In 1979 Ooi Cheng Ghee spent a year exploring the streets of Little India, Penang with a particular way of seeing and his trusted Leica camera. It was not only a journey of discovery but a kind a conversation with the diverse community that inhabited the enclave. Juxtaposing people and streetscapes, his images capture the essence and dynamism of a singular place. With accompanying essays and commentaries on the photographs, this beautifully designed volume both documents and celebrates Little India with affection and humanity. Portraits of Penang: Little India is destined to become one of the classics of social documentary photography.

Portraits of Penang: Little India

Arts & Photography

Ooi Cheng Ghee

Photography & Video

Areca Books

<p>Known as the Plague Fighter and the man who beat the Black Death, Dr. Wu Lien-Teh (18791960) laid the foundations of the modern medical service in China. The son of a Taishan migrant from China, he was born in Penang and attended the Penang Free School. Winning a Queens scholarship, he became the first medical student of Chinese descent to be educated at Cambridge, where he graduated from Emmanuel College with string of prizes. Returning to Malaya, he undertook research into the debilitating beriberi disease and engaged in social reforms, founding the Anti-Opium Society. It was in northern China that he cemented his global fame, working to curtail the spread of Manchurian Plague which claimed over 60,000 lives in 1910-1911. He became the first president of the Chinese Medical Association and served as physician extraordinary to successive presidents of China. He established some twenty medical institutions in China including Harbin Medical College, Peking Central Hospital and the National Quarantine Service, Shanghai. He co-authored the acclaimed History of Chinese Medicine (1932) and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1935. He spent his later life in his native Malaya first in Ipoh, and then in Penang and his death made headlines around the world. First published in 1959, this edition of Wu Lien-Tehs autobiography, reprinted for the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang, will acquaint a new generation of readers with this great mans life and work.</p>

Plague Fighter: The Autobiography of a Modern Chinese Physician

Wu Lien-Teh

The kingdom of Majapahit, once centred in present-day Java, Indonesia, grew to become one of the country s most glorious empires. From the late thirteenth century until the early years of the sixteenth century, Majapahit slowly expanded its reach, incorporating parts of Sumatra, Malaysia and Bali into its realm, as well as many other regions along the Straits of Malacca. Its rich history includes tales of battles with and against the Mongols, of wise kings and queens, and of an inclusive spiritual tradition; its legacy includes Indonesia s greatest works of sculpture, a unique architectural style still to be found in Bali, and epic poems such as the Nagarakrtagama. Many historians have shown that the Majapahit kingdom and its great Prime Minister Gajah Mada first united the many islands of Indonesia together under one rule. By searching through the literature of the era, author and historian Earl Drake found that one historical figure played a key role from the beginning of the Majapahit kingdom until its glory days under King Hayam Wuruk: Gayatri Rajapatni. Born a princess in her father s kingdom of Singhasari, she married Majapahit s first king, gave birth to its first queen, and was grandmother to Hayam Wuruk, its most successful leader. She witnessed the rise of the kingdom, was beloved by its people, and was greatly praised by all after her death. In Gayatri Rajapatni: The Woman Behind the Glory of Majapahit, Drake imaginatively re-creates Gayatri s world, placing her at the centre of Majapahit s great history. Rich in historical detail and dramatic prose, Drake s story sheds light on one of Indonesia s forgotten leaders, and one of its most powerful kingdoms.

Gayatri Rajapatni: The Woman Behind the Glory of Majapahit

Earl Drake

Penang and Its Networks of Knowledge

Khoo Salma Nasution

Anoma Pieris

Jean DeBernardi

Annabel Teh Gallop

Barbara Watson Andaya

Anthony Reid

Christina Skott

Geoff Wade

Su Lin Lewis

Judith Nagata

Peter Zabielskis

Who was the founder of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia? Textbook history credits the Bugis chief of Klang, Raja Abdullah, while the Chinese regard the third Kapitan China, Yap Ah Loy, as the legendary founder. But closer examination reveals that the founding myths of Kuala Lumpur have omitted the earliest chapter of the city s history. Pangkalan Lumpur was a Mandailing trading post at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, controlling the land and river routes of the upper Klang valley. Due to the visionary leadership of Sutan Puasa, it developed into a multicultural town, attracting Sumatran and Hakka Chinese miners and traders. Sutan Puasa was a mining entrepreneur, tin trader and agricultural pioneer. The Mandailing noble was among the adventurers and refugees who emigrated to Malaya in the aftermath of the Padri War (1803 1845) in central Sumatra. The post-Padri Mandailing and Rawa diaspora became embroiled in a succession of civil wars in Sungai Ujong, Pahang, Klang, and Perak in the Peninsula. During Sultan Abdul Samad s reign, Raja Mahdi s bid for Klang s chieftainship led to the Klang War (1866 1873), the longest civil strife in nineteenth-century Malaya. When Tunku Kudin mortgaged Selangor s tin wealth to win the war against Raja Mahdi, Sutan Puasa fought alongside the Mandailing overlord, Raja Asal, as well as Syed Mashhor, Raja Mahmud, Raja Laut, and the Selangor patriots to defend the state s sovereignty. Klang, Ampang, Petaling, Ulu Klang, Kanching, Rawang, and Kuala Kubu became battlegrounds, but the war was ultimately decided by the Battle of Kuala Lumpur . War destruction, disorder and debt paved the way for British colonial intervention into Selangor in 1874. Kuala Lumpur s strategic location as the trading hub of a rich tin mining interior destined it to become the capital first, of Selangor, then of the Federated Malay States, and finally, of Malaysia itself.

Sutan Puasa, Founder of Kuala Lumpur

Abdur-Razzaq Lubis

Living Art: The Inspired Lives of 14 Malaysian Artists & Their Art Practice

Emelia Ong

2006 (First edition 2003). Published by Areca Books, Penang, Malaysia. 26 x 29 cm, 304 pages, over 700 b/w and colour postcards. Penang, Malaysia - once a part of the Straits Settlements and British Malaya.   Penang's boom as a seaport on the Far Eastern steamship route, coincided with the rise of the picture postcard at the turn of the 20th century. From this bustling port teeming with travellers and migrants, thousands of postcards of Penang were sent off into the world.  These picture postcards give vivid impressions of Penang's centre of commerce and administration, its streets and suburbs, its hill resort and its beaches.  With over 700 postcards compiled by Malcolm Wade, this is the largest collection of prewar Penang postcards ever published. The local historical context is researched by Khoo Salma Nasution, author of the best-selling book, 'Streets of George Town, Penang'. This collection serves as a testimony to Penang's rich heritage, as well as a visual resource for researchers, artists, collectors and all those who love Penang.

Penang Postcard Collection: 1899-1930s

History

Malcolm Wade

Asia

The book is an inspirational introduction to one of Southeast Asia's most culturally diverse destinations. Superbly photographed, the book focuses in particular on the Malaysian island's wealth of heritage buildings and the fascinating human stories behind their existence.

Penang: Through Gilded Doors

Travel

Julie de Bierre

James Bain Smith

Growing up in a house full of amahs, Christine Wu Ramsay describes her childhood in the Straits Settlement of Penang, beginning with how her great-grandfather became a mining magnate and Vice Consul of China. Using over a hundred photographs from her family album, she portrays a way of life and philosophy where the practice of polygamy and the ownership of bondmaids were accepted facets of life.

Days Gone By: Growing Up in Penang

Christine Wu Ramsay

<p>Streets of George Town is a serious guide to things visible and invisible. The traditional neighbourhoods and urban villages which make up the cosmopolitan city are carefully explored. In the wealth of surviving built heritage are the stories of those who have contributed to the prosperity of the trading settlement, from Penangs founding settlers and early builders to latter-day personalities. In these streets is the living history of a uniquely complex multi-cultural society. Richly illustrated with over 280 photos, this guide is meant for every visitor who has ever enjoyed George Towns charming streetscapes, and every Penangite who wishes to rediscover his or her own home town.</p>

Streets of George Town, An Illustrated Guide to Penangs City Streets and Historic Attractions

Khoo Su Nin

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