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Ohio University
OHIO Open Library
Berita
Winter 2020
Winter 2019/2020
Dominik M. Müller
Follow this and additional works at: https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/berita
Part of the Asian Studies Commons
Recommended Citation
Müller, Dominik M., "Winter 2019/2020" (2020). Berita. 46.
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/berita/46
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Berita
Winter 1
2019/2020
______________________________________________________________________________
____
Berita
Chair’s AddressMalaysia/Singapore/Brunei Studies Group
Association for Asian Studies
Letter from the Chair………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
MSB Group Events at the AAS Conference 2020, Boston, MA (March 19-22)......... 3–4
Article: ‘A Fresh Look at Fish Through a Brief History of Fish Head Curry’
(Geoffrey K. Pakiam)..................................................................................... …5–10
Article: ‘‘My Second Home’: An Interview with Rose Chew,Ticketing Officer of
the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, 1990–2016’ ......................................... 11–13
Patricia Sloane-White, University
MSB Member News of Delaware
................................................................................................ 14
Chair, Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei Studies Group
Publications ...................................................................................................... 14–16
Job Opportunities ................................................................................................... 16
Letter from the Chair Call for Applications: M.A. and PhD Programs ................................................... 17–18
Call for Papers ........................................................................................................ 18
Editorial Information .............................................................................................. 18
Patricia Sloane-White, MSB Group Chair
Department of Women and Gender Studies
University of Delaware, USA
pswhite@udel.edu
Announcements
XXX
XXX
XXX
Berita, Winter 2019/2020
Berita 2
______________________________________________________________________________
Letter from the Chair 7:30 to 9:30 pm, where you can meet and
talk to Terence, and the growing group of
young scholars (and ‘old hands’) who share
AAS 2020 and our MSB events an interest in Malaysia, Singapore, and
Brunei. All are welcome and we very much
are coming up — hope to see you there.
March 19-22 in Boston
This is the first time we are sponsoring a
This year, MSB at the AAS is focusing on catered reception in place of a restaurant
Malaysia at 2020—as well as the dinner, and hope that our stalwart members
anticipated 2020 Singapore Election. (and others) will help MSB defray the cost
of the catering by contributing the amount
Two of our four MSB-sponsored panels they would have spent on that meal. You
focus on focus on aspects of Mahathir’s can add the cost to your membership fees,
Wawasan 2020 (Vision 2020) and the payable at the Business Meeting (member
Malaysia that emerged since he coined the dues are $20 per year for faculty/$10 a year
slogan. Another focuses on the first year of for graduate students and independent
Pakatan Harapan’s leadership after the scholars), or by visiting the AAS
surprising 2018 General Election. And Committee Membership page via
finally, another examines possiblities for the www.asianstudies.org.
next Singapore election, which will likely
occur in 2020. Finally, if you aren’t on our Facebook
group (Official Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei
Malaysia’s political future and Mahathir’s Studies Group [MSB]), or, if you aren’t
vision will also engage us at our annual receiving updates from our Google Group,
MSB Business Meeting at 1:15 on Saturday, please let me know. And please continue to
when we welcome Terence Gomez from the send us your updates, information on your
University of Malaya as our keynote research and publications, field reports, and
speaker. Terence will speak about articles for future issues of Berita.
Malaysia’s new political economy under
Pakatan Harapan, focusing on new state- Patricia Sloane-White, MSB Chair
business ties, including those arising from (pswhite@udel.edu)
China’s extensive investments in the MSB Studies Group Business Meeting
country, as well as the Government’s new Keynote Speaker: Edmund Terence Gomez
policies, including the recently launched March 21, at 1:15 PM - 2:45 PM
Hynes Convention Center: Room 205, 2nd level
Shared Prosperity Vision, 2020-2030. You
won’t want to miss this very current update. MSB Studies Group Reception
Catered, Cash Bar, and Open to All
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Then, Saturday evening, we will be hosting Location: Sheraton: Fairfax B, 3rd Floor
a catered reception (with a cash bar) from
Winter 2019/2020
Berita 3
______________________________________________________________________________
MSB Group Events at the 3/20/2020 11:15 AM - 1:00 PM; Sheraton,
Berkeley, 3rd Floor
AAS Conference 2020, Organizer:
Boston, MA (March 19-22) Kai Ostwald (University of British
Columbia)
MSB Group Business Meeting and Discussants:
Reception at the AAS Conference 2020 Lily Rahim (University of Sydney, Australia)
The Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Studies Elvin Ong (NUS, Singapore)
Group (MSB) Annual Business Meeting will Kirsten Han (New Naratif)
be held at during the AAS 2020 on Saturday, Steven Oliver (Yale-NUS College)
March 21, 1:15 to 2:45 at the Hynes
Convention Center: Room 205, Boston 2.) Organized Panel (MSB-Sponsored):
Sheraton Hotel (the conference hotel). The
meeting will include a special address by ‘Collisions, Contradictions, and Camp:
Professor Edmund Terence Gomez, Revisioning Bangsa Malaysia through Malay
Professor of Political Economy at the Performing Arts’
Faculty of Economics & Administration, 3/20/2019 09:00 - 10:45 AM; Hynes Room
University of Malaya (UM). 312, Level 3
That night, at 7:30 to 9:30 there will be a
Organizer:
reception to meet scholars who focus on the
MSB region, including special guest Terence Joseph Kinzer (Harvard University)
Gomez, the members of MSB sponsored Chair:
panels, and current members of the MSB Patricia Hardwick (Universiti Pendidikan
Studies Group. Sultan Idris)
Members and non-members are welcome at both
Paper Presenters:
events.
Adil Johan (UKM, Malaysia)
Lawrence Ross (UM, Malaysia)
Joseph Kinzer (Harvard University)
Panels Sponsored by MSB Group at the
AAS Conference 2020 3.) Organized Panel (MSB-Sponsored):
1.) Organized Panel (MSB-Sponsored): ‘Revisioning 2020: Wherefore Culture, the
Arts and Everyday Life in Mahathir’s
Vision?’
‘Singapore’s Next General Election: Return
3/20/2019 1:30 - 3:15 PM; Sheraton:
to the contentious ‘New Normal’?’
Berkeley, 3rd Floor
Winter 2019/2020
Berita 4
______________________________________________________________________________
Organizer:
Cheong Soon Gan (University of Wisconsin-
Superior)
Paper Presenters:
Sarena Abdullah (USM, Malaysia)
Mary Susan Philip (UM, Malaysia)
Cheong San Gan (University of Wisconsin-
Superior)
4.) Panel Session (MSB Sponsored):
‘Mahathir’s Tales: Narrative(s) and
Resistance(s) in New Malaysia’
3/21/2019 5:15 - 7:00 PM; Hynes: Room
204, Level 2.
Organizer:
Sophie Lemiere (Harvard University)
Chair:
Joseph. C. Liow (NTU Singapore, RSIS)
Paper Presenters:
Maznah Mohamad (NUS)
Vilashini Somiah (UM, Malaysia)
Jonathan Yong (University of Cambridge)
Sophie Lemiere (Harvard University)
Winter 2019/2020
Berita 5
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Article
A FRESH LOOK AT FISH
THROUGH A BRIEF
HISTORY OF FISH HEAD
CURRY
Geoffrey K. Pakiam
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Fish head curry at Muthu’s Curry, Race Course Road,
Among the various dishes canonized in
November 2019. Author’s photograph ©.
Singapore’s official intangible heritage
inventory, fish head curry is probably the
country’s most iconic. The dish consists of a Gomez decided to blend an item thought to
glistening head carved from a large white- be popular with local Chinese gourmands –
fleshed fish, such as the red snapper (ikan an imposingly large fish head – with his
merah /lutjanus spp.), red sea bream (kurisi more traditional Keralan-influenced curries.
merah /pagrus major), sea bass or grouper The dish eventually inspired other Sing-
(ikan kerapu /ephinephelus spp.), immersed in a apore eateries to offer their own charismatic
spicy stew laden with mucilaginous plants versions of fish head curry. These offshoots
like okra and brinjal. Like the Thanksgiving were distinguished primarily by variations
turkey in the United States, fish head curry in ingredients and preparation methods,
has become the centerpiece of many with versions associated with Peranakan
celebratory meals in Singapore, accom- Chinese and Chettinad-style cooking
panied by a long train of savory and sweet particularly well-known in Singapore today.
side dishes. Unlike the turkey, however, the The current consensus surrounding fish
curry is encountered all year round in head curry’s origins thus reinforces an
restaurants and eateries across Singapore, orthodox nationalist reading of Singapore
Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond. One could, history; one where the city-state’s central
in theory, enjoy fish head curry every week position at the crossroads of Asia has
if one’s appetite and wallet permitted. I enabled it to cultivate a resilient national
suspect that many diners today are content identity rooted in cultural hybridity, com-
to keep their outings to Thanksgiving-like mercial innovation, and material prosperity.
intervals. A Gomez-centric tale of fish head curry has
Journalists and writers to date have credited many strengths, not least its recognition of
Marian Jacob Gomez, a Malayalee from sub-regional ethnic affiliations in Singapore.
Kerala, with inventing the dish shortly after However, shifting our focus to the wider
he established an eatery along Singapore’s historical context in which the dish arose
Sophia Road in 1949. In these accounts, sheds light on a richer if not equally gripping
Winter 2019/2020Berita 6
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story: one that links the rise of Singapore as wide variety of seafood, served as fresh as
a crucial node in Asia’s drive to feed its possible.
burgeoning hungry masses, with the Since the thirteenth century CE, Singapore
political and environmental trade-offs has conformed to this broad Southeast Asian
involved in achieving this goal during the pattern, with a few caveats. Rice was mostly
twentieth century. From this angle, fish head if not entirely imported, leaving the island’s
curry’s ascent would have been impossible orang laut to pursue fishing and seafood
without unprecedented supplies of fresh fish preservation as one of Singapore’s earliest
from foreign waters; a moderately known domestic industries. Half a
prosperous urban clientele; and an incipient millennium later, Singapore still had a
restaurant culture that encouraged cooks to reputation for provisioning the crews of
experiment with new dishes for different visiting ships with fish, potable water and
audiences. With interest in food security on timber. Following the establishment of a
the rise, the story of fish head curry serves as new trading post in Singapore in 1819,
a timely reminder that masterly cooking is Southeast Asia’s pre-existing commerce in
still needed to bridge the gap between what seafood and salt quickly began to be re-
is available and what people willingly eat. routed through the island colony, cementing
Unequal Meals its status as the center of Southeast Asia’s
One of the gastronomic highlights of fish expanding fish trade by 1910.
head curry – namely, the tender, dainty This vast flow of marine biomass, together
morsels of flesh hidden within the fish head with the island’s rapidly rising migrant
itself – depends on fish whose fresh state was population – many of whom took to local
a prized luxury until recent times. As late as waters, using traditional techniques to fish
the second half of the twentieth century, the for a living – ensured that Singapore’s
overwhelming majority of Southeast Asia’s resident population was exposed to an
population still subsisted on diets based impressive assortment of fresh and
largely on dried seafood, rice, spices, and preserved seafood, even if few could afford to
fruits, especially coconuts. While the region eat most of what was on offer. In the late
was blessed with inlets cradling unimag- nineteenth century, Singapore’s working
inably large populations of marine life, classes partook on average two meals a day,
distance, seasonality and the sheer size of consisting mostly of boiled rice and ‘a small
individual catches limited how much fish morsel of dried fish,’ usually Indian mackerel
could be consumed fresh. Much was (kembong /rastrelliger spp.) caught in the Gulf
consequently dried, salted, and/or fer- of Siam. In contrast, Europeans and upper-
mented for future consumption. The dis- crust Asians at the time regularly enjoyed a
tinction between haves and have-nots was substantial portion of fresh meat or fish on
not primarily between who could and could their tables. At least twice daily, they tucked
not access marine-based protein regularly, into Spanish mackerel (tenggiri / scombridae
but between who could and could not eat a spp.), pomfret (bawal / pampus argentus /
Winter 2019/2020Berita 7
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parastromateus niger), mullet (jempul / liza Singapore’s Department of Fisheries,
spp.), or some other similarly tasty fish found concerned about growing fresh fish
in Singapore’s local markets (J. H. M. R., shortages in Singapore, led an attempt to sell
1895). off boatloads of red snappers (ikan merah),
As late as 1948, the underlying pattern of caught offshore and frozen on powerful
preserved fish for the poor and fresh fish for trawlers imported from Hong Kong. Despite
the rich seems to have barely shifted. When the island’s growing population and wealth,
Japanese-owned fishing fleets began using the scheme was an abject failure. Even at a
fossil fuel-powered boats to capture, freeze, quarter of the going price of white pomfret
and transport thousands of tons of fresh fish (bawal puteh), merah was generally shunned
from more distant waters to Singapore’s by Singapore Chinese housewives, forcing
shorelines between the 1910s and late 1930s, fish dealers to re-export much of the catch,
wealthier consumers were the primary rapidly deteriorating, to markets in Johor.
beneficiaries. Tinned sardines, introduced Together with insufficient cold storage
during the same interval, were a convenient facilities at existing Singapore markets,
protein source for the less well-off who could Chinese apathy towards offshore frozen fish
actually afford them, but remained alien to rendered the Singapore-registered trawler
most daily diets. operations commercially unfeasible. The
episode pushed Singapore’s fishing author-
The notion that more residents could enjoy ities to forsake a cherished vision of local
a daily regimen that included fresh seafood food sovereignty for the reality of uneasy
(as well as pork, chicken, beef or mutton) dependence on nationalist governments in
only started becoming a reality following the Peninsular Malaya and Indonesia, whose
Second World War, in line with Singapore’s territorial waters still teemed with the kinds
steadily growing proportion of salaried of inshore fish long familiar to Singapore
middle-class Asian residents. Salt fish consumers.
correspondingly became less of a low-cost
protein staple and more of a high-grade Singapore households seem to have shunned
condiment for local Asians. By the mid- the offshore catch out of habit and
1950s, Singapore’s fishermen were reported practicality. In the 1950s, buying dead fish
to be exploiting the island’s inshore waters was still seen as risky and potentially
to their maximum intensity. A few local unhygienic, given how quickly catches
producers who had both the means and will putrefied in island Southeast Asia’s warm
were already journeying to distant seas climate. More powerful quick-freezing tech-
abroad. niques, gradually introduced to Singapore’s
fishing industry during the same decade,
Mysterious Merah helped preserve fish caught outside of
Rising incomes alone did not guarantee that Singapore’s waters more effectively.
more locals would consume fresh fish. However, they also transformed seafood in
Perhaps the most spectacular example of this ways that made it difficult for housewives to
dissonance occurred in 1952, when use time-tested methods of inspecting fish
Winter 2019/2020Berita 8
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eyes, gills and body texture to evaluate fresh merah and kurau as staples – their large
freshness at the market. Finally, and perhaps size and bland taste (especially merah) –
most importantly, offshore fish like red made them handy for elaborate meals in
snappers, groupers, and sea breams were far hotels, restaurants, banquets (including
too large for an Asian household to cook and Chinese ones), and well-off households
consume quickly, a typical concern when accustomed to cooking and eating fish steaks
domestic refrigerators and ice boxes were coated in rich sauces. Indeed, merah before
still luxuries in the 1950s. Where household the 1950s was highly-priced, and in such
incomes permitted, cycling through a demand that Singapore’s inshore red
variety of live fish, small enough to be snapper stocks were already heavily depleted
cooked and eaten whole – like pomfrets, by the late 1920s, turning the fish into a
mullets, or scads (selar kuning / selaroides commodity predominantly sourced from the
leptolepis) – remained a trusted and familiar wider Malay World.
method for preparing safe, nutritious and Restaurant Ecologies
tasty meals at home. To exploit and celebrate a fish like merah
How then did a fish like the red snapper within Singapore therefore required an
become a core ingredient in Singapore’s fish underlying ‘culinary infrastructure’ (Pilcher,
head curry? Part of the answer lies in 2016), one where commercial establishments
understanding why ikan merah was a popular helped adapt seafood to shifts in popular
food fish in other contexts. Along with the taste. Restaurants played a leading role in
threadfin (ikan kurau /polynemus spp.), merah these transformations. Like Singapore’s
was a staple of British Singaporean now-celebrated street food hawkers, casual
households before the Japanese Occupation, diners often competed on price and flavor,
most of whom were wealthy enough to serving a relatively large customer base
employ local servants to carry out marketing drawn from different socio-cultural groups.
and cooking tasks before the Second World Unlike street hawkers – who were obliged to
War. As hardy, lean-fleshed fish, both merah specialize in a particular dish due to their
and kurau could withstand prolonged itinerant nature and low overheads –
handling prior to sale without losing restaurants by definition commanded more
excessive taste and color, making them a resources and could offer a variety of dishes
suitable choice for conservative buyers on the spot. The likelihood that some
(merah’s striking red skin color also made it customers would reject dishes unfamiliar or
instantly recognizable in markets and on novel to them could be hedged against by
dining tables). Merah and kurau’s creamy continuing to sell more ‘traditional’ fare.
mild-tasting flesh, unlike that of dark- Restaurants were therefore generally better-
tissued fatty fish, attracted housewives positioned to innovate and offer new dishes
trying to recreate familiar European recipes that challenged preconceptions of good food.
in a tropical setting, using local white fish The dining scene that introduced fish head
fillets. The same features that caused curry to Singapore residents in the 1950s
middle-class Asian housewives to reject
Winter 2019/2020Berita 9
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included a growing restaurant cluster One former Chinese regular claimed to have
serving cuisines derived from various Indian been attracted by the sheer range and quality
sub-regions. A few eateries were strictly of ‘Indian’ offerings. Some dishes were
vegetarian, while others included seafood, apparently Keralan ‘curries’ laden with thick
chicken, and mutton in their offerings. cuts of meat or fish slices, while others were
Similar eateries had sprung up as early as the derived from other regions of India. One of
1920s within and around Singapore’s Gomez’s most outstanding early
Indian-dominated Serangoon Road area, preparations seems to have been a
serving migrants looking for a taste of home Malayanized version of korma, known
or food they could access. Some, including locally as korma kuah (literally ‘korma
Gomez’s original cookshop at Sophia Road, sauce’). Little else is known about it, save
offered commercial lodging for bachelors, a that Gomez’s korma kuah stayed popular
fairly common phenomenon in Singapore’s long after fish head curry had been added to
male-dominated migrant society until the the menu, allegedly in 1950.
1950s. Their location was also supply- Details of fish head curry’s early reception
driven: commercial survival and staff well- are scanty but revealing. The dish was
being depended on being near Tekka Pasar / eventually deemed sales-worthy enough to
Kandang Kerbau Market, where the raw inspire rival versions. In 1951, Hoong Ah
spices, fruits, vegetables, rice, meat and fish Kong, a former kitchen hand, set up an
needed to recreate familiar Indian cuisines eatery at neighboring Selegie Road
could be purchased daily, and earnings sent specializing in ‘Indian’ dishes. Clearly
back home. angling for the same kind of ethnically-
Yet from their inception, restaurants within mixed clientele frequenting Gomez’s Curry
the orbit of Serangoon Road’s ethnic enclave Shop, Hoong began selling fish head curry in
were quasi-public entities, attracting 1955-56, toning down the spices in his own
middle-class customers from other cultures recipe. Hoong initially added large heads of
in search of culinary novelty. The new ikan tenggiri and kurau to his curry bowls,
clientele in turn helped drive culinary shifts. before substituting them with merah heads
This phenomenon is still observed in from 1965 onwards. Lower input costs
migrant-run restaurants around the world almost certainly mattered, although whole
today (Rawson and Shore, 2019). It was merah was already much cheaper than either
certainly true for Gomez, whose Sophia tenggiri or kurau by the mid-1950s. Given
Road address made it easy to enlist that kurau heads were sometimes seen as
customers frequenting the middle and tastier and more succulent than those of
lower-middle-class areas of Wilkie Road, merah, Hoong may have been trying to find
Middle Road, and perhaps even those from more ways to earn loyal customers when
more upmarket Orchard Road. At the outset, starting up.
Gomez’s clientele appeared to consist of While nothing is yet known about which fish
Keralan Indians, Chinese, British and Jews, types Gomez used in his original fish head
including professionals and civil servants.
Winter 2019/2020Berita 10
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curry recipe, a landmark review of the References
Gomez Curry Shop in 1973 found it relying J. H. M. R. (1895) ‘Institutions in a Native
solely on red snappers and groupers to State,’ The Singapore Free Press and
satisfy fish head curry enthusiasts (by then, Mercantile Advertiser, 5 March.
however, the eatery had relocated to nearby Oon, V. (1974) ‘Good Malay Food under
Selegie House, and was under new manag- Flyover,’ New Nation, 10 May.
ement). By this time, several other eateries
touting ikan merah-based fish head curry Pilcher, J. M. (2016) ‘Culinary
eateries had already opened in Singapore, Infrastructure: How Facilities and
including two assam-flavoured versions Technologies Create Value and Meaning
staffed by outstanding Malay cooks: Encik around Food,’ Global Food History 2(2),
Abu Bakar at Red Lion Restaurant (Redhill p105-31.
Close) and an unnamed cook whose ‘Malay Rawson, K. and Shore, E. (2019) Dining Out:
stall [stood] in the hawker center below the A Global History of Restaurants. London:
flyover which bridges Thomson Road and Reaktion Books.
Whitley Road’ (Oon, 1974). After just two
decades, fish head curry had come of age.
Biographical note
On its own, fish head curry did not change Geoffrey K. Pakiam is a Fellow at the
the way Singapore residents perceived and ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.
consumed seafood in general. Rising Email: kiampa@gmail.com
incomes, fossil fuel-powered industrial
fishing, a briskly expanding restaurant scene Acknowledgements
and the growing influence of popular food I am very grateful to Gayathrii Nathan,
writing all played critical roles in breaking Toffa Abdul Wahed, Phoon Yuen Ming, and
down taste barriers from the 1950s onwards. Michael Yeo for research assistance; Michael
When seen from a longue durée perspective, Yeo again for feedback on an earlier draft;
the dish is nonetheless emblematic of a rapid, and Loh Kah Seng, Martyn Low, Anthony
major shift in local diets: one in which fresh Medrano, and N. Narayanan for their time
protein became much more accessible within and insights. Research for this article was
several decades. While a full account of how supported by a Heritage Research Grant
Singapore’s population grew to appreciate from the National Heritage Board,
both fish heads and curries remains to be Singapore. Any opinions, findings, and
told, Singapore’s quest for seafood is an conclusions or recommendations expressed
intrinsically valuable aspect of local heritage. in this material are those of the author and
The history of Singapore’s relations with do not necessarily reflect the views of the
marine life will only grow in significance as National Heritage Board, Singapore.
overfishing, marine pollution and the
climate crisis continue to unfold.
Winter 2019/2020Berita 11
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Article front of large groups of audiences.
Backstage, supporting staff – those ensuring
the smooth operations and good financial
‘MY SECOND HOME’ health of the artistic production – appear to
AN INTERVIEW WITH ROSE be less important. These administrative and
CHEW, TICKETING OFFICER logistic personnel have always performed
OF THE SINGAPORE essential roles within the local music and
arts scenes, but unfortunately have been
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, largely forgotten. This essay is an attempt to
1990–2016 bring the minor players within the cultural
sector back into our historical consciousness.
Jun Kai Pow It addresses a glaring lacuna within the
Research Fellow in Asian Heritages discipline of history and adheres pur-
International Institute for Asian Studies posefully to what I consider to be a form of
(IIAS), Leiden University, Netherlands ‘minor history,’ that is, a narrative of an
auxiliary minority.
The protagonist of our story is Madam Rose
Chew, the long-serving ticketing officer at
the Victoria Concert Hall. Growing up, Rose
was your next-door girl, someone who
enjoyed reading and tailoring. Coming from
a Cantonese-speaking family, she was
enrolled at Bedok Primary and Siglap
Secondary, both of which were English-
medium schools. Upon graduating, she
worked first as an assembly line worker
putting camera parts together at the Rollei
factory. After that, she became an office
administrator for the Medical Digest
publication company. Working within a
residential apartment, Rose was in charge of
the subscription and sales of the magazine,
as well as dealing with customer service
through post and phone. When there was
too much work to do, she would stay
overnight at the workplace.
What might seem like an ordinary transition
The stars of any show have always been the from blue-collar- to white-collar-work was
musicians and actors, who dazzle on stage in in fact a necessity as Rose’s physical
Winter 2019/2020Berita 12
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condition had been deteriorating. Rose was the post office. If the dates of the show were
infected by the Polio virus during an too close, customers would have to go down
epidemic in the early 1950s and is today to the box office to collect the tickets
physically impaired. There was no themselves. Occasionally, some customers
medication at that time and, having suffered would call up claiming that their tickets
from bouts of high fever and a bad fall, the were misplaced. Rose would then suggest
teenager was hospitalized on-and-off for that they waited a few more days before
three years. She had to eventually rely on a calling back.
pair of clutches to travel around. Such an Other than lost tickets, there were also other
arrangement restricted her to certain job instances where customers expressed their
locations, which had to be accessible for her. dissatisfaction, such as the case of the long
Through her membership with the Handicap queues just before the start of the concert.
Welfare Association, she was invited to Twenty years ago when I was an avid
interview for the job of ticketing officer with teenage concert-goer, I remember there
the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 1990. were indeed some patrons, who would take
Her job involved taking bookings as well as the opportunity to acquire tickets for
sending out the subscription orders. In the subsequent shows, indirectly hindering the
early days before the Internet, a ticketing others, who wanted to purchase tickets for
operator would have to answer phone calls, the concert that very evening. In the end, it
process the credit card payments and mail was Rose who bore the burden of having to
tickets out to the customers. hurry through the ticketing process. At
Every day, Rose took down the names, times, the wrong tickets would be printed
addresses, telephone and credit card and the entire process had to be repeated,
numbers of the callers in an A5-size exercise further slowing down the ticketing
book for recording purposes. Unfortunately, operations.
these sales records had all been disposed, or Rose also explained that the seats in the
else they would have provided us with middle and along the aisles were very much
interest insights into the habits of book- preferred to those at the corner as the aisle
keeping as well as the demographics of seats provided ample leg room as well as the
Western classical concert patrons of the ease of movement. Regular visitors to the
1990s and 2000s. The latter Rose revealed concert hall were highly aware of particular
were mostly local Chinese or Caucasians audio-visual clarity from certain seating
based in Singapore. Her bilingual capability positions.
thus put her in a good position to At the start of each annual season, there
communicate with the customers. would be a high volume of orders from
To send the tickets out, Rose inserted the regular subscribers and Rose would have to
requested orders into envelopes bearing the stay back till late in the evenings and
SSO logo, sealed them and passed them over weekends to complete the ticketing. Certain
to the ‘office boy,’ who would bring them to seats reserved for the regular subscribers
Winter 2019/2020Berita 13
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had to be processed in advance before they Her loving husband, who did the cooking
were released to the general public. During and household chores, would be waiting for
the early nineties before the advent of the her at home with dinner. She spent the
computer, the paper tickets consisting of evening watching English or Chinese drama
three portions had to be printed out by large on television or reading story books
machines. Rose would then laboriously write borrowed from the library, her preference
down all of the 880-odd seat numbers on the for which included romance and horror. On
tickets with a pen. Then she allocated the the weekends, she would bake cakes or watch
advanced orders by tearing off the respective movies, such as Chinese wuxia or Disney
tickets and striking them off the seating productions. Her favourite music,
plan. nonetheless, are the Chinese oldies. She
When the ticketing company SISTIC could rattle off a list of singers, many of
started to computerized their operations, whom had faded out of popular parlance:
Rose went down to the HQ for two days of Zhou Xuan, Yao Lee, Pan Xiu Qiong, Qing
training. She found the computerized Shan, Wang Ching Yuen, Wu Gang, and
process more convenient and less prone to many others.
making mistakes. She could easily tally the Even when the Singapore Symphony
day’s account with the debit and credit card Orchestra moved to the Esplanade for
machines. Moreover, whenever shows get rehearsals and performances after 2002,
cancelled, an instant refund would be made Rose stayed put at the box office at the
via the bank. This was unlike the past when Victoria Memorial Hall. She claimed that her
customers exchanged paper tickets for cash workplace had been her ‘second home’ for
with their names and ticket prices recorded over 25 years. For six days a week, rain or
by Rose. shine, she would hop onto the buses – SBS
Apart from some members of the public, 229, CCS 8 or SBS 107 – and trekked
Rose also made friends with some musicians towards work and home on a pair of walking
from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. sticks.
Some would purchase tickets from her or When I saw her again recently, she was
collect complimentary tickets for selling tissue papers at the neighbourhood
themselves. While she had gained some train station. She told me that she was also
knowledge through free cassettes, compact working part time as a guest officer at the
discs and conversations, Rose remained local ActiveSG gym at the Enabling Village.
uninterested in Western classical music. The Her hours were irregular and ad hoc, but she
few times she heard the orchestra in concert was allowed to sit on an office chair with
was during the ‘Familiar Favourites’ or wheels, providing her the ease of moving
‘Christmas’ concerts, where she would sit between the front desk and back office. I
either backstage or on the last row of the supposed the self-proclaimed workaholic has
circle seats and slipped away just before the found her ‘second home’ once again.
intermission.
Winter 2019/2020Berita 14
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MSB Member News lished by the Power In-stitute and the
National Gallery Singapore.
Dr. Jun Kai Pow, a cultural historian in
music, gender and sexuality in twentieth- Dominik Müller has been appointed
century Malay World, has been selected for Professor of Cultural and Social
three consecutive fellowships for the Anthropology at Friedrich-Alexander
Academic Year 2019/2020: Research Fellow University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU),
in Asian Heritages at the International Germany, where he became Speaker of the
Institute for Asian (University of Leiden), Elite Graduate Program ‘Standards of
Affiliated Fellow at KITLV (University of Decision-Making Across Cultures’ (SDAC).
Leiden), and Digital Fellow at the National Together with Marco Bünte, Professor of
Library Board (Ministry of Communications Political Science at FAU since 2019
and Information, Singapore) (previously Monash University Malaysia),
he is establishing a new Southeast Asia-
Sarena Abdullah, PhD, has been busy since related research and teaching agenda at
her first contribution in BERITA in 2015. FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg.
She is the current Deputy Dean
(Research, Innovation and Community-
Industry Engagement) at the School of the
Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and a Publications
Research Fellow at Centre for Policy
Research and International Studies Tamir Moustafa
(CENPRIS) USM. She was awarded the Simon Fraser University, Canada
inaugural London, Asia Research Award, by Constituting Religion: Islam, Liberal
Paul-Mellon Centre, London and Asian Art Rights, and the Malaysian State
Archive, Hong Kong in 2017 and recently
published her research in British Art Studies, Most Muslim-majority countries have legal
Issue 13. Being an art historian by training, systems that enshrine both Islam and liberal
she has been active in the College Arts rights. While not necessarily at odds, these
Association (CAA) conference as part of the dual commitments nonetheless provide legal
CAA-Getty International and Reunion and symbolic resources for activists to
Program in the last few years. Her book on advance contending visions for their states
Malaysian art entitled Malaysian Art since the and societies. Using the case study of
1990s: Postmodern Situation (2018) has Malaysia, Constituting Religion examines
recently been published by Dewan Bahasa how these legal arrangements enable
dan Pustaka. She is also the co-editor for a litigation and feed the construction of a
recent publication of Southeast Asian Art ‘rights-versus-rites binary’ in law, politics,
entitled Ambitious Alignments: New Histories and the popular imagination. By drawing on
of Southeast Asian Art 1945-1990 (2018), pub-
Winter 2019/2020Berita 15
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extensive primary source material and Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS); The
tracing controversial cases from the court of National Trust Party (AMANAH); The
law to the court of public opinion, Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia
Tamir Moustafa theorizes the ‘judicial- (ABIM) and the Malaysian Muslim
ization of religion’ and the radiating effects Solidarity Front (ISMA) – towards the Arab
of courts on popular legal and religious Uprisings in the Middle East and North
consciousness. Africa.
Constituting Religion is an open access, free It analyses the perceptions of Islamist move-
text, available: ment activists, politicians and members in
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop Malaysia towards the 2011 Arab Uprisings,
-cambridge- popularly known as the ‘Arab Spring.’ A
core/content/view/888E17F4ACC3739CE1A
questionnaire based-survey as well as in-
A443FD07C9BA8/9781108423946AR.pdf/Con
stituting_Religion.pdf?event-type=FTLA depth interviews with activists and leaders
ranging from individuals in opposing
political parties (PAS and AMANAH) to
non-government Islamist organizations
(ABIM and ISMA) informs the findings of
the book. Using quantitative and qualitative
methods, the author analyses how the events
impacted the activism, political approach
and attitudes of the members of Islamic
movements towards the issues of regime
change, civil disobedience, political revol-
ution, democracy, Islamism and political
stability. The book demonstrates that
Malaysian Islamists are mainly in support of
free and democratic elections as a med-
ium for political change as opposed to
overthrowing the previous BN-led regime
via civil disobedience, street demonstration
or ‘revolution.’
Mohd Irwan Syazli Saidin
National University of Malaysia (UKM)
A novel approach in examining the
The Arab Uprisings and Malaysia’s connections between Islamic movements in
Islamist Movements Influence, Impact Southeast Asia and the Middle East and
and Lessons Africa, this book will be of interest to
This book examines the attitude of academics in the fields of Politics, History,
Malaysia’s Islamist movements – The Pan- Social Movements, Political Islam, Middle
Eastern Studies and Southeast Asian Studies
Winter 2019/2020Berita 16
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a Romanized version of the Javanese text, a
Ostwald, Kai translation into Indonesian Malay, and an
‘Four Arenas: Malaysia’s 2018 election, English translation, has just been uploaded
reform, and democratization,’ to JSTOR and should be available before the
Democratization. end of January.’
DOI: 10.1080/13510347.2020.1713757
Symposium Discussion in Harvard Law
MBRAS Open Access Publications School’s Newly Launched Journal of
The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Islamic Law on Brunei’s new Islamic
Society publishes a series of monographs and Penal Code
a series of reprints.
In January/February 2020, Harvard Law
(see https://www.mbras.org.my/) School’s Program in Islamic Law (PIL)
plans to publish the inaugural issue of its
Paul Kratoska, Hon. Editor, MBRAS writes: new Journal of Islamic Law. It will include a
Symposium discussion on Brunei’s Islamic
‘We are gradually digitizing our older titles, penal code, including contributions by
many of which are out of print, to be placed Mansurah Izzul Mohamed, Adnan
in libraries as e-books; printed copies of Zulfiqarm, MSB Editor Dominik Müller,
these titles will also be available. and a foreword by PIL Director Intisar
A limited number of MBRAS books will be Rabb.
open access publications. The first is a re-
print of the MBRAS edition of W.W. More information:
Skeat’s Malay Magic: Being an introduction to https://pil.law.harvard.edu/journal-forum/
the Folklore and Popular Religion of the Malay
Peninsula. Also available via the PIL’s ‘ShariaSource’
https://www.shariasource.com/Journal_of_Islamic_Law/forum
(available at
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvjk2ttc , Job Opportunities
or simply search for MBRAS Malay Magic.)
(There are other free e-editions of Skeat’s University of London, SOAS
book, but the MBRAS version includes notes Job openings in Social Anthropology and
made by Skeat after the book’s publication, Fellowship in Film Studies (‘Decolonising
and an Introduction by John Gullick). Screenworlds’).
Our second OA title will be a new editon of More information:
Peter Carey’s Babad Dipanagara: A Surakarta https://jobs.soas.ac.uk/fe/tpl_soasnet01.asp?ne
wms=srs&fbclid=IwAR04vqKAeWfN4VA0mA
Court Poet’s Account of the Outbreak of the Java SoINeiNJKsuDZoYhBoC5eyAAVtneJjrGGZzX
War (1825-30). This volume, which includes P7S4o
Winter 2019/2020Berita 17
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Harvard University, Program in Islamic Calls for Applications:
Law (PIL) Fellowship 2020/21
(previously hosted researchers from and/or M.A. & PhD Programs
working on Southeast Asia)
M.A. and PhD-level:
The Program in Islamic Law at Harvard Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD),
Law School invites applications to its 2020- Institute of Asian Studies: M.A. and
2021 Fellowship Program (due Jan. 31, Ph.D. in Asian Studies
2020). Research Fellowships are designed to
provide an intellectual home to promising The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at
young scholars in Islamic legal studies to Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) is
advance their own research and to accepting applications for the August 2020
contribute to the intellectual life of the intake to the M.A. and Ph.D. programs by
Program and the Harvard community. research in Asian Studies.
Successful applicants will have completed an
advanced degree (JD, PhD, SJD or the The deadline for submission is 31 January
equivalent) before the start of the fellowship, 2020.
and plan to pursue a scholarly research
agenda in Islamic law that engages Please click here for information about the
legal history, law and society, or M.A. and Ph.D. programs and links to the
comparative law approaches. Fellows will application and scholarship information:
receive stipends of $40,000 for an academic
year. Deadline: January 31, 2020. http://ias.ubd.edu.bn/phd-asian-studies/
This year, PIL also welcome applications for
new Data Science Fellowships. Success- Interdisciplinary M.A. and PhD-level
ful applicants for the Data Science Fellow- Program:
ships will have completed an advanced Elite Graduate Program ‘Standards of
degree (MS, PhD, D.Eng.) in computer Decision-Making Across Cultures
science or related field, and plan to pursue a (SDAC)’ Friedrich-Alexander University
CS project in digital humanities or data Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Germany
science related to Islamic historical or legal
sources that can be completed in one Headed by sinologist Michael Lackner and
semester or year. Examples include discrete MSB Editor Dominik Müller, the
projects in NLP, data visualization, and text- international Elite Graduate Program
mining. Deadline: January 31, 2020. ‘Standards of Decision-Making Across
Cultures (SDAC)’ at FAU Erlangen-
More information: Nürnberg (Germany) offers students an
https://islamiclaw.blog/2020/01/02/fellowships/ exceptional study program, rooted in an
anthropological and cultural studies
Winter 2019/2020Berita 18
______________________________________________________________________________
perspective on matters of choice, embedded Call for Papers
agency and decision-making, while being
radically inter-disciplinary in outlook – with
Journal of Current Southeast Asian
introductory modules in Philosophy, Soc-
Affairs (SAGE Publishing)
iology, Economics, Political Sciences,
JCSSA is a double-blind peer-reviewed
Anthropology, Human Rights, Asian
academic journal published by the GIGA
Studies, alongside various regional and
Institute of Asian Studies, Hamburg. Aside
transdisciplinary modules. During the two
from the print edition, JCSAA is also be
year-long program, each student spends a
available online as an open access journal. It
semester at Peking University (PKU). The
presents key research and professional
program offers a regional specialization
analyses on current political, economic, and
(East- and Southeast Asia) alongside a not
social affairs in Southeast Asia, with listings
regionally defined training in trans- and
in major indexes. It invites submissions for
intercultural competences. Within the
research articles, book reviews and special
program, students can pursue personal
issue proposals.
research interests through optional modules
For further details see:
and personal mentoring and supervision https://journals.sagepub.com/home/saa
programs.
Since 2020, the program also offers the
possibility of pursuing a PhD degree in Editorial Information
Cultural and Social Anthropology.
BERITA is the official publication of the
Malaysian/Singapore/Brunei (MSB)
The SDAC-program is generously funded
Studies Group.
by the Elite Network Bavaria (ENB), with
highly qualified international teaching staff,
A part of the Association of Asian Studies,
a small teacher-student ratio, and students
we are a cross-disciplinary network of
from all over the world. German public
scholars, students, and observers with
universities do not generally charge study
research and other professional interests in
fees, beyond a modest administrative fee
Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei.
each semester.
Editor:
The call for applications for the next cohort
Dominik M. Müller
(starting in Oct. 2020) is currently drafted,
Professor of Cultural and Social Anthropology
the deadline will be in mid-June (selection
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
interviews take place shortly afterwards).
dominik.m.mueller@fau.de
Interested students are invited to contact the
Program Speaker, Dominik Müller
Berita is available through the new Ohio
Dominik.m.mueller@fau.de
Open Library at:
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/berita/
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