This edited volume provides a comprehensive overview and discussion of the issues surrounding the Malaysian Indian community’s educational development. Malaysian Indian citizens who make up seven per cent of the population have their own set of strengths and weaknesses, while facing deep-seated socio-economic challenges. Education is seen as an enabler which could significantly facilitate social and economic upward mobility, as shown in policies and practices implemented under the New Economic Policy, many of which have unfortunately bypassed the Indian Community. This book explores and assesses the various aspects of the education endeavour of Malaysian Indians, including primary, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary education. Related challenges include urban poverty, school dropouts, dysfunctional families and other socio-economic issues. It reconsiders educational equity policies and practices in place while proposing new initiatives which could support and chart a way forward for the development of Malaysian Indians. Importantly, the publication addresses the roles of the government, private sector and civil society to help elevate the educational achievements of the Indian Community. The book will appeal to students and academics in the faculties of social science and comparative education, development economics and sociology, with a focus on access and equity in education. Proposals for change would be of interest to policy-makers and managers of educational and non-governmental organisations in plural societies.

Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, is a former colony of the British Empire which today prides itself in being a multicultural society par excellence. However, the Islamisation of the urban landscape, which is at the core of Malaysia’s decolonisation projects, has marginalised the Chinese urban spaces which were once at the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Engaging with complex colonial and postcolonial aspects of the city, from the British colonial era in the 1880s to the modernisation period in the 1990s, this book demonstrates how Kuala Lumpur’s urban landscape is overwritten by a racial agenda through the promotion of Malaysian Architecture, including the world-famous mega-projects of the Petronas Twin Towers and the new administrative capital of Putrajaya. Drawing on a wide range of Chinese community archives, interviews and resources, the book illustrates how Kuala Lumpur’s Chinese spaces have been subjugated. This includes original case studies showing how the Chinese re-appropriated the Kuala Lumpur old city centre of Chinatown and Chinese cemeteries as a way of contesting state’s hegemonic national identity and ideology. This book is arguably the first academic book to examine the relationship of Malaysia’s large Chinese minority with the politics of architecture and urbanism in Kuala Lumpur. It is also one of the few academic books to situate the Chinese diaspora spaces at the centre of the construction of city and nation. By including the spatial contestation of those from the margins and their resistance against the state ideology, this book proposes a recuperative urban and architectural history, seeking to revalidate the marginalised spaces of minority community and re-script them into the narrative of the postcolonial nation-state.

Containing the proceedings of the latest in a series of conferences on the emerging topic of eco-architecture, this book presents the newest research in the field. Eco-architecture requires that buildings be in harmony with nature, including their immediate environs. Locations, siting and orientation, as well as the materials used, should be chosen based on ecological appropriateness. Practitioners make every effort to minimize the use of energy at each stage of a building's life cycle, including that embodied in the extraction and/or fabrication as well as the transportation of the materials used and their assembly into the building. There is even consideration given to the ease and value of changing use of a building and component recycling when the building's life is over. Designers may also carefully control the energy required for building maintenance, not to mention lighting, heating and cooling, especially when the energy consumed is related to greenhouse gas emissions. Passive energy systems such as natural ventilation, summer shading and winter solar heat gain also play a role, as do alternative sources of energy for heat and electricity, e.g. solar and wind power.Papers presented cover topics such as: Ecological and cultural sensitivity; Design by passive systems ; Life cycle assessment; Quantifying sustainability in architecture; Resource and rehabilitation; Building technologies; Ecological impact of materials; Durability of materials; Adapted reuse ; Carbon neutral design ; Education and training; Case studies; New architecture frontiers; Art and kraft; Quality in architecture; Temporary architecture; Selection.

Asia has undergone rapid transformation over the past several decades as many countries have embraced new technologies and the processes of globalisation. Over this period the inflow of foreign capital into the region, the level of trade amongst these countries, and trade with other parts of the world has increased substantially. The ensuing economic growth has led to some significant changes in labour markets and the demand for skilled employees and their deployment within organisations. Focusing on a number of developed and developing Asian economies, this book explores the dynamics of workforce development and skill formation, and considers questions of both skills shortages and skills gaps. The book assesses the current state of training in the selected Asian economies, the weaknesses and strengths of their various training approaches, and what the present state of training means for the future economic development of these economies.

This revised and updated edition of the Chronicle of Malaysia brings the full dramatic sweep of Malaysia's history up to date, taking the reader through the nation's first 50 years from the formation of Malaysia in 1963 all the way to 2013. It is packed with illustrated news stories covering hundreds of the nation's key social, political, cultural and sporting events. As a compendium of all aspects of Malaysian life, the book captures the mood of the day with a sense of vividness and immediacy. Concise, accessible articles—revised and rewritten to engage today's readers—are introduced by headlines and liberally illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned cartoons. The book is structured chronologically, with an average of eight pages devoted to each year beginning with a succinct summary of the year's key events. A host of themes are covered: not just the major political and economic events but also the human side of the Malaysian experience—sports, fashion, music, the arts, architecture, lifestyle, disasters, crime and the social scene. These combine to give readers the feel of each era of Malaysia's past and enables them to draw parallels with the present.