Consumption of Kuala Lumpur

by Ziauddin Sardar

Kuala Lumpur is the postmodern city writ large, a city that, within the short span of a decade, has been transformed from a sleepy capital into a technological marvel with a thriving, diverse and affluent cultural life. Using anecdotes, classic Malay myths and tales, and observations based on real and imaginary wanderings through the city, Ziauddin Sardar traces Kuala Lumpur's origins and charts the remarkable changes experienced by the city and its people, including both the recent economic crisis and the vicious power struggle between Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his ex-Deputy Anwar Ibrahim. Sardar shows how a collision of cultures (Malay, Chinese, Indian, indigenous, Western) has developed and re-emerged in the form of a new synthesis, inducing both a degree of disorientation and a unique sense of energy and excitement.

280 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Ziauddin Sardar has written or edited 45 books over a period of 30 years, many with his long-time co-author Merryl Wyn Davies. Recent titles include Balti Britain: a Journey Through the British Asian Experience (Granta, 2008); and How Do You Know: Reading Ziauddin Sardar on Islam, Science and Cultural Relations (Pluto, 2006). The first volume of his memoirs is Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim (Granta, 2006). His recent television work includes a 90-minute documentary for the BBC in 2006 called 'Battle for Islam'. Sardar's online work includes a year-long blog on the Qur'an published in 2008 by The Guardian newspaper.
Sardar is a Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the Department of Arts Policy and Management at City University London and is Editor of the forecasting and planning journal, Futures. He is also a member of the UK Commission on Equality and Human Rights. His journalism appears most often in The Guardian and The Observer, as well as the UK weekly magazine, New Statesman. In the 1980s, he was among the founders of Inquiry, a magazine of ideas and policy focusing on Muslim countries. His early career includes working as a science correspondent for Nature and New Scientist magazines and as a reporter for London Weekend Television.
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Reviews

[unperspicacious · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but uneven, in various ways. It seems to have been cobbled together from a number of essays penned over several years. Tone is inconsistent (some parts are laugh out loud funny, other bits the opposite). More problematic was the attempt to blend historical narrative with personal observations of the present. The history is all second-hand, and not very good (ie. oversimplistic and misleading in some glaring ways). Personal observations were better, though still a bit superficial. There is probably not very much in this which would be new to someone who has been to KL for a short period (a couple of weeks to a month, I think). The content is also dated, in terms of the political coverage - much has happened since 2000, and the focus on the 1990s (Anwar vs. Mahathir, the Asian Financial Crisis) is completely understandable, but a bit misplaced these days.