This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 1, - May 7,
Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim is widely regarded as the country’s national historian. To me, Prof Khoo (as he is fondly referred to) is a historian and scholar par excellence.
The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, called him “a walking encyclopedia of Malaysian history” in his address at the launch of the book, I, KKK: The Autobiography of a Historian, in Kuala Lumpur on April
Written with his eldest son Eddin Khoo, the page autobiography tells of his private life. It starts with a one-sentence prologue: “Memory comes in impressions, history in facts.”
This sentence reminds me of the first time I attended his lecture as a first-year (history major) student at Universiti Malaya (UM) in He said, “History is facts, not what you think the past was.” He told us, “History is also the interpretation of the facts. You come to university to learn how to interpret the facts. If you are interested in memorising the facts only, you don’t enter university.”
The interpretation must be sound, with clarity of thought. In one of the exams, we were required to answer each ques
Eddin Khoo: Preserving the nation&#;s soul
IF Malaysia is a nation of converging ancestries and cultures, then Eddin Khoo Bu-Eng should be one of its poster boys. The former Sunday Star journalist, who set up cultural centre Pusaka nearly 10 years ago, is the eldest of three sons born of a Baba Chinese father and a mother of Sri Lankan Tamil descent.
A Hindu by faith, Eddin studied Islamic thought and philosophy, which eventually led him to wonder about the PAS banning of wayang kulit in Kelantan at the start of the s. That questioning led Khoo to work with expert and legendary traditional artists on the east coast. Through Pusaka, they work for the preservation and promotion of the ritualistic traditions of wayang kulit, Main Puteri, Mak Yong and others.
Eddin, who is also a poet, writer, translator and independent art curator, is widely published. Among others, Eddin has co-authored a book on traditional Malay wood carving, The Spirit of the Wood, as well as Sajak-Sajak, a Malay translation of poems by American poet Christopher Merrill. He collaborated with Ibrahim Hussein to complete the acclaimed Malaysian artist’s autobiography, titled Ib: A Life. Presently, E
I, KKK: The Autobiography of a Historian
(By Prof Khoo Kay Kim)
I simply love this book.
What not to love when the writing is about the places I grew up in, the people I had met and the things which are close to my heart.
It truly stirred a nostalgic emotion reading this book.
Ipoh, Gopeng, Kampar - those were the towns in which I spend my childhood. My eyes sparkled when he mentioned the shophouses along the main road Kampar. Immediately my brain started to register the rustic rows of the old buildings.
ACS, St Michael, Padang Seenivasagam - those were the places I frequented in the early phase of my life.
His own brother, Cikgu Khoo Kay Hock was one of the teacher in my school, Sekolah Menengah Idris Shah.
Intertwined with his own story were the history of Malaya or as he proudly chose to use the term as the Malay States, turning into prosperous Malaysia. History which were told through a spellbinding approach.
Indeed a true historian he was!
Fascinating cultures which is unknown to me were unfold in this very book. One of it is the Peranakan rites which involves worshipping Malay female ancestors. They only served halal
Khoo Kay Kim
Kala Publishers Sdn Bhd.
Softcover, cm x cm,
pages Illustrated
ISBN:
I, KKK: The Autobiography of a Historian is the authorised story of Khoo Kay Kim, a formative and controversial figure in the field of Malaysian history. Many may still recall the uproar over Khoo’s sensational claim, in , that there was no evidence that legendary Malaysian warrior Hang Tuah, or his friends, ever existed. Amidst the storm of controversy, he calmly responded to his critics by asking why people in this country preferred to play up mythical figures instead of people who really contributed a lot to the country. Many Malaysians can’t tell you who the first Malay to be absorbed into the civil service was. Neither do they remember who the first Malay doctor was too, for example. “Many of these real role models are forgotten. Western society remembers its historical figures and separates legend and history. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said here.” Whatever one thinks of him, Khoo is one historian who isn’t afraid of telling the truth, however politically incorrect or unpopular it may sound.
Born in Kampar in , Khoo’s seminal work has shaped the post-independence study o
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