Greetings members Welcome back to KL and MCG to those members who have been travelling for the summer holidays. Steve and I managed a two week break in Western Australia –not my/our home country but a lovely restful break - without the pressures and rushing around that can sometimes eventuate when we go home and try to meet all the “demands” of catching up with family and friends. I highly recommend Broome (the weather was hot but dry during the days (no sweating) and cool in the evenings - clear blue skies during the day and cloudless skies filled with thousands of stars at night – the sunsets at Cable Beach were spectacular – camel riding on the beach is great fun – this town has a rich history in pearling and is worth exploring) and Perth as holiday destinations – we had good weather there too and enjoyed wearing jeans and “winter” clothes for a change. We are delighted to have Professor Joseph Stimpfl presenting to us again on Tuesday 12 August at Badan Warisan. He was a very knowledgeable and interesting speaker and many questions were asked after his presentation at the AGM in May – don’t miss this opportunity to hear him again – see the blurb in this newsletter. Time to get back into the routines of KL life again – a few events coming up for your enjoyment. We are always looking for new people to join the Events Planning Team, Book Groups and Explorers Groups – our Annual Newcomers’ Coffee Morning on Thursday 25 September will be a good opportunity to learn more about all aspects of MCG activities – more information in the blurb for this event. It has been confirmed that Steve and I will return to New Zealand sometime in January 2009 so I am keen to find a willing volunteer to take over the President’s role as soon as possible – partly so I can assist with the transition and not drop it in someone’s lap at the last minute, but also to free me up to focus on our move. If you are that willing person, or you know someone who might be, please let me know – it would be great to be able to introduce our new President at the Newcomers’ Coffee Morning and for me to hand over the role at our October Board Meeting. Don’t forget there are always opportunities to play an active role in the group – we still need a Vice President too – I am hopeful we have an EPT Convenor almost ready to take over that area – more soon. Congratulations to Petra and Richard Jud on the safe arrival of their new baby boy – Raphael Joris – born 11 July to two very happy parents. Well done all of you – we look forward to meeting Raphael very soon. Congratulations also to Joanne Mahendran and her husband on the safe arrival of their first grandchild – Matthew – we do hope Joanne will be able to bring herself back to Malaysia soon. From the photos, Matthew is a rather gorgeous little boy and has captured his Grandmother’s heart! I look forward to seeing you all at an event soon. - Lin Streefkerk PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS Explorers' visit to Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar The Explorers Group B took the highway south for the 45 minute journey to find Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar, known by some as the Eton of Malaysia. It was founded in 1992 by the royal family of Negeri Sembilan who wanted to provide the best of a British-style education for both Malaysians and international students from all over the world. The principal, Walter Jones, welcomed us to the cool oasis of his study for an outline of the school’s vital statistics. The school has 540 pupils, most of whom are boarders. Boys and girls stay in separate houses staffed by house parents, house tutors and a matron. The majority of the students are Malaysian, but a significant number travel from Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and Bangladesh as well as the other countries of SE Asia. In addition to the Malaysian curriculum, KTJ offers O Levels/IGCSEs, followed by an A Level programme in the Sixth Form. Many of the students in the Upper Sixth go to UK universities, with a significant number going to Imperial College, The London School of Economics and University College London. The school also has an extensive programme of extra curricular activities including sports, music, drama and clubs After the presentation, we were collected by three charming girls of the Lower Sixth who took us to their boarding house during break, and showed us the bedrooms, the study arrangements and kitchen. After break, we could choose to attend either an English lesson or a Maths lesson. Those of us who were slow to choose, found ourselves in a maths class where the Form 2 students were revising Pythagoras’ Theorem. It was way beyond my limited ability, particularly without a calculator. We were very relieved when Walter came to collect us before the end of the lesson. The other half of our group had not only enjoyed their English class but had also participated in it. We had a few more questions for Walter before driving around the 80-acre campus. The school has a delightfully peaceful setting of open playing fields, well-groomed lawns and shady trees. It seemed to be the ideal place for studying, far away from the distractions, noise and bustle of the city. Fran Jones
A Morning in India! The Temple of Fine Arts on Jalan Berhala in Brickfields was the venue for a delightful morning spent enjoying the food and fashion of India. A group of 28 MCG members and guests met at the temple at 9:30 in the morning, many of us wearing attractive Indian outfits. The ladies of Annalakshmi Restaurant had prepared a delicious breakfast that we ate in the shaded courtyard in front of the temple. Some of the dishes served were vegetable rolls with sauce, Vadai (lentil doughnut) with Coconut Chutney, Poori with Potato Subzi, Semia Baath with Tomato Chutney and Kanchipuram Idly with Sambar and Coconut Chutney. Dessert was Wheat Halwa and Mango juice, coffee and tea were available. Having breakfast before the presentation was an enjoyable change for this MCG event. We then proceeded inside for a demonstration of how to tie and wear a sari (or saree). The ladies of the temple explained that a sari dresses a woman in dignity and style and that they are still worn daily in India by many women. Saris can be made of cotton or silk and they vary from practical and inexpensive to very elaborate and very expensive…and importantly, one size fits all! The usual sari is six metres in length and has a head side with the more intricate design, a centre section and an end piece that is often used to make the form-fitting blouse. The first step in tying a sari is to put on a waist-to-floor length petticoat tied tightly at the waist by a drawstring. Next, a tight-fitting blouse that ends just below the bust is put on. As mentioned above, this blouse is often made from the end piece of the sari material. Next, the plain end of the sari is tucked into the petticoat for one complete turn from right to left. To complete the sari wrapping, pleats are formed by hand and securely tucked in to the petticoat and then the end portion, the pallu, is draped over the shoulder. This can be prevented from slipping off by fixing it at the shoulder to the blouse with a small safety pin. There are differences in material and in how the sari is draped in the various states of India. Five MCG members volunteered to model, and the temple ladies dressed them in gorgeous lengths of sari material, each one draped in a different style. Thanks to Rebecca, Brigit, Ineke, Jessika and Azlind for modeling with such grace and elegance! There is a store within the temple that sells saris as well as beautiful handicrafts from India. The profits go to a centre in India that supports the artisans. The Temple of Fine Arts will be moving into its new building in a few months and members are looking forward to a bigger facility with more room for the various activities of the temple, plus an enlarged restaurant area. We were made to feel very welcome and all enjoyed learning more about this truly attractive form of dress. The Temple of Fine Arts has many programs, and welcomes visitors as well as those who wish to volunteer their time working in the community. www.tfa.com and Lavanya (The Visual Arts Division of the TFA) www.lavanya.org.my Pam Boucher
June’s outing for Explorers’ Group A was led by This garden is the creation of Syed Hussein Alattas a local author who built this little bit of paradise single handedly and named it after his beloved wife. Syed is a well known author with over fifty books to his name to date. It was built as a writers’ retreat and consists of five dwellings, one of which is the main house for the family, the others are for helpers and guest writers. The structures have many different influences, Indonesian style architecture, traditional Malay woodwork, shuttered windows and many variations of Peranakan style coloured tiles, creating a feeling of haphazardness, the main building is capped by a Minangkabau-style horn-shaped roof. The eight acre complex is set on the banks of a stream which meanders down the hillside, the houses have been created with the feel of a kampung retreat, and are set amongst colourful gardens, with hidden surprises around every corner. This is a wonderful place for a visit, pack up a picnic and your swimsuit, enjoy a dip in stream and lunch in the tranquility of these beautiful gardens. It is a forty-five minute ride out of KL on the Karak Highway, follow the signs to Janda Baik/Genting Highlands It opens daily from 9am – 5pm. Gill Longhurst
Explorers' trip to Islamic Arts Museum to view Exhibition We were very lucky to have as our guide the project manager for the exhibition who is also one of the co-authors of an elegant coffee table book featuring the exhibition. B, as she asked us to call her, introduced herself as an African American whose father is a Muslim. She knew about Islam and made the tour indeed very interesting for us. B added some of the naughty bits about some exhibits, which could not be included in the write-ups at the Exhibition, but which did bring history so alive to us. We saw Queen of Sheba, perhaps just a little different from some of the stories from the Bible. It is always good to get history from a different perspective. Then we saw Mary, mother of Jesus. She is the only woman to have a whole chapter dedicated to her in the Qur’an, B told us. “The hand that Rocks the Cradle Rules the World” a Malay proverb. There are many women who have had great power throughout the Islamic world. I guess the exhibition did away with cliché some people have about images of women living in harems and being dominated by men. We were told that Islam gave new freedom to women. For example Nusaybah and Aisha, Muhammad’s first and third wives joined the army. Khadija , who was from a distinguished family and a very wealthy woman, heard of Muhammad’s honesty and dependability so employed him to take charge of her caravans. It seems she sent her maid to propose to him. She was also the first in that place and time to proclaim that there was no God other then Allah. We were told that he was very devoted to her and did not take on any other wife until after her death. In the same year as she died, his uncle and mentor also died, he was grief stricken to lose the two most important people in his life, we were told. Aisha is known as, “the mother of believers.” She became powerful in her own right as a jurist. We have also been left with some of the most beautiful architecture stretching from Spain and all points of the east. One of the modern wonders of our world is the Taj Mahal, a white marble tomb built by Moghul emperor Shahjehan for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal. Women continue to influence and guide us till today. There are women Prime Ministers and Presidents, women are there in the fields of Finance, Foreign affairs and Education. An example is Malaysia’s Governor of Bank Negara Dr. Zeti Akhtar Azjz. The list can go on…. I wonder if the Arabic proverb “The Kindness of Woman is more powerful than the strength of Man” can sum up the strength of women? Later some of us had lunch at the Hornbill restaurant where it was truly tropical with rain and thunder which still did not drown out our chatter. Elise Hill
Members' Feedback 26TH AGM AND LECTURE Thanks for today – a good day – Prof Stimpfl sat chatting to a few of us till nearly 3pm – it was fascinating. Lin Streefkerk Hi MCG Events team. Thanks for today’s lecture it was very interesting and a lovely lunch! Ardy Timmer Hi Lin, out of the four events (listed in write-up email), I have only attended the AGM. I have only praises for the committee for the very enlightening lecture on ILMU and the yummy lunch. I am looking forward to more lectures and would make an effort to participate in the activities. Christine Ong DEPARTING MEMBERS I will be leaving KL at the end of this school year so will not renew my membership. Thanks to all for steering a great ship! Morag Bradie I am sorry not to be able to renew my membership this year. Thank you for all the interesting talks you have organised and that I attended. Hope to have the opportunity to join you another time. Best regards. Would you please announce in the new newsletter that Allan and I are leaving Malaysia to move to Bangalore in India in early June 08. Would you send the newsletter online to me as I will be in Malaysia from time to time as Allan is still responsible for the office here in KL, so I will travel with him some of the time. Best wishes to all friends in the group and success for future events. Lynne Samuel Dear Lin – This is just to let you know that my husband Juergen and I will be leaving Malaysia after nearly 8 years and moving to Sydney, Australia at the end of July. I take this opportunity to wish you and the MCG continued success. It has always been my favourite club. All the very best. I thank the whole MCG team, past and present, for their selfless work. Iolanda Cappodano
BOOK CLUB This month we have an additional book review. Book Group one read “A Thousand Splendid Suns’’ by Khalid Hooseini” in May. Group
I 15 of us met at my place for an interesting morning’s discussion. Our book was Khalid Hooseini’s second novel – this one written on the heels of the overwhelming successes of his first novel – The Kite Runner – on the women of Afghanistan. I had recommended and led the Kite Runner previously, as with this one, and was looking forward to a spirited morning! ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ tells you the story of two very diverse women – Mariam and Laila - born with vast differences in background, education and culture. They are brought together by a stroke of fate and how thereafter their lives and their journeys are intrinsically entwined together. It is a book of love, of hope, of courage, of excesses unimaginable, and finally, of the strength of the human spirit. Hooseini, dedicated this book, mainly to the women of Afghanistan and all their untold stories. Even though the time line in this book is better mapped - it starts with a complex power sharing amongst the warlords and a weak ruler, to the arrival of the Soviets and eventually the Taliban. There were some in the group, who felt that it would have been better to have known a bit more of the history of Afghanistan to truly appreciate the book. All in all, it was well liked. Although everyone agreed that the Kite Runner was a far superior read! Nisha Dobberstein
BOOK CLUB REPORTS Group
I Reef is a love story set in the spoiled paradise that was Sri Lanka between the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is told by 11-year-old Triton, who goes to work as a houseboy to Mister Salgado, a marine biologist obsessed with the sea and the island's disappearing reef. We travel with Triton as he comes of age, first working under the demanding and belligerent older servant Joseph, and later as he learns to run Mr Salgado’s household alone. The writing is fluid and light, and at times intensely and beautifully descriptive, be it of Triton’s fantasies of how Joseph might meet an untimely end, Mr Salgado’s passion for the sea or Triton’s own unrivalled skill as a cook - a talent that sees him 20 years later running his own restaurant in London. We watch Mr Salgado and his world from the houseboy’s point of view. The narrative rarely ventures beyond the gate of the bungalow; however the outside world increasingly intrudes. Storm clouds gather, threatening the stability of Triton’s world, just as erosion of the reef leaves the coast open to the sea: "if the structure is destroyed...then the whole thing will go." Mr Salgado’s love affair and obsession with the beautiful and delightful Miss Nili, a European (perhaps Eurasian) woman, is a central episode of the book. And she brings a coterie of new acquaintances - privileged Sri Lankans and foreigners. From their political gossip and increasingly alarming tales of violence and atrocities from rebels, communists and government militias we learn the fear of living in a world spiralling into chaos, which eventually leads to exile in London for Mr. Salgado and Triton. The members were divided about Reef – some loved the richness of the language and the subtle metaphor of the story, whilst others were frustrated that the story did not fully develop and deliberately left many key issues unresolved. Hugh Lailey
Group
II Not one person in our group could honestly say they enjoyed this book. In fact, a few found it such a chore they, very unusually, didn’t even finish reading it. The book is a story of love, betrayal and revenge which unfolds against the background of modern terrorism in Kashmir. Boonyi, a beautiful young Hindu dancer and Noman Sher Noman (also known as Shalimar the Clown), a handsome Muslim tightrope walker, fall in love in a Kashmiri village. Max Orphuls, Ambassador to India (but also, quite unrealistically, a Resistance hero, best-selling author, brilliant economist, counter-terrorism expert and, of course, irresistible lover) lures the ambitious and willing Boonyi away from her village and sets her up as his mistress. Shalimar, seeking revenge, trains as a militant in Kashmir’s brutal insurrection eventually becoming a terrorist and murderer. The book begins at the end with the murder of Orphuls by Shalimar in Los Angeles. We found the description of post-partition Kashmir and its later brutal destruction at the hands of the Indian army fascinating reading. However, Rushdie adopts the style of magic realism and those sections of the novel are too heavy, sometimes contrived, to the point of being almost unreadable. Most of his characters are completely unrealistic and it is hard to feel anything for them. Ultimately, the book is a patchwork of stories and styles and never really grips the reader. It is certainly not as enjoyable or as impressive as Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. Marama Schnitker
NEWSLETTER REPORT Newsletter This is the March issue of the newsletter. The next issue will be in September. The deadline for sending in your articles/photos is August 8. Please email your write ups to The write-ups should not be more than 350 words. They should be in Times New Roman font size 11. Jaishree Balasubramanian
BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS Reservations Wait List Payments Cancellations Refunds Eligibility Event Participation Eligibility Your co-operation with the Booking Policy would be much appreciated by the Events Planning Team.
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