Stories of Lies, Loves and Lives

The Female Cell by Rumaizah Abu Bakar (Silverfish Books) RM30.00

20 stories (all previously unpublished) by Rumaizah Abu Bakar in her first book that display an acute sense of observation, with humour and irony but without prejudice or pandering, in minimalist sketches with an uncanny knack for suggesting danger in even the most mundane. If you have read her initial works in the News From Home anthology, see how she has matured.

Rumaizah's stories are unpretentious and delightful. These short vignettes of human emotions and interactions are perfect for that rainy afternoon, accompanied by tea and biscuits. These stories have light in them.
-- Dina Zaman, author of I am Muslim --

Whether she is describing the kaleidoscopic panorama of Kuala Lumpur, or the prickly solitude of a traveller in Turkey, Rumaizah demonstrates a generous capacity for observation. A quietly assured debut collection.
-- Alfian Sa'at, writer, poet and playwright --

More new Malaysian on the shelf

1. Kougar by Shaz Johar (RM20.00)
2. Pecah by Khairulnizam (RM20.00)
3. Cekik by Ridhwan Saidi (RM18.00)
4. The Lion City by Mohamad Salmi (RM12.90)
5. the Legend of the Two Princesses by Mohamad Salmi (RM12.90)
6. The Curse of Mahsuri by Mohamad Salmi (RM12.90)
7. Understanding Dewan Bahasa by Deboraqh loh & jaquueline Ann Surin (RM95.00)
8. Miyah and the Forest Demon by Tutu Dutta-Yean (RM19.90)
9. Reformasi Pembiayaan Politik by TRansparency International (RM30.00)
10. Minda Tertawan by Raja Ahmad Aminillah (RM23.00)
11. Did it Really Happen by Shaari Isa (RM 29.90)

History of Pahang

From Inderapura to Darul Makmur: A Deconstructive History of Pahang (Price: RM40.00)
Publisher: Silverfish books
Author:  Farish A Noor

To write a history of a state like Pahang today requires us to go back to the history of the land and its peoples before the emergence of a political entity that would be named Pahang. While doing so, the historian cannot neglect the fact that before the Malay polities that emerged from the 15th century onwards, there were other sociopolitical systems present in the peninsula, including the indigenous peoples known as the Orang Asli.

Writing the history of the Orang Asli of the Malaysian peninsula is a task fraught with discursive and political complications. For a start, the term 'the Malay Peninsula' is itself troublesome because it came into used only during the colonial era and has since become an ideologically loaded signifier, bringing with it a host of essentialist assumptions and primodial historical claims. It has to be emphasised that a history of the Malaysian peninsula has to begin with the recognition that it has always been a fluid, open territory inhibited by a myriad people, with a complexity that resist any attempt at closure and compartmentalisation.

-- 1. Belonging before naming: A look at the society that existed before 'Pahang'

Other new Malaysian books on the shelf

1. Rojak Fakta Malaysia -- ZI Publication (RM30.00)
2. Rojak: hidangan Certot -- Amir Muhammad (RM22.00)
3. Teology -- Patrick Teoh (RM38.00)
4. Abiding times -- Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin Muhriz (RM39.90)
5. Penang at War -- Andrew Barber (RM85.00)
6. Perfect Love and other storuies -- Peter Achutha (RM30.00)
7. Apa ada dengan Liberalisme - Faisal Mustaffa (RM5.00)
8. Liku-liku Reformasi -- Tricia Yeoh (RM30.00)
9. Menerjang Badai -- Riduan Mohamad Nor (RM20.00)
10. A Doctor in the House -- Mahathir bin Mohammad (RM100.00)

Readings from readings

Readings from Readings by Bernice Chauley and Sharon Bakar (eds) -- Word Works (RM29.90)

An indonesian man is swept out to sea by the tsunami and encounters a floating tree filled with naked girls; a cat is successful in his application to become head of a government department; and a senior demon writes a progress report for his master on the state of the country. Elsewhere, characters struggle to make sense of mysterious events: a hungry student finds a clutch of eggs left on the doorstep; a child receives paintings of herself on her birthday each year from her absent father; an elderly uncfle claims the moon-shaped scars on his ear lobes are of supernatural provenance. There are pieces here about longing and loss, quilt and betrayal, and the struggle to stay afloat in difficult relationships. Anf of course about how it feels to return home.

Other new Malaysian books on the shelf:

1. March 8 -- Time for real change -- Kee Thuan Chye (RM39.90)
2. Memoir Tragedi Memali -- Riduan Mohammad Nor, CN Afghani (RM20.00)
3. malaysian Studies -- Abdul Rahman Embong ((RM30.00)
4. The history of the Quranic text -- MM Al Azami (RM69.00)
5. Quranic Exegisis -- Rashid Ahmad Jullundhry (RM29.00)
6. Islamic Thought and Life -- Seyyed Hossein nasr (RM39.00)
7. Perspective Perlembagaan -- Abdul Aziz Bari (RM40.00)
9. Punggok Rindukkan Bulan (DVD) -- (RM20.00)

Fluid World

Fluid World by Yee I-Lann -- Rogue Art (RM120.00)

Born in Sabah in 1971, Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann has gained recognition both locally and internationally for her distinctive work as a multi-disciplinary artist, and the stories her art has to tell about Malaysia, Southeast Asia and the cross-cultural nature of the world we all inhabit. Her practice seeks resonances across history, landscape, memory and cultural identity. Her visual vocabulary is extensive—drawn from historical references, popular culture, urban landscapes, archives and everyday objects. Working primarily with photographic media, she handles this vocabulary with deft virtuosity, creating work that is at once poignant, poetic, humorous and engaged.

Fluid World seeks to chart the development of this artist’s practice over the past fifteen years of her career, documenting major works and series of works across this period, while exploring the context of the medium and the subject matter the artist engages with. It weaves together the compelling narratives she has constructed into a larger pictorial story, offering insight into her processes, thinking and research through artist statements and notes.

Other New Malaysian Books on the shelf:
1. Perak: A state of Crisis (edited) by Audrey Quay (RM45.00)
2. Reclaiming the conversation (edited) by Rosnani Hashim (RM20.00)
3. The Orang Asli and the UNDRIP by Colin Nicholas, Jenita Engi, Teh Yen Ping (RM45.00)

Leaves of the Same Tree

Leaves of the Same Tree ( Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka ) by Leonard Y. Andaya -- RM55.00

Despite the existence of about a thousand ethnolinguistic groups in Southeast Asia, very few historians of the region have engaged the complex issue of ethnicity. Leaves of the Same Tree illustrates how historians can use it both as an analytical tool and as a subject of analysis to add further depth to understanding of Southeast Asian pasts. The Straits of Melaka offers an ideal testing ground for understanding the process of ethnic formation, and the author examines ethnic groups along the straits to document the manner in which they responded to the vicissitudes of the international marketplace.

Earliest and most important were the Malayu (Malays), whose dominance in turn contributed to the "ethnicization" of other groups in the straits. By deliberately politicizing differences within their own ethnic community, the Malayu encouraged the emergence of new ethnic categories, such as the Minangkabau, the Acehnese, and, to a lesser extent, the Batak.

Leaves of the Same Tree demostrates how problematizing ethnicity can offer a more nuanced view of ethnic relations in a region that boasts one of the greatest diversities of language and culture in the world. Creative and challenging, the book uncovers many new questions that promise to revitalize and reorient the historiography of Southeast Asia.

Other new Malaysian titles

1. Muslims and Matriachs by Jeffrey Hadler -- RM48.00
2. The Singapore and Melaka Straits by Peter Borschberg -- RM65.00
3. Transforming Brickfields by Richard Baxstrom -- RM55.00
4. Chinese Business in the Making of the Malay State, 1882-1941 by Wu Xiao An -- RM48.00