Glimpses: Cameos of Malaysian Life

by Adibah Amin

121 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Adibah Amin (lahir 19 Februari 1936) ialah seorang ahli akademik, ahli bahasa, penulis bahasa Melayu serta bahasa Inggeris, dan pelakon Malaysia. Sri Delima merupakan nama penanya. Karya-karyanya termasuk tiga buah novel dalam bahasa Melayu (Bangsawan Tulen, Seroja Masih Di Kolam, Tempat Jatuh Lagi Dikenang) bersama-sama dengan lebih kurang 200 drama radio ("Hanya 10 adalah baik", beliau berkata dengan rendah hati kepada majalah Asiaweek), dan sebilangan cerpen pendek. Dalam bahasa Inggeris, beliau menulis untuk akhbar The Star, dan kini paling diingati untuk ruangnya "As I Was Passing" yang ditulis semasa beliau bertugas dengan akhbar New Straits Times. Terbaru, pada November 2006, Adibah melahirkan novel pertamanya di dalam Bahasa Inggeris, "This End of The Rainbow" yang memaparkan sebuah fiksi tentang kehidupan mahasiswa sekitar tahun 50an. Novelnya "Seroja Masih di Kolam" telah diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Jepun dengan judul "Surojya No Hana Wa Mada Ike Ni (1986)." Adibah juga turut menterjemahkan karya-karya sastera besar Malaysia termasuklah No Harvest But Thorns tulisan Sasterawan Negara Malaysia, Shahnon Ahmad (judul asal Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan) dan Jungle of Hope (tulisan SN Keris Mas, judul asalnya, Rimba Harapan). Sehingga tahun 2006, Adibah masih giat menulis terutamanya mengenai artikel-artikel pendidikan di suratkhabar (The STAR).

(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Fadillah · Rating 3 out of 5]

At one time, the local variety may indeed have been scarce, hence the need to get imported ones. Today, we have our own eggheads in virtually all fields, but do we use them? We prefer the imported kind, even when they flounder in the Malaysian environment. Our own superbrains get invited elsewhere as consultants. Ah well, a man is not without honour except in his own country. A friend of mine was asked once: "Were you educated in England or the States?
"Neither," he replied. "I have never been abroad." He was not believed. How could a local product be any good? He must have been sent overseas for "manufacturing, to return in triumph as an 'imported' item.
- When imported goods are always better : Glimpses cameos of Malaysian life by Adibah Amin
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If you have been following my book reviews, you know that i have been a huge fan of Adibah Amin. I adored her witty remarks, her statements that forced me to reflect on certain issues and her effortless jokes. She knew how to attract her readers and she did it so well. Unfortunately, i didn’t really enjoy this as much as i enjoyed ‘As i was passing’. Perhaps, my expectation got so high and i ended up feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Don’t get me wrong - there’s so many lessons and hard hitting truth that she delivered in some of her articles but i was left with ‘is that it?’ at the end of the book. Still, i love it when she discussed familiar topics for us but not for her non malaysian readers - Malay proverbs and the idea behind it, the notion of ‘merajuk’ , ‘Saving Face’ concept, The idea femininity and how different it was from the POV of western, English proficiency - how to conquer it in local way and the idolisation of imported things. Overall, A great read - i may not enjoy it as much as her other books but i would still recommend it to others if they wanted to know the complexity of certain issues in Malaysia.

[bookmehnia · Rating 4 out of 5]

{27/2022} 4/5🌟 Non-Fiction | 121 pages

I found this book among the collection of my late mama, when I returned to my hometown to collect my mama’s belongings. I don’t really remember who bought it (I guess it was my mama) and coincidentally, my sister went for tuition classes with the author.

I don’t really think the new generation, particularly my kids’, know who Adibah Amin really is, perhaps, or I could be wrong. I particularly remember her from her prominent role in an 80’s movie, “Adik Manja”. She was not only an actress, but she has had varied careers from being a teacher, writer, editor, journalist, you name it. Reading her background information, I was really surprised to know that she was the first headmistress of SSP boarding school!

If you have been familiar with her way of writing, you would know that she has this eclectic ideas. Based on my reading of her previous writings (I have read a few of her other works long before), she could be charmingly witty. Polite and ‘naughty’ - that is if you were not caught with her satire and insinuation.

Adibah discussed issues concerning equality (gender and race), Malaysian taboos and what not; besides traditional and modern views and perceptions, as well as matters that are culturally accepted by Malaysians across races and religions - differences and similarities, urban legends or belief.

In this book, she discusses about issues pertaining to Malaysian ways of thinking of certain issues. “The Baby Rat Race” and “Merdeka Memories” are two writings, I think, that touched most Malaysians on personal levels. The former discusses on how a child’s success has a become a trend of status symbol, while the latter, on how we are drifiting apart as we tend to move within our economic circle and ethnicity - both issues I think have becoming worse nowadays.

Although the book was published some twenty years ago - the matters discussed are still relevant at the moment, in fact, unsolved? I am not sure whether we could find any copy of this at any bookstore now, but who knows right? This copy was bought at MPH based on the price tag at the back cover.

If you love scintillating kind of content - this one is for you; exactly like her portrayal of “Cikgu Bedah” character in “Adik Manja”.

#justreaddontbawang #MayReads #bookmehnia #bookstagrammalaysia #bookstagrammy #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookworm #nonfiction #malaysianauthor #adibahamin

[Yeo_heng_hau YEO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read "...As I Was Passing." and thoroughly enjoyed it, when I came across this book while browsing the Kuala Lumpur Public Library (Taman Tun Ismail branch) I immediately borrowed it. True enough, this book is just as good as "..As I Was Passing." Adibah Amin has such a strong command of language she was able to weave her anecdotes of various aspects of Malaysian life so well as if we are a part of it. Each people have their own idiosyncrasies. Any foreigner seeking to better understand Malaysians to know why they behave the way they do ought to read this book to get a better insight.

[Dils AB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adibah Amin is one of Malaysian great writers. Not in the likes of other literary author that is infamous, but almost there.

I have the privilege of knowing her personally as she tutored me in English and BM at one time.

Thus when I was reading this compilation of articles, in my head, it was in her voice. Her gentle soothing voice, that seems to always have a tinge of humour in it.

It is must be very appalling for her to to see my state of English grammar nowadays. Anyway, I am digressing.

I don't love this book, but I never love compilation or short stories anyway. Writing a review on them is even much worse. So, I'll just say, some I love, some I chuckled, some bristled me and some I just passed through. But always her gentle voice vibrates very loudly throughout this book.

So my review maybe biased. :)

[Rehan Abd Jamil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read book!

[Kolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining, reflective, ooo..I've seen that and done that moments!

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book to accompany my visit to Malaysia. I think the individual sections were once newspaper columns, providing a very bite-size introduction to Malaysian life, but they were probably too brief for an actual book (I read it in an hour). I appreciated the use of Malaysian words (accompanied by their translation) in the text and the frequent references to food - I have so many foods to try now!
In the lighthearted tone and brief passages, surprisingly big issues are covered - colonisation, independence, multiculturalism. For an outsider, points of view were presented simply but deeply.
I found the most interesting article to be that on attitudes to speaking English in Malaysia.

“The ambivalence towards English and things Western, so often discussed today, began long ago. In the days of the struggle for Merdeka (independence), the English language and Western says were dubbed ‘colonial’. At the same time, there were people who said that understanding these helped us get independence from those very colonial powers.”
“Today, many Malaysians are torn by the same conflict, some without realising it. Decades after Merdeka, the English language and Western ways are still associated with colonialism.”
“A local accent was a vital condition for acceptance. It could be characterised by Malay andante, or Chinese staccato, or Indian crescendo, or a mixture of all three. It was a way of showing that colonial language had not destroyed one’s cultural identity.”