When Alexandra Wong left her corporate job to pursue her dream of being a writer, she didn't expect to open a treasure chest of experiences. Culture shock and curtains of mosquitoes give way to familial warmth at an Iban longhouse. A French former nuclear scientist who embraced Malaysia as his second home makes a weekend in Gua Musang even more memorable. Pointers on how to be a serious and caring teacher emerge from one of her school's naughtiest girls. And stirring displays of chivalry help Alexandra see titled and supposedly aloof public figures in a different light. From the generosity of food vendors and selflessness of bus and taxi drivers to innumerable life lessons learnt from friends both old and new, she knew from the very start she was chasing something far more precious than her dream. A compilation of her popular Navel Gazer columns in The Star and other stories, Made in Malaysia is about one woman's journey of discovery across a historically and culturally rich and diverse land.

China's recent economic growth has fed a rapid increase in the study of modern Chinese language and literature globally. In this shifting global context, authors who work on the edges of the literary empire raise important questions about the homogeneity of language, identity and culture that is produced by the modern Chinese literary canon. This book examines a key segment of this literature and asks, "What does it mean to be of Chinese descent and Chinese-speaking outside of China?" While there have been several excellent works that deal with individual Chinese authors from Malaysia, there is to date no broadly framed and comprehensive study of the body of Chinese diasporic literature emerging from this multiethnic, polylinguistic country. This neglect is surprising given the vibrant development of Chinese Malaysian literature.This book fills the gap by looking specifically at how diasporic Chinese subjects make sense of their Chinese and Malaysian identities in postcolonial Malaysia. This book will be of value to scholars and students of Chinese-language literature and culture.It will also appeal to scholars and students in the fields of Chinese and Southeast Asia studies as well as those interested in postcolonial, diaspora, migration, Asian American studies, and world literature.

The BBC MasterChef Champion shares the rich flavors of her homeland in this cookbook featuring more than one hundred delicious and accessible Malaysian recipes. When it comes to Southeast Asian fare, Malaysian cuisine is a hidden treasure. Now Ping Coombes, the 2014 winner of BBC One’s MasterChef, brings Malaysian cuisine into the spotlight, from her family table to yours. Drawing inspiration from her mother and from the late-night stalls and street markets in her hometown of Ipoh, Ping has assembled recipes that serve as the perfect introduction to the tastes, textures and colors of Malaysian fare. Find new household favorites like Malaysian shrimp fritters, chicken and sweetcorn soup, spicy shrimp and vermicelli salad, nyonya fried rice, chili pan mee, caramel pork belly, Malaysian chicken curry and potatoes, quick wonton soup, crispy squid, Malaysian fish and chips, pork macaroni, coconut-filled pancakes, banana spring rolls, iced lemon grass tea, chilli dark and stormy, and many more!

In the wake of Malaysia’s 13th General Election some commentators speak of a sharpening of ethnic politics — with Prime Minister Najib blaming a “Chinese tsunami” for his government’s polling setbacks; others are optimistic about the arrival of a new “non-racialized form of politics” and the emergence of “transethnic solidarity”. This book, which engages with both the race paradigm and its opponents, warns that change is likely to come slowly — but is not impossible. Malaysia’s race paradigm is a man-made ideological construct — one that has been contested in the past, and could realistically be contested in the future. In confronting the continuing challenge of globalization, Malaysians should not neglect the history of ideas — and ideology — as they search for new options.

The Malay-language term for the indigenous minority peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, “Orang Asli”, covers at least 19 culturally and linguistically distinct subgroups. This volume is a comprehensive survey of current understandings of Malaysia’s Orang Asli communities (including contributions from scholars within the Orang Asli community), looking at language, archaeology, history, religion and issues of education, health and social change, as well as questions of land rights and control of resources. Until about 1960 most Orang Asli lived in small camps and villages in the coastal and interior forests, or in isolated rural areas, and made their living by various combinations of hunting, gathering, fishing, agriculture, and trading forest products. By the end of the century, logging, economic development projects such as oil palm plantations, and resettlement programmes have displaced many Orang Asli communities and disrupted long-established social and cultural practices. The chapters in the present volume show Orang Asli responses to the challenges posed by a rapidly changing world. The authors also highlight the importance of Orang Asli studies for the anthropological understanding of small-scale indigenous societies in general.

Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.