The publication of The Albatross File: Inside Separation is very welcome for those with an interest in the Singapore story—though less for the hitherto secret documents it reproduces and more for the hitherto secret oral histories.
Chan Eng Thai the man may steel himself against disappointment by adopting the pose of a fatalist, but Chan the poet wields his words with a vigour that stubbornly defies the fading of the light.
A poem by Ryan J.M. Tan
A short story by Ruhaini Matdarin, translated from Malay by Pauline Fan.
The documentary Araro Ariraro traces the history of Tamil plantation labour in Malaysia through folk songs.
A short story by Ratu Yousei.
By writing poetry from death row, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman sets out to prove that he’s more than just a condemned prisoner.
The exploration of a character’s sexuality in Tash Aw’s latest novel has triggered backlash among conservatives in Malaysia, but pushing back in today’s fraught times is itself a complex undertaking.
An encounter in Penang with a man named Kelvin D Loovi, who tells a story about his blue guitar.
An exhibition in Pattani brings art collectives from three countries together to create dialogue on communal work and solidarity, encouraging people to look beyond stereotypes of Thailand’s deep south.
Far from dismal or desolate, Lingga mornings reveal the everyday intimacies borne through connections near and far.
Banning books might bring the Malaysian government short-term political gain, but this restriction of access to different perspectives could have serious long-term repercussions.
Dina Zaman brings a lot from her past to Malayland, but she’s also firm in looking forward and seeking the humanness in Malaysia’s obsession for categories and othering.
Poetry from Brandon K. Liew and Daryl Lim Wei Jie 林伟杰
Hai Fan’s Delicious Hunger doesn’t focus on major historical milestones, but it doesn’t mean that the experiences described in this collection of short stories are inconsequential—quite the opposite.
The rich traditions of Adat Perpatih in Negeri Sembilan demonstrate how deeply rooted customs can evolve while maintaining their core values.
Two Malaysian daughters reflect on the myths of their upbringing, and how these have facilitated and obstructed their sense of home.
When rising sea levels threaten to submerge the gravesite of his father, a young man is forced to return to his hometown and confront the dilemma between honouring his father’s dying wishes or to give in to nature.
In Vanessa Chan’s The Storm We Made, a family is undone by a secret betrayal during the British and then Japanese colonisation of Malaya.
Over a quarter of a century, Malaysiakini grew from a scrappy start-up to a Malaysian media institution. In some ways, to know the history of this news portal is to know the history of modern Malaysia.
The Second Link curates writing that moves beyond the “exhausted metaphors and dusty tropes” of the longstanding rivalry between Malaysia and Singapore.
Both Oasis of Now and Tomorrow Is a Long Time are meditations on love, time and space.
In his memoirs, Burgess recalled Graham Greene telling him (not unkindly) that Time for a Tiger was an amusing but essentially frivolous book. Greene’s evaluation hasn’t stood the test of time.
I’ve often come to forks while travelling. Do I stop where I had planned to arrive, or do I keep going? Maybe if I go on a bit further, I might find something I have never quite seen, in quite the same way, before.
Poetry from Kulleh Grasi
The publication of The Age of Goodbyes—the English translation of the award-winning novel by Li Zi Shu—was a celebrated event, eagerly awaited by connoisseurs and enthusiasts of Malaysian Chinese literature.
In Melody Kemp’s debut novel, Tree Crime, a young Lao teenager turns detective as a deadly virus circulates in her village. Marco Ferrarese reviews a story about the costs of ‘progress’ at the expense of natural ecosystems.
A short story by Akiya, translated by Adriana Nordin Manan.
Mak Yong encompasses elements of dance, drama, storytelling, music and ritual, and is a women-centred folk tradition nurtured by community bonds.
In The Accidental Malay by Karina Robles Bahrin, protagonist Jasmine Leong—heiress of a Chinese family business dealing in pork products—discovers that she’s actually Malay Muslim. What ensues highlights the fraught nature of race, religion and politics in Malaysia.
In a family that struggles to express affection physically or verbally, food has become a means of demonstrating connection, care, and a deep love.
A short story by Azrin Fauzi, translated from Malay to English by Pauline Fan.
Undocumented and displaced communities in Malaysia
A short story by Ruhaini Matdarin
From Penang to Paris
Family histories explore generational dislocation
A poem from Hon-Wai Wong
Four poems by Dipika Mukherjee
The pandemic has widened the gap between Malaysia and Singapore
Malaysia’s unrecognised migrant workers