#Malaysian History

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 11: 19th Century II and Earlier

These Questions are the result of suggestions from the previous iteration.

This category may include suggestions made too late to fall into the correct grouping.

Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration.

*There is a lot of discourse around gender and sexuality with these two historical figures and it can get pretty ugly. I know most of us have opinions, but absent a time machine we can't know for sure, so please be gentle with each other.

[chimaeraonwards]

Batang Kali Massacre in Colonial Malaya

Today Al Jazeera published an article about the Batang Kali massacre in colonial Malaya (now known as Malaysia) where 24 innocent people were killed by British forces.

I won't go into the details of the atrocities committed by the British in Batang Kali here (i suggest you go read the actual article on Al Jazeera). But I do want to share the following excerpt:

The British forces falsely accused these innocent people of being communists to justify murdering them. To this day, the families of the deceased have not received any justice.

The article goes on to describe how halfway around the world in Ireland, the same injustices occurred:

It talks about the similar incident, the Ballymurphy massacre in Belfast, and how in 2021 they were able to get legal justice.

In my opinion, I think these incidents is an eerie parallel to what the Israeli forces is currently doing to the people of Palestine - killing them and then justifying it by saying they were Hamas or hiding Hamas. Or committing crimes and then labeling the victims as Hamas to justify it.

None of this happens in a vacuum. It is all interconnected.

I don't think people understand the long lasting multi-generational impact this kind of horrific acts have on victims and their families. This is an excerpt from the Batang Kali article that describes that:

Colonization impacts people for generations. On a personal level, my grandparents and others in their generation were all impacted by the British colonization and Japanese occupation of Malaya.

Our grandparents were once young people living in occupation. They were young girls hiding from the military to avoid becoming comfort women. They were young boys who were made to do forced labour by the occupiers. Young people who fought and rallied for our freedoms today. They survived for our freedom.

History is already repeating itself in Palestine. Justice for Palestinians does not stop at a ceasefire - just as it did not stop at the end of World War II or after Malaysian and Irish independence. But we have to start somewhere.

And to any Palestinian reading this, in some weird way, I hope that this may bring you hope. These atrocities happened over and over again throughout history and yet, here we are - our people survived. I am here and you are here. Isn't that beautiful? I hope you know that you are not alone in this fight. Its not pretty and its not immediate, but justice will prevail and Palestine will be free in our lifetime.

Ceasefire now.

You can read about the Al Jazeera article about the Batang Kali massacre here:

[valkyries-things]

MICHELLE YEOH // ACTRESS

“She is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early films in Hong Kong, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in Hong Kong action films where she performed her own stunts. After moving to the United States, Yeoh gained international recognition for starring in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first Asian to win the category, and the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award for Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2022.”

[lilianeruyters]

Tan Twang Eng || The House of Doors

Booker Prize Longlist 2023 I was quite reluctant to read The House of Doors, I did not know whether a novel about a famous writer would interest me. I am glad I gave the novel a chance. It turned out to be as much about people around the famous writer as about him, it also gave voice to something that was never spoken about in his time and age. Main character in The House of Doors is not…

[thozhar]

In the estate, Thangamaal, despite not knowing how to read or write, raised her son, Neelavanan, with stories from the Mahabaratham, Ramayanam, as well as Tamil Bhakti songs. In spite of her devotion towards Hinduism, she was a woman who liked eating beef, a meat often seen as ‘impure’ by caste-Hindus.

“Once, my mother bought beef from the town, and when the neighbours asked her what she was cooking, she said mutton. When I asked my akka (sister) why amma (mother) said that, she told me that people [Hindus] who pray can’t eat beef,” recalled Neelavanan.

As Neelavanan grew up, he understood that Hindu religiosity surrounding beef was a weapon against Dalits who consume it. “People around me eat mutton, chicken, water monitors, pork—they eat everything,” he said. “But when it comes to beef, they say that it is god. They brand [Hindus] who eat beef as coming from a certain caste. We are buying [beef] with our own money; we did not steal or beg for it. Yes, I eat beef, so what?”

Ove time, however, the culture of eating beef has deliberately declined among Dalits in Malaysia as a way to escape casteism and adapt to caste-Hindu practices. This shift can be seen in Neelavanan’s own family, where his siblings and relatives refuse to eat beef and even scrutinise him for his beef-eating habits.

[heepthecheep]

Who was going to tell me that the rest of the world has pretty squirrels.

This is the Malaysian black giant squirrel. He looks almost prehistoric, I think he's awesome

The is the Indian giant squirrel. I'm in love, look at that fur color????

Malabar Giant squirrel. He's so technicolor I love it.

[androgynealienfemme]

From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Jan 24. 1959

[grafikita]

Nirnama oleh AsyrafAzulia

[thenarrativeofjohnsmith]

Studies in Malaysian Chinese Worlds - Sharon A. Carstens

white woman authored book but my mum got it for me so i shall read lol

[madeinchinataiwanhk-blbambeyond]

MAN CRUSH FANDOM • MADE IN TAIWAN

•CHANG SHUO HANG

[Nickname/aka: SEAN CHANG also LEO ZHANG]

•LINUS WANG

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question : Murder and Disappearances Redux

I periodically get new Death and disappearance Items. (Also ones I can't remember if we did in the 2023 poll). Since we have enough to make a poll, I'm reviving it here.

A lot of the big famous ones like Jack the Ripper, we covered in 2023. If your fave doesn't go this time, odds are it was one I remembered we already did.

As long as there is a reasonable mystery such as cause of death, reasons for murder, where they went, etc., it counts.

I will not do ones that are 21st century, because it makes me feel creepy and ghoulish. I will not do ones that are credibly definitively solved.

I refuse to do JFK. I have my reasons.

[whereishermes]

Asklepios, Caduceus, and the Symbol of Serpent

[bl-bam-beyond]

BAM- BEAUTIFUL ASIAN MEN:

LINUS WANG

[sins-of-the-sea]

You like cats, right, Giovanni? Have you ever heard of the nekomata? They're two-tailed cat spirits from Japan!

"I have! One of the older thralls the Master had when I rejoined him in Sugbu was a Japanese pirate named Akitake! I think he was a disgraced lord from Edo who joined Datu Dalugdog and many other pirates of the South China Seas by the time. Either way! He told me about the nekomata and other creatures in Japan like the tanuki and the Orochi beast! Supposedly when a cat has lived a long enough life, its tail will split in two! I think they also become especially wise or powerful!

"Ohhh, I'd love to befriend a nekomata! I will give it all the love and hugs and cuddles and pets and treats it will ever ask for!!"

[thozhar]

Gogu: Even after independence, the Tamils continued to be managed similarly to the colonial times. European estate managers remained involved in Malaysian plantations, and the political direction and policies of Malaysia did not undergo significant shifts from the colonial period to benefit the Indians.  As indentured labourers, the Tamils were seen as mere tools for profit and deliberately dehumanised. The oppression they faced was evident in every aspect of plantation life. From the regimental morning roll-call to the hierarchical divisions based on caste, from the promotion of toddy consumption to destroy their consciousness to the extremely small and substandard housing, and from being kept separate from the development of the new nation to limited access to education, everything was cunningly designed to strip away their self-respect and dignity, keeping them as ignorant slaves. Sadly, many Tamils were unaware of the extent of their oppression, as they were kept comfortable enough not to revolt.  It is indeed heartbreaking to see the lasting impact of the oppressive system on Tamil communities even today. Despite advancements in wealth, the chains of oppression have not been fully broken. The slave mentality still persists, hindering our ability to realise our true potential and independence. In the realm of arts, we continue to be enslaved to the influences of South Indian cinema and Hollywood, preventing us from exploring the true meaning of our existence in this land. I think when the Malaysian Tamils watch themselves represented truthfully in cinema, one step towards finding our identity would be taken. We must reclaim our narrative; that is our liberation!

— ‘Plantation Life: As It Was’ Documents And Reclaims The History Of Tamil Indentureship

[chloemokthequeen]

It's available on Kindle now! #HwaALateBloomer