This book contains a selection of non-academic materials on a wide range of topics related to Malaysian culture. Several of them deal with traditional Malay theatre genres, particularly mak yong, recognised by UNESCO as an item of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005, the shadow play and bangsawan. Others record the contributions of prominent personalities as practitioners, preservers, teachers and transmitters of oral traditions. The author touches upon issues related to the precarious situation in the arts in a rapidly changing Malay society which has in general neglected traditional performing arts forms under pressures exerted by modenisation and the simultaneous wave of Islamicisation. His own involvement in teaching, research, documentation as well as preservation of many of these arts provides unique personal insights into some of the problems and pertinent issues. Other essays of a more general nature, touch upon the continuing and at times controversial relationships between Malay cultural manifestations and those in neighbouring countries, contributions of the minority Indian-Muslim community in Malaysia, and upon the role of the administration in the preservation of heritage. The brief accounts contained in this volume are presented in a direct and readable manner for the non-expert enthusiast of culture and the arts from the perspective of someone deeply and passionately involved.

The Malay World (Alam Melayu), spanning the Malay Peninsula, much of Sumatra, and parts of Borneo, has long contained within it a variety of populations. Most of the Malays have been organized into the different kingdoms (kerajaan Melayu) from which they have derived their identity. But the territories of those kingdoms have also included tribal peoples - both Malay and non-Malay - who have held themselves apart from those kingdoms in varying degrees. In the last three decades, research on these tribal societies has aroused increasing interest.This book explores the ways in which the character of these societies relates to the Malay kingdoms that have held power in the region for many centuries past, as well as to the modern nation-states of the region. It brings together researchers committed to comparative analysis of the tribal groups living on either side of the Malacca Straits - in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. New theoretical and descriptive approaches are presented for the study of the social and cultural continuities and discontinuities manifested by tribal life in the region.

Mak yong, the ancient Malay dance theatre form, is associated principally with the southern Thai Patani province and the Malaysian state of Kelantan on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. It is also active in Terengganu and in the Riau islands of Indonesia where it is staged in a significantly variant form. Mak yong comprises the elements of story, formal and informal spoken text, stylized dance and acting, vocal and instrumental music, as well as ritual. It is performed both for entertainment as well as for healing specific types of emotional and psychological ailments. Mak yong is undoubtedly the most important of all traditional Malay theatre forms in terms of its content as well as performance style. Following an effort to revive this near- extinct art from 1969 onwards, it went through considerable changes as it shifted away from its rural base to urban centres, particularly Kuala Lumpur. The changes essentially attempted to “cleanse” Mak yong of some of the objectionable folk elements with a view to transform it into a sophisticated one intended for modern audiences, including tourists. Mak yong, was designated by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Mankind in 2005. The listing was based on the Candidature File prepared by the present author, Ghulam–Sarwar Yousof, a leading specialist in traditional Southeast Asian theatre. He was the first person in the world to work on a doctorate on traditional Malay theatre with a dissertation on Mak yong submitted to the University of Hawaii in 1976. The present volume comprise a selection of his essays on various aspects of Mak yong presented at local and international seminars as well as published in several journals. The papers provide original and vital insghts into the history, aesthetics and functions of Mak yong as well as controversies surrounding it. The papers also touch upon issues connected with the survival of mak yong and the need for efforts to preserve what the author regards as the most unique of traditional Malay performing arts.

Today, comic art is the favorite reading fare for millions of Asians, and is a government-sanctioned, value-added product, as in the case of Korean and Japanese animation. Yet not much is known about Asian cartooning. Themes and Issues in Asian Cartooning uses overviews and case studies by scholars to discuss Asian animation, humor magazines, gag cartoons, comic strips, and comic books. The first half of the book looks at contents and audiences of Malay humor magazines, cultural labor in Korean animation, the reception of Aladdin in Islamic Southeast Asia, and a Singaporean comic book as a reflection of that society’s personality. Four other chapters treat gender and Asian comics, concentrating on Japanese anime and manga and Indian comic books.

This book, dedicated by its author to all who understand or do not understand the Malays as well as to those who wish to know them better, provides a rare and insightful entry into those elements that best define and represent the Malaysian Malay community. Fully aware of the fact that the Malays, as a relatively small race in global terms, has been influenced in terms of their traditional beliefs as well as cultural practices by elements from India, Indonesia as well as the World of Islam, the author yet manages to successfully indicate what makes the Malays unique when it comes to their identity. In essence, he catches the spirit or soul of the Malays. The features selected for this purpose have been defined or described in a relatively uncomplicated manner and in simple terms so that the work is accessible to non-expert readers both at home and abroad. It makes an interesting and almost casual entry into what may be defined as Malay. The photographs and illustrations provided add value to the work, which in many ways is a unique piece of writing.

Annotation Elizabeth A. Kaye specializes in communications as part of her coaching and consulting practice. She has edited Requirements for Certification since the 2000-01 edition.

The extensively revised second edition of Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies provides a new framework for analyzing the complexity of cultural tourism and its increasing globalization in existing as well as emergent destinations of the world. The book will focus in particular on the need for even more creative tourism strategies to differentiate destinations from each other using a blend of localized cultural products and innovative global attractions. The book explores many of the most pertinent issues in heritage, arts, festivals, indigenous, ethnic and experiential cultural tourism in urban and rural environments alike. This includes policy and politics; impact management and sustainable development; interpretation and representation; marketing and branding; and regeneration and planning. As well as exploring the inter-relationships between the cultural and tourism sectors, local people and tourists, the book provides suggestions for more effective and mutually beneficial collaboration. New edition features include: an increased number of topical case studies and contemporary photographs which serve to contextualize the issues discussed a re-orientation towards global rather than just European issues three brand new chapters on The Geography of Cultural Tourism, The Politics of Global Cultural Tourism, and The Growth of Creative Tourism an extensively revised chapter on Experiential Tourism. At the interface between the global and the local, a people-centred approach to planning and development is advocated to ensure that benefits are maximized for local areas, a sense of place and identity are retained, and the tourist experience is enhanced to the full. The text is unique in that it provides a summary and a synthesis of all of the major issues in global cultural tourism, which are presented in an accessible way using a diverse range of international case studies. This is a beneficial and valuable resource for all tourism students.

This book presents selected academic papers addressing five key research areas – archaeology, history, language, culture and arts – related to the Malay Civilisation. It outlines new findings, interpretations, policies, methodologies and theories that were presented at the International Seminar on Archaeology, History, and Language in the Malay Civilisation (ASBAM5) in 2016. Further, it provides new perspectives and serves as a vital point of reference for all researchers, students, policymakers and legislators who have an interest in the Malay Civilisation.

Histories, Cultures, Identities deals with two central questions relating to the Chinese community in Malaysia. First, how has being Chinese shaped the responses of this community to political, economic, and social developments in the country? And second, how have their experiences in Malaysia affected the way in which immigrants from China and their descendants identify themselves as Chinese?

Hock Tong Cheu received his Masters and Ph.D degrees from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and had lectured in Anthropology and Sociology in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia from 1976 till mid-1995. From mid-1995 till 2000, he taught in the Malay Studies Department and the Southeast Asian Studies Center, National University of Singapore. He was a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore in 1984 and a Fulbright Visiting Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from August 1987 to October 1988. He has made several in-depth studies of the Nine Emperor Gods Spirit-Medium Cults as well as the Chinese Locality Saints, the Nadugong, and the Malay Keramat in Southeast Asia. Dr Cheu, who is effectively trilingual in English, Chinese and Malay, wrote prolifically, and had contributed numerous articles in all three languages to professional and academic journals, magazines and newspapers. He had also presented numerous academic papers for discussion in local and international conferences.