More paintings

Drawings by Khor Seow Hooi (RM 88.00)

'Familiar places always surprise me and I will never tire of them. A back lane is never the same when I return to it. From a corner, on a porch, or out a window, something interesting presents itself. Perhaps it is a group of men hunched over a chess board. Or a parent encouraging a little child to cycle. It could be an old, old woman smiling toothlessly, framed by a door. Whatever it is, I must paint it.'

Khor Seow Hooi was born in Penang in 1946. He studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore from 1965 to 1967. He attended the Oriental Institute of Technology in Taiwan for textile painting from 1972 to 1974. He trained at the Bayer Lab in Hong Kong in 1974 and the Bayer Lab Training, Germany, in 1985. Khor held the first solo exhibition of his works in Kuala Lumpur in 1969 and his second one-man show in Singapore the same year. He has participated in many art exhibitions since and his paintings are part of both corporate and priovate collections in Malaysia and abroad.

Art and architecture

Sacred Structures: Artistic Renditions of Hindu Temples in Malaysia and Singapore (Hardcover)
by
Krishna Gopal Rampal (Editor),
Raja Thuraisingham (Publisher),
Saiful Anwar Yahya (Designer)

• Hardcover: 219 page
• Price RM 228.00
• Publisher: Bluetoffee (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9810595859
• ISBN-13: 978-9810595852

Product Description

Sacred Structures is a fascinating guide to the world of Hindu Temples in Malaysia and Singapore, presented through the unique artistic vision of some of its leading artists. In four sections, beautifully illustrated with original paintings by ten leading artists, the book takes the reader through the various phases of Hindu Temple building from the 5-6th Century to modern times.

The book contains more than 190 original paintings (in full colour) that clearly illustrate the point that these temples are not only places of worship but magnificent works of art. These paintings are further illuminated by essays written by eminent writers on the historical development of the architecture, sculptures and renditions by these artists. A brief communication on the journey through these temples is also provided for those wishing to undertake similar sojourns.

Available mainly at: Silverfish Books Sdn Bhd, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: 228 448 37 Email: info@silverfishbooks.com

Free delivery (by courier) to addresses within Peninsula Malaysia. Delivery to Sabah and Sarawak will cost an additional RM20.00

Ripples and other stories

Ripples and other stories by Shih-Li Kow (RM 30.00)

Shih-Li just keeps on getting better and better. In her first full book of short stories (which, incidentally has been nominated for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize in the First Book category), Shih Li's delicate touch and turn of phrase continues. She says she loves writing and obviously means it. She will not let any excuse get in the way of her passion. She holds a full time job working six days a week, and is a loving single mother with a ten-year-old.

"... If you were getting tired of fiction, this is the place to have your faith renewed in the beauty and the terror of the imaginary.

I recommend that you read the stories in order of appearance. Unexpected delights will emerge: characters, locations and events from earlier stories will pop up in subsequent ones, adding shade and dimension to the earlier appearances. Things connect -- not in a mystery-solving way, but because even seemingly random occurrences have a history behind them. And since these connections occur in a social environment like Malaysia, they get complicated further by our famously fraught cultural and historical matrices."

-- Amir Muhammad, Malay Mail, 31^st December 2008.

Sun Yat Sen in Penang by Khoo Salmah Nasution (RM 30.00)

'You can help shoulder the responsibility of saving our country by donating your money, while our comrades in our country are sacrificing their lives'

Sun Yat Sen in the famous speech he made in Penang, 1910

The Second Guangzhou Uprising (also called the Canton March 29 Uprising), a turning point of the 1911 Chinese Revolution, was planned from a place 2,400 km away -- in Penang in present-day Malaysia.

As a young revolutionary, Dr. Sun Yat Sen traveled widely and lived amongst the Chinese Communities abroad, including Japan, North America and Southeast Asia. He mobilized the overseas Chinese with the dream of saving the Chinese nation.

In 1910, when success seemed most remote, Dr. Sun turned to his followers in Penang. The Penang Philomatic Union became the Tongmenghui party's Nanyang Headquarters, raising funds and fighters for the Second Guangzhou Uprising and acting decisively to help consolidate the Xinhai Revolution.

Anwar and Mahathir

The Asian Renaissance by Anwar Ibrahim (Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, RM 44.60)

The renaissance of Asia entails the growth, development and flowering of Asian societies based on a certain vision of perfection; societies imbued with truth and the love of learning, justice and compassion, mutual respect and forbearance, and freedom and responsibility. It is the transformation of its cultures and societies from its capitulation to Atlantic powers to the position of self-confidence and its reflowering at the dawn of a new millennium.


The Malay Dilemma by Mahathir bin Mohamad (Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, RM 44.40)

...first published in 1970 to much controversy. Dr Mahathir's interpretation of events caused him to be called upon to defend his statements and claims.

This is not an objective book. Nevertheless, it is published because it is what an educated modern, progressive Malay thinks and believes ... The arguments in the Malay Dilemma reveal the author's reactions to the pressing problems of the day, and show how a politically inclined Malay understands the past, explains the behaviour of his own people and the behaviour of the immigrants, and foresees the future.