A World At War

Recently I bought The World At War on eBay.

This 11 DVD series commemerates the documentary’s 30th anniversary. I remember watching the documentary as a teenager and found it captivating. So I just had to get it.

I’ll admit to an ulterior motive. I wanted to share it with my kids. I hoped they would enjoy it, although they are much younger than when I set my eyes on the moving, yet thrilling black and white images.

The result?

My 12-year-old daughter finds it quite boring. The subject just doesn’t capture her interest. War is not for girls interested in ballet, musicals and art.

My son though, although only 8, is thrilled by the battle scenes. The fact that this isn’t a movie, that the footage is real, showing real fighting, and real dead people makes it worth watching. He goes off and plays with his soldiers after watching each episode!

I do have to fast forward through the interviews and the more boring sections and I do have to explain what’s happening to my kids. I’ve also skipped several of the less interesting episodes.

Thus far we’ve covered the fall of France, the battle of Britain, the rise of Japan (including the invasion of Malaya), the D Day landings, the fall of Germany, the Pacific war and we’re are about to watch the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I hope my kids are taking some of it in. No doubt they’ll learn about it in school.

How do I bribe my daughter into watching the World at War?

By promising to next put on an episode of the Simpsons!

VI’s Victory

Following on from my post about historic Melaka, I was delighted to discover that Victoria Institution in KL has been granted a National Heritage status by the Malaysian government.

This is indeed good news, for every time I step into Pavillion shopping centre, I cannot help but feel regret for the loss of Bukit Bintang Girls’ School.

Old buildings give us a sense of time and place and their demolition is a loss to the entire community.

If they haven’t already been granted such a status, St John’s primary and secondary schools in Bukit Nenas should be given the same National Heritage status. This is not because I went to school there, but as I drove up the hill only a few weeks back, I felt a sense of peace and serenity as I left the congested KL streets and entered another world. For a moment, I was that little boy standing awkwardly by the front gate waiting to be picked up from school. The buildings of St Johns, and we must also add Convent Bukit Nenas, are part of KL’s prized possessions.

But being on the National Heritage register is not enough though. Witness what has happened to Bok House in Jalan Ampang.

Such beauty, such sense of history, demolished into dust and rubble. Many of us older folk had dined at its restaurant, Le Coq D’or, with its the vintage waiters dressed in white, just to admire the old building and be transported back in time.

A treasure lost

When Bok house was destroyed, I felt as though a friend had died. If you’ve never dined at Le Coq D’or – then you never will. I wish you had been there just once. The food, the service, it was all rather mediocre, but I feel privileged to have dined within its ghostly walls.

We must be ever vigilant and not let the past be swept away.

What old buildings are special to you?

A New Melaka?

I hadn’t been to Melaka for a few years. So when I ventured back to that historic city a few weeks ago I was surprised to discover how much it had changed. It was indeed a New Melaka!

Tourism had landed. From the huge model of the Flor de la Mer to the spectacular ferris wheel that was once the Eye on Malaysia, Melaka has certainly transformed itself. There were crowds of visitors, lots of becas and hawkers.

The river bank was transformed so that anyone could enjoy a walk along the water without getting their shoes muddied. Boats plied up and down the waterway, their passengers snapping photos. There were art galleries and lots of museums (although strict speaking not all of them could be called a “museum”).

I could hardly find the spot where I’d spent the night in a car by the river all those years ago. Well, actually it was only 5 or 6 years past!

View from the top of a ride

It wasn’t all rosy (or bungaraya-like) though. The traffic was bad and crossing the road was dangerous. Sure it is the inevitability of a modern city, but it was intrusive. This did not feel like a 600 year old city. The Stadhuys was surrounded by a horde of cars. That was a pity.

Melaka can capitalise on its listing as a world heritage city by further promoting its history. Its centuries-old buildings can be better enjoyed if its environs were more peaceful. If there was more time and serenity to contemplate history.

A new river bank

I’ve not done a study of Melaka’s traffic flow (and probably never will), and I’ve no idea of how it would affect the day to day commute, but a pedestrian mall running down Jalan Laksamana, around Jalan Kota and including Jalan Gereja would be wonderful for tourism.

The Malays, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and the Malaysians have made Melaka their own. Now that the tourists have arrived, perhaps we should give them an even better experience and perhaps the city will further thrive and become a real international destination. That would be a New Melaka!

P.S My heart goes out to all those who lost homes and family in the Australian bush fires. With probably more than 200+ lives lost and 750 houses burnt, this has been the worst bush fire in the country’s history. Small towns have been wiped out.

Post Mortem: Creative Writing Course 18/1/09

This was my 2nd creative writing course I’ve given. The last one was 12 months ago, also at MPH.

I did have you guys working hard I know. Just have a look at the photo! As always, what you put into a course is what you get out of it. And you guys did put a lot in. I know because you produced lots of good writing and improved as you went along. So I was very glad. Thanks for reading them to the class and also reading out excerpts from “Juriah’s Song”.

Working hard lah!

I also know, from the many questions asked, that you folk were taking it all in. I’m happy that you went away knowing that you’d done lots of writing. You can expand on it and perhaps create your own short story.

Do remember:
1. Writing is Rewriting
2. Use the tools: description, setting, dialogue, character, plot etc.
3. Put your writing away, then return to it with fresh eyes
4. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar etc – only at the end
5. In a writing competition, if you put the hard work in, you’re won!
6. You get better, the more you write.

I enjoyed giving the course and I hope you guys did too. I wish we could have spent more time together!

Class Photo

I’m very excited this week as my encyclopedia has been printed. MPH distributors should be sending it out to the shops within a couple of weeks I hope. Do take a look and let me know what you think of it.

CNY Traffic

What a joy indeed. Driving around KL during Chinese New Year is like exploring a new city. The streets, the buildings, even the sky seems so different. It would normally take me at least half an hour to drive from Ampang to PWTC. It took less than 15 minutes. What a joy not to be confronted by bottlenecks. How I grinned as I the car sped along the empty roads, no stress, no grind, no frustration.

It was like KL 25 years ago. When I first got my licence at 17, the route I memorised was down Jalan Kuching, up onto Jln Sultan Ismail (the flyover over the Klang river had only recently been built), then down to Sungei Wang Plaza. Sungei Wang was the latest shopping complex and its array of shops was dazzling. There was even an ice skating rink there. The trip would take about 15 minutes!

As a teenager with a car, KL unfolded itself to me. I would hit the nightspots. These included Faces in Jalan Ampang, 10 Kia Peng in Jalan Kia Peng, California in Bukit Bintang and Riverbank in Central Market. The ride was smooth. There was plenty of parking and no traffic jams. It was a commuter’s dream.

I wish everyone a wonderful Kong Hee Fatt Choy and Happy Holidays … and a smooth ride on KL’s streets. As we left KL, on the new Maju highway, I could see that KL traffic was almost back to normal. I suppose we’ll just have to wait ‘til next year!

P.S Great News … the competition for a FREE copy of my children’s encyclopedia has been extended to 10 May 2009. Visit http://www.historyofmalaysia.net and slot in your entry!