Kam Raslan's right. In the preface for his new book, Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato' Hamid Adventures he writes that we've known Dato' Hamid all our lives. Seeing as my own dad is an old boy of MCKK, the people I get to meet when he drags me to an Old Boy function and the people he tells me of, reflect the characters found in Kam's book. It really does feel like I've known Dato' Hamid all my life. Dato' Hamid is a civil servant of the Tunku Abdul Rahman generation. He is the sort of person you rarely see nowadays, a fine example of the anachronistic Malay. This generation, groomed in the ways of the colonial British would be out of place not just in 21st century Malaysia, but in Britain too. And yet, Dato' Hamid, in all his snobbishness and patronising ways, is essentially a Malaysian. Without people like him, our country would probably never exist at all. At least not like we know it now. I'm glad that Kam Raslan decided to capture this ...
Science Fiction. Fantasy. Malapropisms.
Bagai pinang di belah dua.
ReplyDeleteNice to finally meet you.
Well Done for sticking it out and thank you for blogging the event...It saved me a lot of time knowing which stands were good and what was worth attending.
ReplyDeleteJames
Hi Ted,
ReplyDeleteSee ya at the KL indie book festival next month! :)
Emila: Thank you! It was good to meet you too. I'm sorry I did not chat more!
ReplyDeleteJames: Glad you found it useful!
John: Will do! Perhaps by then I might be able to give you my feedback on your book.
went to your booth few times, cannot find you there.
ReplyDeleteI think you came during the days I was ill?
ReplyDelete