Lee Su Kim - Malaysian Flavours: Insights into Things Malaysian

ABOUT MALAYSIAN FLAVOURS:
INSIGHTS INTO THINGS MALAYSIAN

Malaysian Flavours gives you delicious insights into the Malaysian psyche and the peculiar ways of its society. It captures, through amusing asides and deft observations, the quirks and idiosyncrasies of Malaysians. It is a must-read for all those who have been touched by the Malaysian way of life. If you need one book that captures the essence of what it is to be Malaysian, this is it.

LEE SU KIM is a Malaysian writer of Peranakan (Straits Chinese) descent. She was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1955 and educated at the Bukit Bintang Girls School in Kuala Lumpur. She grew up in Sin Chew Kee Street, a quiet street of old pre-war houses in the heart of the city. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, a Diploma and a Masters in Education from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Houston.

Dr Lee i s the author of ten books, including the best-selling Malaysian Flavours: Insights into Things Malaysian, Manglish: Malaysian English at Its Wackiest, and A Nyonya in Texas: Insights of a Straits Chinese Woman in the Lone Star State. Her first collection of stories, Kebaya Tales: Of Matriarchs, Maidens, Mistresses and Matchmakers, won the 2011 Popular-Star Readers Choice Award for Fiction. Her latest book, Sarong Secrets: Of Love, Loss and Longing, another collection of short stories, was published in early 2014.

She has also written short stories for schoolchildren, textbooks and resource books on writing and grammar, and has published widely on language, culture and identity.

Dr Lee was Associate Professor of English Language Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She was also a columnist for The Star, the leading Malaysian English-language daily, from 1993 to 1996. She lived in Houston, Texas, for four years, and returned to Malaysia in January 2000.

She is the founding President of the Peranakan Baba Nyonya Association of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, formed in 2008. Check out her website at www.leesukim.net .

... [Her] retrospective insights are timely as a kind of record for posterity of what used to be integral components of Malaysian culture ... wittily presented and delicately tinged with satire.... guaranteed to touch a chord in every reader .... New Straits Times

Lee has written a book that a young country like Malaysia needs, putting the motions of Malaysian life in the late 20th century in a tangible form.... [Her] rich Peranakan heritage has helped her produce a commendable piece of work. But if [theres] anything she has achieved, she must have relayed quite clearly to readers that we all have a rich heritage and should at the least, treasure and remember it. Journal One

... an engaging, if not, quite riveting, mish-mash of articles on Malaysian life. The Sun

Tagged to give readers an insight into things Malaysian, it does not waver.... Lees Malaysian Flavours makes us laugh, perhaps even cry, and it makes us remember. The Malaysian Mirror

Lee unravels the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the regular man in the street and leaves the reader entertained and somewhat provoked with her tales. This is a much sought-after book by those who have been touched by the Malaysian way of life and seek to relive their fond memories of Malaysia. www.angelfire.com

What a joy it is to read such a welcome chunk of Malaysiana at its very best! ... Though humorous, Lees wealth of intriguing stories also bristle with a tinge of a lament for lost times. Not only has she imbued her stories of homespun ordinariness and nostalgia with a luminous sheen, she also captures the essence of being Malaysian with wit and poignance.... If you need one book that captures the essence of what it is to be Malaysian, you wont go wrong with this book, because it delivers exactly what the title promises: a smorgasbord of Malaysian flavours. Eric Forbes

... Lee is entertaining, interesting, knowledgeable, insightful, observant and humorous in her writing but she is also refreshingly honest about both the positive and negative aspects of contemporary city life and her Asian-Chinese upbringing.... Without doubt, my favourite pieces appear under the section Yesteryear and it is here that Lee is most open and perceptive as she recalls and celebrates her Peranakan (Straits Chinese) childhood (the games, feasts, festivals and customs), her (largely unspoken) love of her parents, their legacies and inevitable passing.... Overall, Malaysian Flavours is a thoroughly enjoyable, worthwhile read and I recommend it unreservedly. Phillip Towndrow

This is not a cookbookbut it does have all the ingredients that are bound to leave you sighing with satisfaction. The Sun

... a delicious rojak of comments on the invention of Malaysian English, personal opinion about various not-necessarily-savoury Malaysian traits, nostalgic memories of the past as well as a quick look at the lifestyle trends of today. New Straits Times

To my son LEE JAN MING, and
to the memory of LEE KAM HOONG

This book is the product of a fruitful and enjoyable liaison with The Star, the leading English-language newspaper in Malaysia. In 1993, I was invited to write a column called Malaysian Flavours for The Star. The column ran for two years and eight months until 1996, when I left Malaysia for the United States. Except for the essays in A Nyonya in Texas which I wrote during my stay in Houston, Texas, this book is a compilation of articles from the column.

I am indebted to many people at The Star for making this book possible:Dato Steven Tan, Managing Director; Dato Ng Poh Tip, Group Chief Editor; as well as Gilbert Yap, June H.L. Wong, Lim Cheng Hoe, Lou Joon Yee, Johnni Wong and Julie Wong. It was a great experience working with a very talented team of people at The Star. To Dato Steven Tan and Dato Ng Poh Tip, thank you always for your encouragement in my writing.

I would also like to thank Dato Ng Tieh Chuan, Managing Director of Pelanduk Publications, for his belief in my book, and to my editor Eric Forbes for his unwavering patience and for being such a pleasure to work with. I would also like to thank Zulkarnin Zakaria and Woo Kum Wah from the editorial department for all their kind assistance.

In revising this book, I am indebted to my many friends and family members, both in Malaysia and abroad, who have enriched my life. My thanks go to a dear friend, Harriet Wong, for the wonderful times shared and the brilliant moments of inspiration. To Sermsuk, I thank you for your kindness and constant encouragement. I am grateful to my friends in the U.S.Jeannie Kim, Phil F. Carspecken, Professor Henry Trueba, Phaik-See Lim, Sim Chandler and Lilian Foofor their support and friendship. I am indebted to Stephen Hall for his invaluable advice and encouragement in the revising and editing of this book. To dear Patricia, I am grateful always. My thanks also go to my sister Su Win and my brother Yu Ban for always being there for me.

To the many people I have met, who have come up to me and told me how much they have enjoyed the book, and urged me never to give up writing, I thank you all for encouraging me.

Why is it considered the most lonesome thing in the world if a Malaysian eats durians alone? What is it about the durian that makes you either love it or hate it? Why do Malaysians talk as if they are eternally singing, with a