DOCSLIB.ORG

Khoo Kay Kim, Professor of Malaysian History in the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Khoo Kay Kim, Professor of Malaysian History in the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Journal of Library & ltrformation Science, Vol.4, no.2, Decenrher,1999: 47-57 KHOO KAY KIM, PROFESSOROF MALAYSIAN HISTORY: A BIOBIBLIOMETRIC STUDY Tiew, Wai Sin School ResourceCenter Coordinator Hulu Kelang SecondarySchool, Km 7, JalanUlu Kelang 68000 Arnpang, Selangor,Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT: Presents an analysis of the publication productivity, authorship pattern, channels of communication, journal preference and language preference of Professor Dato . Khoo Kay Kim, Professor of Malaysian History in the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. The results of this biobibliometric study indicate that he can be a role modelfor future Malaysian historians to emulate his various achievementsespecially in the field oj historv education Keywords: Biobibliometrics, Bibliometrics~Khoo Kay Kim, Historian, Publication productivity Authorsrup pattern, Cltannelsof communication. INTRODUCTION The study of well-known scientis~s'has been conductedbibliometrically since the Biobibliometrics broadly refers to the early 1980's. Sinha and Bhatnagar in biographical study of the individual along 1980 attemptedto study the works of an with bibliometric analysis of his publi- internationally reputed plant pathologist cations. It has also been defined as the born in India but settled in Canada,R. C. quantitative and analytical method for Sinha with emphasison his impact on the discovering and establishing functional world literature thro~lgh data obtained relationships between biodata and biblio- from the .S'cienceCitation Index. Three data elements (Sen and Gan, 1990).This years later, Gupta alld Chandrasekhar is different from the 'study of sciento- using data collected fro~ S'cienceCita- metric portrait, which often focuses on tion Index, conducted a citation analysis the scientistS rather than academiciansor on S. Chandrasekhar,the winner of the researchersfrom the arts, humanities mId 1983 Nobel Prize for physics. A total of social sciences. In scientometric studies, his 401 works were cited 10, 359 times much attention is given to the accom- during 1965-1980 of which six were plishments of the scientific researcherin identified as citation classicsfor receiving tenus of qualitative and quantitative count 53% of all the citations. They concluded of Ius published works whether it is that there is a high correlation in quantit)" books, chapter in books, conference pa- quality of works, citednessalld receipt of pers. journal articles or otl1erdocuments. honors and awards. TIew, W:S. -- In 1992, Mahapatra measuredthe degree be consideredas a role model among of influence of Ranganatban's works on agriculturalscientist. Indian library and infonnation science literature.He analyzedthe referencespro- In 1995Kalyane and Munnolli examined vided in journal articles and found that the publicationsof T.S. West, an analyti- after Ranganathan's death, he continues cal chemistto find out the researchpro- to be cited frequently especially for his ductivity and patterns of collaboration. works on classificationand cataloguing. They concludedthat West is eminently qualified to be a role model for the Next. Gupta (1993) analyzedthe citations younger generation to emulate too. for all~ publications of Xavier LePichon- Kalyane also in 1995 conducteda study pertaining to sea floor spreadingfor the on P. M. Bhargavain terms of publication period 1965-1979. He found that out of productivity coefficient, publication den- the 127 cited publications, 13 items were sity, publication concentrationand ave- heavily and consistently cited. However, rageBradford's multiplier. the most cited article is "Sea-floor spread- ing and continental drift" published in Journal of Geophysical Research «73) Kalyane and Sen (1996) carried out a 1968, 3661-3690) \vhich receiveda total study of 422 articles published between of 642 citations at the time of the study. 1956 to 1995 by the Nobel Laureate, Sinhaand Ullah in 1993attempted a cita- Pierre-Gillesde Gennes,a French physi- tion analysis to determine the citation cist. The resultsindicated that the honors characteristicsof periodical articles and and awardsreceived by scientiststend to books published by Ramachandranin the attract more collaboratorsand increasein field of cement and concretechemistry. productivity. Kademani and ~yane in They found that he \\'a5 certainlya highly 1996 analyzed 164 papers by R. Chi- quoted scientist and more of his books darnbaram,a nuclear physicist, published ratller than articles werecited- during 1958-1993to identify highly' cited papersas per ScienceCitation Index. The Kademani, Balakrishnan and Kalyane resultsindicate that self-assessmentby a (1994) presented\'adetailed scientometric scientist about the significance of his analysis of the publication output of papers may not always tally with the ~dian nuclear physicist,P. K. Iyengar by world opinion. year, researchdomain, collaborationpat- tern, channel of communicationused and In 1997,Kalyane and Kademaniconduc- frequencyof keywords.It was found that ted a studyon BarbaraMcClintock, .the the period 1972-1976when Iyengar was winner of Nobel Prize in physiology for 4145 years of age, was his most pro- 1983.They analysedher publications to ductive period with the highest publica- identify her peak period of publication tion activity. On the other hand, Kalyane productivity, collaborating authors and and Kalyane also in 1994 ~yzed 254 the extentof collaboration,the scattering researchpublications of M.: S. Swami- of publicationsin various sourcesand the nathan.The resultsindicated that he could keywordsused for the titles in her papers. Klroo Kay Kim, Professorof MalaysianHistory The most recent scientometric portrait book chapterspublished between 1963. to study is on C. R. Bhatia, a geneticistand 1998 were collected, verified and ana- plant breeder conductedby Kalyane and lyzed. The curriculum vitae which in- Sen (1998). A total of 129 puplications cludes the list of publications of Prof. published between 1961 and 1994 were Khoo was obtained.To this list is added analyzed.Tie study found that CR Bhatia further searchesmade through telnetting has indeed establishedhimself as a leader the online public accesscatalogue of the in the induced mutation breeding pro- University of Malaya's Library (telnet grammesof locally importantcrop plants. 202.185.96.1)and the National Library of Malaysia (teln~t 161.142.132.123) to The study of noted and well-known scien- ascertaintheir holdings of Prof. Khoo' s tists has gained ground internationallybut publications. Apart from that, certain this type of study is yet to take root in this biographicaldetails which were not clear part of the world. The above literature or lacking in the curriculumvitae - were indicates that the focus is mostly on checkedand verified using annualreports scientists especially from India. There is of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal no study on other researchersfrom the Asiatic Societyof which he was President arts, huIruinities and social sciencesdo- between 1992-1995 and other related mains. Therefore, this paper is another sourcescontaining information about the attempt to study biobibliometrically, a subjectunder study. Telephone calls were well-known Malaysian historian and his also madeto the subjectto clarify certain contributions towards a discipline other details. From the collecteddata, analysis than science. of the publicationproductivity, authorship pattern,channels of communication,jour- OBJECTIVES nal preferenceand languagepreferences The objectivesof the presentstudy are: were found out. Finally, the subject was 1. to find out the publicationproduc- given-a copy of the paper to verify the tivitv. ; . accuracyof~ dataand other infonnation. 2. to examinethe authorshippattern for Here, it should be noted that this study publications: - did not take into account publications 3. to identify the channelof commu- edited by' the historian and those pu- nicationsused; blishedin newspapers.In addition,misce- 4. to ascertainthe journal preference; llaneouspopular historical articles written and specially for school studentsin various 5. to detenninethe languagepreference local magazinesare also not taken into of the author. account for the purpose of this study. Translatedarticles or booksfrom English METHODOLOGY to Bahasa Melavu and vice versa are . The list of publications of Prof. Khoo counted as one publication only. Further numbering 205 comprising 60 journal to that, conferencepapers published as articles, 15 monographs/books,79 confe- journal articles or book chapters are rence paperS, 23 lecwres/talks and 28 consideredonce only. Tie.v, W:S. BI OGRAPIn CAL SKETCH mentsin a local unive'rsityto use the nationallanguage as the mediumof in- Khoo Kay Kim was born on 28thMarch struction.Two yearslater, he commenced 1937 in Karnpar, Perak, Malaysia. He his lectureson Malaysianhistory in the took his Bachelor's degree.in 1959 ma- Malay languagefor the first year history oring in history from the University of students(Khoo, 1994),In fact, according Malaya, Singapore.In 1967 he obtained to the EducationAct of 1961, Bahasa his M. A, (History) and his Ph.D. in 1974 Melayubecame the medium of instruc- with the thesis "The beginningsof poli- tion in the universityonly in 1983 but tical extremism in Malaya 1915-1935". Khoo took a pioneering step in that Both these higher degreeswere from the direction way back in 1965,- University of Malaya,~ua1a Lumpur. He \\'as also the first Malaysianto graduate In 1974,he was promotedto the post of with a Ph.D. from
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ideas of Nation and Malayness in Malaya 1809-1942
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarBank@NUS IDEAS OF NATION AND MALAYNESS IN MALAYA 1809-1942: A HISTORY OF INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION SANDRA KHOR MANICKAM (B. A. HISTORY (HONS.), B. A. ECONOMICS (HONS.), UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2005 ii Acknowledgements This thesis was made possible by the kind assistance offered by several institutions and individuals. The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation at the National University of Malaysia and University of Malaya made their libraries available to me which facilitated the completion of this thesis. The assistance of Timothy P. Barnard and Mark Emmanuel was also invaluable. Without the aid of their Jawi Transliteration Project (R-110-000-012-112), this thesis would not have been completed. For their supervision and suggestions, I extend my warmest thanks to Albert Lau and Timothy P. Barnard. I am grateful for the support of Ian Gordon, Paul Kratoska and Kelly Lau. I would also like to thank Philippa Levine for her encouragement and ideas from afar. The Singapore Buddies, the Lunch Girls, the graduate students of the History Department and my parents have all made my stay in Singapore a pleasure. Last but not least, thanks to Hoofd Ingrid Maria for being my companion throughout the journey. iii Table of Contents Introduction: 1 Studies of nation and studies of
    [Show full text]
  • Khoo Kay Kim of ~Ialaysian History N~R1rtment of History Ihllversity Of
    1..1 N ESC 0 THIRD \!OR~!OP IN NALAY SULTANATES AioJD ~IALAY CULTURE I st-4th November, 1982 De,,,an Bahasa dan pus taka '" Kuala Lumpur t-iALAYSIA TI{E AmiPllSTHATlVE ASPECTS OF THE HALAY SULTANATES IN MALAYSIA Khoo Kay Kim Profpssor of ~Ialaysian History n~r1rtment of History Ihllversity of Malaya Kuala Lumpur Not l,j'. pI,hl.i.c'ltion nor to be quoted wi tllout tilt' author's permission ( I' /\i~',; :,,:rTCTS OF THE HALAY SlJL.'1 ' r u ~·\i\LAYSli\ ~~~pi r e t1\'l'ill'r')US ·.;ri.tlngs on the indigenous ~,:d i.\J pol It:; b~v'4 1"0 r"~ll I ocu s on one aspect of the s ub j c c t , n()1r'Ie~y, Nei th er v If; d:o r s t" i:ine m91 ~~ J 't~~ >tV..!I!.n..ts 6t 'l.d1v Sil(,j·'ty have s hown a sustained il1>'n'~1 ll, the. t \1,11"-8 1 i'c'rnt')t" reveals that what is b r-s t 'fJ.¥1,d~o('s+ooJ [JoOl}. ~ rr\.,ltl~ :ClCJ d~ IS t hr- subject of pP\Jer pCIAh c~ an '. i a iv ..~ Lo I, t i eve that the poli t LC';tl t )., [11 '1'~tratlVl'. some general d i s t i.n rt 1 "S Jr.' " I), r c L,"'''I1[ f.'mrhasis. It would n o t, 1'(' l t-:;' r rr '1\ ',<; "lore speci'fically the j mp lerm-u ra t 10n r 2'" ( .
    [Show full text]
  • An Open Letter to Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim
    An Open Letter to Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim By Rachel Leow. First published in The Malaysian Insider, 15 April 2015. Dear Professor Khoo, You may not remember me and anyway, if you saw me today you probably wouldn’t recognise me. I was just a young student back then, thrilled to have run into you on a stairwell in Universiti Malaya. I told you I’d been planning to do a PhD in history. You listened indulgently to me stammering away, and at the end of it, gave me a copy of your book, Malay Society. On the title page, you wrote: Dear Rachel, I hope you too will come to accept that history is the mother of all disciplines. Khoo Kay Kim, 1/4/07 It’s now 2015. I did that PhD, and your book has accompanied me across three continents over the last eight years. I haven’t seen you since, and I’m sure you have long put me out of your mind. But I have continued, from time to time, to be guided by your work and to find insight in it. Last Sunday, I read news of your testimony at the trial of Mat Sabu (PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu). And I was filled with a kind of sadness and dread, reminded of how what we know as “history” lives at all times in the shadow of power. On the question of dinaung v dijajah You said that to call Malaya a colony is false, because we were “dinaung” and not “dijajah”, and we had nine sovereign monarchies which were never “colonised”.
    [Show full text]
  • Eaton Dissertation
    Governing Shōnan: The Japanese Administration of Wartime Singapore Clay Eaton Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2018 © 2018 Clay Eaton All rights reserved ABSTRACT Governing Shōnan: The Japanese Administration of Wartime Singapore Clay Eaton The Japanese military administration of Southeast Asia during the Second World War was meant to rebuild the prewar colonial system in the region under strong, centralized control. Different Japanese administrators disagreed over tactics, but their shared goal was to transform the inhabitants of the region into productive members of a new imperial formation, the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Shōnan, the wartime name for Singapore, was meant to be the center of this Co-Prosperity Sphere in Southeast Asia. It was the strategic fulcrum of the region, one of its most important ports, and a center of culture and learning for the wartime Japanese. Home to thousands of Japanese administrators during the war and a linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse local population, Shōnan was a site of active debates over the future of the Sphere. Three assumptions undergirded these discussions: that of Japanese preeminence within the Sphere, the suitability of “rule by minzoku (race)” for Southeast Asians, and the importance of maintaining colonial social hierarchies even as Japanese administrators attempted to put the region on a total war footing. These goals were at odds with each other, and Japanese rule only upended social hierarchies and exacerbated racial tensions. The unintended legacy of the wartime empire lay, not only in the new opportunities that Japanese rule afforded to Southeast Asian revolutionaries, but in the end of the politics of accommodation with imperial power practiced by prewar Asian elites.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    Bibliography Note: for abbreviations of journal titles, please refer to list (pp. xvii–xviii above). Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman (1998), ‘Economic Reforms and Agricultural Development in Malaysia’, ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 15, 1, 59–76. Abdullah Azmi bin Abdul Khalid (1981), ‘The Trade of Malaya with special reference to the Federated Malay States 1900–40’ (MA Hons, University of Sydney). Abdul Majid Mat Salleh, Hatta Solhee and Mohd Yusof Kasim (eds) (1990), Socio- Economic Development in Sarawak: Policies and Strategies for the 1990s, Kuching: Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam). Abraham W.I. and Gill, M.S. (1969), ‘The Growth and Composition of Malaysia’s Capital Stock’, MER, xiv, No. 2, 44–53. Abu Bakar, M., Amarjit Kaur and Ghazali, A.Z. (eds) (1984), HISTORIA: Essays in Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Department of History, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Historical Society. Adelman, I. and Morris, C.T. (1997), ‘Development History and Its Implications for Development Theory’, World Development, 25, No. 6, 831–40. Aiken, S.R., Leigh, C.H., Leinbach, T.R. and Moss, M.R. (1982), Development and Environment in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore: McGraw-Hill. Alavi, Rokiah (1996), Industrialisation in Malaysia: Import Substitution and Infant Industry Performance, London: Routledge. Alexander, J. and Alexander, P. (1993), ‘Economic Change and Public Health in a Remote Sarawak Community’, Sojourn, 8, No. 2 (Aug.), 250–74. Allen, G.C. and Donnithorne, A. (1954), Western Enterprise in Indonesia and Malaya, London: Geo. Allen & Unwin. Amarjit Kaur (1985), Bridge and Barrier: Transport and Communications in Colonial Malaya 1870–1957. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Malaysia – Kinta Indian Association (KIA) – Protests – Arrests
    Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: MYS33202 Country: Malaysia Date: 10 April 2008 Keywords: – Malaysia – Kinta Indian Association (KIA) – Protests – Arrests This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Are there any reports in relation to the existence of Kinta Indian Association (KIA) in the city of Perak or Ipoh generally? 2. Are there any reports of KIA being involved in the protests which took place on 25 November 2007 in Kuala Lumpur? 3. Are there any reports of members of KIA being arrested or threatened with arrest? RESPONSE 1. Are there any reports in relation to the existence of Kinta Indian Association (KIA) in the city of Perak or Ipoh generally? An article in The New Straits Times dated 24 September 2001 provides information on the formation of the Kinta Indian Association in Ipoh. The article indicates that an Indian association which “admitted Indians of various provincial groups”, was formed on 2 April 1906 in Taiping. The association was registered “as The Indian Association of the F.M.S. [Federated Malay States]” on 7 April 1906.
    [Show full text]
  • JABATAN SEJARAH the Khoo Kay Kim I Knew
    JABATAN SEJARAH No. 9 June 2019 In Memoriam The Khoo Kay Kim I Knew Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Khoo Kay of Malaya library. My room was just a few was never locked and you could meet him Kim was a personality I got to know about doors away from his. He was the internal anywhere, anytime. He would never tell during my Form Six days in 1982 when his examiner for my MA thesis. He anyone to leave his room or to even writings were published in an academic appreciated my work and had good things excuse him. Most often it would be visitors magazine named Diskusi. I referred to his to say about my ability to conduct vigorous who had to say thanks and excuse writings to write essays for assignments as research and the potential he saw in me to themselves. He was such a kind and a well as to study for examinations. I knew be a good historian. I also worked as a good-hearted person. him personally when I did my part time Research Assistant for him on I admired Prof. Khoo’s self-discipline and undergraduate study at the History the topic of History of Petaling Jaya time management. He would be in office at Department in 1985. His style of lecture before being appointed as a lecturer in the 9 am and then head to the microfilm was very different from what I had department in 1995. research room at the main library with an expected and so I did not enroll in any of Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • K. NADARAJA Universiti Utara Malaysia MALAY REACTION TO
    Jebat: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics & Strategic Studies, Vol. 43 (1) (July 2016): 46-64 @ School of History, Politics & Strategy, UKM; ISSN 2180-0251 (electronic), 0126-5644 (paper) K. NADARAJA Universiti Utara Malaysia MALAY REACTION TO THE 1930S ECONOMIC DEPRESSION IN MALAYA The unprecedented World Economic Depression of the 1930s affected Malaya just as it did to numerous other countries in the world. In Malaya’s case, with the rubber and tin industries, the two main pillars of the country’s economy, well integrated with the international market forces, the sudden economic downturn caused the collapse of both these industries, resulting in widespread retrenchment and mass unemployment of workers. To the people of multiracial Malaya the economic meltdown was more than an economic crisis. It was a crisis of all sorts that threatened their very own survival. Despite the colonial government’s efforts to contain the situation every community was displaced in one way or another though by varying degrees. This paper examines some of the immediate effects of the economic depression on the Federated Malay States and confines its discussion to Malay reaction to the crisis – how they were affected, the challenges they faced and how they coped with the crisis and the government’s role in ensuring the protection of the Malays. It also discusses Malay reaction to the presence of immigrant races in the country and their rise to seek greater protection of their rights as natives of the country. Keywords: Economic Depression, Malays Reaction, Immigrant Labour, Malay Rights. Introduction It is common knowledge that the collapse in the price of primary products in the Wall Street Stock Exchange in New York in late October 1929 triggered the Economic Depression of the 1930s.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of Malaysia
    A History of Malaysia Macmillan International College Editions will bring to university, college, school and professional students, authoritative paperback books covering the history and cultures of the developing world, and the special aspects of its scientific, medical, technical, social and economic development. The International College programme contains many distinguished series in a wide range of disciplines, some titles being regionally biassed, others being more international. Library editions will usually be published simultaneously with the paperback editions. For full details of this list, please contact the publishers. Macmillan Asian Histories Series: D. G. E. Hall: A History of South-East Asia - 4th Edition M. Ricklefs: A History of Modern Indonesia R. Jeffrey (Ed.): Asia - The Winning of Independence J-P. Lehmann: The Roots of Modern Japan A History of Malaysia Barbara Watson Andaya and Leonard Y. Andaya M MACMILLAN © Barbara Watson Andaya and Leonard Y. Andaya 1982 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33-4 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1982 Reprinted 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991 Published by MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire R021 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-27673-0 ISBN 978-1-349-16927-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-16927-6 F or Elise and Alexis Contents Foreword Xl Acknowledgements XIV Preliminary Note xv Abbreviations XVI Maps XVIll Introductioll: The Environment and Peoples of Malaysia 1 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes and Further Reading
    Notes and Further Reading Introduction: The Environment and Peoples of Malaysia Further Reading A specialist geographical description of Malaysia can be found in Charles A. Fisher, South-East Asia: A Social, Economic and Political Geography (London, 1964). Ooi jin Bee, Peninsular Malaysia (New York and London, 1976) covers the peninsula in considerable detail. There are several books dealing with the local peoples. A general cultural survey is N. j. Ryan, The Cultural Background of the Peoples of Malaya (Kuala Lumpur, 1962). A standard introduction to the demog­ raphy of the Malay peninsula is still T. E. Smith, Population Growth in Malaya: An Analysis of Recent Trends (London and New York, 1952) and for Borneo, L. W. jones, The Population of Borneo: A Study of the Peoples of Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei (London, 1966). R. O. Winstedt, The Malays: A Cultural History (Singapore 1947) and later editions, and The Malay Magician (London, 1951) are useful studies, though the approach could be considered dated. Iskandar Carey, Orang Asli: The Aboriginal Tribes ofPeninsular Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and London, 1976) gives an informa­ tive and personal discussion of the various aboriginal groups. Frank M. Lebar, ed. Ethnic Groups ofInsular Southeast Asia (New Haven, 1972) contains an authorita­ tive discussion on indigenous Borneo peoples. For the Chinese, see Victor Purcell, The Chinese in Malaya (London, 1948;reprinted Kuala Lumpur, 1967), a standard work written by a former Professor of Chinese in Malaya. Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Indians in Malaysia and Singapore (Kuala Lumpur, 1979) is the most recent account of Indian migration and the present state of the Indian community.
    [Show full text]
  • The Intricacies of Liminality in the Deification of Chinese Non-Buddhist Supernatural Beings in Chinese-Malaysian Communities
    ASIANetwork Exchange | spring 2012 | volume 19 | 2 Tua Ji Peh: The Intricacies of Liminality in the Deification of Chinese non-Buddhist Supernatural Beings in Chinese-Malaysian Communities Whitney Webb Abstract: The pragmatic, responsive, and syncretic nature of popular Chinese religion is well known and is thought to result, in part, from the religion’s close connection to the fluxes of the social system in which its adherents live. These char- acteristics often result in considerable change when the social fabric is disrupted, such as in the immigration of Chinese to new and unfamiliar places. This process of change is commonly seen among Chinese deities. Tua Peh 大伯 and Ji Peh 二伯 (in Hokkien dialect “First Uncle” and “Second Uncle”), two ghostly deities of popu- lar Chinese Malaysian religion, are understood to have an ambiguous status in the Chinese pantheon as they possess characteristics of both gods and ghosts. In China, these figures were simply part of the otherworldly bureaucracy of the hell realm with a very limited role and were worshipped infrequently. In the past 20 years, their worship has become extremely ubiquitous, with many shrines and temples proliferating. Now a variety of people come to them for wealth, for healings, and for protection. This coincides during a time in which the economic situation of Chinese Malaysians has become more difficult which parallels a significant rise in political tensions between Malays and non-Malays. This has caused a shift towards favorabil- ity in the deities’ reputation, the demographics of their worshippers, and the reasons patrons seek their assistance. Overall, the elevation of Tua Ji Peh seems to work towards lending legitimacy to those desperately seeking efficacious aid in a increas- ingly discriminatory and poltically unstable environment with harsher realities.
    [Show full text]
  • The Peranakan Baba Nyonya Culture: Resurgence Or Disappearance?
    The Peranakan Baba Nyonya Culture:Sari 26 (2008)Resurgence 161 - or170 Disappearance? 161 The Peranakan Baba Nyonya Culture: Resurgence or Disappearance? LEE SU KIM ABSTRAK Kacukan budaya boleh terjadi dalam banyak bentuk dan pilih atur, termasuk peminjaman kata-kata dan pengambilan amalan sosial dan kepercayaan dan juga penyesuaian pakaian dan makanan. Corak penghijrahan dan pengaliran kebudayaan di Asia Tenggara telah menjana perkembangan yang tersebut dan lain-lain pada masa dan di tempat yang berlainan. Di bawah keadaan yang tertentu, suatu kumpulan etnik yang baru atau yang dikesan sebagai yang berbeza daripada kumpulan etnik yang ada mungkin muncul. Kumpulan etnik yang dimaksudkan adalah Peranakan Baba Nyonya. Ia terjadi pada abad ke 15 ketika orang Cina tiba di Melaka dan berkahwin campur dengan wanita tempatan. Kebudayaan peranakan adalah gabungan unik antara kebudayaan Cina dan Melayu dengan campuran daripada penyintesisan unsur kebudayaan Java, Batak, Thai dan British, melambangkan faham pelbagai budaya dan pelakuran lama sebelum terciptanya istilah-istilah itu..Kini, dunia peranakan sudah menghilang. Kata kunci: Peranakan, Baba, Nyonya, kebangkitan semula, keunikan ABSTRACT Hybridity of cultures can take many forms and permutations, including the borrowing of words and the adoption of social practices and beliefs, and the adaptation of dress and food. Patterns of migration and cultural flows in Southeast Asia have generated at different times and places all the above configurations and more. Under certain circumstances, what may emerge is a whole new ethnic group or at the very least, a very recognizably different subgroup of an existing ethnic category. One such group is the peranakan or the baba nyonya community (also known as the Straits Chinese).
    [Show full text]