city’s residential Mansion, and Market Street. Check into Overnight flights to Malaysia neighborhoods around the city that are the hotel and have dinner in a local closed to traffic after the workday ends in restaurant. (B,D) Sunday, January 26 order to allow for endless stalls of Welcome to Malaysia merchants selling produce street food, Thursday, January 30 Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, meet your clothing, household items, and more. (B,D) Penang Hill local tour manager and transfer to the Ascend Penang Hill for amazing views of hotel to freshen up for welcome dinner in Tuesday, January 28 the Strait of Malacca from the Sky Deck. a local restaurant. (D) Kuala Lumpur Performance Return to George Town for lunch on own, Morning visit to a local school for a musical followed by a George Town Street Art Tour Monday, January 27 exchange where the ensembles will and entrance to the Pinang Peranakan Kuala Lumpur & Batu Caves perform for each other, or, present a public Museum, a furnished mansion recreating Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s capital, as well performance during the Chinese New Year the style of the Straits Chinese heritage. as its financial and cultural center. A celebrations. The remainder of the day is Dinner in a local restaurant.
    [Show full text]
  • Technopolitics of Historic Preservation in Southeast Asian Chinatowns: Penang, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City
    Technopolitics of Historic Preservation in Southeast Asian Chinatowns: Penang, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City By Napong Rugkhapan A dissertation suBmitted in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Urban and Regional Planning) In the University of Michigan 2017 Doctoral Committee: Professor Martin J. Murray, Chair Associate Professor Scott D. CampBell Professor Linda L. Groat Associate Professor Allen D. Hicken ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without various individuals I have met along the journey. First and foremost, I would like to thank my excellent dissertation committee. The dissertation chair, Professor Martin J. Murray, has been nothing but supportive from day one. I thank Martin for his enthusiasm for comparative urBanism - the same enthusiasm that encouraged me to embark on one. In particular, I thank him for letting me experiment with my own thought, for letting me pursue the direction of my scholarly interest, and for Being patient with my attempt at comparative research. I thank Professor Linda Groat for always Being accessible, patient, and attentive to detail. Linda taught me the importance of systematic investigation, good organization, and clear writing. I thank Professor Scott D. Campbell for, since my first year in the program, all the inspiring intellectual conversations, for ‘ruBBing ideas against one another’, for refreshingly different angles into things I did not foresee. Scott reminds me of the need to always think Broadly aBout cities and theory. I thank Professor Allen D. Hicken for his constant support, insights on comparative research, vast knowledge on Thai politics. Elsewhere on campus, I thank Professor Emeritus Rudolf Mrazek, the first person to comment on my first academic writing.
    [Show full text]
  • PENANG MUSEUMS, CULTURE and HISTORY Abu Talib Ahmad
    Kajian Malaysia, Vol. 33, Supp. 2, 2015, 153–174 PENANG MUSEUMS, CULTURE AND HISTORY Abu Talib Ahmad School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, MALAYSIA Email: [email protected] The essay studies museums in Penang, their culture displays and cultural contestation in a variety of museums. Penang is selected as case study due to the fine balance in population numbers between the Malays and the Chinese which is reflected in their cultural foregrounding in the Penang State Museum. This ethnic balance is also reflected by the multiethnic composition of the state museum board. Yet behind this façade one could detect the existence of culture contests. Such contests are also found within the different ethnic groups like the Peranakan and non-Peranakan Chinese or the Malays and the Indian-Muslims. This essay also examines visitor numbers and the attractiveness of the Penang Story. The essay is based on the scrutiny of museum exhibits, museum annual reports and conversations with former and present members of the State Museum Board. Keywords: Penang museums, State Museum Board, Penang Story, museum visitors, culture and history competition INTRODUCTION The phrase culture wars might have started in mid-19th century Germany but it came into wider usage since the 1960s in reference to the ideological polarisations among Americans into the liberal and conservative camps (Hunter, 1991; Luke, 2002). Although not as severe, such wars in Malaysia are manifested by the intense culture competition within and among museums due to the pervasive influence of ethnicity in various facets of the national life. As a result, museum foregrounding of culture and history have become contested (Matheson- Hooker, 2003: 1–11; Teo, 2010: 73–113; Abu Talib, 2008: 45–70; 2012; 2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Steeped in History, Surrounded by Unesco Heritage Attractions
    Call AGB @ Georgetown Chambers The Rice Miller Hotel & Godowns No.2, China Street Ghaut, 10300 Penang, Malaysia Penang UNESCO World Heritage Site T +6 04 262 3818 / 264 3818 F +6 04 262 6818 www.thericemiller.com Sleep easy HistorY RESTYLED as SHEER LUXURY 27 Studio Suites 18 Harbourview Suites As an enduring tribute to its original founder’s Rice Miller Penthouse 21 Service Residences entrepreneurial spirit and remarkable adventures, The Rice Miller Hotel & Godowns is ready to dazzle Play and shine on the exact site where the 19th century Hammam Spa, Fitness Floor, Infinity pool, rice miller first found fame and fortune. The island’s Exclusive Membership Club Steeped In History, Surrounded By new pride is ushering in a modern era of fame and Unesco Heritage Attractions: Savour glamour on Weld Quay’s waterfront. 6 dining venues: Kate at 9, The Green House, The Mill, ZyP, Sweet Spot and Lobby Lounge The Rice Miller is steps away from the spot where, in 1786, A resplendent example of neo-classical architecture, Sir Francis Light raised the British flag for its first foothold in the hotel radiates contemporary cool and lavishes Malaya. Beach Street, or Bankers’ Street as it is also locally Meet known, was Penang’s earliest thoroughfare and continues to Cultural & corporate venues, guests with ultra-plush comforts and amenities. be an important business precinct today. Capacity - up to 300 guests Here at The Rice Miller, in the heart of a UNESCO The beloved 19th century clock tower and historical landmark Shop holds many memories and is forgiven for its idiosyncratic Boutiques and World Heritage site, vintage Georgetown meets time keeping.
    [Show full text]
  • SARE, Vol. 54, Issue 2 | 2017
    SARE, Vol. 54, Issue 2 | 2017 On Art and Artifice: A Conversation with Tan Twan Eng David CL Lim Open University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur SARE: Southeast Asian Review of English, Vol. 54, Issue 2, 2017 13|Lim SARE, Vol. 54, Issue 2 | 2017 Tan Twan Eng, June 2017, Tallinn, Estonia © TTE Tan Twan Eng was born in Penang and grew up in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His debut novel, The Gift of Rain, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007. His second and latest novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012. It won the Man Asian Literary Prize, an award created in 2007 to draw global attention to works by Asian writers, in 2012 and the Walter Scott Prize for best historical fiction in 2013. It won yet another honour by being shortlisted for the 2014 IMPAC Dublin Prize, the world’s most valuable annual literary award for a single work of fiction published in English. Both novels have been translated into more than 25 languages. Tan was the International Writer in Residence at Nanyang Technological University in 2016 and is one of the patrons of the Young Walter Scott Prize. He is currently working on his third novel. This interview is a composite of face-to-face and e-mail conversations that took place between 2011 and 2017. The personal interviews were conducted in various parts of the Klang Valley during Tan’s annual returns home to Malaysia. It has been ten years since your first novel, The Gift of Rain [2007], debuted.
    [Show full text]
  • George Town Or Georgetown , Is the Capital of the State of Penang In
    George Town[1] or Georgetown[2], is the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia. Named after Britain's King George III, George Town is located on the north-east corner of Penang Island and has about 220,000 inhabitants, or about 400,000 including the suburbs. Formerly a municipality and then a city in its own right, since 1976 George Town has been part of the municipality of Penang Island, though the area formerly governed by the city council is still commonly referred to as a city, and is also known as Tanjung ("The Cape") in Malay and 喬治市 (Qiáozhì Shì) in Chinese. [edit]History George Town was founded in 1786 by Captain Francis Light, a trader for the British East India Company, as base for the company in the Malay States. He obtained the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah and built Fort Cornwallis on the north-eastern corner of the island. The fort became the nexus of a growing trading post and the island's population reached 12,000 by 1804. The town was built on swampy land that had to be cleared of vegetation, levelled and filled. The original commercial town was laid out between Light Street, Beach Street (then running close to the seashore), Malabar Street (subsequently called Chulia Street) and Pitt Street (now called Masjid Kapitan Keling Street). The warehouses and godowns extended from Beach Street to the sea. By the 1880s, there were ghauts leading from Beach Street to the wharf and jetties as Beach Street receded inland due to land reclamation.
    [Show full text]