Postcards from a Foreign Country - by Yin
Review by KS Chong
Postcards from a Foreign Country consists of ten stories told with great humour by a master craftsman . If read by a Malaysian youth of 20 at this turbulent time, it would indeed be very foreign as suggested by the title of this book. The stories happened at a time when there was no distinction of race and religion. There was nothing to separate them as Bumiputras and non-bumiputras. People lived in harmony, respecting one another's religion and way of life and they were unpolluted and happy. It was at this time when we achieved independence. Things began to change. The British were leaving..., they were selling their properties to the locals...The taste of sudden change of political power. This was the beginning of a time of change in Crony Capitalism...many people made a lot of money. Now the culture has changed,
everything has changed, the so-called leaders are unscrupulous. The life of the stories told in Yin Ee Kiong's Postcards from a Foreign Country was no longer in existence. This is the book that should be read by all Malaysians. The readers will enjoy reading the stories that could not be read nowadays. The stories told remind us "those were the days" that we are still fond of.
Postcards from a Foreign Country consists of ten stories told with great humour by a master craftsman . If read by a Malaysian youth of 20 at this turbulent time, it would indeed be very foreign as suggested by the title of this book. The stories happened at a time when there was no distinction of race and religion. There was nothing to separate them as Bumiputras and non-bumiputras. People lived in harmony, respecting one another's religion and way of life and they were unpolluted and happy. It was at this time when we achieved independence. Things began to change. The British were leaving..., they were selling their properties to the locals...The taste of sudden change of political power. This was the beginning of a time of change in Crony Capitalism...many people made a lot of money. Now the culture has changed,
everything has changed, the so-called leaders are unscrupulous. The life of the stories told in Yin Ee Kiong's Postcards from a Foreign Country was no longer in existence. This is the book that should be read by all Malaysians. The readers will enjoy reading the stories that could not be read nowadays. The stories told remind us "those were the days" that we are still fond of.
Postcards From a Foreign Countryby Yin
ISBN: 9780975164655
Price: RM30.00
Fiction - East West PublishingPtyLtd (Australia)
Paperback, 235pp
Sold at all MPH & Popular Book Stores
“The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.” Hartley.
Remarks by S.H.Lim
These sepia vignettes tell of a time when life was less complicated. It was a time of greater racial mixing. And by and large the different races got on well together. It was also a time when people spoke more openly and honestly – exposing their bigotry and prejudices. Racial taunts were given and taken with good humour and never in earnest. “Political Correctness” was not a term to hide behind. It was a term that had not yet been coined.
Despite all this the communities survived the rough and tumble of living with people of different backgrounds, race and religion and came out the better for it.
Nevertheless, it was a time of change. The old order made way for the new. The British were on their way out; the country had just gained independence. In the process, the lives of many were affected. The colonisers and the colonised were forced to come to terms with their new relationship. Similarly the citizens of this new country had to adjust to the new reality and their relationship with each other.
“Postcards . . .” allows us a peek into the lives and times of both the expatriates and locals living during that time and their relationship with each other. It tells of the social mores and restrictions, prejudices and values of a time past when things were done differently. In many ways it was a foreign country.
These sepia vignettes tell of a time when life was less complicated. It was a time of greater racial mixing. And by and large the different races got on well together. It was also a time when people spoke more openly and honestly – exposing their bigotry and prejudices. Racial taunts were given and taken with good humour and never in earnest. “Political Correctness” was not a term to hide behind. It was a term that had not yet been coined.
Despite all this the communities survived the rough and tumble of living with people of different backgrounds, race and religion and came out the better for it.
Nevertheless, it was a time of change. The old order made way for the new. The British were on their way out; the country had just gained independence. In the process, the lives of many were affected. The colonisers and the colonised were forced to come to terms with their new relationship. Similarly the citizens of this new country had to adjust to the new reality and their relationship with each other.
“Postcards . . .” allows us a peek into the lives and times of both the expatriates and locals living during that time and their relationship with each other. It tells of the social mores and restrictions, prejudices and values of a time past when things were done differently. In many ways it was a foreign country.
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