THEY CAME TO MALAYA

About the Book

This book examines the historical origins of the different peoples and communities from the Nusantara and Indian regions, as well as some European countries who went to Malaya and become important contributories to the development of that country. Hence the title “They came to Malaya”! Credit is given to the pioneering disparate peoples in the narrative who irrespective of country and place of origin, race and religion, played such vital roles that led to the development and enrichment of the country. It is doubtful that Malaysia would be what she is today but for the early contributions made by the several communities described in the narrative who now or had once called Malaya ‘home’.

About the Author

The writer was born in Malaya in 1944 and read law in England and practiced in Malaya as an advocate and solicitor. He moved to Australia in 1990 with his family, the fond memories of the country he felt constrained to depart to secure his children’s futures cannot be easily erased. The writer eased up on his legal practice in 2012 to engage in matters that kept plucking on his mind, namely to indulge in some creative writing. This easing enabled him to write his first work, namely a chapter on the Sikh Diaspora to Australia (see Chapter 4: “The Sikh Diaspora in Australia”) which was published in an omnibus book “Indian Diaspora: Voices of Grandparents and Grandparenting (2013); Editor Amarjit Singh; Sense Publishers, Rotterdam). This latest work was influenced by old-time travel writings of intrepid writers such as Isabella L. Bird (“The Golden Chersonese – Travels in Malaya in 1879); Oxford University Press, Malaysia (1967), (reprinted 1982); and JM Gullick’s (compiler) “They Came to Malaya – A Traveller’s Anthology”, Oxford University Press, Malaysia (1993), (2nd impression 2001. Other writers relied on include Florence Caddy of “To Siam and Malaya” fame Oxford University Press (1992) and Jim Baker’s “Crossroads – A Popular History of Malaysia and Singapore” (2014), Marshall Cavendish Editions, Singapore. And what could one do without the ever-ubiquitous Google search engine that conveniently steps in to fill-in the blanks when most needed! The writer went to school in Kuala Lumpur (the Victoria Institution) at a time when it was still under British headmasters who had the knack of instilling in students a yearning to read and explore without barriers. He read law in London and was called to the English Bar in 1971 (by Gray’s Inn, London). The writer practiced law in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) until 1990 when he moved to Australia with his family. He first practiced law in Australia in Darwin before moving to Perth in 1995. He retired from legal practice in 2013 and lives with his family in Perth in Western Australia.