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The Sarawak Locals Who Shaped Alfred Russell Wallace’s Evolutionary Science
Researched and Written By Malcolm Wong (Co-founder of Interrassa Collective) │ Edits by Loong Dien Min and Allan Pang │ Design by Dennis Ong Evolutionary Theory may be advanced by two prominent European thinkers: Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin, but the research that goes into it was essentially a transnational effort, one that involved…
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Everyday Crossings: Goay Lian Choo
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This is What Policy Feels Like: The Transnational Underpinnings of the NEP
By William Tham and Brendan Yeo The New Economic Policy (NEP) was the cornerstone of national reconstruction from 1971 to 1990. But the policy’s transnational components remain obscure. Beyond the national perspective that emphasises the racialisation of governance, what do the NEP’s transnational aspects tell us about Malaysia’s experience with decolonisation? Shaped by the Japanese…
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Malaysian Chinese Cultural Society, ‘Memorandum on National Culture’
By Allan Pang Malaysian Chinese Cultural Society, ‘Memorandum on National Culture’, 1983馬來西亞華人文化協會，國家文化備忘錄，1983For illustration purposes only. Original text in Mandarin. Translation by Allan Pang. We have to recognise and accept an indisputable fact: Malaysia is a multiethnic, multicultural, and multi-religious country. This is not only an objective truth but also the essence of independent Malaysia’s constitution.…
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Alamat Langkapuri: The World’s First Jawi Newspaper
By First published in June 1869, the first Bahasa Melayu and Jawi-written newspaper did not originate from the Malay archipelago but instead from Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Alamat Langkapuri (علامت لڠكڤوري, News from Island of Lanka) was a lithographically printed newspaper based in Colombo, created by Baba Ounus Saladin, who was not only the creator…
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World War II Radio Operator
Sharon Wah When memorial is erasure: The story of a radio operator, and the constricting legacy of the Malaysian war hero What does it mean to be remembered as a hero in national history? Sejarah textbooks outline familiar names: Leftenan Adnan bin Saidi, “Lion of Malaya” Gurchan Singh, and Albert Kwok, amongst several others— figures…
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The Cantonese Amahs of Empire
Loong Dien Min Step into the bustling morning markets of Hong Kong between the 1930s and 1960s, and one figure would catch your eye: a woman in a crisp black-and-white samfu, her long hair braided neatly or swept into a tight bun. These women were known as Mājiě (妈姐), or Cantonese amahs, and similarly, in…
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The Nadra Tragedy
Loong Dien Min In December 1950, a custody court battle over a young girl named Maria Hertogh was the cause of one of the most damaging riots in Singapore’s history. 18 people were killed, 173 injured, and over 20,000 Straits dollars in damage to vehicles and personal property. The riots left 18 people dead, 173…
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Cambridge Examinations
Allan Pang The most recent SPM examination session ended in February 2025. For generations, secondary students across Malaysia have viewed SPM as a major milestone that marks the end of secondary school. Many of us may remember the pressure of preparing for it, still remember the long hours of studying, the pressure of revision, and…
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Anti-Yellow Culture Movement in 1950s Singapore
Leong Yee Ting TRIGGER WARNING This post contains mentions and descriptions of rape, sexual harassment and murder. A Moralistic, Left-wing Campaign “Yellow culture” was an elastic, complex, and multivalent term from the Chinese-speaking world, especially within the Singaporean context in the 1950s, where the phrase took a more moralistic and political tone. The phrase first…
