![More than [show] business: Talk 13: Making Malaysia](https://post-museum.org/root/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/10690321_10152358966491476_6304950494438795766_n-720x640.jpg?6bfec1&6bfec1)
Post-PopUp at CCA
Block 38, Studio #01-07
Malan Road, Gillman Barracks
Singapore 109441
This session features 3 presentations related to the creation of present-day Malaysia: Dr Lai Chee Kien will speak on “Malaya” in Post-war Architecture; Dr Fiona Lee will speak on ‘Picturing Difference, Reading Differently: The Making of Lat as National Icon’; and Mohamed Imran Mohamed will speak on ‘Fundamental(ist) Shift in Malaysian Society’.
—
“Malaya” in Post-war Architecture
The road to nationhood and the creation of citizenship in Malaya in 1957 and the country’s enlargement as Malaysia, besides political and historical trajectories, were projected in various other “cultural forms” as affects of internal identity for its citizens, as well as outward demonstrations of overall progress to the world at large. At a time when the Cold War was still looming large in the region; art, architecture, literature, music and theatre etc. were representative forms that attempted to display concordance amongst its people.
In this presentation, I attempt to describe the architecture of Malaya, and then Malaysia, as well as the subject matter and protagonists for such works. Aspects of Merdeka, revival of folk heroes, and most importantly the imagined community that will inhabit the new nation, became canvases for contemplation and citizenship. I discuss why the mural form that adorned many buildings of that period became important in transmission of particular ideologies.
Lai Chee Kien researches on histories of art, architecture, settlements, urbanism and landscapes in Southeast Asia. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with an M Arch. by research [1996], and then a PhD in History of Architecture & Urban Design from the University of California, Berkeley [2005]. His publications include A Brief History of Malayan Art (1999), Building Merdeka: Independence Architecture in Kuala Lumpur, 1957-1966 (2007), Cords to Histories (2013), and provided place histories for Last Train from Tanjong Pagar (2014). He is also a registered architect in Singapore.
—
Picturing Difference, Reading Differently: The Making of Lat as National Icon
The cartoonist, Lat, is much loved for his portraits of everyday life and cultural diversity in Malaysia. He is best known for his graphic narrative, The Kampung Boy, a coming-of-age tale about a boy growing up in a rural village. Internationally renowned, this work now appears in 13 languages and its success has led to the government’s celebration of Lat as a national icon. However, Lat’s significance goes beyond his artistic achievements of putting Malaysia on the global map.
In this talk, I suggest that Lat’s work offers illuminating insights into understanding the state’s conflicting racial ideologies of multiculturalism and ethno-nationalism. Since the 1990s, the government has promoted multiculturalism, whether in the form of Mahathir Mohamad’s Bangsa Malaysia concept or Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia campaign, as part of its efforts to attract foreign capital. However, the government’s discourse of multiculturalism directly contradicts with the existing hegemonic ideology of ethno-nationalism, which espouses ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy. Through a comparison of the Malay and English versions of Lat’s The Kampung Boy, I demonstrate how these conflicting discourses are negotiated within the popular imagination and reflect on what the translation of his work teaches us about the management of racial difference in contemporary capitalism.
Fiona Lee is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. She earned her Ph.D in English and Certificate in Women’s Studies at the The Graduate Center, City University of New York in 2014. Her essays on Malay(si)an literature and cinema have been published in international peer-reviewed journals. Currently, she is writing a book on the role of translation in shaping the national racial imaginary of Malaysia through the study of literature and visual media. www.fionalee.org
—
Fundamental(ist) Shift in Malaysian Society
Malaysia has always been a multi-cultural society, although the concept of the ‘bumiputra’ forms the basis of Malaysian political identity. Over the years, this concept has assumed the idea of ‘Malay supremacy’ and an eventual hardening of Malay identity. After experiencing a revival of Islam in the late 70s, the cultural identity of the Malays again shifted as religion assumed greater role within the ambit of state-driven Islamization. This presentation will discuss factors accounting for the cultural shifts and its connection with intense political climate that eventually led to present state of affairs.
Mohamed Imran Mohamed is a founding member of Leftwrite Center, a dialogue initiative for young professionals to engage on issues of race, religion and society.
—
The project More than [show] business – Post-PopUp at CCA is a collaborative effort between Post-Museum and CCA, led by curators Anca Rujoiu and Vera Mey, with the additional support of the National Arts Council (NAC).
[Image: Federal House, KL, Lai Chee Kien]
