Corrected on 17 Nov 2009 at 11.30am DESPITE stepping down in 2008 as executive director of Sisters in Islam (SIS) which she co-founded and led for two decades, Zainah Anwar has not retired from her commitment to women’s rights and justice. Currently project director of Musawah, a global movement for equality and justice for Muslim […]
Found in Malaysia
The vegetable basket baby
By Zedeck SiewVISUAL artist Wong Hoy Cheong is probably Malaysia’s most internationally-renowned modern cultural export. While a fixture on the biennial — or repeating art exhibitions — circuit, he has nevertheless continued to make work deeply engaged with the Malaysian context. Take his Vitrine of Contemporary Events, for example. Made in 1999, post-Reformasi, the work is an illuminated […]
The tattooed Bidayuh
By Shanon ShahTHE Malay-language entertainment industry knows Tony Eusoff, 32, as a rising television and film actor. Tony’s talent, however, extends beyond acting. At the 2006 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards, he was nominated for Best Solo Performance (Voice) for his vocal chops in Five Arts Centre’s musical production, Encore. What is less known about Tony, though, is […]
Learning to be “unproper”
By Claire BrownellIVY Josiah is not the type of person to keep silent in the face of injustice. As the executive director of the Women’s Aid Organisation, she’s been at the forefront of the struggle to reform domestic violence laws and create shelters for battered women. Because of her outspokenness, Josiah is also often at the forefront […]
Overcoming multicultural kan cheong
By Zedeck SiewTHE somewhat otherworldly 42-year-old performer Lee Swee Keong is perhaps best known for his white-faced and loin-clothed interpretations of Butoh, a Japanese dance form developed in the 1960s. Created by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno in 1959, this vocabulary of movement, which typically involves mischievous or grotesque imagery, was intended to question and subvert more […]
Telling Malaysian stories
By Claire BrownellCorrected on 27 July 2009 at 11.25am BERNICE Chauly says her work as a poet, photographer, filmmaker and writer is all about telling stories. Her work often has themes of marginalisation and identity. She’s written a play about sex workers, taken pictures of refugees, and made documentaries about indigenous peoples and Kelantanese folk traditions. She […]
Battling the lobotomy of Malaysia
By Claire BrownellMALAYSIAN identity is a central concept in Marion D’Cruz‘s life work. She’s a founding member of the Five Arts Centre, which has played a key role in developing boundary-pushing Malaysian local theatre. Her works of choreography often have political themes, such as 2003’s War on Iraq. And as a teacher at colleges and universities around […]
The hybrid-Malay Malaysian dilemma
By Shanon ShahDR Farish Noor is a prolific academic. The founder of The Other Malaysia project writes on the politics of Malaysia, Indonesia, Islamism, and old Malay hikayats with gusto and insight. He has been published everywhere. Well, nearly. It makes one wonder what he does to de-stress. “I repair old batik, I knit and I stitch,” […]
The evolving Chinese Malaysian
By Gan Pei LingRAPPER Wee Meng Chee, aka Namewee, was wrapped in controversy in July 2007 because of his national anthem parody Negarakuku. The six-minute video clip, which has been accessed by half a million viewers, touched on several “sensitive” issues such as police abuse, racial discrimination, and indolent civil servants. At that time certain quarters, including government […]
“Harmony is a myth”
By Zedeck SiewA LESSER-KNOWN fact about Malaysian film director and television series creator Bernard Chauly is that he spends much of the year outside Malaysia. “Not many people realise that I’m not here the whole time,” Chauly says. “Thank God for the internet!” While his work — including the futsal-and-romance Gol & Gincu, coming-of-age Goodbye Boys, and […]
